Day 57 + 58- SUN Francisco

A beautiful day and a half in sunny San Fran!

Top hits of San Fran

• After a late start to the morning we went for a long walk to the water and walked along and saw the Golden Gate bridge through the fog and saw Alcatraz and its island across the water.
• Headed out to Pier 39, it is very beautiful with lots of shops and buskers and we enjoyed watching the sea lions bask on the rocks, they are very lazy.
• We waited quite a while for the cable car to take us to Union Square- we actually really enjoyed going up and down all the steep streets, we got the standing spots on the side so got to see a lot of the sights as we went around.
• We enjoyed walking through the CBD and having a snack in the afternoon but prefer the huge section of San Fran by the water, it really is hard to beat.
• Walked up the steep streets back towards the pier and enjoyed a soup inside a carved out load of sourdough bread- very popular here. Most people eat it with clam chowder which we didn’t choose for obvious reasons (it’s gross). We chilled back in the hotel and Nathan watched the NBA on TV.
• Day 2 in San Fran- headed out for a run along the water next to the Golden Gate Bridge and then ran over the bridge. We enjoyed the incredible views along the way, the bridge is such a beautiful colour and style. We walked back over the bridge and then with lots of kms under our belt caught the bus to Pier 39 and had a nice American brunch of bacon, eggs, toast and a big hash brown for Nathan and chicken vermicelli noodle salad for Kirsten (it was American/ Vietnamese- not as traditionally American but delicious)

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Driving the 101

• We had planned to head to Yosemite next but it was getting incredibly complicated to work out whether we would need snow chains and whether we would be able to get into the park and we wouldn’t have much time there so after consulting the travel expert (Michael Anderson) we decided to change tact and head to Monterey on the coast of California for some more sun. We booked the accommodation the night before and headed out from San Fran at 1pm for the 1.5 hour drive.
• On the way to Monterey we stopped at a typical American Walmart. It was fun to see one, it felt like a mix of Kmart/ Target and Coles.
• Monterey is beautiful, (also the filming location of ‘Big Little Lies’), it was nice to be somewhere a little slower paced and relaxed. After checking into our hotel (one of our nicest ones even has a pool and spa) we went for a nice walk through the town and along the pier and wharf before heading over to a Mexican restaurant on the water for dinner. Quiet and relaxed night by the gas fire in the evening.

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