On our way to Singapore via Tokyo, we stopped for 3 days in San Francisco.  We had a great time enjoying one of the world's great cities, as we took in its sights, ate its great food, and walked its varied and distinctive neighborhoods.  We now know why so many people, after visiting San Francisco, say they want to live here.  It is a beautiful, dynamic city, offering wonderfully diverse and interesting neighborhoods and people.  All in a reasonably compact, walkable area.

Boats at a marina at Fisherman's Wharf.

At Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39 has been taken over by sea lions, providing for a wonderful tourist attraction.  The loud and distinctive bark can be heard throughout the Wharf.

The Golden Gate Bridge, shrouded in the distinctive fog of San Francisco.

On our first full day, we toured Alcatraz Island, reportedly the number 1 tourist attraction in San Francisco.  Not too long ago, on a bus ride from Tegucigalpa, Honduras to Managua, Nicaragua, we saw "The Rock" (with Nicholas Cage and Ed Harris), so the features of Alcatraz were fresh on our minds.  Alcatraz is this country's most famous prison,  and was operational from 1933 to 1963.  Some of its famous inmates included Al Capone, "Machine Gun" Kelly, and Robert Stroud, a/k/a the "Birdman of Alcatraz" (played by Burt Lancaster in the movie of the same name).

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A typical cell at Alcatraz.

Cell block A, and the main hallway referred to as "Broadway" down which all new arrivals would be paraded as their initiation to the Rock.

The recreational yard.  Those who saw the film "Escape From Alcatraz", starring Clint Eastwood, will recognize this area.  While considered inescapable, 5 men did manage to escape the island, making it to the water.  None of them were ever found or heard from again, so it is unclear whether any successfully escaped or, rather, drowned while trying.  The swim to shore is 1.5 miles, with frigid water and sharks making it all the more difficult.

From 1969 through 1971, Alcatraz (which had been closed by then U.S. Attorney General, Robert Kennedy in 1963) was occupied by American Indians protesting their treatment by the United States government.

A view from the Nob Hill area, looking down through Chinatown toward Jackson Square and the Financial District.  The Bay Bridge is in the background.

The Financial District, with the distinctive Transamerica Pyramid, as seen from Coit Tower.

Alcatraz as seen from a distance.

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