The Streets of San Francisco and the Rock

Sorry two screen references in one title is possibly over doing it. I arrived in San Francisco after a very long train journey from Portland, Oregon. The beginning of the journey was very beautiful, cutting through the Cascade mountain range. I wanted to get off the train and have a wander around, it all looked so inviting, huge pine trees, crystal clear lakes, under a clear blue sky.
San Francisco is an extremely popular place this time of year, so much of my time was spent finding somewhere to stay. After checking in to a hostel for a night, I've ended up in a hotel as ALL the hostels where booked through the weekend. It's the first time I've had such difficulties. Admittedly being the weekend didn't help.
I always like to walk around a new place, get an idea of where everything is and get a feel for a place. In San Francisco this is kind of difficult, unless your extremely fit (I'm not even slightly fit), the streets are so steep and the hills are impossible to avoid. It's great to hop on a streetcar, but with so many tourists often you are left watching another packed streetcar pass you by.
I managed to get a ticket to Alcatraz, no mean feat and sailed over in the late afternoon with what felt like every tourist in the city.
I was excited to see Alcatraz, could Sean Connery really break out? Even with the help of Nicholas Cage?

The cells

I imagine those brave souls entering Ellis Island at the beginning of the last century (notice how I avoid pinpointing the year?) to be prodded and questioned had it easy compared with a tourist arriving at Alcatraz! All fifteen hundred of us (do I exaggerate?) were herded up the hill after departing the ferry. There were too many people and too few staff, so a man stood with a loud speaker directing us up the hill to the "facility". Once there we were herded in a long line through passageways, eventually to pick up a set of headphones for the audio tour. The day before I had been mightily impressed with the audio tour at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, where they hand out video ipods. Unfortunately Alcatraz isn't quite as advanced. But I enjoyed the audio tour (narrated by ex guards and ex inmates), which led me from cell to yard, to visitors galley, to cell etc. The only problem being as the voice in my ears would say "turn left and look at cell number 38" at least another 40 tourists would hear the same thing from their headphones. At each interesting point I'd find too many people all cramming to see the same thing. I guess the only way to combat this would be to further restrict the number of visitors. I do think the tour would really benefit. I was disappointed that the audio tour and a few mounted photo's where the only means of information. I think the island would really benefit from some kind of re-enactment you see at other museums, especially when there are so many young visitors.


I left the island a little disappointed. I did learn a few things from the audio tour and the views from the island to San Francisco are really impressive.
Tomorrow I'm off to L.A where I'll be until Monday when I fly to Hawaii. Can you believe I'm taking ANOTHER Greyhound bus to L.A! But unfortunately taking the train would mean also taking two buses, it seems easier to take one bus from here and Greyhound actually have a stop in Hollywood, where I'll be staying. The hostel was recommended to me by a fellow English traveller. Check it out here.