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Sorry but i just HAVE to mention a minor detail i missed in my last blog regarding my road trip with Alex from BCN - scary driving (i appreciate that i probably go on about this a little bit! Nervous passenger is all that i can say!) this was however the first time in my life that, as a passenger, I went for the brake! V relieved to get out of there - still greatly appreciated it though! The night out was a bit of a flop...with some people being refused entry as they were too drunk and not a single celeb in sight!!!
From there it was on to the city of hills! I had gained a friend in LA - Annette (a german) and we embarked on the delight of a greyhound trip together (my final greyhound trip, its flights from now on - Never again!!) The 7 hour trip was long, boring and pretty uncomfortable - sat next to the over sized smelly lady that i was - things couldn't have been much worse! The highlight being going through acres and acres of windmills - they were actually modern day turbines but they looked pretty dated!
Arrival saw a 12 block hike to the hostel - all uphill - though thankfully not too steep a hill - VERY lucky considering our surrounds!!! The hostel was ace though - USA hostel again - with a vastly better location than that of the Vegas one!
Check in rapidly revealed a friend (Cynthia) i had made in LA when Jen and I had arrived at the beginning - whom I saw again in Vegas and appeared to have followed to San Francisco - I spent the evening catching up with her in front of a movie - you'd be amazed how a bus journey can take it out of you! Meeting a pile of other people from Brazil and the US set us up quite well for a night out the following night. Cynthia was to leave the next afternoon so we spent the morning in Golden Gate Park and doing some last minute shopping!! Upon Cynthia's departure the city was mine to explore.....
Public transport was completely free for the day to I made the most of the trams (wow what an experience - hurtling down steep hills on a cable!!! - made all the more
interesting when you stop on a junction and have the driver tell you that he's lost the cable - i mean how?!!! and that you have to push - exclamations of you're joking right? revealed he really wasn't - oh what fun!) Anyway, the tram took me over to Fisherman's Wharf - a hive of activity where people watching really is the name of the game - as long as you can drink a cup of coffee under a lingering fishy smell! This excursion gave me my first views of Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge and the opportunity to test out the calf muscles walking up and down the world's crookedest street! After a bit of a party night at the hostel, the following day was a bit of a late start - all of 8.30! Off to a good start i decided to walk to Coit Tower for panoramic views of the city......not my best idea - I took to the streets not really understanding what all the fuss was about about the steepness of the streets...only to discover I was on the wrong street and that I faced an enormous flight of steps to make it to
the top! Oooops!
From there it was back to Fisherman's Wharf - and Pier 39........did you know it was famous?! I didn't....apparently so - for its huge sea lion population who have an entire set of pontoons dedicated to them - very whiffy! To get rid of the smell I opted for Ghiradelli's Chocolate Factory (again - never heard of it!) and the free samples - mmmmmm! To complete the afternoon I went for the architectural centre - the Civic Centre and City Hall - a series of very impressive buildings with some stunning sculptures and decor! I finished the day with a trip to a wee park for a little drink with one of my new found friends.
Meanwhile Annette and I had decided that a trip to Yosemite, offered by the hostel, was a bit of a bargain! Called the Bug Bus, we got 3 nights accommodation, food, transport and guided hikes for a bargain price and sooo the next morning we were off.......
The drive up was lengthy and we arrived to torrential rain! Not good for outdoors adventures - the guides weren't put off though!
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