Ok... pretend you are reading this as though you are living in the past and it's last Thursday. I haven't had much wifi here in Vegas and it's been hard to write the blog on the little computer we have...
I'll write Vegas blog when we fly out tomorrow........
THURSDAY 7th July
We are currently on a plane headed for... LAS VEGAS BABY!!! Woohoo!! I am really looking forward to Vegas and have been ever since I decided to go there for my 30th about a year ago (Or really ever since I learnt how to play poker 7 years ago!). I am really looking forward to seeing Brendon and Laraine as I haven't seen them in a couple of months so that will be awesome for when we land. :)
So here's what you missed...
SUNDAY 3rd July: James and I packed up and left the Hostel and headed to the airport to pick up our rental car. I must admit I was a little skeptical about getting a mustang convertible. After hearing many stories about people booking and then getting disappointed at the pick up point I didn't have high hopes. But much to my negative feelings James came out from the pick up terminal and had a smile on his face. I knew we were getting closer. Then one of the attendants came to us and said... what colour do you want? Huh???!!! There were 3 mustang convertibles to choose from... grey, yellow or red. Naturally we chose red! I was so excited. I was like a teenager! We hopped in the car with James at the drivers seat and figured out all the differences between a right hand drive to a left hand drive before taking off. After fighting through the terrible LA highways we were finally on our way up the coast. Top was down, hair was flying and we looked awesome in our new friend... Sally.
Sally, James, Squeak (our minion friend) and I travelled up the coast along the coastline. It was a beautiful Californian day and the coast was stunning. After driving for a while we stopped to switch drivers at a national park stop area where we met Chip and Dale, little squirrels that I named. And then we cruised on into San Simeon to stop for the night.
MONDAY: Happy July 4th!! Got up relatively early to get the most out of Sally and the rest of the drive. We went to Hearst Castle but decided not to line up for tickets as we decided to save money and time. Instead we got back in the car and a couple of miles down the road was a stop area. We got out to see what the fuss was about. The beach area was covered in seals!! They were so gorgeous. Big fat gorgeous seals. Some were chilling out on the sand, others were playing in the water. Very interesting to watch their habits. We also met here Alvin, Theodore and Simon. More squirrels that I named after Chipmunks but close enough. They came right up to us searching for food. Very cute. I wanted to put them in my bag and take them home.
Further on up the road we saw Eagles and stopped at picturesque 'vista' points (lookouts). We got to Captiola for lunch. We found Monterey didn't really have what we wanted so we just kept going and not too far was Capitola. This little quaint town with beachfront dining and many American's celebrating Independence day. Some lazing around on the beach or playing games with their kids and others lying on their beachhouses front lawns sunbathing! It was a cute town and we got seafood by the beach.
Switching drivers here we headed the last couple of hours to San Francisco city. I was driving at this point and we thought we head over the Golded Gate Bridge at Sunset. Little did we know that this would be the best time and really the only time we would fully see the bridge. It was so cool. We had the top up unfortunately as the wind was sooooo cold but it was still a beautiful sight to behold. Finding a place to turn around we headed back to the city and to our hotel.
Checked into the quaintest boutique hotel that I had booked as part of James' birthday gift. Hotel Union Square. I recommend it. Great service and cute room.
We decided to not go to Fishermans' wharf and watch the 4th July fireworks but instead ate in the city and headed to bed early after a long drive. YEAH! San Francisco!!!!!!!
TUESDAY: HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my amazing gorgeous man! I got up early and got him breakfast in bed. (Aren't I sweet?! LOL) We then wanted to make the most out of our last few hours with Sally so we left about 9.30ish and with James in the drivers seat for his birthday we did all three bridges connecting San Francisco with the other counties. First stop the Golden Gate. Alas it was covered in fog as it was for the rest of our stay. :( But we still got some creative shots at the vistapoint nearby. Check out the below...
Next bridge was awesome. When you drive south you drive on the top part and north you drive underneath. Great idea. Then the bay bridge. It's a smaller version of the Golden Gate and not the same colour. We then sadly returned Sally and continued on with the day. Spent a bit of time shopping in Union Square. Then James' surprise birthday gift was to go to a baseball game! So we headed to AT&T Park to watch the San Francisco Giants battle it out with the San Diego Padres. James got himself a baseball hat and we got our seats (which were literally the very back row, right up the very top but what a great view!
Game went for 2hrs49mins and unfortunately the Giants lost. 5-3. We still had fun though. One of their batters is Aubrey Huff and a group of people next to us would yell - Aubrey! Aubrey! Aubrey! Oi! Oi! Oi! everytime he came up to bat! hahaha. Was a lot of fun to be in the experience of a baseball game next to some fanatics!
Here are some pics!
WEDNESDAY: After a lazy morning, we did some more touristy things and caught a cable car down to Fishermans Wharf, ate seafood by the sea, got our portraits done, and headed to Alcatraz. We were on the late boat out there (3.20pm) and for some unknown reason I had decided to wear a dress. BIG Mistake. HUGE! My dress kept flying up nearly over my head! If you don't already know, let me tell you... San Francisco is not the warm Californian city you'd expect. It's cold if you aren't in the direct sun, windy and very very foggy. This fog rolls in over the hills from the sea and covers the Golden Gate bridge and filters into the city. It can be beautiful at times but it makes the city very cold as well. Locals suggest you wear layers as the temperature is tempermental! Having come very unprepared for this, I borrowed one of James' jackets and that helped with the fly away dress and the chill factor. We boarded the boat to prison... I mean Alcatraz and it just got windier and colder.
I loved Alcatraz. I thought it was very rich in history and found the audio tour very interesting and informative. The cells are exactly what you imagine it to be but hearing the audio tour as you walk through makes you feel like you are actually there. Hearing about the attempted escapes was intriguing. 8 people tried to escape. 5 were caught and the other 3 were never seen again. They gave you a history of how they escaped and all the planning that went into it.
After returning we walked along Fishermans Wharf and Pier 39 and visited a few shops. It was starting to get even colder. We walked all the way back to catch our cable car back to the hotel and there we met Christy and Svetlana from Melbourne. They were in the line ahead of us. It made the hour wait go very quick as we were chatting and enjoying the company. They headed to Vegas today too so we might see them for some alcoholic beverages. :)
After warming up and defrosting we headed to the 50s restaurant across the road which was all themed and had a late dinner.
THURSDAY: Locked up our bags and went on our tour. I'm so grateful to Zoe for recommending Dylan's tours. It was a very detailed and private tour and we never felt rushed at any destinations and had a great day. There was only 4 of us plus Dylan on the tour. Dan and Tracey from Philadelphia were the other two. Dylan took us all over San Fran. We went to Mission district (Which was where The Pursuit of Happyness was filmoed) Castro district which was where Milk was set and filmed. The history of Harvey Milk very interesting. Then to Haight and Ashbury to chill out with the Hippies followed by Billionaires row, Mrs Doubtfires' house, The Painted Ladies (Full House opening scene) Golden Gate, thento Muir Woods for an hour. The woods are across the Bridge and considered outside of San Fran. So pretty. Then to Sausilto and to Fishermans wharf. So much in one day. After the tour James and I walked through Chinatown before grabbing our bags and heading to the airport.
View of San Francisco
4.20pm this clock is always stuck on for Bong O'Clock. LOL
Mrs Doubtfire location
So much fun for only a couple of days!!!
Stay tuned for the Vegas blog to come in hopefully the next day or so...
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