San Francisco

After finishing up in LA we jumped onto the Super Shuttle that took us straight to San Francisco. Hopping on the bus at 11:30am, we didn't arrive in San Francisco until approximately 8:15pm. It was a long drive, but extremely cheap compared to the other options of travel we had checked out. $40 each was all it cost. Amazing!!! Although we did have to sit for such a long time, the scenery was beautiful. We drove through hills and valleys for a good part of the trip and then suddenly we were in open spaces, filled with fruit trees and a variety of crops. On arriving in San Francisco we saw the fog rolling over the hills like a wave. It was a freaky sight, as it was moving so fast. Very cool though!!

Arriving, our friend Adrienne picked us up in downtown San Francisco at Union Square. Already it was obvious to see that it was a much different city to LA, especially temperature wise. You would have thought we had caught a bus back to wintery Donald it was that cold. No shorts and singlets here, that's for sure!!!

So far we have enjoyed 5 lovely days in San Francisco. Adrienne has been our wonderful guide during this time, driving us to beautiful sites of SF. Having someone who knew the way to go was very helpful, as we were able to quickly get from place to place. Thanks Adrienne!!!

Tuesday 20th of July was our first full day in SF. Catching the Muni (bus/train) into downtown SF, we saw the beautiful city during the day. We wandered the city streets, making our way down to Ferry Building along the famous wharf. It was a lovely buidling filled with little food shops; cheese shops, bakeries, mushroom shops, etc. There was also a farmer's market and general market that surrounded the Ferry Building.
Noticing the Bay Bridge, we took a few photos. At one point the bridge was looking a little weak, so Dion decided it needed his muscle power so he gave it a little lift!

I'm not sure what would have happened to the bridge if he wasn't there! Realising how close we were to the the 'Waterbar', Adrienne decided it would be a wonderful place for lunch. Cheap but delicious!! She was right, we all enjoyed a wonderful meal and we even tried some oysters. Mmmm!

After lunch we started a big hike up to Pier 39, a famous Pier with wonderful things to see and do. There were many things to see, although it was a little confusing trying to count the Piers. They didn't seem to really go in order and we even found the Pier that Harry Potter boards through!

During the stroll, we also came across the bush man! Yep that's what people know him as. We were walking and talking when suddenly someone scared us. I screamed, which isn't surprising and he laughed. I got a photo with him, and then we filmed him scaring more people coming along the busy footpath. We got a good laugh out of it too! We heard that he is the third generation of the 'Bush Man', who scares people. It was amazing how much money he had in his little tin.

On arriving at Pier 39 we saw hundreds of people enjoying the not so sunny summer. Still people were out and looking at all the shops and eateries on the pier. We saw some more funny sites, including: a giant macaroni noodle with a sign saying 'do not climb on the noodle' and yet there were kids all over it!! Then we saw a lady have a giant seagull land on her head/shoulder and snatch the tasty ice-cream she was eating, right out of her hands. Funny to watch the gutsy seagull go for the ice-cream, but not an enjoyable experience for the lady that's for sure.

Wednesday took us to the end of the Train line and a stop at the zoo. Only a small zoo in comparison to the Melbourne or Australia zoo's from home but still managed to to take 4 hours to see the whole lot. Today we experienced our first real San Francisco weather ! The morning began very cold and only got colder as the day went on. By the end of the day I was wearing 4 layers of clothes and a beanie, which is usually only called for in July at home, not July in the northern hemisphere.

And they call Dion 'the Goat'!
In the afternoon we take a trip to Haight & Ashbury streets. A funky little area filled with, shops, cafes and restaurants. There is a very hippy feeling to this area but a cool place for young people to hangout!

A delicous treat we had on our little shop at Haight and Ashbury!

Another mexican dining experience tonight, this time at El Balaza and this is a classic mexican experience, no flat screens or Australian music playing here. Just delicious mexican food and in generous servings for an affordable price too! The evening sees us head to the 'Lone Palm' a cosy little bar which goes against the usual american bar format of having several tv's with sport playing. A single 40cm tv sits high in the corner playing old western and gangster movies, which adds to the charm of the place.

Thursday, after waiting a few days to see the piece de resistance of San Francisco's sights today the fog has cleared enough for us to see the Golden Gate Bridge! Once again, thanks Adge for your tour guiding skills, taking us to the other side of the bridge so we get the best views looking back across the bay at the city and we also take a walk across the bridge to get some fantastic photos. Looking at the bridge from the city it looks like a calm, still area. Standing in the middle of the bridge these thoughts are turned upside down as 6 lanes of trafffic constantly fly by and bike riders, walkers runners and skaters navigate their way around each other to cross the famous landmark! A hustling bustling sight that makes the bridge come to life!

Todays treat is Mitchells Ice Cream after dinner. And what a treat it is, being a fine ice cream conniseur that I am and having tasted some of the greatest ice creams from around the world, johno's, halls gap ice cremery, wendy's and of course cold rock. But Mitchells now raises the bar in the quest for the ultimate dessert!!
Today I also put akko's "London KitKat theory" to the test. I managed to pick up a 4 finger kit kat and a 473ml can of coke for $1.87 Excellent value. It seems that all things junk food here are bigger but cheaper !!

Friday and we are on the move again. Packing our bags and sending some stuff home and some stuff to Minneapolis for when we arrive there to give us some more room in our bags! Today we relocate to the Dakota Hotel in the heart of downtown San Francisco, only one block from Union Square. Our room is on the corner of the building and has huge windows on both walls giving us great views of the action in the street below. The hotel we are staying in is the 2nd building of the hostel that we actually booked in to. So we have no kitchen or common room facilities in the building, we have to go down the street to use these. We have a microwave and small fridge in our room to make do with for our time here. Some very interesting meals to come over the next few days with these limited resources. All part of the fun of living out of a backpack!

Saturday was a very energetic day for us both! Deciding we should go do a bit of exercise we put on our exercise gear and matching Donald jackets and made our way to Golden Gate Park. We started wondering around the place, exploring all the different parts of the park. The Botanical Gardens were spectacular! There were beautiful plants, flowers and trees everywhere!

The more you wandered, the more you found. Out of the Botanical Gardens were more areas for us to explore. At one point we were walking around and suddenly heard this DJ going nuts. We had come across what looked like a rave in the middle of the Golden Gate Park, which moments before hand was unable to be heard. It was completely hidden and wonderful to come across. It was just like a scene you could find in Alice in Wonderland! Amazing!

In the end we spent the whole day exploring the Golden Gate Park, which we think is probably about the size of Donald! It would be very interesting to have worn a pedometre to see how far we walked and ran. Our legs were definitely worn out by the end of the day.
Rewarding ourselves for the day we had a few drinks and played a bit of skip-bo. A great card game, although with only 2 people it did take a while to get through a 30 card stack!

Deciding it was the day of rest, D & I made the most of it and had a good sleep in. We wandered to the Bloomingdale's and Nordstrom shopping centre and had a look around. In search of something good to do, we found the cinema within the shopping centre. 'The kids are alright' was the best movie choice for the day, so we headed in. In the end it was a well spent Sunday just chillin' out!

Today we put the walking shoes back on and hit the streets. Walking is definitely the easiest way to get around and the best way to find hidden treasures! The hills can be a struggle at times though, as they are everywhere. We were lucky enough to come across a good rest stop along the walk. Check it out!

On our walk to Pier 39 we accidently came across the famous 'Lombard St'. Well know for being the 'Crookedest St.' and crooked it was! Being on foot we walked up towards the crooked part, breaking a sweat along the walk! It was extremely steep. Cars coming down the steepest part actually have to zig-zag, probably with their foot on the brake the whole way.

The rest of the day took us to Crissy Field, Pier 39, Ferry Building and back home. I'm sure an easy 15kms would have been covered by foot today! Again we are resting at home, giving our feet the chance to recouperate.

Cheers,

Today's Quiz: According to the Mamas and the Papas, what should you wear when you go to San Francisco?