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Published: September 20th 2010
Well.... how on earth do I describe San Francisco?...amazing, unique, cosmopolitan, vibrant... there are not enough words to describe Ben and I's favourite city so far! I actually drew the short straw with it being my turn to do the San Fran blog as there is just so much to write about.
As soon as we arrived in San Francisco (despite being bleary eyed having just endured an 18 hour overnight train journey!) we loved the place. There is an exciting buzz about San Fran which is difficult to describe. As a result, we dumped our bags in the hotel and despite being shattered, threw ourselves onto the streets of San Fran for an explore. The great thing about the city is that you can walk pretty much everywhere which is always our preference. We did however succomb to using public transport during our stay as we booked a number of bus tours.
On our first day, we did a city tour and a trip out to the Muir Woods National Park. The tour guides in the US are brilliant. They are so enthusiastic and cannot rate their city/country highly enough. You also find out lots of snippets of
information which you wouldn't do if you were walking around on your own. For example, did you know that there are 3 times as many dogs as there are children in San Francisco?... random! We saw a few doggy day care nurseries whilst we were walking around too... I kid you not! The Muir Woods were fascinating... this is where the Redwood trees are located and these things are the tallest living things on earth.... they are ancient and huge! It makes you feel very insignificant when you are standing in the middle of them!
The next day, we went on a trip to Alcatraz... something Ben and I have been looking forward to for ages. I have a strange obsession with prisons and, for me, it was fascinating. We walked around the cells and were astonished by how small they were! The very sight of them definitely made Ben behave himself for the rest of the day! One thing that Ben and I want to do whilst we are in the US is to experience some of the US sporting events. Therefore, that evening, we decided to go to a baseball game between the San Fran Giants and
the LA Dodgers. This was a local derby and got particularly heated. At one point, we thought that things were going to kick off between two sets of fans and we were right in the middle. I think that they saw how stacked and beefy Ben was and decided to back off! Whilst Ben was getting quite into the game, I was quite happy sitting back and people watching with my beer... particularly watching how much food Americans can eat in the space of one baseball game... and I thought that I ate a lot!
Another wonderful trip that we went on was a day trip to the Yosemite National Park. It took 4 and a half hours to get there but it was well worth the wait. The views were just incredible and breathtaking. .. check out the pictures below! Unfortunately, we didn't see any bears but we were told that they are definitely there.
Thursday was a trip to the Napa Valley for a wine tasting tour... as you can imagine, Ben and I hated the whole experience.... NOT! The sun was shining and the wine was free flowing... of course, we took advantage and, as
a result, slept most of the way home! A good day was had by all.
On our last day in San Fran, we went for a final explore and a long run around the very hilly city... won't be doing that again!!! An unusual thing about San Francisco is that it is often covered by a foggy mist. This is the result of a reaction caused by the fresh water meeting the salt water in the bay. The Golden Gate bridge is often covered by it but, luckily, we got clear views for a photo op on our last day.
Now onto Santa Barbara for some beach time and a chill out.... bring it on!
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Jill Swainson
non-member comment
San Francisco
Hi Lex, I loved San Fran when we went there in 86 (I know, a long time ago!!). Lovely city with lots of character. We visited Alcatraz and also found it spooky and intimidating. How awful for the prisoners to look out the window and see the freedom of the city just a short boat trip away! We experienced a fairly severe earthquake at 4am in the morning. We were staying at the Mark Hopkins Hotel at the top of Nob Hill (very exclusive). I could hear the quake coming towards us before I felt it - it reached us and the whole room shook and the bed wobbled side to side. But, guess what, Rob slept right through it!! I was TERRIFIED. It was over in seconds but it made the news headlines the next day - something like 6.9 I recall from memory - that is high! Jimmy Cagney (the famous gangster actor) died on the same day but I think the quake stole the headlines on that day. Keep up the reports - we enjoy reading them and stay safe. Jill x PS. Thomas was christened yesterday - have a look on facebook to see my photos.