My first Trip to San Francisco 16th Feb/22nd Feb

I love the Sea. I love little trinket shops.
Pier 39 has it all!!

As you walk down Fisherman's Warf, there are several piers & little side streets. But as you reach Pier 39, you are greeted with bright bold beautiful colours, noise & chatter from all the tourists & loud calls from all the gulls.

As you enter Pier 39, to the left is a typical tourist trap shop, that has some good bargins & lots of informative street maps & booklets. To the right of that, is the Aquarium. I myself did not go into the aquarium, but several of my friends did & on asking how it was, recieved satisfactory comments from all, however they stated it was a tad pricey to get in, as there was no student discounts.
As you continue to walk down the Pier, you have various trinket shops & little home made stalls ect. All differ with prices & with what bargins you could get your hands on.

The Pier contains various restraunts/pubs & cafes, which include Bubba Gumps Restraunt and the Pier 39 cafe. They also have various food stalls that sell Corn Dogs (An aquired taste I must say), Hot dogs, candy floss & everything else you may like.

My most enjoyable moment of being on Pier 39, is hearing the Seals, and rushing along the board walks trying to find out their location, however with all the excitment I got lost & went round in loops. But, finally, I found my way, following the seal calls to view their beauty. The viewing docks, have seats for all, because like I did; you can spend hours watching them in the lovely sunshine. The pier also has an upstairs some what with cafes ect and along the boardwalks they have photo snap points, allowing you to capture the best of the seals, but also the beat views of San Fran that include the Golden Gate Bridge & Alcatraz.

I went back daily to the Pier in the Sun & Rain, each time you go, you find a new shop or see a new view. It was my most enjoyable place out of San Francisco & highly recommend it & cant waite to go again!

Enjoy x And dont forget your Camera!

The Whitcomb Hotel was booked by the university and we paid the cost. We didnt have a say in it & was excpecting a rather modest but clean hotel like a travel inn.

Pulling up to the hotel however, all you could hear was gasps of excitment and disbelief from 38 students. It looked amazing from the outside (so very posh!) and we just could waite to get inside!.

Pulling up we were greeted by a usher in top & tails, with a bowler hat on! Who the escorted us into the lobby. The Lobby, that has a class of its own. Filled with ellegant mirrors & beautiful light features & fittings and dark deep red old leather recliners. Heaven. We also had another shock in store, the hotel has a built in StarBucks! (I myself am not that overly excited by coffee, however some of the other students were in heaven).

We were given our room keys, and the hotel had managed to organise that all the students & staff where on the same lever (7). Which was a sign of good organisation and care. Good service!

I opened my bedroom door and was greeted with the most amazing double bed I have ever laid eyes on. If it would have fitted in my case, there is no question that it would be mine. With pure white sheets & a deep red throw it was devine. The room had two double beds (as we shared), a large desk & chair, a recliner chair & TV (which had normal channels + movie channels that you did have to pay for). The bathroom was delicious & had a marble walk in shower with jet settings. (This would have also been doing in my case if I had had my way). The room also contained a large chest of drawers, two bed side tables and a walk in wardrobe. Everything a girl could wish for.

We found out that the cost of a double room a night was $89 (which is about (£75) with the current rate (AAAAArrrggggg),I have never paid that much for a hotel in all my life. So a weeks payment works out at $534 plus tax! (In the UK we dont have to add tax, it was the annoying part of the US). However, it was worth the money. It was a treat.

The one downside about the hotel room, is that it did not contain a mini fridge, so that you could keep any drinks cool that you had purchased. However, on each floor lever there was an Ice room, where you could fill an ice bucket up free of charge.

The hotel holds functions, while we stayed we saw over 4 functions in 6 days. This, if you dont mind is very intreasting. However, if you wanted a peaceful, relaxing setting, this ISNT the hotel for you. It is the very opposite. Within the hotel lobby, they have an Internet Cafe that charges $10 per hour, aswel as having a mini shop that holds sweets & crisps & sells postage stamps. DONT get your stamps from there, they charge $2 for a 93p stamp that you can get from the post office that is just a street away. Downstairs also was home to a first class restraunt (which charged $15 dollors for a bloody mary, o.0 < my face when I asked the price & then just said id have a coke).

The hotel is also opposite two theaters, which have reagular performances of various acts. Plus various food facilities & shops.

All the staff are very friendly, some speak little English however. We were made to feel welcomed & nothing was too much trouble.

If I could afford to, Id go there again. So who knows! :)

No way out!

A prison in the middle of the ocean. What a clever idea! Or so i thought.

Alcatraz Island, sometimes referred to as simply Alcatraz or locally as The Rock, is a small island located in the middle of San Francisco Bay in California. In the past it has served as a lighthouse,a military fortification, then a military prison followed by a federal prison until 1963. The US then turned "The Rock" into a national recreation area in 1972 and it received its landmarking designations in 1976 and 1986. It is now a MUST DO if you take a trip to San Fran.

Having very little knowledge of Alcatraz or "The Rock" as its known, the trip to the island and the audio tour (thats free!) around was simply the best tour of a "museum" as such I have ever had in all my life. It is a detailed tour around the complete facility that takes you through each section stated above, telling you stories of not only inmates (like Al' Capone & The Bird Man) but also the work force situated on The Rock and once they had departed, the stories move on the The Rock being taken over by the Indians.

From the island, there are views of San Fran all around that can be seen, including the Golden Gate bridge, this was a sight to see, however it must have made life hell for the inmates knowing that their home(s) where only 1.2miles away. Thus they did have the occasional break out, that more often than not never worked due to the currents of the sea & the weather conditions. However, 3 men managed to escape, where they are? No one knows. But I would sure love to!

For those who enjoy wildlife like myself, Alcatraz, originally called ALCATRACES, was named after the Brown Pelican seen in the area by Spanish explorers.Today the Western Gull and the Brandt's Cormorant are the most common wildlife found on Alcatraz Island. Nesting all year round, they provide a vocal note, to let visitors know that this is now their home.

** A little note that just made my day when I went to Alcatraza. In front of the Main Entrance to the "Wardens office" on the grass frontage, you will see on the bottom of the left hand side, a concreate square, that was a time capsual inside placed there by an inmate or Indian (no one knows?). On the concreate the inmate/Indian, engraved his name, the date he placed the capsual there & the date he wants it to be opened. When I spoke to a park ranger, (lovely man) stated they would open the capsual the day & year the inmate requested :) I just thought that it was amazing!.

They do tours to Alcatraz all year around, throughout they day & also in the evenings. In the night tours the charge is higher, however it still only amounts to $30-$40. A normal day trip, is $25, this includes your ferry fee and the entrance fee to Alcatraz. They do OAP prices, Child fees & family fees. Sadley no student fees.