Thursday 6th

Arrived San Francisco late afternoon local time and cabbed to our hotel which as its name suggest (Hotel Union Square) is right in the hub of Union Square. Great hotel with friendly staff - old (1904 so built just before the big quake of 1906 but seems to have survived ok) - all clean and tidy. Out for a walk around the square and surrounding streets and then our first American meal in an Italian styled restaurant.

Friday 7th.

Caught an open topped tour bus which we have decided is a good way to see the sites and decide places of interest worth going back to.Changing buses at the downtown area we took a trip over the Golden Gate Bridge to the Sausolito area This is a very ritzy bayside area just off the Northern end of the Golden Gate Bridge. Multi million $ houses, high fashion shops and BMWs, Mercs, Maseratis abound but the are has a nice relaxed beachside feel to it.

Back over the bridge we hopped off at Fishermans wharf and walked the waterfront past all the tourist shops selling junk and food (as usual) but with a distinctly SF flavour. Reaching Pier 33 we had a leisurely lunch in the Alcatraz Cafe before boarding our ferry for a trip to Alcatraz. Really interesting island, fort & prison. The excellent audio tour explained the workings of the prison as it was 1930 to 1963 and dispelled many of the myths that abound. Inspite of the portrayal in the film "Birdman of Alcatraz" Robert Stroud the bird expert who was one of Alcatraz's most famed inmates actually did all his bird tendering at Leavenworth prison in Kansas where he was serving a life sentence for murdering a non-paying client of a prostitute he was pimping for. He eventually arrived at Alcatraz after a death sentence for stabbing a guard to death at Leavenworth was commuted to life at Alcatraz. Not quite the mild mannered inmate portrayed in the movie. The stories about shark infested freezing waters preventing escapes is also a myth as there is an annual Bay swim from Alcatraz to San Fran which 2 years ago was won by an 11year old boy! (its around 2 miles). Interesting history and a popular tourist attraction - the trip to the island was booked out for a week so lucky we had pre-booked. Also we had an added bonus as this week was "Fleet Week" in SF so all the armed forces were in town including the Airforce & Navy putting on a great show during the afternoon. First with their jet fighters and then the "Blue Angels" a Navy aerobatics team who entertained the thousands of spectators with some precision flying all afternoon over the Bay. We had the best seat in the house as they seemed be doing most of their most spectacular manouvers over the Island.

Back on the mainland we walked back along the waterfront and a snack and drink in an Italian Restaurant and then used the night tour bus as a shuttle back to our hotel. After a nap we ventured out for a a couple of cable car rides (interesting technology and also amazing the number of people they cram into & onto the running boards of each car OSH would have a field day here! ) We finished a very interesting day with a Japanese Restaurant meal.

Saturday 8th

Anothert ride on an open top bus - this one to the Golden Gate Park. A huge park (in fact the biggest urban park in the US) containing amongst 11 lakes, roads, trails, statues etc a Science Museum, an Art Gallery and a Japanese Tea garden. We stayed on the bus through the park and got off at the Haight Ashbury area famed from the hippy era of the 1960s. Visiting the Red Victoria B&B hotel we had a coffee and then a guided tour of the rooms and artworks all done by the owner Sami Sunchild (now an 86year old ageing hippie) this is a world peace/love centre with themed rooms and very laid back staff (something in the air no doubt)

After this visit we walked the main shops in Haight Ashbury admiring all the hippie & drug paraphenalia shops and tattoo parlours etc.

Walked a few kms to Burma Super Star Restaurant recommended by Ben and had "tea leaf salad" and Mango Chicken for lunch (apparantely both of theses dishes have been highly recommended by Food Magazine in a recent article) - superb food and the restaurant was full of mainly locals - a good sign. There was a waiting list at the door & we had to wait around 20 minutes for a table. After this we caught a bus right across town to the Ferry Plaza. Only $2 for any bus ride in San Francisco so a great way to see the sights. We then walked around the Ferry Plaza but because it was Fleet Week the crowds were huge. We walked back to hotel, organised a cab and within a couple of hours we were on our way home! A great trip with too many highlights to single out one.