Life is treating me pretty well. I am in California, surrounded by amazing sights every day and it never gets old. I love that I can find so many different places very close by. I’m setting myself a goal to see as much as I can of it in the next 4 months. Im trying to write a list of all the places I want to go, but then I just discover more places! So I will try my best. I have pretty busy in the last 3 weeks or so, working a lot. All my spare time has been taken up with seeing what San Francisco has to offer. I plan to not let the momentum wane either. I am really enjoying doing lots of different days trips around san francisco to different places. I have met a lot of people so far, and am meeting new people from all over the world pretty much everyday.
There have been numerous highlights in the last few weeks, and one of the best was my biking trip across the Golden Gate Bridge. What a sight! The weather was perfect as we set out to collect our bikes from a bike hire shop around the corner from the hostel. Luckily we had a veteran biker, Illyia, in the group who led the rest of us through the busy city streets.The rest of the group consisted of Catherine, a girl from Montreal, Canada and another fellow Aussie from Tasmania, Bree. We safely and successfully (thank goodness) biked through the city towards the famous Ferry Building, and then headed all the way up towards the Marina and Pier 39 and then onwards towards Chrissy field for the first round of photos and then Fort point, for the second round. We then continued on across the bridge, which was one of the best things I have ever done. I had Alcatraz Island and Angel Island to my right and the Pacific Ocean out to my left. One the other side we stopped at Point Cavallo for more pictures. A day of many photographs to say the least. So much to capture.

After a quick stop to rest, we biked through to Sausalito, the town across the bridge. It was a very quaint and pretty town with boats all along the harbour and many little cafes, shops, parks and restaurants. It reminded me and the girl from Australia of Tasmania, with all its charm. The nostalgia continued as we caught a taxi to Muir Woods to explore the park and see the world famous giant Sequoia Trees. They didn’t dissapoint. Neither did the surrounds, with beautiful forest scenery and gorgeous pebbled streams running throughout the park. It was a surreal and sobering place. Somewhere I hope to return to, to explore more of the great hiking trails on offer.

 

After a few hours, we headed back to Sausalito, as we would soon run out of day light, and we didn’t want to miss the last shuttle bus out of the woods. To end the day on a high note, we had awesome Mexican food along with Sangria. We truly stuffed our faces and drank a whole pitcher of Sangria and then headed to the Ferry to begin the journey home.

The ferry ride back was something in itself and the sun was setting as we journeyed back. We headed back past Alcatraz, so close I could save swam ashore. To say the least, I was wrecked by this point. And we still had to bike home! The ride home was thankfully really relaxing and the city was really pretty at night. We took a quick detour down the jetty near the ferry building, where we could see the whole city all lit up and sparkly.

Here we took our last pictures of the day before returning the bikes to the   bike hire place and proceeding to head back to the hostel and have the BEST. SLEEP. EVER.
So after that epic trip I have also explored Japan town with Catherine (Montreal) and Damien (Another aussie from Adelaide!) which was filled with great food and a lot of tea pots, cat themed stuff and pop culture stores!

I have also done a exploratory day to Haight Ashbury with Daniela (Germany) where we did some serious window shopping (with a few small purchases). I do feel it important to mention that I got a pair of barely worn birkenstocks for $35!! BARGAIN!

This week on monday, I accompanied Alex, an awesome chick from the Netherlands to the GG Bridge for a second time where we walked to Fort point, took more pictures and then followed the coastal trail all the way down to Baker Beach where we took our shoes off and put our feet in the Pacific Ocean. We then had some awesome Italian Food and a glass of wine to end the day right!

It was also on this week that I had my first trip back to Yosemite National Park with Marieke (Netherlands). It was a 4 hour trip each way and we had about 3 hours of walking around. It was crazy to head back there after such a long time. Nothing had changed! But I got to see all new things and explore it once more. I cannot even describe the views and do them justice. The views from Inspiration Point just go on forever and it is so picturesque that I have had comments that it looks fake! Definitely not!

I would say that it is a definite bucket list destination, so everyone add it to your lists if it isn’t there already! The tour guide on the bus was a veteran, and had some great tales and information about Yosemite national park, as well as the places along the way. I’m glad that I did it. A tour is a pricey way to do it, but it was worth the money and I had an amazing day!
I did a very challenging 3 hour hike with Marieke, which was rocky and uphill all the way! It was intense and I was second guessing our decision until we finally reached the look out point to see Upper Yosemite Falls. It was DEFINATELY worth it! The trail continued to the top of the waterfall which apparently was another 1 and 1/2 hours walk but unfortunately we only had limited time in the park. We felt like we got a good view anyway, so maybe I’ll make it to the top next time perhaps.

The way down in some ways was more tricky, as it was really slippery and my shoes were not good for hiking! I think a good pair of hiking shoes will be my next purchase. An investment for sure, but definitely worth it! I think that I am discovering a new hobby and I am really interesting in taking my hiking interests further. So I figure that it is a well needed purchase that will be priceless if I continue. Doing all this exploring of San Francisco and the surrounding areas has really inspired me to do more traveling around my own home, when I eventually get home. I realise now that I took a lot for granted and I hope that I remember to keep doing the things that I love in my home country and not just abroad. Needless to say I was knackered, but I again had the BEST. SLEEP. EVER.
I guess that brings me up to now, where I have just worked all weekend, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I am very ready for my day off away from customers for 24 hours and a decent sleep in! YEW!

Peace Out xx