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Hey Guys, Amy here hoping to update you with a bit of what we've been doing over the past 2 weeks in San Fran and then LA.
After we arrived in San Fran very tired on the 16th May we didnt actually do much other than explore the hostel, which actually took quite a while. It had a really cool basement where the kitchen was located but there was also a free pool table and free table footblal. There was also a 45 seat cinema in which they showed films and also they had cable tv on in there when the films weren;t showing. And when they did film night we got free popcorn :) So plenty to explore. Managed to survive until about 8pm but by this time we were shattered so hit the sack.
The next day was a famous race in San Fran called the "Bay to breakers" race which literally runs the width of the city from the east bay to the sea on the west coast. We were hoping to catch some of this as apparently its quite funny as there are some serious people who run but then also drunken idiots dressed up rather silly. Unfortunately we missed it as it started at 8am and we were in fit state to pull ourselves out of bed. We did everntually get up and made ourselves some FREE pancakes for breakfast, only problem was they looked very much like cakes (about and inch thick at least) so we didnt eat many. We did leave the hostel and tried to walk to where the race finished in the hope of seeing some very silly looking people but we didnt actually make it very far. We got to a park called Alamo Square and decided we'd sit there and read as it was very hot and we couldnt be bothered to walk anymore. We did see lots of dressed up people though. When in the park I happened to make a friend, a very large dog much to my discomfort as it kept coming and lying next to me. Thankfully it resisted the urge to lick me and eventually went back to lying next to its owner. We found a really cool grocery shop at lunch time and then sat in the park again in the aftrenoon eating strawberry's which was really cool. In the evening we watched a movie at the hostel and had free popcorn (altho it was buttered and minging).
Monday we went shopping in Union Square, the likes of Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy's, Bloomingdales etc. Think we only bought things from H n M lol! We did have quite a nice wander around though but couldnt afford most of the things we looked at. In the afternoon we headed to the top of Macy's to the cheescake factory but decided we'd get an ice cream from Ben and Jerries instead as we didnt fancy cheescake and it looked quite busy. So down we headed to the basement to get our ice creams, now instead of sharing one we plumped for a sundae each.....rookie mistake, they were huge. I had choc brownie sundae which was a huge choc brownie with ice cream on the top and then nuts (which were actually salted so that was a starnge taste sensation as Peter Kay would say). We did manage to finish them but not wihout feeling very very fat indeed. Needless to say we didnt need any tea that evening and so instead we helped ouselves to the free wine and cheese which was very nice and played quite a few games of pool. We also chatted to some guys from australia which was cool.
Tuesday we headed down the to Cable car stop and bought ourselves a week long City Pass. Basically it meant we could travel for 7 days on all muni transport in San Fran (buses, underground trams, normal trams and cable cars) and it also included admission into 5 different attractions so was well worth the money. So we bought these and then hopped on the Cable Car and headed to Fisherman's Wharf. The cable car ride was awesome!!!!! When we got there we went in the Musee Mechanique, basically a huge arcade but all the games and atuff were all mechanical and really old. Most of them only cost 25cents so we played on a few and had some really cool black and white photos taken in a photo booth. We headed back out into the sunshine and wandered down the wharf until we got to Pier 39 and the colony of resident Sea Lions. They were so noisy, There were so many of them lying on the pontoons at the edge of the marina near the exit but they seemed unfazed by all the boats and people going past and taking pictures, if anything they seemed to be posing. We used our first voucher from the city pass booklet to go on a Bay Cruise in which we went under the Golden Gate bridge and around Alcatraz. Was quite chilly out there but had awesome views. We headed back to our hostel on the cable car again and whilst queuing had to put up with quite possibly the worst busker I have ever heard in my life, he was playing the Banjo and he was awful, we were quite tempted to pay him to shut up but we resisted the urge as he seemed to be enjoying himself.
Wed we headed to Golden Gate Park which is actualy as the name suggeste no where near golden gate bridge......I know confusing!!! We were hoping to go into the Academy of Sciences but when we arrived there was the hugest queue and so we decided not to join the end of it. It turned out it was free day and thats why there was so many people, but seeing as we had tickets in the city pass there seemed no point queuing. We decided instead to explore the park. We went round the Botanical Gardens, saw the herd of Bison they have (altho Sam was disappointed as we could only count 5 and she reckons a herd is at least 10), we saw and walked through a "Flying disc golf course" basically frisbee golf and it looked awesome. We would have played only you had to provide your own discs. We eventually made it to the other end of the park (about 4 miles from where we started) and saw a very pretty windmill. We then wandered down the beach to some old bath ruins called Sutro Baths and wandered round the ruins for a bit. By this point we were shattered and so caught the bus back to the hostel.
Thurs we headed across the city to the Exploratorium (city pass ticket again) and explored here for the day. It was a cool science museum with everything being hands on and so I especially had an awesome time in here, think Sam enjoyed it too, especially when she was making giant bubbles. Just imagine the cool bit of the science museum in London and then times it by 5 and you've got it. In the afternoon we wandered down Lombarb street, the wonkiest street in San Fran. Its a really steep hill and so the cars have to zigzag down it. We walked from the top to the bottom and took loads of photos. Its rather hard to describe so just look at the photos when I put them up. We caught the cable car back to the cable car museum and had a look round here. Was pretty cool seing how they work and how much effort it is to change the cables under the roads when they break.
Friday was our trip to Alcatraz. We headed over to Alcatraz abiout 10:30 am and it was absolutely freezing. I was glad I'd bought my new pink hoody with me :) We explored around the bottom of the island and watched a video about the history and then went up to the Cell Blocks and had an audio tour of the prison. this was quite cool as everyone was wandering round with headphones on and so you got to hear everything at your own pace. We stood in some of the cells and it was pretty scary, especially the ones that are in isolation and so are in the dark. We also learnt about the escape attempts and a bit bout when it wad claimed by the native indians as their land after the prisoners had been moved off the island. It was pretty cool learning all about it. In the afternoon we headed to the Aquarium of the Bay and saw a really cute octopus. We also touched Sharks (they feel like felt) and some sting rays (they feel weird lol). On the way back to the hostel we got the ride on the cable car footplates which was quite scary especially going down the big hills but we both survived and were very happy to have ridden hanging off the outside.
On Sat we headed over to the mission district in the south of San Fran and wandered down Castro Street which is the Gay and Lesbian Street with some very dodgy looking shops on it. We were going to go to Dolores church but it wasn;t free like it said on the leaflet so we decided we'd had enough culture for one holiday and gave it a miss. After wandering round this area for a bit we caught the underground tram back to the centre and went in the GLBT Historical Society which was quite interstng learning about people stories and how judgemental america is. Sam then went and bought herself some treats from Macy's and I just stood trying not to get in people's ways.
On sunday we were feeling fit and so decided to cycle across the Golden Gate bridge. The first thing to get your head round was cycling on the other side of the road but once we;'d mastered this we were well away, well until we met the first hill. Having only had the bikes for about 5 minutes we weren't brill with the gears and so when we met the first hill we came to a grinding halt about 3 metres up and both had to get off and walk. Thankfully from here on in we managed to master the gears and it was only on the way back when we had to do a little bit more walking. Going over the bridge was very windy and I was somewhat scared that I was going to end up in the water but thankfully I didnt. We had our picnic at the top of a hill just the other side of the bridge and then cycled down into a little town called Sausilito. It was gorgegously sunny eher which was a vast difference to the fog and wind on the San Fran side of the bridge. We wandered round the shops and had some very large hot drinks to warm our hands in a nice cafe. We then founs a street fayre that was on and so looked round this before heading back to our bikes and making the return journey. There was the option of getting the ferry back from Sausilito to San Fran but we decided we'd be good and cycle back. I made a small wrong turn and so we ended up going up this massive hill (Sam complained a bit and walked but I made it all the way up, with only a few scenic stops on the way). Cycling back across the bridge was once again windy and even more scary as we were on the side nearest the edge. In the evening we were shattered and so had an early night I believe.
I'm running out of internet time now so I'll post this and then when Sam comes on here in a minute she can do the rest up until what we're doing today!!!
Love to you all xxxxxxxxxxx
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