The City by the Bay

So this is a delayed post ... started writing it and lost track of time which is why it isn't as detailed as some of my posts have been for my other adventures.

Anyways for my birthday I went to San Francisco with my friend Simone. This trip all came to be because there was a $100 off a Virgin Atlantic flight to either San Francisco or Los Angelas. I chose San Francisco and it was a trip.

First off Virgin Atlantic was an amazing flight and I wish I could fly it all the time. The lighting throughout the plane was purple and each seat has an individual television. The seats were leather but not the most comfortable however below each seat there is a plug so if you need to charge your phone or  ipod ect which is brilliant. The televisions you can watch live television for instance, I watched X factor live like everyone else. You can also watch movies, order nice food like salad, and alcoholic beverages  for a fee. One of the cool things about the flight is we saw lightening from the window but wait, what's even cooler is that Virgin has a contract with Google Crome tablet that lasts up to eight hours on battery life. How it works is if you are one of the first 25 people to check into the desk you are given a tablet and you return it when you leave the plane. You get to use free Wifi by using the Crome tablet however if you use the Wifi on the plane with your own device you have to pay $12. It's brilliant and so smart. I don't know why other airlines don't do it.

Enough about the flight now onto the trip. We arrived at our hotel which was very nice and had a bar inside. So we had a quick night cap before going to bed before our busy day. The next morning we had a wonderful breakfast that was right next door then hopped in a cab to go to Alcatraz. We took a ferry over where we then went on to watch a movie on people who have lived on the "rock." After it was a prison, Native American's took over and lived there for a bit before the days where they had preservations. After the video we headed up to the prison to take an audio tour. We walked up and down the cell blocks learning all the stories and people who lived there. The stories that stick out are the break out and the prisoners who escaped.

The prisoner who broke out made broke the bars with his own bar splitter and then tried to reach the keys in that were hanging. They were eventually caught and killed however those who escaped have never been found. If you have seen the movie Prisoner of Alcatraz you know the story however, for those who don't I will tell you. Three prisoners took spoons from the cafeteria and used them to dig around the vents in the back of their cell. The wall debris they collected they would scattered it throughout the courtyard they went to everyday where they got some fresh air. After working on the vent they fashioned dummies so when they escaped the guards paroling during the night would think they were asleep. After they crawled through the vent they crawled down the shafts and escaped to the roof where it is assumed that the water either took their lives or that they escaped to Brazil. While on tour because it was fleet week we got to see some of the planes do their thing in the air. Below are the pictures from Alcatraz and Fleet Week

After Alcatraz, we walked down to Fisherman's Wharf where we did a quick walk around. It is incredibly crowded and there are a bunch of people eating food but the thing I wanted to eat while out there was In and Out Burger which everyone talks about eating. Let me tell you it was worth the wait and extremely delicious and filling. I got a regular burger but ordered my fries Animal Style which if you have never been, it is not on the menu but something you must order for your first time.  After Simone and I walked to Ghirardelli square where we got pumpkin chocolate. It was delicious but we couldn't eat any more because we were so full from In and Out.

In and Out burger Animal Style fries

Now one thing I found interesting about San Francisco is that yes it's a large city but when it comes to cabs they are not as frequent as they are in Chicago and New York. Simone and I waited for 20 minutes to get a cab which was near a hotel and after the cab we took a nap and headed back to our hotel for the night to get ready for a night of fun!

We ended going to a couple of bars and calling it a night. The next day we went to Union Square for shopping and then to end our last day in San Fran we went to Haight and Ashbury where we walked around and had amazing food at this Pork place where it was constantly busy. Then it was time to go back to reality and back to Chicago. Overall, San Francisco was a great time and an amazing city but theres so much to do that I will have to go back in the future!