The City That Knows How

For some reason, that's one of the ways San Francisco is known. Although it is true that San Francisco is The City that knows how to get hold of your money and never let it go...

Arriving there on Monday 7 July I didn't do much but walk around and have a bite to eat. By bite, I mean American bites - i.e. an entire plateful of great food that cost me about $4.50 (£2.25) and completely filled me up. Then it was back to the hotel where I slept like a baby - although I only wet the bed once.

Tuesday was up and at 'em heading in to Union Square to buy Sightseeing tickets on the tour bus for 48 hours. That was great because I ended up taking it three times, each time getting a different person and hence completely different information! It was a nice general overview of San Francisco including useless titbits like the "Tenderloin" is so called because it was once so dangerous to police that the police who patrolled it were paid so much danger money they could afford to buy tenderloin. Actually, thinking about it, most of the tour was useless when taken out of context, but very interesting. We stopped off at Pier 39 for a quick lunch (Fish and Chips - not what I thought they'd be, but very nice) and then off to catch Alcatraz Cruises (the irony) to go visit Alcatraz.

Alcatraz was very interesting, and it would be boring (and ultimately pointless) to go through anything about the barren little bit of rock that has housed soldiers, military prisoners, top security prisoners, prison guards and their families and a 1970s group of nationalist native Indians. Needless to say, there is lots about this little rock that surprises and interests, although it was a little less emotive than I thought it might be. The gift shop is also worth a visit even if it just to flick through the rule book: Rule 5 - you are entitled to food, shelter, clothing and medical attention. Anything else is a privilege. A useful gift for the kids?!

After that it was back to the city proper to eat and indulge ourselves. I'd be lying if I said I felt slightly guilty sitting in the restaurant - Aliotto's as it turned out - truth be told, I'd already put the suffering of those on Alcatraz out of my mind. Maybe it was the ferry ride, or the isolated nature of the island which made feelings towards it more insular and contained, but I think it was more to do with the fact that even though it is a National Park, it was a tourist attraction and considered as such, and not a place of suffering and hardship and death. Either way, Alliotto's was not ruined by any residual feelings, which is just as well as it made up for the cheap meal the night before, costing a whopping $50. Was more than worth it though, the food was brilliant and the view across the bay was spectacular with the sunset as well.

Next day was more time spent on the tour bus, and a slightly lighter day than the previous day, involving visiting a US Navy Submarine from World War II, the USS Pompanito (1943-70) which was very interesting although slightly lacking in information without the audio guide. Shame I didn't have my military pass - would have got a free entry!!

Then the 10th was off to pick the car up (which only took 2 hours...) and then off over the Golden Gate Bridge in the fog which was very picturesque, a photo opportunity on the other side, and then off to start my adventure on the West Coast of the US which would take me 2500 miles around some of the most amazing sights I've seen, some of the friendliest people and interesting places.

When in San Francisco, you can't help but notice a few things. One is the multitude of brightly coloured flags with horizontal stripes in several different colours. San Fran is known as the liberal bastion of the US, with a strong and thriving LGBT community, and I often caught myself asking myself if those two men drinking coffee were more than just business partners.