Posts with the label California
Showing posts with label California. Show all posts
Showing posts with label California. Show all posts
5 May 2020
California Adventures: San Francisco Travel Diary Pt 3
The many views of the Golden Gate Bridge
Once we got back from Yosemite, we had one and a half more days in San Francisco (part 1 and part 2 here). After our first attempt to walk across the Golden Gate Bridge was somewhat of a failure, we knew we had to get back to that bridge pronto. Who can come back from San Francisco and not have walked the Golden Gate?!
After falling in love with Zazie just before we went to Yosemite, we decided to head back there for brunch and, quite frankly, I’m still dreaming of the French toast I had; it was that good.
We hopped on the bus over to the bridge and when we arrived, hooray no fog! We could finally walk all the way across. It was still pretty windy but not so much that it was actually hard work walking through the air like last time. I will admit, what you don’t think about – or at least I didn’t – is that the Golden Gate is a working bridge so it is essentially like walking alongside a very windy motorway. However, we could see for miles and the views were pretty spectacular so it was worth it.
Having said all that, we did spend the rest of the day seeking out different views of the bridge which are definitely better than the views on the bridge. Once we were over the other side, we arrived at the Golden Gate Bridge view point which is the classic tourist bit with the view back across the bridge and everyone taking photos. It was great but if you’re ever there yourself, I would implore you to not just leave it at that. Get across the road and take a small climb, and you’ll reach Battery Spencer which, in my opinion, was the best viewing point. Slightly above, and to the west of the bridge, this vantage point offers spectacular views – one of the photos I took from there is now framed on our living room wall.
Our next view required a bit of a walk and a café stop (where I ate a Golden Gate Bridge shaped biscuit obvs). We walked back across the bridge and along the coast line which was gorgeous. Beautiful sea views and pelicans flying above our head – what’s not to love? The path eventually led us to Baker Beach; somewhere I’ve wanted to go to ever since I first saw a picture of it online. I think there’s something quite special about that view of the beach and the bridge together.
That evening we went back to, you guessed it, Zazie for the third time (and second that day). It really was our favourite place to eat in San Francisco! Beforehand, we stopped off for a drink in the bar next door which had all the components of a classic ‘American’ bar and we were here for it. We sat at the bar, chatting to the friendly barman and feeling very at home before heading off to inhale the Zazie menu.
Twin Peaks
On our final morning in the city, we walked up the Twin Peak hills – a pair of 922-foot-high summits which, on a clear day, provide 360-degree views of the bay area. As our Airbnb was nearby, we had walked half way up them on a previous day but didn’t bother going to the top because of that pesky fog again. Luckily, this time, the sky was a perfect blue and we could see for miles. I would highly recommend the steep climb for those panoramic shots. Looking out across the entire city from above felt the perfect way to finish our trip.
Before heading to the airport, we had lunch at Crepes on Cole (would recommend) and took a wander around the local area to drool at the beautiful houses once last time. My final experience of San Francisco was having one of their famous sourdough bread bowls at the airport – just in the nick of time!
28 Feb 2020
California Adventures: A Magical Time In Yosemite National Park
If I could re-do our trip to California, the one thing I’d change would be to spend longer in Yosemite National Park. This place was unreal. UNREAL. Being there was like spending two days lost in a painting.
We left San Francisco at the crack of dawn and travelled to Yosemite with the company Incredible Adventures who essentially drive you to the park and then pick you up again the next day (or the same day/day after, depending on how long you stay). They also booked our accommodation for us which was super handy as accommodation books up fast in Yosemite.
Our first stop on our way into the park was Tunnel View. You guys. This. View. There aren’t many places where photos don’t even begin to do it justice but this is one of them. Seriously, it didn’t look real. We excitedly picked out some of the key sights; El Capitan, Half Dome, Bridalveil Falls – we were here. We had two days to soak up as much as Yosemite as possible and we were really going to try; this wasn’t a time for sitting still.
Once we’d driven into the heart of the park, we kicked off with Yosemite Falls as it was closest to our drop-off point. We did the Lower Yosemite Falls trail which is an easy one-mile loop and gives you spectacular views of the waterfall from the bottom; you can get right up close (and suitable sprayed).
We then headed to a shuttle stop to get to Half Dome village and, honestly, I almost kept tripping over my own feet as I gazed open-mouthed at the beauty around us. It was stunning.
We stayed in the Half Dome village in a tent cabin – camping with a real bed and door essentially. When we checked in, there was a half-hilarious, half-terrifying video of a bear breaking into a car which was essentially the park’s way of saying for heaven sake use the bear box. The bear box was a locked metal box outside the tent for all our food and toiletries (anything a bear could think was food) and, quite frankly, I was practically giddy at the thought of camping somewhere where there were real life bears. Probably not a normal reaction no?
There was a toilet nearby and plenty of blankets for when the temperature dropped during the night. When you looked up, you could see these awe-inspiring granite cliffs towering above and you just felt tiny. I wouldn’t have wanted to stay anywhere else; I loved being in the heart of the park and feeling like we were sleeping outside.
We spent the rest of the afternoon doing the Mirror Lake Trail. This was another easy, but longer, loop to Mirror Lake which does exactly what it says on the tin. The trail starts with a warning about entering mountain lion territory – again, I was seemingly weirdly excited about this prospect – and then takes you through the woods. The lake wasn’t as ‘mirror’ as we would have hoped, thanks to a breeze, but still extremely beautiful. On our way back, we saw a chipmunk and a deer wandering around seemingly unbothered by humans. Sadly not a mountain lion or bear in sight.
The Half Dome Village has a small food court so dinner was pizza sat outside and laughing at the cockiness of the squirrels and huge birds trying to steal food. When darkness descended, we made sure to step away from the torch lights and check out the night sky in the wilderness; the stars were incredible.
The tent was cosy, although the blankets were a necessity in the middle of the night, and we were woken up by the sunlight streaming through the canvas the next morning.
Our plan for our second and final day in Yosemite was the Mist Trail; a five hour hike up into the mountains to Vernal Falls which is, quite literally, breathtaking. The hike is gorgeous but when you reach the bottom of the waterfall – oh my. We ascended up an extremely narrow and slippery path. We got absolutely drenched in the spray and there was a lot of concentration on not slipping and tumbling to certain death but all the rainbows peppered throughout the mist made the whole experience bloody glorious. The views at the top of the waterfall were stunning and the sight of a squirrel stealing an entire bag of apples from a woman’s bag almost just as entertaining.
By the time we got back down the mountain, we had just enough time to grab an ice cream and take a walk through the park back to our pick-up point.
There was something mythical and magical about Yosemite. If you’re heading to California, do not miss it off your list.
21 Jan 2020
California Adventures: Visiting The Tallest Trees In The World
Visiting the famous redwoods, aka the tallest trees in the world, was high up on my list of things to do in California. Muir Woods is about 16 miles outside of San Francisco so for us, the easiest way to get there was to get the shuttle bus from Sausalito which is a city across the water from San Francisco. I’d heard good things about Sausalito so was happy to stop in on the way. We started the day picking up supplies at the market at the Ferry Building, and then hopped on the ferry across the water where we had great views of the bridges and Alcatraz.
Sausalito is picturesque with a Mediterranean vibe and colourful houses. There’s lots of cute boutique shops, on-the-water restaurants and dreamy views of that San Francisco skyline. We spent an hour walking along the waterfront and browsing the shops. I picked up a frozen hot chocolate from a local chocolate shop and felt pretty content with my life choices it’s got to be said. We then took the shuttle bus to Muir Woods which, admittedly, took longer than I expected which I think is due to all the hairpin turns through the mountains, as the distance is only a handful of miles as the crow flies.
Muir Woods is a majestic forest full of gigantic coastal redwood trees which are officially the tallest trees in the world. The tallest in Muir Woods is 258 feet but apparently they can get to heights of 380 feet. Mind blown.
I have wanted to see the redwoods for a long time so it was pretty special to finally be able to crane my neck and take them in. What a view! Rusty red, endless trunks; they really are huge. I’ve never seen trees rise that tall; they create a canopy high above which the light filters through and dapples on the forest floor.
There are boardwalks along the forest floor and you can venture off on paths that take you higher up which gives you a different perspective on the trees. Apart from a brief picnic stop, we spent the majority of the afternoon gently walking a couple of different trails, taking in the grandeur. The forest is amazingly peaceful; when you stray away from the boardwalk, you almost get a sense of being alone – lost in the woods so to speak. I hugged a tree, ducked under a tree, sat on a huge tree stump and gave myself neck ache by constantly staring upwards.
There’s something so fairytale about a forest don’t ya think? The redwoods doubled that feeling, majestic and magical; I’m so glad I had the chance to tick them off my bucket list.
27 Dec 2019
California Adventures: San Francisco Travel Diary Pt 2
Sweet Maple
On our next full day in the city (part 1 here), we had a late brunch (we were somewhat ‘delicate’ after a trip to Wine Country the day before) at Sweet Maple. This was from my pre-trip research list and it is very popular but 100% worth queuing for in my opinion. Gary went for the ‘two eggs any style’ and I went for the ‘Big Hip’ – their famous deep-friend French toast. Absolutely delicious. The real attraction though? Their trademarked (!) Millionaire’s Bacon. Thick, free-range bacon baked with brown sugar, cayenne, red and black pepper. Gary’s breakfast came with but I got some as an additional side because I just had to try this out for myself. It was a taste like no other, a bit bonkers and a bit epic. The only way I can think to describe it. Add to your San Francisco bucket list!
Painted Ladies
Although San Francisco is full of beautiful, pastel coloured Victorian houses (although we hadn’t seen that many yet what with staying near the financial district), there’s one set in particular that’s famous and we headed there with our bellies full of Millionaire’s Bacon. Commonly referred to as the Painted Ladies, this line of houses are beautiful and iconic and we couldn’t not go to see them. They are on the edge of a pretty park and the San Francisco skyline sits behind them so all in all, it’s a lovely little spot for taking in the view. I was also delighted when a VW van drove by just as I was taking a photo!
We spent the rest of the afternoon building an impressive step-count as we wandered in and out of several neighbourhoods. We saw the Mrs Doubtfire house to satisfy my younger self and wandered around Chinatown. I’ll admit that I didn’t love the vibe of just wandering, like I do in other cities. I felt perhaps I was missing something but – as I discovered later – we just hadn’t found the right bit yet. We did take a walk along the pier in front of our hotel when we got back which reinforced my opinion that the waterfront was (at that point in the trip) my favourite bit.
Alcatraz
One of the world’s most notorious and best-known prisons, our visit to Alcatraz was a highlight of our trip for both of us and I can’t recommend enough. You have to book plenty in advance (up to 90 days) and I would highly recommend booking the night tour. It was eerie and immense, being on that little outcrop in the middle of the ocean as the sky started to darken. Plus, there are great views of the San Francisco skyline lit up at night and it just felt appropriate to visit the world’s most notorious prison in the dark, making it all the more spooky and Hitchcockian. The audio tour around the prison is so, so interesting but the extra talks and events put on in the evening are what made the experience and totally worth the marginally higher price that you pay for the night tour. The best one (and by far the most popular) was by a guy who spent twenty years in prison for second-degree murder and spoke of his experiences in prison but also what it was like to then come back out into society. It was fascinating.
Cable Car
We spent our next day out of the city visiting the tallest trees in the world (more on that soon). On our fifth day, we started with brunch at Jane on Larkin which felt very ‘hipster’ and actually provided us with healthy food, which we promptly ruined by following it up with a trip to Mr Holmes Bakehouse. Admittedly this was one we went to because I got drawn in by the Instagram hype. By the time we got there, they had sold out of their famous cruffins which was kinda disappointing but we still weren’t gonna turn down the opportunity to sample some of their other baked goods. I went for the chocolate banana doughnut and Gary had the lemon meringue croissant and we both snaffled them down in record time, and then had to de-sugar our clothes afterwards.
We needed to get back to the hotel to check out so – finally – we hopped onto one of the iconic cable cars which headed down the hill back to the waterfront. They were everything you want them to be – retro, iconic, the big leaver, the bell jingling, people hopping on and off, people standing on the steps and clinging on. It was so much fun and one of the best ways to experience those San Francisco hills. If you want a cable car recommendation – ride em downhill. Excellent views with the full effect of the steepness of the hills and the way they roll down to the water.
Height Ashbury
Without a doubt, our favourite area. Our second accommodation in San Francisco was a basement apartment in Ashbury Heights and we were immediately like oh this is what we’ve been missing. Whilst we’d had a great time so far, we mostly felt like we’d been in the big sites / tourist hotzones and moving here made us feel like we were experiencing local life for the first time. We loved. After checking into the Airbnb, we spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around, gazing open-mouthed at all the exquisite, colourful Victorian houses. Every. Single. One was a beauty. We also saw the famous Height Asbury street which stills gives off a hippie movement vibe (of which the area is famous for) and makes for excellent people watching. Our favourite find in this area though was, without a doubt, Zazie; a little French bistro with the most delicious food. Our first (yes we went back) meal there was the best of our entire time in California. Zazie are also extra special because they lead on the Tip Free movement; you don’t need to tip there at all as 25% of every menu item is paid directly to the staff as revenue shares. If you ever go, I highly recommend the baked hot chocolate – so good.
Final San Fran diary coming soon!
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