If you're going to San Francisco,

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Remember to wear a flower in your hair, I did, no one else remembered- I felt a fool, but really if you really think about it, they are the fools. San Francisco is all hills hills hills and I walked up all of them more than once, it nearly killed me, I should be a size zero by now, I’m not, i'm disappointed, but that is the only disappointment I have in San Francisco, I love this city. It’s true, you do leave a bit of your heart in San Fran, its impossible not too. I can’t explain what it is, the vibe of the city is just great and you feel at home straight away. This was made all the better by the fact that its fleet week meaning sailors sailors everywhere, what more can a girl ask for. So I did the normal tourist thing, went to fisherman’s wharf to see the famous pier 39 to see the sea lions.
Walked up steep hills to get the famous full house view, I don’t think I ever watched full house but this has to be done and the architecture on the way there is great, these are my kind of houses, cute little townhouses full of character which I will never be able to afford but hey everyone needs a dream right.
Went to see Lombard street which I fully admit I stumbled upon by pure accident and my well meaning but completely wrong map reading skills, Lombard street is the most crookedest street in the world and I was lucky to stumble upon it at a busy time of day so I could see the cars maneuvering their way down, you could so tell you the locals were as they seemed to come down with ease but the tourists were having a bit of trouble, but because of this fact I couldn’t get a great photo showing it unless I was prepared to be run over which at the time didn’t seem like the best idea.
Of course I went on the old fashioned cable cars and got to hang of the side like I was in a movie plus I somehow managed (and no I didn’t push anyone out of the way) to be right at the front which was great. There are usually really long queues for the cable cars as they are mostly just used now for the tourists but I arrived when there was no queue at all so I was all pleased with myself especially as I wasn’t going to bother as I admit that patience is not my strong point but i’m glad I followed the tourist trail as I really enjoyed my short trip as I hopped off, so did another one of the passengers and landed right on her face, as I helped her up and made sure she was ok, I couldn’t help that, that kind of stuff usually happens to me and started to think to myself that maybe this traveling lark had cured me of my usual calamity self, this thought was proved wrong as I managed to fall up the stairs of the hostel but at least less people saw me.
The following day I spent the whole day around Haight Ashbury, this is the place where free love hippy swinging 60s took its toll and was the place to be back then, it still is now and is quite a trendy place to hang out where you will mainly see people drinking coffee while tapping away at their laptops but some murals still exist and is a great place to spend the day just people watching and shopping (window shopping in my case) in the little boutiques they have littered everywhere

The next day I took a tour to Yosemite National Park, I really wanted to go here for two reasons, one for the giant sequoias trees and two we had the possibility to see real life roaming around bears, I was excited. We were picked up early morning and headed out to our Yosemite hostel which was around three hours away, our hostel was completely different to the one we just left, we weren’t in the city anymore we were one with nature. the bug hostel isn’t situated in Yosemite park itself but just outside, we went for a walk by the gorge that afternoon, it was supposed to be a bike ride but after discovering most of the bikes didn’t have chains let alone brakes we all voted walking would be the best option, it was beautiful, mountains lakes and best of all we got to see a bobcat which is really rare. We headed back for dinner and had a few drinks to get to know each other before heading to bed, tomorrow was all Yosemite and we all wanted to be refreshed.
Up and at them the next morning, we headed to Yosemite and first stop was the Sequoias, they are amazing as I thought they would be, but their size can only be comprehended once you see them for yourself, our group of ten try to tree hug one of them but even with arms stretched as far as they could possibly go we couldn’t get all the way round and this isn’t even the biggest one isn't the park, the bark is a beautiful colour and so lightweight like crepe paper which helps them remain for so long, most of the sequoias are over 2000 years old.
We did some small hikes and had our lunch in the magnificent shadow of El Capitan which is the largest single granite rock on this earth and mountain climbers come from all over the world to tackle it. After lunch we went to do the Vernal Fall, Nevada Fall and the Mist Trail which is a moderate hike, unfortunately there hasn’t been much rain so the waterfalls were not as impressive as they could have been but we turned this into a positive, with the waterfalls not being strong then we can swim in the pools we jumped in from one of the overhanging rocks and was in shock when we hit the water, it was freezing, too cold to swim in, the body automatically made you go for the edge due to it being in shock but it woke us up that was for sure. We then started to head back to the hostel and we didn’t see any of the 500+ bears that live in the national park which was a shame as we seriously kept a eye out for them but bar that I enjoyed every second and by the time I got back to the hostel I was exhausted - I’m not meant to hike!
The next day we headed back to city life and as I had not ventured to the Golden Gate Bridge I decided to it that afternoon, I picked a great day as it was totally clear day which is a rare thing in San Fran so was able to get some great shots, I really wish I took that photography course as I’m finding it impossible to make my camera do things justice.
The next morning was an early one as I was off to do the number one attraction in San Fran; I’m off to the Rock otherwise known as Alcatraz. It was great being on the first boat to the island as it meant that there was hardly any people when I got there and at times felt as if I was walking around on my own which added to my experience, when you get there you do an audio tour which features the voices of some of the old prison guards and prisoners and it is them who guide you around the prison. We actually got to meet former inmate Darwin Coon convicted of 5 counts of bank robbery who now works in Alcatraz and has written a book on his memories there. He was incarcerated when the escape of 3 inmates happened, though he was not friendly with any of them in particular, he recalled the feeling in the prison when news broke of their escape and it was fascinating to hear. It is not known whether the 3 guys survived their swim across to san Francisco, it seems to be guards believed that they didn’t but the inmates have faith that they did and made new lives for themselves. I suppose at this point we will never know. I found Darwin’s frank talk about his time here, the highlight of the trip but I was with an American couple who complained that he was profiting from his crimes but still listened to everything he had to say. I suppose in a way they are right but his crimes happened nearly 50 years ago and he hasn’t been in trouble since so I think we should give him a break. From the exercise yard, you have a great view of the San Francisco Skyline, so near but when in Alcatraz, it seems so far away even for the visitors; I can’t imagine what it was like for the inmates. My last stop was to see where Al Capone spent his short time here before going to the mental institution and then I headed back to the hostel, this hostel is one of the friendliest I had ever stayed at and tonight for my last night, they are throwing me a leaving party (any excuse for a drink hey), I’ve made some good friends here which is great as after having the comfort of the tour group its good to be reminded that I can do it on my own. I have seen many great places in the US but San Francisco is my favorite American city by far, as it does with most of its tourists, it captured me, and of course I will have to come back at one point.

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Photos

Haight/Ashbury
Free Love