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Karen's Travels
Hello everyone
How embarrassing! I don't know which state San Francisco is in and I'm too embarrassed to ask anyone here so you have a picture of New York at at the moment until I can change it! Well, this has to be my favourite city so far and we've been exploring it a little today. First stop was a street car ride to Pier 41 at Fisherman's Wharf to catch the ferry to Alcatraz - such an interesting visit. We had an audio tour; I had my picture taken in one of the cells and I met a former inmate (I bought his book and he signed it for me). It was fascinating to imagine what life must have been like here for the prisoners, only a mile or so away from the mainland but completed isolated with no hope of escape because of the location of the prison. Some tried, but none succeeded. Alcatraz stopped being a prison in 1963 but millions continue to visit it. From there we did some shopping around Pier 39 - very chic - and then took a walk up some of those famous hills. If you think Walderslade is hilly, it's nothing compared to SF. You will all be able to picture it, I'm sure, from films and cop shows on TV: very steep hills, flat intersections and then another hill, with streetcars chugging up and down them. Streetcars - or trolleys - are to be distinguished from the cable cars. The former are powered by rails on the road, the latter by overhead cables. We also visited Lombard Street, famous as being the most crooked street in the world. Cars drive down it just because it's crooked! Very shortly, we are heading out for SF by night. I have seen the Golden Gate Bridge - apparently the other bridge - the Bay bridge - is lit up more impressively at night, so I look forward to seeing that. Tomorrow we are going to hire bikes and cycle over the Golden Gate Bridge. Well, my time is nearly up so that's all for now. I'll get the photo sorted when I can. Love to all.
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