San Francisco - Alcatraz and Bullitt

Alcatraz island is an interesting place to visit. The island is probably most well known as a prison, but it has a history much older than that. There are some very old buildings, dating from the mid 1800s. Seeing pictures is one thing but walking into the cells, seeing the park rangers demonstrate the doors opening and closing and seeing the D block with its enclosed cells was an interesting experience. Standing in ‘the hole’ where inmates were locked in solitary confinement as punishment, the darkness seemed so dark. It was also very windy on Alcatraz as I commented earlier. The wind really whipped across the island.

San Francisco is not only the location of the Dirty Harry movies, but also the location for one of the best car chases ever filmed. The movie Bullitt (1969) featured a car chase through the city streets at breakneck speed. One of the more memorial parts of the chase is seeing the massive Dodge Charger and Ford Mustang bouncing down a steeply hill in the suburbs. Well I found the same street and drove the Mustang over the same roads (not at the same speed!) as the chase from Bullitt. In some parts you cannot see anything but sky as you drive over the roads. I have videoed this and will upload it at some stage.