NORTHERN BLT
As I and a few others were ready quite early we headed outside and sat amongst the trees while we waited for the others.
We tided up the van a bit while we waited and just chilled out outside. Jake pulled the van around to the front of the hostel and we all loaded our bags into the van.
Then we got on the road, and whilst we didn't have too long a drive, we made our first stop at...
Livermore, California:
We pulled in here around lunchtime, and we all got pretty excited about where we would be having lunch. We were having In N' Out Burger.
I don't think any of us had had this before, although i'd been to the US before i'd never been in an area of the states with In N' Out Burger. I normally have very limited options in fast food burger places as I don't like lots of relish or sauces on my burgers. This place was incredible though, best fast food I've ever had, it was easy to get the type of burger I wanted as a standard option not a special, this was incredibly refreshing for me. Most people went for the special sauce you could have on the burgers and we were all very happy with our lunch, it didn't taste like your usual fast food and was good quality.
After our lovely lunch we got back in the van all refreshed and continued on our way. As we drove across the Bay Bridge we could see the city of...
San Francisco, California:
We drove on a sweeping road into San Francisco, so got an incredible view on our way into the city. Jake drove us around for a while so we could see some of the city sights. We drove through the Lower Pacific Heights area and the style of houses was what I had only ever seen on films before. We saw some cool street art on the sides of buildings made our way to the Golden Gate Bridge.
We all jumped out the van near the bridge as Jake drove across to meet us at the other side. The weather was very cloudy and dull so you couldn't even see the top of the bridge, a well known and common sight in San Fran apparently.
We took our time and it was really special to walk across the bridge and get the incredible views of the city and of Alcatraz as we passed across. After spending some time on the other side of the bridge we all got back in the van and Jake drove us to another area of the city.
We walked across a Alamo Square and saw the painted ladies. These are famous San Francisco houses and was another incredible view. We also saw the Mrs Doubtfire house.
Of all the places we had been to so far I wasn't as impressed with San Francisco as I thought I might have been, which I was surprised at. It didn't really seem like my kinda place but was still incredible to see the sights i'd only ever seen in movies before. I think it was because I had fallen in love with Yosemite so much on the days before that somehow it just didn't seem as impressive!
Jake then drove us across to the hostel we would be staying in for two nights. The hostel was really nice, great quality, with a kitchen and common room downstairs where we could get breakfast. We got into groups of 4 as it was 4 to a room got settled in.
We changed up who we normally shared with this time as the people who wanted to party and be out late shared and I got into a group with people who wanted a more chilled evening. This was good as people would be getting back at roughly the same time as you which meant we could all get the sleep we wanted without being disturbed!
The only downside to the hostel was that as we were on the ground floor the toilets and showers were on the main corridor, so when you were waiting everyone was rushing past, no big deal though as everyone was in the same boat and the facilities were large, modern and clean.
The rest of the day was free for us to do what we wanted. We all gathered in Jakes room where Jake gave us information about things we could do and see over the next 2 days, along with details of our Alcatraz trip for the next day.
Most of the group had decided to go for Chinese for dinner so they all got together and headed off. I don't like Chinese food so me and one of my roommates who wasn't fussed out eating too far away from the hostel headed out to explore Union Square, which was about a 5 minute walk from the hostel.
We popped into the pharmacy to get some cold and flu remedies and then spent some time around Union Square taking in the atmosphere. We watched the cable cars climbing the hilly streets and were looking forward to hopping on some tomorrow.
We decided to get dinner at a really nice Italian restaurant on that was on the same street as the hostel. When we walked in everyone was dressed up so we felt a little uncomfortable by the surroundings as we were in comfy clothes but the food was amazing and it wasn't too pricey despite the amazing service and good atmosphere.
We slowly walked back to the hostel, getting some drinks and snacks at a corner shop on the way. As it was dark now we also got some views of the city lit up. We both got an early night, chilling in the room, catching up with friends and family back home and relaxing a bit after our busy previous few days of hiking and all the walking around today.
Th other 2 we were sharing with also came back after their Chinese dinner, while everyone else had headed out to explore the San Fran night life.
Our first day in San Fran had flown by in a whirlwind and we were ready for some more beautiful sights tomorrow...
ITINERARY (LISTED): Welcome To San Francisco - Flowers In Our Hair
DISTANCE TRAVELLED (MILES): 160
ACCOMMODATION: USA Hostels - San Francisco, California
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