California Dreaming - San Francisco

And so we just got back from a 2 week break in the West Coast of USA. In running order, we started off in San Francisco and then headed on to San Jose/Silicon Valley, Santa Cruz, Bakersfield (not really part of the itinerary but we ended up here anyway), Vegas and finally Los Angeles. I think we drove for more than 1000 miles, ate too much almond along the way and got a bit of a tan from the sun from all the driving. So anyway here's just some highlights of the trip. The small prints are more for my own reference since I don't keep a journal anymore and I wanna remember everything, so you can ignore them. 

I'll start with San Francisco. 

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Jupe picked us up from the airport in his super fast car. Thx BFF!

Dropped the bag in an apartment in Union Square, which we rented through AirBnb. I intend to write a review of AirBnB so more on that later. We had a couple of hours of snooze before we joined Jupe & friend at the AT&T stadium supporting the SF Giants! The weather was great, but a tad too chilly for my liking if you ask me. Everyone was enjoying the sun and beer and oooh the crab sandwich was soooooo goood! Apparently the sandwich is the only reason why Jupe was there. Besides one or two baseball fanatics, I don't think the rest were really paying attention to the game. Good game nonetheless.. I think. Now who won again?

Had a lovely dinner with Jupe and Candace. Jet lag hit me hard so I went home to sleep after the dinner while the hubs joined Jupe and more friends for drinks. He has amazing stamina I tell you.

Woke up late and joined Jupe & friend for lunch at Maverick. Walked around downtown for a while admiring graffitis, art galleries and antique shops before Jupe had to head back to Sunnyvale.

Made our way to Pier 33 where we boarded the ship to Alcatraz Island for the evening tour. The hubs and I didn't get to do the tour the last time we were at the Bay Area (separately) as tickets usually run out on the day and must be booked in advance. We did the evening tour just to see how the cells are at night, and also as a cheap thrill to see if we could spot anything scary. Unfortunately, or fortunately nothing was spotted. But it was interesting nonetheless just to check out the cellhouse, dining hall, prison library and listen to stories of the infamous inmates who attempted escape. Apparently no one ever did. 

Dinner was at a crab restaurant at the famous Pier 39 where the hubs devoured half a crab on his own and somehow that made me fall in love with him all over again :)

Next day, we boarded the famous tram and made our way to the pier again. We somehow missed Lombard Street but never mind, we've both seen it before. 

Next up on the itinerary, we cycled across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito. It was a 13km stretch and it took us about an hour or so to complete with stops in between. We were lucky for great weather; it wasn't too cold and the sun was up. You get great views across the bridge all the way to Sausalito, not to mention a good workout too! We came back to the pier via a ferry ride. Totally amazing, we're glad we did this even though our thighs and butts were sore the next day. 

FYI we got our bikes from Blazing Saddles from Pier 41. They provide direction to get to Sausalito and it's pretty straightforward. If you're lost just follow the rest of the other cyclists along the way or ask a friendly stranger. 

Bears spotted at Sausalito!

And some dude got arrested in this sleepy town

Dinner was at a Thai restaurant downtown. Food was so-so but the restaurant was crowded anyway. After the meal, we walked home as the restaurant was just about a mile from home. 

We spent the next day just walking around downtown and checking out the hubs' frequent haunts when he comes here for work. Had In-N-Out for lunch and ended up at the Stinking Rose for dinner. Great food, love the garlic but definitely not a place to bring your first date if you plan on kissing her/him later.

That's it in San Francisco, will move on to San Jose/Silicon Valley soon!