We are off on our own now after time with family and so we said our goodbyes to Sue, Tom and Granny at the Bart station and set off to San Fran! It’s been an amazing few weeks and we have great memories of our time in and around Sonora. Sue and Tom have been incredible hosts and it’s been a lot of fun! 

After an interesting train trip and a fight with the ticket machine (who designed that by the way?!) we walked to our hotel which was situated in Union Square – the ‘West End’ equivalent of San Fran. Very cool things to see and places to eat and drink, with the hustle and bustle of Sunday Christmas shoppers! 

We off loaded our back packs and went for a wander – heading up a few very steep streets (good calorie burn) then went through China Town and in to the Italian District in North Beach. Needing a snack by this point we found a small deli which sold lots of different fresh pastas – very tasty! 

Carrying on our wander back down through the Financial District, stopping for coffee in ‘Coffee Reveille’ (great coffee) we took in all of the sights and everything became even more Christmassy with all of the lighting and decorations coming on when it got dark. 
   

Dinner was at the Cheesecake Factory (we obviously had to do something touristy) and the portions were MASSIVE. Yummy food but we couldn’t even manage to eat the cheesecake and decided to take a piece home for breakfast! We are now ‘breakfast leftover’ converts! 

The evening was quite chilled and we had a vino followed by a couple of gins and got an early night in preparation for our cycle across the Golden Gate Bridge the following day.

  

Our bike hire place was located near Fishermans Wharf, so we went to a gorgeous place for breakfast and I had to have American pancakes! They were so yummy and came with a mixed berry butter that I would definitely recommend! Scrum! 

The bike ride was a highlight for us, we were super lucky with the weather as there wasn’t a cloud in the sky and only a slight breeze. Perfect! We cycled by the water to get to the bridge, stopping for many photos on the way. The hills were steep but it was mainly flat for the first part! 

  

You wouldn’t necessarily say you enjoyed crossing any other bridge or had a great time going over it, but this wasn’t any old bridge and I really was smiling the whole way! I just loved the whole thing and kept thinking how lucky the local people are to have this as their daily commute, running spot or dog walking route! What amazing views and so many people cycling, running, chatting.

                

There were still no clouds in the sky and we had a panoramic view of the bay, the city and beyond. On the other side, we decided to go to the view point at the top, it was extremely steep and I gave in (basically at the start – I know, I’m weak) and pushed the bike up to the top. 

The views were amazing and it was the perfect opportunity for a mandatory star jump – see below!

The downhill was great and it was a struggle not to get distracted by the views and end up in a heap! We made our way to Saucolito to catch the ferry back round to the pier and got some beers on the way. Ryan showed me where he and the guys had kayaked earlier in the week and where they had set up camp on Angel Island. It all looked very impressive and it was quite surprising there were no kayakers out today, being such a gorgeous day and all!

  

The ferry route took us around Alcatraz and so I was pleased that we got to see it as we didn’t really have time to do the tour. It did look extremely interesting and Ryan the tour guide gave me a brief history lesson.

 
Back on land we cycled passed the piers and checked out number 39 and the sea lions (it had to be done) they were being very noisy and lazy and we moved on to quickly check out all of the touristy areas ! So many places selling clams chowder in a bread bowl and lots of crab shacks! 

 

At about 5pm we took the bikes back and hopped on a tram back to Union Square to see the big Christmas tree all lit up. We really are having our christmas here, lots of festive songs and even the the tram was decorated. We had a great ride back to our street and went back to the hotel to freshen up!  

    

Another evening wandering round the streets and people watching followed by a take away of sushi and sashimi! Yum! 

 

We packed our bags again and left for the Bart, leaving San Fran behind as another little part of our travels. It really is an amazing city and we could have definitely stayed there a little longer! 

Off to the airport we went for another two flights (I really wasn’t looking forward to the long one) !! 

The first flight was a breeze as we met a lovely Australian man and chatted a lot about our trip, his sailing trip and Australia!

The next leg was LA – Fiji and we had a four hour stop off so we got some food and Ryan decided to go for the burger, which always ends up as a disappointment so I had set my self up for the usual moans and groans but it was actually a gooden and it seems he is finally over his fear of bad burgers!! Umami burgers you did well! 

Food was followed by a bottle of wine to hopefully send me to sleep on the plane! We camped out by the wine bar for a while before heading boarding. We weren’t dreading the flight so much now (mainly because of the wine) but we had also paid a little extra for premium economy and were looking forward to extra leg room and comfort! 

It was a good choice!!!!!

Bye bye USA.

  

E&R xx

Tip: Definitely hire bikes and cycle over the GGB, it is amazing way to see the city especially on a clear day.