We stayed in the Crowne Plaza for 2 nights overall, and I spent the first night watching loads of TV, and finally managed to get to sleep at about 2am. We were woken up at 6:30am, but an automated wake-up call, as we had to be down by the bus for 7:30am(!!) We drove towards San Francisco, which took about 40 minutes, but I slept for most of it. We were dropped off in China Town (as you'd expect!) and were left there for an hour to get breakfast. It wasn't too far away from the Green Tortoise Hostel, that Mike was staying in, so we walked there to meet him. We managed to get a free breakfast from there, and also booked ourselves in for the last 4 nights in San Fran, but as it was a weekend, it was too busy for us. We found another hostel about 20 minutes walk away that had room, so we booked 3 nights there, and went off to meet the bus. It took us some cool sight in the city, which included Lombard Street - the crookedest road in the world, The Palace of Arts, which has a monument remembering people killed in the 1906 earthquake, and then to the big attraction... The Golden Gate Bridge! First we drove over it, and then got out at the other end to have a look. Alex and I got about 500m onto it, before we had to get back on the bus, so we didn't really cross it, but we stood on it! After that, we drove for about an hour, and got to the Napa Valley, where all the over 21s got to try some wine, but left us 'kids' outside. We did that, and left Mike not knowing where we were! He thought we'd just gone for a city tour! We got back into town at about 3pm, and went and got a Subway for lunch and then met him back at the hostel. We managed to get ourselves out of the afternoon's boat trip (at an extra cost), so we went to Market Street to have a look at the shops, and got back on the bus for 8pm. On the way back to the hotel, we stopped off at a place called Treasure Island, which gave us some really good chances to take some photos of San Francisco. We got back to the hotel at around 9pm, and I went and bought a burrito from the 7 Eleven. We watched loads of TV that night, like Family Guy, South Park, America's Funniest Home Videos and The Simpsons. I could have stayed there for years! We left the tour that night (a day early), and were confronted by the same thing as on the previous tour: they come round and force tips out of you! They tell you that its $6 a day, and you have to pay! The first guide got arsey about us paying $30 instead of $36! Its a stupid way to do it, as it says that they're voluntary! Oh well, the second guide deserved it more than the 1st one.
We got up at about 11am on Friday, after a much needed lie in, and only just managed to check-out in time, after showering, and watching some last minute TV. We spent the next hour on the free internet, as the hostel we were going to didn't have a computer. We got the BART (the train system) into the city centre, and checked in to our new hostel. It wasn't exactly the best we'd seen, but at least we had a bed for the night. We met Mike there, and then we went out to the cinema to enjoy his last night. He had always wanted to see Iron Man, so we watched that to make him happier. It was a good film, and much better than I thought it would be, as its yet another superhero film. We left the cinema at about 10pm, and then went on a massive walk to Fisherman's Wharf, remembering all of the things that we'd done over the past 4 months. We finished it off with a couple of slices of pizza (how could it be any better!?), and then went to bed at about 2am.
On Saturday, we got up at about 10am, and went to a sports bar to watch the football. It took us ages to find one, but the one we found was really good, so we got some lunch there, and spent the most of lunch time there. We went back to the hostel (via Macy's) for about 2pm, so Mike could catch his plane at 5pm. One thing I've noticed about San Francisco, is that there are so many homeless people around. Its really annoying, as they all pester you for money, and its especially bad where are hostel was! We dropped Mike off at the station and then walked down to Fisherman's Wharf so we could book our Alcatraz tour. On the way, we found a big street party, that made me miss being able to drink so much! But I think its only like that because I can't!!! We got to the Wharf at about 4pm, and found Wharf 33 for the tour. We originally wanted to go on Sunday, but the only space available was for 1:45pm on Monday. We spent the $24.50 on it and then went back to the hostel. One other thing that annoys me about America, is that they never add tax on to prices in the shops until just before you pay. So if something says 99cents, it would be just over a dollar after tax! It would be so much easier to do it before! When we got back, we went to bed (it was about 9pm by that time!) as we were really tired, and couldn't be bothered to do anything else.
On Sunday, Alex got up really early and left me with a text, saying that he was at the Virgin Megastore (again!!), so I went and met him there at about 11am. We looked around a bit more, and then went to some of the big shops on the other side of the city. They weren't too far away, but I at least expected some good things in the shops! I really needed to buy new trainers, but all of the ones in the shops were rubbish, so it was a wasted trip. We went back to the city centre at about 3pm, and went to the cinema to watch The Incredible Hulk, which was pretty good, but just another superhero movie! We stopped off for some food on the way back, and then spent the rest of the night in the hostel.
We got up at about 8am on Monday, and checked out as early as we could, so we could make the most of our time at the Green Tortoise Hostel. We walked all the way there, which was harder than it sounds, as San Fran has a lot of steep and pointless hills! We got there just in time to have some free breakfast, so we had a couple of bagels and then spent the rest of the morning playing pool, table football, and watching the Germany game. We got given a couple of beers by someone from Nutfield as well (George Green if you know him!) Which was a bit of a surprise, as I didn't even know he was travelling We left the hostel at about 1pm, and headed down to the wharf. It felt so much better to be in a hostel that had life! The other one was full of middle-aged depressed people that have strange ideas about everything in the world! We got to the wharf, and had our typical touristy, green-screen photo taken (you know, the one that makes it look as though your standing in front of Alcatraz, on a really sunny day, with no one around?) We got on the ferry that took us over, and then we were let loose on Alcatraz!!! We were allowed to wander around, looking inside the cells, and they had a really good audio tour, that gives you loads of info. on the island and it's history. It was so cold on the island, as the wind sweeps through the bay, and blows all of the warm weather away. The rest of San Fran is similar, which is annoying, as it means I've had to wear a hoodie again! After the tour, we walked back to the hostel, had showers, and then got our free dinner, so it was the first day I had spent nothing! We spent the rest of the evening talking to people and playing pool in the Ball Room, and we got to bed at around midnight.
We got up in time for breakfast on Tuesday, and piled up the plates with bagels and fruit. We watched the first half of the Italy-France game, and then we went out to meet one of my friends from home - Sam(antha) Reeve. She was on holiday for a couple of weeks, and was staying with a relative in San Fran. We met up for lunch, and went to the Hard Rock Cafe on Wharf 39, which was cool as we hadn't actually been to one in all of our time in America! We spent about an hour there, and then looked around the rest of the wharf, which was quite interesting, but full of boring boutiques and other restaurants, then we went into the town. I managed to go to the Fossil shop, where I had my watch fitted and I found out what all of the buttons did (the manual didn't make it clear!) and then Sam had to go. Alex and I went to Virgin Megastore again for a bit, and then went to the hostel to play some pool again. We spent the evening doing pretty much that, apart from going out to get some food halfway through.
On Sunday, Alex got up really early and left me with a text, saying that he was at the Virgin Megastore (again!!), so I went and met him there at about 11am. We looked around a bit more, and then went to some of the big shops on the other side of the city. They weren't too far away, but I at least expected some good things in the shops! I really needed to buy new trainers, but all of the ones in the shops were rubbish, so it was a wasted trip. We went back to the city centre at about 3pm, and went to the cinema to watch The Incredible Hulk, which was pretty good, but just another superhero movie! We stopped off for some food on the way back, and then spent the rest of the night in the hostel.
We got up at about 8am on Monday, and checked out as early as we could, so we could make the most of our time at the Green Tortoise Hostel. We walked all the way there, which was harder than it sounds, as San Fran has a lot of steep and pointless hills! We got there just in time to have some free breakfast, so we had a couple of bagels and then spent the rest of the morning playing pool, table football, and watching the Germany game. We got given a couple of beers by someone from Nutfield as well (George Green if you know him!) Which was a bit of a surprise, as I didn't even know he was travelling We left the hostel at about 1pm, and headed down to the wharf. It felt so much better to be in a hostel that had life! The other one was full of middle-aged depressed people that have strange ideas about everything in the world! We got to the wharf, and had our typical touristy, green-screen photo taken (you know, the one that makes it look as though your standing in front of Alcatraz, on a really sunny day, with no one around?) We got on the ferry that took us over, and then we were let loose on Alcatraz!!! We were allowed to wander around, looking inside the cells, and they had a really good audio tour, that gives you loads of info. on the island and it's history. It was so cold on the island, as the wind sweeps through the bay, and blows all of the warm weather away. The rest of San Fran is similar, which is annoying, as it means I've had to wear a hoodie again! After the tour, we walked back to the hostel, had showers, and then got our free dinner, so it was the first day I had spent nothing! We spent the rest of the evening talking to people and playing pool in the Ball Room, and we got to bed at around midnight.
We got up in time for breakfast on Tuesday, and piled up the plates with bagels and fruit. We watched the first half of the Italy-France game, and then we went out to meet one of my friends from home - Sam(antha) Reeve. She was on holiday for a couple of weeks, and was staying with a relative in San Fran. We met up for lunch, and went to the Hard Rock Cafe on Wharf 39, which was cool as we hadn't actually been to one in all of our time in America! We spent about an hour there, and then looked around the rest of the wharf, which was quite interesting, but full of boring boutiques and other restaurants, then we went into the town. I managed to go to the Fossil shop, where I had my watch fitted and I found out what all of the buttons did (the manual didn't make it clear!) and then Sam had to go. Alex and I went to Virgin Megastore again for a bit, and then went to the hostel to play some pool again. We spent the evening doing pretty much that, apart from going out to get some food halfway through.
We woke up at about half 9 on Wednesday, and went to get some free bagels for breakfast, but Alex almost missed them, as his bank had blocked his card (the Fraud people), so he was on the phone trying to sort it out. We stayed in playing table football until just after 11, which is when we left to go to the Virgin Megastore, so we could see the Fratellis (a Scottish band) perform. We got there way too early, as they had only just started setting up! We left the shop, got a smoothie, and then had a look in the nearby Footlocker, which doesn't have any shoes I like. We made it back to the store for about 12:30, and waited. They came out just after 1pm, and played 5 songs, before starting to sign the CD's. They were really good live, and it was even better that they played in front of about 80 people! Alex and I got our CD's signed, and asked if we could see them later that evening at their gig, but sadly he said the guest list was full, so he couldn't put us on it!!! They seem like really cool people, but they weren't there for too long, which wasn't so good, but at least we met them and got our CD's signed! After that, we walked to another shop, about 30 minutes away, as Alex wanted to buy a bigger back to accommodate all of the things he's going to buy in New York! We got back to the hostel just before 5pm, and helped cook our free dinner (you get to go first if you help), which was tortillas, guacamole, salsa, rice, refried beans etc (the rest of the Mexican stuff). It turned out to be really nice, and we had a few helpings before playing even more pool. We managed to get someone to buy us some beer as well, so we spent the even playing cards and pool, and got to bed just after midnight.
On Thursday (19th), we did our usual, and got up around 9am, went for breakfast and played pool. The first Quarter Final of Euro 2008 was on as well, so we watched that and had a few more games of pool. It was finally really hot outside, so at around 2pm we went to Market Street to get a smoothie each. It was by far the best weather we'd had in SF, so we stayed out until about 4pm, which is when we realised we needed to get back. We went out in the evening to Susan & Kevin's (family friends) house for dinner, which was really good. We watched the sunset from their balcony (overlooking Alcatraz & the Golden Gate Bridge) with a beer, and then had roast beef. It was such a cool evening, and we left at about 9:30pm to get back to the hostel. It was nice to see another side to San Fran, as all we had really seen so far was the Chinese part of it!
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