Day 6 and 7 This will be our 4th trip to San Francisco so I'm assuming we will be leaving some of the tourist attractions out, however my blog from SF trip in 2014 has some ideas and tips if you're a novice. We will cross the bridge into the city and do some walking, exploring and sightseeing though. I'm quite excited to visit Hawk Hill and Treasure Island this year as I love seeing and doing new things. Of course we will eat in the Cheesecake Factory in Union Square - preferably inside though as it's just too windy! On our last day in Sausalito/ SF the plan is to head north and visit Napa and Sonoma. We did this in 2011 and really enjoyed it. Great vineyards to visit! Apart from our day in ... read more
Day 5: This day we will check out of Monterey and head north again towards San Francisco - great city! On the way I am extremely keen to check out Half Moon Bay. As I've mentioned before we always struggle to find somewhere that is reasonably priced and central and parking in SF. Last year we ventured across the bridge and into Sausalito for a few last hours of sun before our flight home and fell in love with it so have decided to stay there this year and see what we think. Famous for being the inspiration of where Otis Redding penned Sitting on the Dock of the Bay how can we go wrong?! We used AirBnB and rented a nice house (with a drive way for the car!) The drive from Monterey is just ... read more
Day 4: Our plans for the 4th day are split between Santa Cruz and San Jose. We have neither been to either of these places before so excited to explore! Santa Cruz: We have been reliably advised to explore the Santa Cruz mountains as much as possible when we're in the region and from what I've read this is quite a popular tourist thing to do! However, if that isn't your thing there seems to be plenty of other interesting and fun activities. > Natural Bridges State Park looks like a great place to get lost for a little while and definitely something on our list > Wharf > Boardwalk > The Giant Dipper - a wooden roller coaster located at the boardwalk at the beach > Mystery Spot > Big Basin Redwoods > West Cliff ... read more
Day 3 We're staying in Hilton Garden Inn in Monterey - looks like a great place. We are spending 3 nights in Monterey, which is the longest we ever really spend anywhere! From here we are wanting to spend time in Monterey, Carmel, San Jose and Santa Cruz. The first full day will be spent between Monterey and Carmel. We've been to both these places before in 2011 and really enjoyed it! Last time in Monterey we never made it to Monterey but is definitely going to get visited on this trip. It gets great reviews and the pictures and videos look great! Other places to visit in Monterey are: > Sunset beach > Cannery Row > Fisherman's Wharf > Moss Landing > China Cove All great places to spend time in Monterey! Carmel In nearby ... read more
Day 2 We haven't been to Big Sur since summer 2011 when we drove from San Francisco to LA and made the catastrophic mistake of not allowing time to stop off and enjoy Big Sur. This year we are pushed for time too but are giving ourselves the full day on our drive from SLO to Monterey to enjoy the sights on offer. Without fail this is my favourite drive of all time, no doubt! A lot of people wonder which is the best route North - South (San Fran to LA) or South to North. Well really the route is just so beautiful you can't really go wrong but if I was being honest my favourite is North to South as you are on the right side for the ocean and the views are undisturbed ... read more
Continued from previous blog post... As stated in my last post we are currently planning and booking our vacation for this year. We are flying into LAX from London Heathrow and have already got our itinerary planned out based on previous trips and experience. Day 1: Our flight doesn't get into LA until quite late so we are staying at LAX that night as we have on previous trips then collecting the car the next morning. Day 1 will consist of our first drive north to stay in San Luis Obispo (SLO). There isn't an awful lot to do here and we like to be busy and see and do as much as possible so we are breaking up the journey by spending the afternoon in Santa Barbara. We stayed here a few years ago and ... read more
Road Trip Not long home from holiday we quickly planned our next road trip to get us through the winter: LAX San Luis Obispo (via Santa Barbara) Monterey (via Big Sur) SF/ Sausalito Lake Tahoe Fresno Palm Springs Los Angeles Anaheim (Disney)... read more
Day 17 Sometimes when it comes to the end of a holiday you are ready to go home and see friends and loved ones and get back into a routine - this definitely isn't one of those days. Waking up knowing tonight I will be on a plane to London Heathrow is seriously depressing. These past 2 plus weeks have been so great and we have seen and done so much. I know holidays like this aren't for everyone but each to their own! If you have longer and are wanting to spend more time here or anywhere else - do it! Although we have been to SF a few times we have never actually made it across the bridge because there is so much to do in the city. Our flight doesn't leave until 9pm ... read more
Day 16 Early start for us today as we need to allow time to get into the city before we can start our bus tour, leaving from Union Square. There are plenty of bus tours to choose from and you can pick them up in many places around town. We are using the BART to get to Union Square and I would definitely not say it is conveniently located to the hotel, especially when you do not know your way around. The town itself probably isn't somewhere you would want to spend much time unless you are at university there or visiting someone who is. There are a lot of coffee shops and restaurants but the vibe is definitely young students. To get to Union Square we get the BART from Downtown Berkeley and make our ... read more
Day 15 On the move again and onto the 10th and final hotel today. We leave Yosemite quite early as we are driving to San Francisco and have a lot of things planned, starting with a baseball game tonight so need to get into the city early. Waking up in Yosemite is one of the best experiences and really hard to describe just how beautiful it is. Even pictures don't do it justice. The darkness of the night before hiding the surrounding mountains has disappeared and the bright morning sunshine reveals the tall mountains all around us. I would 100% recommend staying in Curry Village but it does get booked up very quickly so make sure you are booking in advance. Hoodies are always required for evenings I would imagine. If you feel like being a ... read more