Pictures of Alcatraz

This is the firs time I use that tool so if you find any problem tell me

Hope you will enjoy as much as we did !

Alcatraz

We’ve been told the waiting queue for Alcatraz was pretty long, so we decided to call a company to book the tickets. But once there, at the Pier 33, you still have to wait in the queue to get your tickets, that’s why they recommend being there half an hour before the departure.
Then it’s another queue to go onboard (the island is only accessible via a ferry). We met a nice couple from UK so the waiting didn’t feel that long at all. It takes approximately 10 minutes to reach Alcatraz, and you can buy some snacks and coffee.
Unfortunately the weather was bad and it was cold so we stayed inside, but the view you get from the Island and San Francisco is really nice.

Once on the island my first impression was “hmm it looks kind of cosy”. It’s quite a lot of trees, flowers, small garden, “nice” houses for the family of the personal working there. Not at all the gloomy picture I had in mind.

You have to walk a few minutes to go inside the main building to get your audio guide. That gives you the opportunity to say hi to some of the nice little one that live here, such as this one:

The Island is appreciated by a lot of different birds, and depending on the season some parts are closed to let them raise their kids.

Once inside you start to understand what has really been Alcatraz. You start with the shower room where you get the audio guide. And then it’s just to walk by yourself, guided by the voices you hear.

I must say I was really impressed by the quality of that audio guide, it was really good, I understand why the team who did it get an award. I think that’s a much better way than having a real guide. Then you can pause any time you want and follow your own tempo. The negative point is that of course you have no one to ask your questions to. But it’s so well done than once the tour is finished you don’t have any question

You also have the possibility to see some movies and more traditional exhibition about what has been Alcatraz. I would recommend to take the audio guide first, it’s hard to wait to visit the myth anyway

Note that you can chose to visit Alcatraz either during day time or night time. I don’t regret we did it day time, because to see the outside really gives another perspective of what was Alcatraz.

What we would like to see in San Francisco

I’ve always wanted to go to San Francisco, it was my dream. And when your dream is just around the corner, you want to make sure you won’t miss or forget anything. I have a list of “things I want to see” more or less ready since many years, so that was a good starting point. And we also had the chance of having one of our colleagues that was born there. She was a very precious help!

You don’t need a car when you live downtown San Francisco, from what I heard it’s even recommended not to have one. The parking spots are tricky to find and really expensive. Furthermore the public transportation is very good. Of course we will take the cable car .

Here is a list of what we would like  to see: