San Fran- fantastic!
Trip Start
Nov 21, 2005
1
45
51
Trip End
Jul 02, 2006
San Fransisco,
California,
United States
Saturday, June 17, 2006
I think the last one i was just heading to San Fransisco? Had done Universal Studios aka Spongebob Heaven? If so....! The Monday we spent doing nothing. And i mean nothing! Did washing, wandered Hollywood Boulevard. Thats about it! We had to head to the Greyhound Coach station at about 9pm for our 10pm bus (check in closed at 9) but the stupid Bus didnt show up until midnight..... so much fun hanging out with homeless crazy people for a few hours. U dont realise how many people use the bus station as their sleeping places..... And Rusty and I have a inside joke about how crazy people are, especially in Hollywood, and its because of the water, so anytime someone crazy goes past, we whisper to each other 'dont drink the water'.....
The 8 hour ride was uncomfortable, but overnight is ok because everyone is quiet. apart from the big fat Mexican man snoring next to Russell! And they stop at Burger King at 3am..... as if anyone wants to eat Burger King (Hungry Jacks in Aus) at anytime, let alone 3am!
Got into San Fransisco at 8 am Tues instead of 6am, which i suppose is better, being daylight and having to find the hostel (Note- San Fran is built on 43 hills...... the steepest being at 31.5degrees.....so much fun when you havent slept much and your backpack weighs about 20million kgs and you dont know where youre going!! But not complaining!) The hostel was relatively easy to find, and being the same company as the one in Hollywood, we knew what to expect and how their system worked!
And Taylor, one of the staff members from Hollywood had to work in San Fran for the week, so she checked us in, and we did a lot of our sightseeing with her, which was really cool to have company coz she hadnt seen anything in San Fran either =)
The first day we slept a fair bit, and in the afternoon we caught a tram down to Fishermans Wharf, where the Infamous Pier 39 is located- access to Alcatraz Prison. We bought tickets to do that on the Thursday. Wandered around for a fair few hours, in and out (and in again) of the chocolate and candy shops..... tried my first Caramel Apple or Toffee Apple. I like the sound of that, like balancing out the healthiness of an apple with sugar.... nice
Went and checked out the 'crookedest street in the world, have some cool pics of that and the infamous trams that are near by.
Cooked my first proper meal in about 6weeks that night. It was sooo good. It was only a beef stirfry but it makes you appreciate homecooked meals that much more when you havent had one in so long!
The next day Rusty and I caught a bus out the Golden Gate Bridge. That was kinda cool, nothing terribly exciting, but we walked on it and then caught a bus back into the city because its a fair way out. Its so much fun navigating your way in a new city.....jumping on Random buses to see where you end up is all the more fun! (can someone tell me if the Golden gate Bridge is the one in X Men 3?) I think it might be.... I have no idea actually
Another lazy night, considering im too young to even get into a pub in this stupid country! 21, whats the deal with that!
Oh yeh we were told there are 8000+ (Russells delight!) starbucks Coffee places in the USA..... thats more than MacDonalds i reckon!
Also saw China Town briefly, which was near the hostel.
That night I played (got forced) in the hostel Pool comp. I got into the second round. Fairly good effort, but then again not, as we have a pool table at home and I should be an expert!
Thursday we (Russ Taylor and I) went to Alcatraz Prison, and I left Rusty where he belongs.... Nah kidding. It was really good to see, although i havent seen any of the movies like The Rock, or Escape From Alcatraz, but the guided audio tour was really really interesting, It has won all sorts of awards, we saw the cells of Al Capone and others i cant remember many names! But that was a really good day. Had lunch at Hard Rock Cafe (managed to buy a cocktail, i think the waitress knew i was underage, did the whole, pretend to not have my passport on me dig...) and dinner back at the Hostel.
I really like San Fransisco. Despite the walking uphill constantly, its really beautiful and laid back. Highly reccommended!
We caught the bus back to Hollywood that night, the walk downhill to the station was so much better! And the bus wasnt full, we got 2 seats each, so curling up in a ball and actually sleeping on the coach was the highlight of the night!
