Day 321: Alcatraz

Parking in San Francisco is not fun. Aside from the massive hills which are literally everywhere, if you do manage to get an on-street space it will cost you a fortune. The best alternative is to use something like Parkopedia which will point out the various parking lots in and around the area you want to visit, and the hourly/daily charges. It was a huge help in the sprawling city.







As we lazed about in the park sipping drinks and waiting for the next boat to Alcatraz, we were joined by possibly the cutest collie pup I've ever seen.



But ultimately, we were here to see The Rock. Or, as Sean Connery calls it: "Alcatrash". You pick up a boat from Pier 33 and are ferried along with the rest of the crowds to the island prison. When the weather is awful, I expect the ride can be pretty horrific. We were blessed with bright blue skies thankfully, which is apparently something of a rarity given San Francisco's weird microclimate.

When the island comes into view, it really is something special.









It wouldn't be a proper tour without a tour guide, and whilst this one was nowhere near as good as the hilarious Australian who led us around Fremantle prison, he still knew his stuff. The Rock isn't the only film to have been set here - The Birdman of Alcatraz and Escape from Alcatraz are equally worthy films, albeit with the former making a sympathetic character of a vicious killer. The latter details the true story of three men who escaped the island - but whether they actually survived the waters or not is a different matter. Aside from the treacherous currents, the water is freezing cold and over a mile away from the mainland so although sightings of the three men were reported at various times after the escape, no confirmation was ever made. That said, the reputation of Alcatraz as an escape-proof prison (along with the cost of running it) led to its closure in 1963.









We got to see where Nicholas Cage duked it out with a bad guy to try to stop nerve gas being launched at the city, as well as some funky tunnels carved out under the island. Bullet holes and marks from the actual escape attempts are also still visible in the windows and floors.





These days, the penitentiary has fallen into disrepair, and has been mainly left to decay naturally. Even so, at the height of its usage it must still have been a pretty bleak place.




The cells ranged from dingy to almost homely - prisoners who behaved were given books and games but others had more sparse surroundings. The final breakout by the three convicts was made possible by fashioning papier-mâché heads and putting them in their beds to look like they were asleep when the guards did their rounds.







Looking back at the city it's odd to think how close it seems, and the waters look pretty calm from up high. Capone et al must have found it torturous to see freedom dangled in front of them every day.





It was a fascinating visit, which I could highly recommend. The place is big enough to allow plenty of tourists without feeling crowded, and the view of the mainland is fantastic. On the way back, we found a hill road which afforded us an even greater appreciation of the landscape as well as the famous city fog shrouding the bridge.








In the evening Lev and Julie took us to TGI's Sushi (now renamed to Sushi Blvd). I will hold my hands up - I'm not a fan of raw fish. The idea of it just doesn't appeal at all. But they loved it and were keen for us to try, and whilst tuna still isn't my thing, I have to admit I'm a bit of a convert now - especially with prawn rolls. It was a lovely way to end a pretty tiring day.

Day 319 - 320: Stanford, Palo Alto and Box.com

We bummed around with Lev and Julie for a few days and took a well-needed break. Julie had some time off, so was able to show us around the area whilst Lev was hard at work at Box.com. First stop on the tour was Stanford, home of the renowned university. As can be expected from a place filled with geniuses, a walk around the grounds wouldn't be complete without an excess of Rodin statues.







Whilst we merged seamlessly in with the Three Shades, elsewhere you can encounter The Thinker and The Gates of Hell, the latter probably being my favourite bronze. 

If there's one thing we came to love about California, other than our wonderful hosts and the fantastic surroundings, it was the weather. Bright, hot sunshine greeted us almost every day and our time in Stanford was no exception. It also gave us great views across the area from the university tower.














 
Lunch was calling, so we stopped into Palo Alto and Gilly grabbed some food at the Crepevine whilst I hit up The Prolific Oven. 

Since Lev was the only one actually doing any work, we decided to go and visit him at Box. Palo Alto, being the hub of Silicon Valley's tech corporations, hosts everything from HP to VMWare. Like most of these companies, much emphasis is placed on employee satisfaction. It's one of the key differences between the UK and US business ethoses - in the US they want people to treat workplaces as a second home, engage with their colleagues, and enjoy working so much that they willingly stay late, go on excursions together, and generally drink the company Kool-Aid (as the saying goes). Box is no exception. 

Entering the building, you're greeted by unicorns and scooters. The former is the company mascot. The latter is what you use to get around the place. It's HUGE. They provide racks and racks of food, refrigerated and otherwise, for free. They have arcade machines, ping pong and pool tables, games consoles and swings. And if that isn't enough, they have a fricking slide connecting the floors. Yes, if the lift isn't that exciting enough for you, why not hurl yourself down a bright green tube to the ground floor instead?























Amazing. Oh, and if you know you're going to work late, you can order in a full evening meal, professionally cooked, and delivered to your desk. Because, why not?

All the food was making us hungry so when Lev clocked off work the four of us ended the evening at a swanky Indian restaurant named Shiva's, which was lovely.



The next day we headed over to Trader Joe's, which is now Gilly's favourite food store (and typically, one we don't have in the UK), to pick up some ingredients. We'd cooked and baked for a few people on our travels as a thank you for putting us up, so Gilly couldn't resist the opportunity to whip up some muffins. It was nice to just sit by the pool and do very little - we had plenty planned for the next day, including a visit to Alcatraz.

Day 318: Muir Woods

First on the agenda of our stay with Lev and Julie was Muir Woods. North of San Francisco, the journey to the redwood forest took us over the iconic Golden Gate Bridge. Famous for being big, red, and having Christopher Walken chucked off it in A View to a Kill, it lived up to all expectations.

Muir Woods was only an hour away and, similar to Big Sur, was full of stonking great trees that we could walk amongst and even sit, stand and even jump in. Julie was our guide for the day, as Lev wasn't back until the evening. The weather was warm and California was living up to its reputation as the go-to destination for sunshine on the west coast.

We'd taken along a picnic, including some amazing beef jerky. I have no idea what was in this stuff, but it was amazing. Who'd have thought that dried, cured packaged chewy meat could taste so good?

After a great day wandering along the Ben Johnson trail, we left the woods behind in late afternoon and went to pick up Lev from the centre of The City.

San Francisco has a reputation for being something of an anomaly with its weather patterns. It could be blazing hot 30 minutes away, but 10 degrees colder in the centre thanks to a crazy micro-climate that manages to cram in fog, cloud, and grey. "Grey" is definitely a weather condition in 'Cisco. We caught a break for a few hours that day and managed to see some blue sky, but for the most part we much preferred the weather in Mountain View. San Francisco reminded us a bit too much of England's climate, but with slightly less rain.

Downtown has its share of crazies, with one stand-out gentleman dressed as some sort of Scottish warlock wandering about in the middle of a busy road, screaming at passers-by.

Fortunately Lev arrived on the scene not long after, and we left the nutcase casting spells at cars whilst we drove to Haight and Ashbury.

The intersecting roads are the epicentre of the area where the Summer of Love was born in the late 60s, a haven of hippies and hash which retains its unique feel today with a staggering diversity of independent shops, boutiques, and counter-culture paraphernalia. There's one place dedicated to selling an array of hats, which Lev was shopping for ahead of the wedding he was due to attend. We tried some on but couldn't really find any that fit too well.

We were all pretty hungry, and Lev was keen to take us to a noodle bar he was a big fan of. Keen to recapture some of our Laos memories, we happily obliged. The Citrus Club turned out to be excellent, and a cracking end to a busy day.