The past few days the temperature has been between 16 and 18 degrees Celsius with winds of about 24km/hour. Today's temperature was to be about the same with gusts up to 34 km/hour.
And today, we were headed to a small island in the middle of the Bay, known as the "Rock." We were sure the bone chilling winds would be horrific on Alcatraz, so we added our polars to my backpack.
While we waited for our street car, Hera took off her jacket and tied it around her waist. At the Pier, waiting for our turn to board, the hot sun beating down on me, I took off my jacket as well, and stuffed it into my backpack. Checking the forecast, it had not changed. Current temperature was 16 degrees, and still predicting gusts up to 34 km/hour, but so far, it was feeling like the hottest day since we arrived.
The ferry ride over provided lovely views of the city, and of the approaching Alcatraz Island.
The tour literature warns of the hike up to the cell blocks with an ascent of 130 feet, or the
equivalent of climbing up a 13 story building. It felt like a piece of cake compared to our two blocks climbs to get to our apartment.
Alcatraz is definitely worth the visit. The provided audio guide adds ambiance as we walked through the various parts of the prison.
Besides the prison, the flowers that grow on the island are spectacular. Plants and flowers were planted throughout the various eras of Alcatraz. And the birds... Many paths are closed because of the nesting birds, and we were able to get relatively close to several nesting cormorants.
Photographer's Note: I have decided that I will photograph in B&W throughout my visit to Alcatraz. I change it to color only for the two shots you see above. Nothing is edited. Nor cropped. I used 4000 ISO at times due too low light. No tripod. I think it conveys better the mood in that prison. I intend to do an audio visual in the future about my trip to Alcatraz. Therefor I am keeping the best shots for the audio visual.
Hera had befriended a fellow photographer whom we were to meet at 6pm in Chinatown. We still had some time so we decided to take a cable car up the steep hill to Chinatown and walk around a bit.
We came across a tea shop offering a tea tasting so we walked inside and took a seat. Herman, at Ital Tea leaf was very friendly and informative as he showed and prepared various teas. After tasting several delicious teas, we settled on two to buy.
We met up with Warren and Gail, who then took us to some wonderful streets in Chinatown that we had not seen, some bustling outdoor markets, as well as a Fortune Cookie Shop. It was amazing to see how the machine would pour the batter onto the lower plate, the batter would be spread as the top plate came down, and then it would be flame baked as it went around, to emerge as the plates separated as a soft round cooked cookie. A woman would take the soft cookie, place a fortune in the center, and then hand crimp it to the usual fortune cookie shape we are all accustomed with.
Gail then treated us to some Chinese pastries which were delicious.
We ended up in a non descript looking restaurant called New Woey Loy Goey on 699 Jackson Street. She asked what we liked, and we told her that our palate was very wide. Her selection was wonderful. Each plate was delicious and unique. I would be hard pressed to choose which plate I liked the best, as they all were wonderful. Hera's favorite was the large pork patty followed by the shrimp.
To round off the day, they drove us to Twin Peaks for a spectacular view of San Francisco. Up until then, it was our warmest day yet, but at the look out of Twin Peaks, the biting cold wind that we know so well was finally back.
It was a full and memorable day. Thank you Warren and Gail.
Cheers,
Hera & Anthony
