Wednesday 20 July - San Francisco

San Francisco (viewed from Alcatraz Island)

I got up reasonably early and had a very nice American sized buffet breakfast at the Travelodge hotel. I caught a BART train into San Francisco and had timeto do a walking tour before my visit to Alcatraz Island. I got off the BART at Montgomery St. Station and had a morning stroll through Chinatown to Lombard street and then down to Pier 33. Click Here to see the route on Garmin
Pier 33 is where my Alcatraz Island tour started (with a ferry crossing). The tour of the prison block was enhanced by the issue of personal audio equipment which was a good feature. The tour took between 2 and 3 hours. I scooted round San Francisco on the MUNI "F" tram to Van Ness and walked well over a mile down Haight Street to Haight/Ashbury. A bit of a pilgrimmage really to where the hippie movement started.  I stopped for lunch in a bar just past the intersection where I was served by the lovely Laura. I then walked on to Golden Gate Park. Just inside the park there were groups of youngsters smoking Marijuana, paying homage to the hippie dream I guess. After strolling for a while in the park I got the bus to Fort Mason (via Il Presidio and the Golden Gate Bridge tourist drop off spot). I walked to Columbus and then got a bus to the Theater District (sic). I got the BART back to Millbrae and had an evening meal in Pete's Diner.