Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
After a brief fortnight visit to Mexico, it was back to the US, this time scaling along the west coast of the country in California. The first stop; San Francisco. It was here that we would re-meet Britt from Miami, and Righton was to join up with us for the remainder of the trip. Arriving on a Saturday afternoon, it was a rude shock being hit with the significant temperature drop from what we had become accustomed to in Mexico over the past two weeks. In fact, it was by far the coldest place of our 3 and bit months overseas to date. It was well and truly out with the boardies and time to purchase a couple of jackets. As it was a weekend night, we played a couple of drinking games during happy hour at the USA Hostels and headed out to a bar in the Tenderloin area. Righton showed his over-excitement in being overseas with us as he bought a round of 10 drinks and Britt managed to lose her 7th wallet for the trip, in what was otherwise a seemingly uneventful night as all of the bars closed at 2am. It was clear from early on in our stay that San Fran seemed to be much more of a day scene than that of the night, and we had a few busy days ahead of us.
The first day saw us venture up through Chinatown for a long awaited Asian lunch meal and a firework purchase in which Joe couldn't hide his excitement, before continuing on to the Fisherman's pier at the north end of the city in what was a fairly decent hike. A nice area of town with lots of shops and attractions, including the bed of sea lions that inhabit pier 39, a magic show with all sorts of entertaining tricks, the left-hander store, clam chowder, and Louis' and Jacks heaven in the form of an NFL clothing store where they managed to waste countless hours each day without actually buying anything. It was here we continued our quest of trying each of the Americanised fast food outlets to tick off the checklist, giving 'Jack in the Box' and 'In & Out' a go. With the size of a few of the burgers and the so called 'secret menu' of animal fries, I am not surprised that the US are high flyers when it comes to obesity rates. With the fast food diet also starting to take its toll on most of our bodies too, we were in desperate need of any way to help burn a few of the calories, and a clear no-brainer was to hire bikes and ride around what seems to be the hilliest city in the world.
This became our second day activity. Waking early to hire bikes in the hope of covering more of the city in one day. With everyone deciding to get a solo bike, it was little surprise that Joe went for something a little silly as he & Righton opted for the tandem bike which seemed like a fun novelty ... for the first 15 minutes, but I'm sure they'll tell you by the end of the day how much they regret the decision. Riding through Golden Gate Park and via the scenic coastline pathway, en route to the 3km long, 746ft tall bridge which links San Fran to the Marin County. One of the most photographed bridges in the world, in addition to the foggiest and coldest, we made a pit stop at the bridge to take a couple of snaps before continuing along the bay to meet up with Vanessa, who we hadn't seen since her exchange semester in Australia over a year earlier. Mixing it like a local, buying a football to throw around in the park all afternoon as if we were the next Peyton Manning, we decided to find a bar in the form of Applebys for a bite to eat and drink, as well as catch up with Vanessa and meet her cool dad, Joe. Whilst it was a great idea at the time to feast on buffalo wings and throw back schooners, the consequent ride home up the steepest hills ever seen to man was extremely challenging and exhausting, especially for the poor tandem riders.
The final day in San Fran saw Britt and myself book in to visit one of the most historic prisons in the world, and probably the most iconic tourist attraction of the city; Alcatraz. Making our ferry with a mere 1 minute to spare, we hopped across to 'the Rock' and tuned into an island tour, followed by an audio cell house tour. These tours provided information on a few of the stories of attempted escapes, and an overall feel of life in the shoes of the prisoners at this eerie prison. Arriving back at the pier to meet the rest of the group for lunch and a visit to a chocolate cafe, Joe, Alex, and I decided to get a limousine ride as our taxi around the city to take in a few sights and tick off the bucket-list before being dropped off at Union Square. With it being a Tuesday, we were talked in to heading out with Vanessa and a few girlfriends to a 'Taco Tuesday' joint which offered cheap beer and Mexican specials. It was a very busy little bar and unlike any kind of place we have in Australia for a midweek option, as it proved to be a fun night to end our stay in this cool city. In four days we successfully managed to tick off all the intended sights of the city, whilst saving our bodies and money from the nightly events, which has resulted in us all feeling extremely fresh and excited for the next few days, visiting a little desert town called Las Vegas.
- comments