In the past few years I have been fortunate to travel to a number of beautiful places and see sights I otherwise would not have been able to without leaving the country. However, in doing this I have accumulated a surplus of photos in my catalogue. Photos of which I have no real use for other than to look at. So, the thought of starting blog (allowing me to post multiple shots in a more condensed fashion) was birthed. As well as any other content I may want to post too. One trip I was lucky enough attend was that across the west coast of America, starting in San Francisco and ending in LA. Whilst I don’t have access to all the photos I took along the trip I do have some of my favourites and thought a three part post would be appropriate to share them. Here is part 1.
The trip began with a 6am flight from Heathrow airport straight to San Francisco. I’d like to say the flight was as quick as the pictures make it look, however 14 hours left us lightly exhausted to say the least. As tiring as this was, once we did land a warm musky scent in the air reassured us we had made it to our destination and that an exciting trip was ahead.
After a quick walk around our hotel area, we took no hesitation in getting into bed as we had booked to go whale watching at 7am the next morning. Whilst getting up was at least a 7/10 on the painful scale, a foggy overcast on the city made for some dramatic and moody shots.
Seeing the bridge look like it had come straight out of a horror film was quite the sight and only further intrigued us to see it in the day. Though our trip was a bit scarce in terms of “whale” (though I swear I saw one) and sea sickness was rife, the chance to see the city in its morning element definitely made it worth it.
Later on that day, we got to see some of San Fran’s daytime delights including its 80s cop show streets and some very American looking vehicles.
Driving through the city really sunk in the alternative look to San Francisco’s architecture and our tour guide sprinkled in some very profound facts…which I have now forgotten (sorry).
After our tour, we took a trip to the pier in which a healthy snack and some drinks perked us up.
We took some time to view the Sea Lion museum. As interesting as it was, it was made very clear that a bit further down the pier we would be met with an “incredible” smell for lack of a better word. As much as I do like my fresh air, Lauren’s unstoppable love for animals caused us to be there in an instant! I have to admit, whilst the beautiful odour may have sizzled off a few eyelashes, I was rewarded with some amazing Sea Lion entertainment rivalling even that of Sea World (as seen below).
I’m joking obviously. Once the smell of food woke them up they were actually hilarious.
The next day we took a trip to see the infamous bridge up close and explore San Francisco’s wind full on! In the midst of trying to take some cool and edgy shots we got a chance to see just how openly talkative Americans are. It’s rather nice to be able to make a friend in microseconds seconds which was quite shocking in comparison to our socially awkward UK.
After Lauren purchased a red souvenir cap (which she now doesn’t wear as it too much resembles a “Vote Trump” hat), we took a bus across the bridge to a quaint town on the far side of the city. Here we managed to indulge in the various antique repertoire of the town and somehow managed to buy the most naff items available.
After a cup of coffee and the realisation of a drastic facial sunburn, we headed back to our hotel and after some food and drinks made sure we had a decent nights sleep for our next day.
The following morning we found ourselves back at the pier awaiting our short boat ride to…ALCATRAZ…which given its reputation was surprisingly welcoming and family friendly. Also, I managed to see some of the bluest water on earth that apparently would kill you if you stayed in it too long?
Don’t be fooled by the haunting image, it was actually a beautifully sunny day. Once inside however, an earphone tour did more than enough to describe the eerie atmosphere of the facility in its active days. I also think this may have been a bit much for a sleep deprived Lauren.
Once the tour had finished, we were treated to one last sunny view of the city’s skyline before we packed and prepared for our road-trip to Yosemite. Looking back, San Francisco had a wonderful charm to both the city and the people within it, for anyone looking for a city break there is definitely an abundance of culture to explore. The next post of our trip is focused on Yosemite and how it might have fulfilled the American summer camp dream I never knew I had, look out for Part 2 later this week.
SomberSands 