San Francisco

It was time to say goodbye to the beach and hello to San Francisco. Oh my golly gosh, do I LOVE San Fran, some parts reminded me of good old London town. So different from little Denver, a lot more ups and downs for one. I loved the mansion district, the old houses were just stunning.

We whizzed round the city, stopping at all the must-see spots - Union Square being one.

I thought the trams were very cool, the last time I saw trams like this was in Melbourne, Australia. Such a great way to get around the city. They used to have trams in London, my Auntie tells me about how she used to use them when she was young. They are not there any more.

My main mission was to go and see this little baby - ALCATRAZ. I have wanted to go on the island like, FOREVER, (or maybe since seeing the movie The Rock - just love that film). It did not disappoint, it was amazing.

This is the first building that you see when you land on the island port - I thought that this was the prison but it isn't, it is where all the guards lived.

The prison was further up the hill. Once inside, you get a set of headphones and the audio is spoken by ex-prison guards and old convicts. Talking about daily life and the horror of being here. What struck me the most was how small the cells were and that they had toilets in their cells. Not sure what I was thinking, err hello........that prisoners get en-suite loos but I suppose I hadn't really thought about it before. Everyone can hear and see you going to the loo, surely that alone is enough to put you off entering the life of crime.

The Oompa Loompas were especially well behaved. It must have been when I threatened to leave them in the cells if they were not good.

In the bookshop there was a woman that grew up on the island. She was a prison guards daughter. She lived there and went to school, (the little school house was so pretty). I was so intrigued by that, I had to buy her book - haven't started reading it yet.

The island is beautiful, the gardens are gorgeous. They have the most superb lighthouse/guard tower. You probably couldn't get better views of San Fran and the Golden Gate Bridge. It was quite strange, that somewhere so beautiful also had a deep sadness and darkness to it. I don't think I have ever been anywhere quite like it before.

I would love to go back on the night time tour, maybe when I come back to the fabulous San Francisco.