Well its only taken me about 4 months but I have finally decided to write this as I literally have nothing else to do this Christmas holiday  So It was a very early morning and we set off to Heathrow, mid way through the journey from Cardiff we picked up Dean Cox from a lay by just off the M4. After a miserably dull journey, we parked the car and got the shuttle to the airport!! 

 

It finally started dawning on me that I was going to California, a place I have wanted to visit for SO long!! With theme parks I have wanted to go to since I became a big ol' goon for rides and stuff, After a relatively faff free experience, we got breakfast and then finally got on the plane ahead of the burdenous 11hr journey ahead of us. I was in reletively high spirits as I had got my results back for my A Levels, Which I did surprisingly well at! Well other then my maths but we wont speak about that XD.

 

The flight was burdenous though as trying to stay awake for that amount of time was hard, but I managed to watch 5 movies so I managed. The food though BA should be ashamed it was rank!!

Deans makeshift headwrap thing seemed to be doing the trick for him although I can't say I'd be able to sleep like that if I'm honest lol. After 10 hours which felt more like 10 years we finally touched down in SFO, which despite being excited I wasn't in the est of moods as I was absolutely knackered but I was determined not to sleep! 

Obligatory Arrival selfie!

So after arriving was probably the most stressy and faffy time on the trip as we were greeted with an 1hr long customs queue... Yay... after that, we find out quickly afterwards that someone has taken Dean's case mistaking it for theirs, which was just the perfect way to start the holiday... Not!! After thinking the bag was lost we just decided to try and enjoy our first day in San Francisco .

 

Our hotel was right next to Union square, which was perfect for us as being right in the centre made it surprisingly easy for us to get around! I Really liked the look of San Francisco it still holds that vintage, oldy charm while still feeling kind of modern and I really liked the place.

We did the trams once in the whole time we were at San Francisco and, they were certainly an experience! Really cramped at first but once we got to holding the edges it was really fun! Its mad how it goes up and down those hills as they are so steep!

 

We stayed in the Hotel Agadio just outside Union Square! Our Hotel Was really Nice, the beds were really comfy and the room was really clean and tidy! I have no complaints at all.

 

We made the room messy enough In no time XD

 

 

To Stop this post dragging on for eternity I will just do a few sub topics as We did quite a lot over the 4 days we where there!

 

Fisherman's Wharf

 

Fisherman's Wharf was a really nice area! It definitely has that authentic american harbour feel to it and there was quite a few Interesting sites around the area, there was also a few experiences we did as well which were really good that you could do from the Wharf.

 

 

This Rasta Dog looked really cute and cool at the same time, I'm not to sure he was pleased with his look though 

 

We went to the Aquarium at Fishermans Wharf with our Go Card which we bought online, which I would recommend as it really help bring the cost down a little when we where there.

The aquarium was decent, it was your like your standard aquarium at home really, its not really anything special but it killed time and some of the things in there was cool.

 

 

 

 

 

Once that was done we headed over to an area that stunk of fish which happened to also be where the Fisherman's Wharf Sea Lions (atleast I think it is that species anyway) which were really cool to see, two were having some major beef with each other then started having a bout of fisty cuffs which was quite fun to watch.

 

 

We also managed to do the San Francisco dungeons! ( Can't escape Merlin where ever I go...) And it was really good ! The sets in which they told the story of how San Francisco came to be was really fun. Also there was only 5 in our group so the actors picked on us a lot especially as they detected the foreign accent so that provided a lot of laughs especially the court scene as they really picked on us for being British  Overall it was a really good experience which I would very much recommend, its a bit short but I thought the acting was good, the sets were great and now they have a drop tower being installed so I have been told so even more the reason to go now! I'd give it a solid 8/10.

 

 

On our second Day we managed to do a Speed boat trip on the Go Pass too, which was fab and provided a really good view of the city and the Bay Bridge, which we flew under a lot! We got absolutely soaked which was quite nice as it was quite warm, very windy!! I can see why they call it the Windy City but it was a really fun experience. Again the experience was quite short but again I'd recommend doing it if you come to the area! 7.5/10 

Would probably be more if they did a few more straights at full speed as they were one of the best parts!!

 

 

 

Overall Fisherman's Wharf was a really nice area, made even better by the fact that Pokemon Go was big at the time and I caught so many Magikarp for my Gyarados it was fab 

 

Golden Gate Bridge

We saw this land mark By Bus and Bike, The Bus was really good because we were able to cross the bridge to a vantage point where we could take some really nice photos but also the tour guides gave us loads of really interesting information about the bridge and how it came to be. I'd definitely recommend going on one of the bus tours as it provides a really easy way of getting a great view of the bridge so long as you go on a clear day.

 

We Also did it by bike, which I wasnt personally too pleased by as I hate riding and it was about 4 miles from the bike depot to the vantage point which just killed me! I was so glad to get off, although I fell off once as I am really clumsy... One of the reasons why I hate bikes in the first place. Although the view was fab when we got there!.

Good ol' Family Photo, just smiling through the bike pain 

 

From the bus tour we were able to see a view other sights and take the views in and I think San Francisco is really pretty, although it stunk of weed in many places which for some reason didn't surprise me at all. But here are some photos from the top of the bus.

We didn't end up going to lombard street although we could see it from a distance, but it looked hella burdenous!!

Really wanted to go to the Japanese Tea Gardens although we didn't have enough time so here is a photo of the entrance anyway lol.

 

I think all this sightseeing took its toll on us as we were knackered after 4 days but it was really nice seeing the sights around the city!

The shopping centres were huge too not as big as New York Macy's but pretty darn close! Their Macy's we set up in 2 completely separate buildings for men and women which was a bit weird. The places were quite expensive but that was to be expected seeming it is such a large city but they are really big and airy which was different. The buildings that housed them were really grand too!

I dont remember what it was called but I was surprised when I realised it was a shopping centre as it looked more like a museum and it was huge inside!

 

Alctraz

The final big sight we went to before going on our little road trip was Alcatraz. It would have been wrong if we didn't go here although we had to book so far in advance to make sure as we got told it books up really quick.

 

 

I was surprised how big the buildings were as well as the island itself was up close as it looks so small from afar. The main talking point of the guided tour was about Al Capone, which was really interesting and I could have listened to them talking about him and the prison for hours as it was really interesting hearing about the insight into the prisoners lives as well as the numerous escape attempts that got foiled as well. From what I can remember some of those escape attempts were quite brutal too. Overal I'd 100% recommend visiting alcatraz as it is really enjoyable looking up on the history of the island as well as seeing everything for yourself! It is definitely a must visit in my view! Here are some more photos!!

 

 

 

 

 

Overall I'd very much recommend going to San Francisco if you are near as it is a really nice vintage feeling area, which is always bustling and definately has enough for anyone to get their teeth into for a good 4 days at least like we did! I'd recommend all of the places we visited but also explore around a bit too as I'm sure there are things that we missed that are fab too!!

 

 

 

On the last day in the morning we went back to the airport to collect our car to experience our first theme park of the trip!!

 

Guess where we went!! I'm sure its not hard 

 

 

Thanks for reading!! I can promise the next one won't be so long!!