After a night sleeping
heavily in our home-stay/hostel beds in Merced, we were woken up by Larry 7.15
knocking on the door to announce that breakfast was ready. So we went to the kitchen
and enjoyed toast with butter and jam and coffee and tea plus a few fruits we
brought in from the car. While eating we got a few more stories about Larry’s
life, very cozy. :)
A bit past 8 we took
off towards San Francisco using Larry’s road suggestions instead of the GPS. It
took us around 3 hours to get there on comfortable roads and pleasant weather.
Again the landscape was incredible, with wine and fruit fields along the road
sides. And then we reached the bay area, spotting the ocean between the hills.
We crossed the Bay Bridge, past Fisherman’s Warf, and found our way to the
hostel where we had called to reserve what turned out to be the last two beds
of 130. Sweet! It was a gorgeous area in a park on the top of a hill, and we
were very excited to walk around the area where we could easily spot the Golden
Gate Bridge and Alcatraz.
We had lunch in the
sun in the park, consisting of break, cream cheese, turkey, and salad purchased
in a supermarket in Merced. Afterwards we walked down towards Golden Gate, and
met up with my friend Diana, whom I know from UA. We went to a café, then drove
to the bridge, to the Golden Gate Park, and then through the city to get an
idea of the layout. Back home in the hostel we we’re resting a bit, and then
went back to the city to find dinner. Turned out to be in a Chinese place, very
tacky, but cheap and delicious. Then around to Polk Street and all its little
restaurants – super atmosphere! We walked rather far, at least that was what we
found out the day after when we checked the map. Anyway, we went back towards
the hostel, and stopped in a restaurant for a cup of hot chocolate. That night
we were both really happy to have our earplugs, as at least 2 of our 6
roommates were snoring… 
Breakfast was in the
hostel café with the bay view, and the meal consisted of a bagel with jam,
juice, coffee and tea. We added cream cheese from lunch the day before, and
then got ready to head to Alcatraz. We had book the trip online to be sure to
get tickets, as apparently the trips sell our early. 9.30 AM and we were off on
a 15 min. boat trip to The Rock, where we spent some hours touring the old
prison. It was a great experience. First we watched a short documentary about
the place, and then followed the audio tour around the buildings. It was really
well made, and an interesting insight into the prison’s younger days. The audio
tour included spoken statements from former guards and prisoners, and that had
a really powerful effect while we were walking around the old prison cells.
The weather was great
again today, and we enjoyed the sandwiches we brought from the hostel in the
sun while waiting for the boat back to the city. Afterwards we spent several
hour walking around, taking in the atmosphere, checking out shops and churches,
and climbing the STEEP hills of the city. Such amazing views from the top, and
incredible that people manage to park their cars on these streets…! Around 3.30
we got hungry, and headed back towards the hostel, hoping to find a place to
eat on the way. It ended up being a Mexican place on Polk, where Helene had a
humongous burrito and I got a tortas. Yum! So afterwards we were soo full that
we rolled back. I got a blister on my foot in my new hiking boots, so I went back to the hostel while Helene picked up a few groceries.
I hate to admit that
we totally wasted that last evening in San Francisco, but we were just both SO
tired. We slept around 9 PM, though I claimed to the other people in the room
that I was not sleeping, just resting…
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