Alcatraz & Golden Gate Bridge

The next morning we had organied a trip to Alcatraz - it was a beautiful day, with no fog and visibility was great so it was a perfect opportunity for photos.  It was also rather hot tho, so we cooked while waiting in line but it was all worth it.  Alcatraz is a big rock out in the middle of the bay overlooking San Francisco.  They used it as a maximum security prison because it was remote and yet the image of SF being so close as well (much closer than rottnest!) gave the prisoners something to strive for.   It wouldn't be a hard distance to swim, but the water temp (~13'C) and dangerous currents and rips made it almost impossible.  There were many escape attempts during the years it was a prison, but no known escapees.  Al Capone, The Birdman and others were imprisoned there and it was a dark, cold and creepy place.  The audio tour was awesome though, with many of the original guards and even prisoners talking about their time there.

After Alcatraz we decided it was time to have lunch, so we hit the Boudin Sourdough Restaurant on Fishermans Wharf for a delicious Clam Chowder in a bread bowl.  You get as much of their sourdough bread you can eat, and the Clam Chowder soup was delicious - the only thing is that they don't offer any Jam to go with the bread :)

We headed up to the Golden Gate Bridge after lunch, catching a bus up to the viewing point - the day was still clear and it was a perfect time to take photos of San Francisco's iconic bridge.  We walked up along the bridge too, and got a few photos of the bay and the city from there as well.


After catching a bus ride back we went back to our hotel and went off to a restaurant in the Italian district that some fellow aussies we'd met the night before had recommended - Tony's Pizza - apparently an award winning restaurant and we thought we'd compare his creations to Little Caesars back in Perth.  We tried the Fear and Loathing Pizza and it was delicious.  Described as "pulled pork slow cooked with tamarind, serranos, habaneros, citrus and tomato over mozzarella, topped with fresh cactus, agave nectar salsa and queso fresco." - Obviously we had to try it and we weren't disappointed!!!

- J