California Dreaming.

Hi, guys - from sunny California!

My flight from Heathrow to San Francisco was possibly the worst journey EVER taken by plane. I was squished right at the back of the plane, quite literally surrounded by screaming children. Nightmare! All of that aside, once I arrived in San Francisco and caught a shuttle out to the hotel, I was feeling a lot better. It was a little windy, but a gorgeous day - however the sight of twisty, bendy stairs first thing in the morning is NOT fun when dragging a suitcase along behind you. Blech!

Our hotel was supposedly a 'short walk from Fisherman's Wharf' and surrounds, so my friend Mel and I set off to explore that day. Er, right. Our 'short walk' was actually an hour and ten minutes. JUST to get to the wharf area! Not impressed. We wandered up to Pier 33, as we wanted to book our Alcatraz tour - only to find out that there wasn't a single tour available to purchase, until next week. I was completely bummed about this, as that's one of the main reasons we decided to start this trip in San Francisco. We did some window shopping, then took our leisurely stroll back to the hotel to get some sleep.

The next day, we were trying to figure out what to do in place of Alcatraz, so ended up doing a city tour instead. It was quite good, 3.5 hours of good ol' fashioned tourist sightseeing (complete with oldies coach!) and it took us everywhere, even over the Bay Bridge to Treasure Island, back around the northern heights and to an awesome Golden Gate viewing point.

Mel and I walked back to Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39, where we were going to meet the lovely Lara - however she sadly wasn't able to make it, so we just walked on back. I'm telling you, the thighs? They are killing me!

This morning saw us bid farewell to foggy San Fran (seriously, all my Golden Gate bridge pictures look grey and gloomy) and fly on down to Los Angeles. Mel drove (bravely) while I sat in the passenger side being an awfully unhelpful backseat driver, but thanks to our lovely Carmen-the-Garmen GPS system, we made it to our next stop for the next 4 nights. We are, quite literally, situated on Venice Beach, home of crazies everywhere! Our window has a sea view - and despite a strange picture of a naked lady on the wall, it has a great bathroom and seems pretty good.

Tonight Mel is being brave and driving us down to Anaheim, where we are going to watch the Angels vs the Yankees game. Should be a good'un! Other than that, we're being LA tourists for the next few days - and catching up with Kirby soon after. It's going so fast already!

Keeping this one short, as I am typing on quite possibly the loudest keyboard in the world. (No, seriously. Loud.) Hoorah! More from me, later.


19 Comments • Labels: ,  

19 comments:

Cece said...

Welcome to L.A.! Aime said you'd be down this way. Enjoy the wonderful sunny weekend!

-R- said...

Welcome to the US!

Sarah said...

Glad you had fun in the Bay Area!!!

And the real question is, are you rooting for the Angels? Or the Yankees? There is a correct answer here!!!

Go Yankees!!

katelin said...

seriously venice is one craaaazy place, haha. great for people watching that's for sure. hope you have a great time and hopefully can see you on monday!

Jessica said...

Yay, glad you're having a great time!

Ree said...

Ooooh, baseball. Excellent - have a beer and a hotdog for me, eh?

Zandria said...

Welcome to the U.S., Alynda! That sucks about not getting to see Alcatraz. But hopefully the other stuff you'll get to see and do will make up for it! :)

Lara said...

i'm still so sorry that i was a huge flake! this job, it's killing me. slowly but surely.

but quite amusingly, my sister and her girlfriend are at the same angels yankees game! that's crazy!

Sarah / MMDesigns said...

Sorry to hear about Alcatraz - bummer!! :( Did you get to ride a trolley car?

Your vacation sounds like it's off to a great start, fog notwithstanding.

Have fun! Looking forward to your next installment...

grungedandy said...

glade your ok san fran is strange like that & those hills not missing much here it's raining AGAIN! seeya hugya *G*

Jamie said...

Go hang out with Katelin while your in LA. She is AWESOME!

Jenn said...

I was bummed about not seeing Alcatraz while I was in SF. I learned that you should book your tour, online, at least a week in advance. Hindsight eh?

I hope you have a blast in SF! There's so many awesome places to go, a lot of great food and amazing scenery.

HollowSquirrel said...

Sorry SanFran sucked you in then crapped on your shoes. Here's to LA treating you better!!

kirby said...

DUDE!

I'll be in the AIR in forty eight hours! SHIT.

imfb said...

Glad you're on this side of the pond! Sorry about some of the issues we're having, I'm sure you'll love your trip!

julie said...

ahhh... it's tourist season.
Sorry you won't be seeing alcatraz...

But glad you're having fun!

Jacinta said...

Sounds like you are definitely getting into the swing of things and having a great time. Believe me, The Golden Gate Bridge just wouldn't be the same if it wasn't shrouded in fog!
I agree, Venice beach is crazy, but it's totally like stepping into a movie set. Enjoy!

Kristabella said...

Yay! Glad you made it!

Also, don't call it San Fran. Or Frisco. They don't like that.

Have fun!

Laurel said...

A belated welcome to my country, Aly!

I think a foggy SFO visit is a typical SFO visit. Not unlike London, eh?





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