Hi Everyone!
Here is what we got up to in San Francisco! Enjoy :)
Here is what we got up to in San Francisco! Enjoy :)
Day One
After arriving at San Francisco from a 9 hour greyhound journeys we were pretty tired. We did sleep for most of it but still it's not like an actual bed! As the bus came on over the Bay Bridge we saw Alcatraz on our left hand side. This made us think...we are actually in San Francisco!
Luckily I had charged my phone up so we had directions on where the hotel was. Of course it involved hills, we were being introduced to the city already! We grabbed our bags from the bus and set off on our way towards the hotel we had booked.
It didn't take too long to arrive, maybe 10 minutes walking but with our bags and the rising heat it always seems longer! We got to the hotel which was right in the centre of Chinatown, we checked in, dumped our bags and headed straight out for an adventure.
Being in Chinatown made everything accessible, we had located Safeway a local supermarket nearby and also we were 2 blocks north of Union Square, the shopping hub of the city. We were also 15 minutes walk from the Ferry Building and from there we would walk up by all the numbered piers. We were pretty hungry after the journey and our hotel didn't include food sadly. We decided to grab a sandwich from Subway (the favourite!) and walk locally around where we were.
We went to Union Square and found out some information on what to do in the city. We had planned most that were suggested already but it was out to us the beauty of the Sausalito area, located north of the Golden Gate Bridge! Also it was Gay Pride week and tomorrow there would be a festival taking place all down Market Street. It would be very busy so we decided to head somewhere out of this area. We were blatantly realising that because we were 2 women he automatically assumed we were lesbians. This would be a common event due to the time and went that was taking place. We just wanted to say to him, 'we are sisters!!'.
As we were adventuring we came across a street named 'Ellis Street' so of course we snapped a photo of that!
We carried on and did some shopping at a local shop called Safeway. We bought a couple of salads, some sweet treats and just generally what we would need for the next few days, sadly with out a fridge in our room we had to be careful with what we bought.
We still cant get over the size of things here! It's a shame we don't have an oven :(
'Rach - PUT IT DOWN!!'
We dumped our shopping bags and decided to have a nice relaxing afternoon. So we sorted our rucksacks out and relaxed in the room. We were so tired!
We had our dinner, sorted out our plan of what we were doing in San Francisco and hit the hay (went to bed!). I felt like I was 80 years old - I went to bed at 7pm...it was a SATURDAY NIGHT! Terrible! Rachael of course isn't 80 years old so stayed up being productive until midnight.
Day Two
Today we made our own breakfast which consisted of jam and bread. Without cutlery our spork (knife, spoon and fork combined) came in handy! Breakfast in bed - can't think of anything better! :) Rach missed her waffles though!! We'd gotten a liking for them!
After sorting out our lunch for later on we set off to see the Ferry Building.
It was a very pretty building and inside was full of food market stalls.
Rach and I were silly and didn't realise how far in advance we had to book tickets for Alcatraz. So obviously they were sold out until the 5th of July - when we aren't here! We thought we would ask though so headed off to the pier that it was associated with, Pier 33.
Sadly it was bad news. Our smiles and British accent didn't work on this occasion! :( They were sold out completely and the only way around it is if there are any cancellations, which would be extremely unlikely :(
We shall just have to come to America again - no biggy!! That's our excuse hehe!
At the pier they had some very interesting information about Alcatraz and a layout of the island. It was quite sad knowing this was as close to Alcatraz we would get.
Pier 39 was next on our hit list so off we went.
We were hoping to see a lot of sea lion but as we enquired as to where they were, the lady did explain that it was mating season therefore the males were in Santa Monica. There were direction provided by 'Mr Salty' but he wasn't very good.
We did see 3 that obviously had enough offspring for them to stay but it was explained that some are resident to the area and stick around the whole year through. Loving the tourists obviously!!
We looked around the shops after, well it would be rude not too!
Rach was in fudge heaven and.....
She treated herself to some treats which were AMAZING!
Rach was in the dog house!
I saw some other treats but unfortunately they were magnets :(
Time for lunch!
I saw some other treats but unfortunately they were magnets :(
Time for lunch!
Next we came across this amazing shop and being left handers we were excited for what was in store
We treated ourselves to some products. Left handed cards, a pencil sharpener for left handed people of course! We also came across this hat which made us laugh!
We then decided to walk towards the Colt Tower. It would be a productive day!! We searched for the stairs that leaded us up there. Rach was directing us, this sign didn't look every promising....
We were on the right track though and we were soon at the bottom of the 500 steps!
We were happy once we reached the top! The view once we were up was fabulous! But also as you were going up there were people properties beside the track and lovely gardens and flowers which really looked pretty in the sunshine!
I had a look around the other side of the tower and could see Alcatraz, Golden Gate Bridge and Lombard Street (kindly pointed out by Rach!). I got back around to where I'd started and saw Rach had been busy!
We had a look around together and could see all sorts!
We had a look around together and could see all sorts!
We came across this smiley character!
We had a rest and headed back down. We spotted these lovely flowers which looked stunning in the sunshine!
We needed some dinner so went to Safeway. Along the way we saw this which made us laugh!
These were some of the sights we saw along the way.
We talked to a giraffe too, strange experience!
We nearly made the news!
We finally made it and decided on soup for dinner.
We headed back to the hotel with our dinner. We treated ourselves to some soup as we kind of felt like it. It was tricky carrying it back to the hotel though (can you imagine?!). Rach had this challenge and luckily did very well and we both enjoyed our soup!
After dinner we enjoyed a relax and watched a little bit of tv whilst doing this exact blog! Tonight I lived a little as went to bed later than 7pm! It wasn't too late as tomorrow was Yosemite day and it involved a 6.10am pick up!
Day Three
We were changing our room today so headed to reception to store our bags before being picked up at 6.10am! We had booked on 3 separate occasions so had to change rooms 3 times. They tried their best to keep us in the same one but with it being Gay Pride Week it was full up!
We caught the tour bus outside and set off on a little tour on San Francisco whilst picking up the other passengers. It was lovely at that time seeing the sun creeping though the streets on the massive hills.
It was a 3 hour drive to Yosemite National Park and with it being that early it wasn't too long before we were nodding off. The scenery in between closing our eyes was lovely however!
This shops name made us giggle!
We stopped off at a shop called Raley's to buy supplies for the day. Water (plenty of it!) plus something for dinner and lunch today. We still cant get over the size of some things!
After a hell of a journey we had arrived! Our first stop was to see the big...MASSIVE...giant Sequoia trees.
We had to walk from the drop off point for about a mile but in that humidity and heat we felt it! The path went on for what felt like a while.
Along the way we met a lovely family who took photos for us and we took some for them. We were told there was a possibility we would see bears and if so, make sure to have a stick ready incase things got nasty. We were armed!
The family laughed at our sticks but they wouldn't be laughing when we saved them from a bear with our little bear ticklers! Ha ha!
We saw our first giant tree and wow it was big!
We carried on to see the famous tree with the hole carved out of it for traffic to go though (tree tunnel). It was much bigger than anticipated.
It was beautiful to see and we soon lost track of time and had to speed back to the pick up point. Not before we had a picture of us two in a tree trunk though. There were ants all over though so I didn't want to go too far in - I've just got over having ants in my pants! Lol!! (See Fiji post)
The walk back was hard work, the heat and humidity was immense. We upgraded our sticks to a much higher spec.
Once we got back we placed our sticks handy for someone else to use. I don't think we could have got them through customs sadly!
We jumped back on the bus and took in some scenic views on the way to the next point.
We stopped at the next view point which was spectacular. It was just like looking at a postcard!
With it been so hot we had to make sure we kept drinking! Water of course! ha ha!
We had driven to a spot which gave us a great view of the half dome and could snap some more lovely pictures! Also we went to the Valley View which was just...wow!
We were then dropped off for lunch. We had 1hr 30mins free time and we had a few choices, either sit at the cafeteria area or go to the bottom of the Yosemite Falls and have a relax around there. Rach and I headed to the waterfall and our our way we saw a bear!! Where were our sticks!!! We didn't need them though as it was at a distance and there was a crowd forming so I doubt it would have fancied coming closer.
We carried on and sat by the waterfall to have lunch. I had strawberries and the juice had leaked all over - it looked like a murder scene in my bag! A squirrel sniffed us out and came over eyeing us up for food. A bit too close really, it was very confident!
Lunch time was over and we headed to El Capital. This is where people who are amazing at climbing climb and often requires abit of camping half way up the wall. They sleep half way up in a specialised hammock. I don't think I could even think of doing that!
We looked out for some climbers but couldn't see any. We weren't surprised really due to the heat!
The time had come to set off home. On the way back we headed back to the shop we went to this morning for dinner (Raley's). We didn't realise we were going back so had bought ours at the first stop off. We enjoyed our bread roll sat outside. We felt like right hobo's haha!
We couldn't believe what the air pressure does to things! Its a good job they didn't pop!!
Back on the road we saw a lovely sunset over the countryside.
Back on the road we saw a lovely sunset over the countryside.
The journey was 2 hours and we spent it talking to a couple in front of us swapping stories about each of our travels. Then we had a nap! It had been a very long day!
Just before we headed over the Bay Bridge to San Francisco we went to Treasure Island to see the skyline at night. It was soooo cold but very pretty seeing all the lights.
We also saw a raccoon!!
We said goodbye to people we had met on the bus. Once we were dropped off at the door of our hotel, we went straight to bed!
Day Four
We were nice and rested after yesterday due to having a fab sleep. We enjoyed our bread and jam for breakfast then headed off for a walk.
We set off on a walking tour of the city and here are a few sights.
I don't think this traffic sign is that common other than in San Fransico!
We saw a fire engine and just had to take a picture...........such tourists!
On our way back we saw a massive bow and arrow, not sure what that represented but it was impressive!
We noticed a market opposite the Ferry Building and had a snoop. We bought some bracelets which we love. A man there made mine from some wire and said he could make anything I wanted in minutes. I had a think and decided to ask for 'World 2014' and it looks really good, I'm really pleased with it :)
Rach saw a fabric bracelet in which you can spell out whatever you wish also. She wanted 'Round the World 2014'. After having a joke with him he set to work on the mammoth request. It came out really well apart from half way through we noticed he had missed a 'L' out so it spelt 'Round the Word 2014'. This made us laugh and he soon did it again and added a L.
I decided it looked really good and I wanted one too so he set to work again (such a copycat! Lol!).
We carried on having a walk and finally saw the world famous trams. They were quite expensive and an expense that wasn't really needed due to you just needing to power through and get up the hill using your legs. They looked very impressive though and we did think about it. But it was actually faster walking.
We decided to treat ourselves and have dinner out (a rare event!). We came across this lovely place called 'The Melt'. It specialised in grilled cheese sandwiches and of course that's what we got! We enjoyed a grilled sandwich with "chips" (crisps) and it was very yummy!
I had a massive crisp that I could see through. We also sat near the window and this was my impression of Rach every time she saw a cute guy walk by. She was trying to hide behind the crisp, somehow I think she was seen!
We headed back and looked in a few Chinatown shops on the way back to the hotel.
We decided that another day we would have a real good look due to only really looking in the windows as we passed to get back to the hotel.
Day Five
Today was going to be a tiring day! We were planning to do something that you dont do...hire a bike in San Francisco!
We had an idea of where we were wanting to go. It mainly consisted of Steiner St to see the Doubtfire house, Gioden Gate Park, around Lands End towards the Golden Gate Bridge, across there and down to Sausalito and then catching the bike-friendly ferry back past Alcatraz giving us a closer look and returning the bikes in a union Square. This end bit we dreaded due to meaning we'd have to go up Nob Hill...which is steep!
We had an idea of where we were wanting to go. It mainly consisted of Steiner St to see the Doubtfire house, Gioden Gate Park, around Lands End towards the Golden Gate Bridge, across there and down to Sausalito and then catching the bike-friendly ferry back past Alcatraz giving us a closer look and returning the bikes in a union Square. This end bit we dreaded due to meaning we'd have to go up Nob Hill...which is steep!
We headed off to Market street to collect the bikes. We were a bit anxious as it was going to be our first taster of being on the other side of the road. It was illegal to ride on the path too so that was out of the question!
We headed off in the direction to Steiner Street where Mrs Doubtfires house is and straight away it was easy to get into it due to at every traffic light it was red! Stop, start, stop, start it was all the way up the road.
We had to be careful of the trams and the tram lines. We would have come off if we were to go over them at a funny angle!
We soon got over being on the right hand side and the issue now became the hills. At some point it was soooo steep we had to get off and push!
We finally made it to the house and it looked different to how it was on the film. They had a different door and had planted a tree but it was still cool been there!
The hills were hard work and we pushed the bikes up when enough was enough but of course the best bit about any hill is the going down and boy that was fun!!!
We arrived at the Golden Gate Park and that was lovely. We decided to have a sit down and relax our legs. We played a new app called Charades and had a giggle in the sun.
We decided to move on even though our bikes were quite happy laid down relaxing!
We carried on and went through the Golden Gate Park heading towards Lands End. We spotted some buffalo in a field whilst cycling round also which was new to us!
The park was lovely especially being able to cycle though it without anyone on the roads. It helped with us just getting to grips with being on the right hand side.
We pushed on and headed towards Lands end towards the Golden Gate Bridge.
We could see it in the distance and couldn't believe we would be cycling over the legendary bridge.
We got closer and posed for some more pictures.
We set off and finally saw the way for cyclists to get on the bridge. It wasn't too clear :S
We were finally on our way over and the first thing that hit you was the wind! It was so windy!!! It was hard to take pictures because you were scared the camera or bike would blow off!
It was a fab feeling as you were cycling over, looking up at the iconic bridge. We had such a fab feeling once we had travelled over the 1.7 mile bridge!
We heard about a hill that would take us to the ferry once at the other side so we couldn't wait to go down it!
We loved whizzing down the hill! Such fun!!
Time was getting on and we didn't want another Byron Bay episode! It was quite deserted on the way to the ferry so we peddled a little bit faster to make sure we got it!
We caught it in time and had a little look at the town of Sausalito which was very quaint and pretty.
We saw some lovely views once we were settled and on the boat.
It was that windy that Rach struggled to keep on her feet!
Once we were on the ferry we parked up our bikes like this. Ours were near the back unfortunately so we would have a wait a while when we reached the other side.
We knew we would sail pretty close past Alcatraz and we knew this would sadly be the closest we would get, this time at least.
Once we arrived back at Pier 41 we headed next door to pier 39 due to Rach having a craving for some more caramel covered and mint chocolate covered oreos!!
Once she was stocked up we headed towards Union square to drop off our bikes. Rach was leader and we some how ended up pushing our bikes up the highest peak....Nob Hill!! That wasn't really the plan after our full day of cycling!
We finally arrived in Union Square to give the bikes back. The guy said we had cycled a hell of a way so we would try and work it out when we got back to the hotel.
We were hungry so bought a slice of pizza on the way back from 7/11. We were ready for bed by this point definitely after such a long day, 9 hours cycling!
Rach worked out we had cycled 21 miles! That was impressive enough but them hills made it harder!!
Day Six
Today we were leaving but not until later tonight. We checked out and stored our luggage with the hotel.
We were catching the greyhound so wanted to do a last trip to Safeway and buy lunch and dinner.
We headed off in the direction of Nob Hill again luckily without bikes this time!
The hills were hard and we saw many people going up by tram but we pushed on and got there! Wow the views from the top were amazing! We were so high and could see the street carry on down for miles!
It was lunchtime so we decided to sit in Huntington Park to eat. It was such a lovely spot near the fountain overlooking the Grace Cathedral.
Rach even decided to have a lay down.
Of course we couldn't move on without a visit into Grace Cathedral so we called in. It was beautiful with all the colourful stain glass windows and decor.
We even decided to complete the labyrinth which kinda took forever to do but it was a spiritual journey.
We then walked over to Lombard Street which is the Crookiest Street in the World. You could tell we were there due to the mass of people around the area. I don't think I could live there and deal with the crowds! It was crazy busy!
We made our way towards Union Square and there were hills everywhere!! Our calf muscles were getting a fab work out!
On the way around we saw the Tram Museum and called in. It was free so that helped the decision. It was really quite interesting and you could see the wires that were operating the trams right there and then. They move constantly and really take a hammering especially with the trams ferrying passengers all over the hilly areas.
Mum even had her own hairdressers!
Plus she latched on from New Zealand that everyone loves to have FREE WIFI!
We saw this in a shop and it made us think of home :(
Mum even had her own hairdressers!
We reached Union Square and noticed the hearts placed around the centre and of course we wanted pictures.
We managed doing the pictures ourselves but at one heart a fella was sat there and asked if we wanted him to take our picture. We said oh yes please that will help us at least get a picture together. He took about four pictures and said I hope you like them. I just want to say that I'm a part time professional photographer and I work for tips. Oh oh, we didn't see that coming! We said we only had our card and couldn't give him any money. We apologised and he was ok about this. You really have got to be careful, it's crazy!!!
Our next aim was to do some shopping. To be able to have a change of clothing is something we are looking forward to when we get home! I miss my wardrobe!!
We walked past Gap the other day and I noticed a lovely top in the window so we went in there to try it on. Having limited choice of what to wear is hard but a top costing $56....I can carry on with the same choices for another couple of months.
Everytime we crossed the road here, Rach would wait for the green man.....I said 'I don't think we need to bother, somehow nothing will be coming'!! Oh dear!
We carried on popping in and out of a few shops whilst making our way to the hotel. We made our way back to the hotel for the last time. We collected our bags from storage and ate our dinner in reception whilst waiting for a taxi.....which never turned up!
We decided we would walk as it was only down a few blocks. We said goodbye to reception placed our bags on our bags and proceeded down the street. Greyhound here we come!
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