So today marks the last
full day we have our car which means we need to make the best use of
it that we can. To this end we planned to drive as far as we can to
as many places we can. Getting in the car though we ended up driving
just down the street as we had recently realised that the Crookedest
street is just down there. It's ben one of the things ive always
wanted to dodriving down it after I first heard of it. So thats tick
off my checklist. Definitely was interesting. Helps that it has a
really great view of the bay as well. Adding the day light pictures
to the night one's I had took the night before has added a nice
picture to my collection
So we got lucky today
too. After rushing around near Fisherman's Wharf trying to find
parking, we stumbled on this cheap parking lot. It's one of those
places where they park your car for you.ques Considering it was only
$10 compared to the $39 we were looking at, I think it was a great
deal. Lucky for us as well, when we got to the ferry to Alcatraz, we
just made it to the next one so we practically walked onto the ferry
after grabbing some snacks and stuff.
Let's talk about
Alcatraz now. Alcatraz started out as a Fort apparently. Used to
protect the bay it started turning into a prison in early 1900's.
Walking on it's grounds it compares in age with that of Port Arthur
in Tasmania which we recently visited before coming to the USA. One
thing that sstands out as a major difference is the well... call it I
guess more interesting history that Alcatraz has. Maybe it's the way
that it has more and better organised tours and such. Perhaps its
also the types of inmates that the prison held that gave it the
difference. I think the fact that it has an audio tour for the prison
proper with stories and facts and everything gives it more of a hear
and now feel that Port Arthur lacked with its self tours and reading
of plaques and such. It's a lot more interactive...
Coming back from
Alcatraz, we sought lunch in the piers. Walking around in the cold we
found this take away section of a shop selling - clam chowder!!!!
That being an american speciality we had to get it. So lunch for me
consisted of Clam Chowder in a sourdough bread bowl, crab bannock and
a small drink which is about 10% bigger then the large drinks back
home. Definitely misjudging the size of servings here. I am
definitely eating way too much thats for sure.
In the end though we
went over to Oakland. The LP office there was one of my must see
places. I found it funny though as we drove around that part of town
and seeing how similaar it was to Footscray. There were the
regulatory semi's, the warehousing areas and what seems like bums and
dregs of society hanging around. The place looks like it's also a
relatively unsafe area AND the office is situated in a converted
warehouse. Makes me wonder if this site was picked out for this
reason. Whatever the case though, I managed to find my way in
(through the locked doors of the office) and stumbled into the
reception and there greeted by really friendly people! To be honest I
felt like a lost kid going up to the information counter at a
shopping centre. I mean I basically went in said hi, im from the
melbourne office, I'm lost please help me! Whats there to see and
do?! And the receptionist Britney took it all in with enthusiasm and
began listing everything! They even took us over to their warehouse
and gave me free books to help me. Met the Warehouse manager whos
been with LP for 22years! Great people here, i'm glad I came and met
them. It's very rare to meet anyone from out of your own office. I
enjoyed this chance meeting.
So armed with all these
suggestions and a brand new San Francisco guide they were able to
give me... we ended up just driving around downtown oakland. It
was... interesting. We could definitely see the difference between it
and San Francisco, especially in its outlook and its residents. Its a
rather interesting place though. With more time we defintiely would
have had more of a chance to see the city. I think we would have
enjoyed the museums and such. Whatever the case we ended up driving
away from Oakland and back to San Francisco. Not for anything in
particular, just to drive around too. Really we were just randomly
driving around and for some strange reason we ended up driving around
the beach areas in the west, along the coast, through the scenic
drive of the Goldengate Park and our ultimate highlight, up to the
Twin Peaks when the sun was setting.
random driving along
oakland then back to san fran. Ending up at twin peaks just as the
sun sets. Brilliant view, but man it was so cold!!! I swear its cold
at night normally (about 8 degrees Celsius) but it was worse up
there!
Coming back down from
the mountains, we ended up following the newly acquired San Francisco
city guide for dinner. Heading over to Japantown we went to a
restaurant that was recommended by the book called Tataki. It's like
a new age japanese restaurant, with the chefs combining traditional
styles of sushi etc into a new style and modern flair. If anyone ever
goes to San Francisco then this is a MUST visit. It is THE best
japanese food I've ever had, hands down. Ok sure the food in japan is
great but this one has a flair that they don't have. The pieces of
fish was so good it felt like it was melting in my mouth. The
proportions of the fish on the sushi was rather generous too. All in
all I rate this place a 10. You cant get better then this!
So following the book
we went to get some dessert on the other side of Japantown. Silly us
we opted to walk, taking us about 15 minutes walking in the freezing
cold. Was a nice enough walk I guess, but unfortunately for us we
opted to go bathroom to wash hands before going to the crepe shop,
which ended up with us missing it by 5 seconds. The …. people....
in the shop wouldnt make one for us even knowing we were from
overseas. Bah. Not happy with them.
Anyway we ended the
night going to try find some bars and nightlife. I cant really
remember where we ended up but we didn’t find many bars in that
area. Just the one really... Ordered one of the local beers – IPA
or something – Don’t ever get it as it is disgusting. Tastes like
bitter melon. Thats really about it for this day...
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