Italy Trip

Well if you haven't figured out already I wasn't able to get internet at all in any of the cities during my trip, so I was unable to post anything. I am currently back in Pittsburgh at the moment and going to return back home by this weekend. The trip was a lot of fun and went by too fast. I am hoping to post everyday now that I am back of what we did each day of the trip. I have lists of everything we did each day and of course a ton of pictures to go along with the lists. So from here on out look back here everyday for 2 weeks to see exactly what I was up to each day during the trip.

Last Day in the City by the Bay

On our last day in San Francisco we started the day by heading to AT&T park where the San Francisco Giants play to look around the ballpark. There we got to see the plaques commemorating Barry Bonds home run record of 756 and his single season home run record. Also we saw some player statues, including Willie Mays.

We hopped back on the subway and then onto the F line to head to Pier 39 for our Alcatraz tour, which this time we reserved tickets in advance. Our boat left at noon and took us to the island. When we got on the island we watched a brief video of the history of Alcatraz and then started our trek up the hill to the main cell block. They said the height we had to climb to get to the top was equivalent to a 13 story building. On the way we saw where families of the guards use to live, water tower, morgue, and other buildings. Most of the buildings on Alcatraz are crumbling and in really bad shape, the only one that is still in good condition is the main cell block. The island is home to many birds and plants that you wouldn't expect, but without predators on the island, the birds can nest without concern except for maybe a hawk. When we got to the main cell block we were given an audio player and headphones that would basically give us a tour and explain everything to us as we went. It was really interesting to see where certain things happened, for example escape attempts and the raid that took place by some of the prisoners.

After walking around for awhile we hopped back on the boat and headed back to the mainland. From here we headed to an area of town called Mission. This area is considered the Latino area and is famous for its many murals painted along buildings and walls on the streets. First we stopped at a restaurant where I got a burrito and BreAnn got enchiladas. We then made our way to see Mission Dolores and then decided we better head back to our hotel to grab our bags and get to the airport. After we got our bags at our hotel we grabbed the BART system again and headed to the airport. Our flights were all on time and took us to Atlanta and then back to Pittsburgh. All in all the trip was great and it went by extremely fast. I know we both had fun and wish we didn't have to come back. Here are some pictures from our last day.

Willie Mays Statue outside AT&T park.

Barry Bonds' all-time home run record plaque.


Me trying to escape Alcatraz.


A cell at Alcatraz

Part of the cell block called Broadway. It was called this because they would walk new inmates down this section in their "birthday suits" for all the current inmates to see.

Part of Mission District with murals up and down the street.

More Day 4 Description

On Thursday, our first planned event was a Bay Cruise Adventure by the Blue & Gold Fleet. But first we took the F line down to Pier 35 to book a night cruise to Alcatraz. However, the cruises were all booked full until Sunday, so that canceled that idea for the evening. We continued to Pier 39 to catch the Bay Cruise, which was really nice and you were able to get a different view of the city and the bay. I thought going under the Golden Gate Bridge was really unique and I probably took way too many pictures, but I have a tendency to do that.

After our cruise we continued to walk to Fisherman's Wharf where we stopped to eat at Boudin Bakery, which has a large glass window to look into the bakery and you can watch and talk to the bakers. We each got a half sandwich and a bowl of clam chowder in a bread bowl. Later we took a bus to head over to the Golden Gate Bridge and stopped at the Palace of Fine Arts on the way. We continued to the Bridge and walked a short distance across it. On the bridge it was extremely windy and you could feel the bridge vibrate underneath your feet.

After staying at the bridge for awhile we headed to the Hayes area to look at some Victorian Houses, but on the way we stopped in Pacific Heights to see the house that was used in the movie Mrs. Doubtfire. Afterwards we headed to the Civic Center area of town and saw the government buildings of San Francisco. For dinner we stopped at New Delhi in the Union Square area. Here are some more pictures of our adventures on that day.

Golden Gate Bridge from the boat.


From under the Golden Gate Bridge on the boat.


Another view of the bridge.

Alcatraz sign from the boat, and the Native American Graffiti after they seized the island.


Palace of Fine Arts

Me on part of the Palace of Fine Arts, which I prolly shouldn't be on.

BreAnn walking on the Golden Gate Bridge
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The Victorian Houses called the Painted Ladies.

City by the Bay day 4

Quick post today, we both fell asleep before we posted and then never set an alarm so we got up later than we wanted so I only have time for a short post. Yesterday we went on a Bay Cruise that went under the Golden Gate Bridge and around Alcatraz. We then ventured to the Palace of Fine Arts on our way to walk a short distance across the Golden gate Bridge. Later we looked at some Victorian houses near Hayes valley and saw the Doubtfire house (which I'm still not sure if it was). We walked down Hayes valley and went to the civic center and saw city hall, opera house, public library and other government buildings. For dinner we went to New Delhi, indian cuisine, near union square. Today we plan on seeing AT&T park and going on a cruise to Alcatraz for a look around the rock. That's all for now, here's a picture from yesterday.

Us at the Golden Gate Bridge.

Pictures from Day 3

Japanese Tea Garden

Inside the encased rainforest in the California Academy of Sciences
BreAnn checking out some glass art in the de Young Museum

View from the tower of the de Young Museum over the courtyard and in the background is the California Academy of Sciences with its "living roof".


The famous street corner in the Haight (hippie) area.

Picture of the Pacific Ocean

Braving Public Transportation .... and more

Yesterday was another tiring day, as our legs aren’t catching up with our ambitions. The muni buses were our friends yesterday as we needed them for virtually all of our traveling. First, we traveled to Golden Gate Park, which is very massive so we only saw a small spot. But in the small spot, we took a peek at botanical gardens (really just a peek), went to the Japanese tea garden, the California Academy of Sciences, and the de Young Museum. The Japanese tea garden was of course beautiful and peaceful (as we went right when it opened – free until 10 am!) Across the way, the California Academy of Sciences and the de Young Museum were separated by a massive courtyard filled with sculptures, fountains, many small trees/plants, and what looked like a large Roman-style amphitheater.

We arrived at the Academy just in time for all of the tour buses and elementary school field trips to come in the same exact time, but we managed. There we spent a good bit of time, as it was very huge with much to do. We got to see some penguins and other African wildlife, a maze-like aquarium with many types of fish, reptiles, and other sea animals. The coolest and most unique about the Academy was the encased rainforest that held indigenous plants/trees, birds, frogs, and butterflies. The butterflies were very cool to see – they came right by our heads. Also in the Academy was the largest planetarium in the world, which was more like an Imax. We saw their most recent production “Fragile Planet”, which Brian was interested in and I fell asleep (big surprise). Moving on to de Young, there were some very interesting sculptures and paintings, including a huge section on American/Colonial art, which of course Brian was fascinated by (yeah right). There was a great view on top of the museum, spanning all areas of San Francisco.

Before heading back on the bus, we stopped for some Thai noodles in a small restaurant in the neighborhood outside of the park. It was our first attempt at Thai, so I think we picked some good (safe) things. We traveled back to Haight, where we stopped in the Hippie district of Haight-Ashbury. Our trip wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t see the hippie lifestyle still living and breathing, including an offer of a certain drug outside the former residence of the Grateful Dead (very ironic). Of course, we are good kids and refrained from their offer and went into some interesting hippie stores, including the recommended outrageous Piedmont boutique, which contained some psychedelic and very flashy clothing. After getting my crepe which I so desperately wanted, we searched for a bus back to the ocean shore area so we could see the beach.

The beach was nice-looking, but absolutely freezing with the wind reaching record speeds (I swear!) It was still nice to see, even if we couldn’t make it to the sunset (we would have to have stayed there for more than an hour). We traveled back downtown and decided to check out another area, Castro, which is a predominantly gay area – filled with rainbow banners. We walked a little bit, catching some quesadillas at La Tortilla, but that was enough for Brian (haha). It did seem like a very nice and friendly area though.

That is about all, besides the trip home and a stop for some wine. Oh and by the way, Go Pens!

More Tuesday Commentary

As those of you who are family/friends that are looking at the blog know, I always like to put my two cents in, so I just wanted to comment on our first two days. Food has been good so far, we have stuck to a bunch of recommended restaurants in my little guidebook, but who knows, we might branch out for something unexpected. I think it's funny how Brian forgets to mention the shopping that I drag him to, so I guess that's nice of him. My favorite thing so far has been the farmers market, so thanks for the hint Frommers!

I'm also amazed by the amount of homeless people in the city. You can always find them in Pittsburgh, but it seems that here they make themselves known. We have been approached by some interesting characters, in particularly one who made a statement that we later on found to be very true. He said that only 10% work for their money in unique ways, but most just expect something for nothing and those are the ones to look out for, but he could have just been saying that to get a tip. We've also seen some crazy types of people, but overall the experience of walking in the tourist areas (of course there are virtually no homeless in the neighborhoods) could be turned into a great psychological study - maybe that will be my next reason to come here again :)

But anyhow, another observation that we have made that seems kind of obvious is that the maps we have do not allow us to take into consideration the many hills in the city. It has been interesting walking up and down the streets when you think you might just topple over. I've always been used to hills, but these ones are one-of-a-kind. It has left us with a sense of self-accomplishment with each hill we conquer. Thankfully, we took cable cars at night and were spared after an afternoon of climbing.

Well, that is just a few of my observations so far. Today we will be heading to the Golden Gate Park and Haight (Hippie area).