So i'm now in LA and thought i would actually update you all while i'm waiting to check in to my hostel.

DAY 1

There isn't that much to tell here as i was flying for 11 hours but it was a good flight because it was empty and i got 2 rows of seats to myself. Apart from sleeping on my makeshift bed i ate and watched movies. Saw Vicky Christina Barcelona (it was rubbish..don't watch it) and The Duchess (which was good even though it has Keira Knightley in it).

Got to the hostel at about half 3 in the afternoon and met the other girls in my room straight away. Everyone was travelling by themselves which was cool. The hostel was really nice. Apparently that's rare so i don't know what to expect from any other ones! Made plans for the following 3 days then fell asleep. Woke up at 6.30am though and was wide awake which was rubbish!

DAY 2

Had (free) breakfast with people and met friends of friends and all that jazz. It was raining which sucked but such is life!

Walked down to the BART station (like the tube for those that don't know) and went to 24th and Mission. Went to see the hispanic murals on Balmy alley which were amazing! Took so many pictures it's untrue! In the shop/gallery where you can get info on the different murals the woman told us where all the good ones were. Went to a really cool coffee shop afterwards which reminded me of somewhere in Camden. Afterwards we headed towards the women's centre where one of the most famous murals is painted on.

Had my first american sized food, a burger and 'fries' which i couldn't finish.It was good though!

Headed down Valencia into all the vintage shops and book stores. There were some weird and wonderful shops as well including one with a fish theatre where you sit in cinema seats and watch a little aquarium. We spent quite some time talking about a little hermit crab and then noticed a sign saying 'don't judge the fish'-HILARIOUS!

When we were heading back to the hostel we decided to walk up a massive hill to the Coit tower where you can see amazing views over SF. It was dark at this point so didn't go up the tower, just looked at the views from the hill. For a walk that wasn't going to take us that long we ended up walking for 4 hours and i saw most of SF city. The other guys had already seen most of where we were walking around so it was cool that they were taking me round! It had also stopped raining for once! Saw the Golden Gate bridge for the first time but it was dark and not very lit up which was a bit disappointing. The Bay bridge looked better. Walked up to Lombard street and saw 'crookedest st' which was funny then headed down to pier 39 and heard the sea lions rather than saw them. The whole walk was such a laugh and got to see so many sights! Just crashed out when we got back.

DAY 3

Woke up with a sore stomach from all the laughing the day before. Got breakfast and watched the rain, again!

Headed down towards market street and did a bit of window shopping. Other people did proper shopping but i was 3 days into having bank issues so it was a good excuse not to buy anything.

Caught the bus up towards golden gate park where i thought about going to the science museum. We grabbed a snack (not lunch even though it was about 1pm) in Haight-Ashbury which was much like Camden i thought. Loads of grungy kids just sitting around. It was still pouring with rain but we didn't let it stop us. We headed into the park where many a scenic photo was taken and ended up sheltering from the rain by having a ride on an old carousel. I think the guy said it was from the 1920's or something. There was no one else on it apart from the 3 of us so we had a laugh. Didn't make it to the science museum in the end. I couldn't justify spending $30 on entry with the chance i would only spend about an hour there. Headed to the conservatory of flowers instead which was really cool. Well actually, it was really humid inside so 'cool' isn't the right word!

When we came out it had finally stopped raining so we walked in what we assumed was the direction of the 'painted ladies' (a row of houses which are used in TV and film, look pretty from the outside!)..oh how wrong we were! Ended up walking in the complete wrong direction and had to catch a bus for ages to get to them! Took some more photos (by this point my memory card was getting really full!) and headed in the direction of the hostel but bypassed through a dodgy area so grabbed a McDonalds(great american tradition!) and ran! It's funny cos within 5 minutes you're in a nice neighbourhood again and then 5 minutes later its scary once more! But we made it back alive with no scary experiences to our names, and by this time it was raining again. Got back to the hostel and then went out for Chinese in Chinatown, forgetting that it was Friday night and so had to resort to a less upmarket restaurant! But it was good and everyone is still alive from eating it you'll be glad to know!

So we had walked pretty much the entire length of SF city and it was time to sleep!

DAY 4

You all know the routine by now... woke up, had breakfast!

Chose to head to Sausalito today. For those that don't know it's one of the towns on the other side of the GG bridge. Most people hire bikes and cycle across and that was the plan but...you guessed it..it was raining! So we got the ferry. Walked down to pier 39 in the daylight this time so i got to see the bridge in the day amongst other sights inc Alcatraz. Had my first hot dog but it only attracted seagulls the size of large dogs!!

It was so nice when we got to Sausalito and the weather had picked up so the sea looked good. Photo opportunities followed! I thought it was a really quaint little place. The art galleries were all catered to rich people with no taste and the shops were filled with clothes and other attire for those who like to sail and golf and dine etc. The people were really nice though and we found an AMAZING shop filled with all kinds of kaleidoscopes. They were so nice that some of them cost $500. We were allowed to play with them though which was ace!

Headed back to the port of San Francisco and walked back to the hostel. It was a fairly chilled day but that was cool because i feel like i had walked so much and seen so much in a short space of time! Finished it off with a chilled evening in the hostel.

DAY 5

Got what i wanted from my whole trip today! Went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium! It was so good but i'll get to that later!

First of all we had to hire a car. To cut a long story short the only car (and the smallest) the guy claimed he had was a Mustang! Which we found hilarious! so we drove for 2 hours down Highway 1, along the coast in a very bright white mustang! It was a nice drive though, and the weather was ace for it!

Got to Monterey and headed straight for the aquarium. I got to see the sunfish,which is the weirdest but cutest (i think) looking fish in the world, a school of sardines, amazing jellyfish and loads of sharks. After we had left we realised we missed the penguins! gutted doesn't even cut it!

Got some food on the bay and i had clam chowder which was so nice! I know why they serve it everywhere in SF now!

So we got back in our mustang and drove back, stopping to take pictures of the sunset over the sea. Getting back into SF was funny cos everywhere is just a one way street so we ended up going round in circles. The GPS wasn't very happy with us! (did i mention our car had GPS! again..hilarious! We named her Sally so we had Mustang and Sally)

Got back to the hostel and had to pack as i was leaving for LA at 4.30 the next morning.

So that ends my trip in San Francisco!! There is so much more to tell but as you have already realised i am crap at updating this so it would only complicate matters if i wrote everything. I'll just have to tell you all in person! Hope it makes for interesting reading! Keep checking back for the next installment...Los Angeles!