My First Ever Trip to the USA: San Francisco!

Home to the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, the SF Giants and built on 50 hills, it's no wonder San Francisco attracted a total of over 18 million visitors in 2014. And the summer after my GCSEs (2015) I was lucky enough to experience the city first hand!

After a couple of nights in Foster City whilst Dad was working, we got in a taxi and travelled towards the big city to arrive at our hotel, 'The Palace'. The hotel was AMAZING! No joke, the toilet had a heated seat! V. posh! With chandeliers in the dining room and a big ceiling which reminded me of the Titanic, it was our first sight of San Francisco! 

On the first day we booked ourselves on a 'Hop On Hop Off' bus tour that drove around all the "must-see" sites with suitable live commentary. If you ever visit a large city they're a great way to get around without having to walk loads. You can take a look at the map and decide which stops you want to get off and explore at, or whether you just want to sit back and enjoy the ride and commentary. 

One of my favourite stops a long the way was 'Fisherman's Wharf' and 'Pier 39' which had some really cute shops and food stalls including a shop that sold stuff specifically for left handed people! There was a little jetty where you can apparently see Sea Lions snoozing in the sun...though unsurprisingly knowing our luck, they were all on holiday when we went to have a look. I'm told the best time to see them is early June as they tend to head south in July. You might also be able to see them in September when they're on their way back! 

From Fisherman's Wharf we took a walk to Lombard Street which is the curviest street EVER! To get there though we had to walk up a REAAALLY steep hill. Russian Hill has famous cable cars going up and down, but for some reason we thought it would be a good idea to walk up....I'd probably only recommend walking down...

The highlight of the trip for me however was the boat trip out to Alcatraz! The bus ticket we bought included the boat trip and access to the island which was awesome, but if you're considering going and your ticket isn't included, make sure you book the trip as soon as possible because they get fully booked really fast! Even if you do have a ticket included, make sure you book a time slot as soon as you can! After getting a boat there and enjoying gorgeous views of the city and bridge from the boat,  we got to the island and were given an audio tour that walked us around the cells and out-buildings . There were some really spooky moments where you walked into a cell and could hear the door close in the audio tape. I loved the spooky feel to the tour and it really made learning facts about the island fun, which is not easy when you're dealing with somebody who hates museums (as I do...) 

Another great stop was the famous Giradelli Chocolate Shop where they had a whole square full of chocolate. In every shop they give out free samples! That of course, lead to us walking through all the different shops throughout the city several times to get free samples! Seriously though...the caramel chocolate squares were incredible! They also have the largest ice cream sundaes ever! We shared one between the four of us and we were still stuffed! 

We also visited the Golden Gate Park, China Town, the City Hall and even managed to squeeze in some extra shopping time in Union Square. 

And of course a trip to San Fran wouldn't be complete without a trip to the Golden Gate Bridge! The bus took us straight to the viewing point and across to picturesque Sausalito.

Even though we were only there for 5 days, it was pretty jam packed but with some careful planning, we managed to see and visit everything we wanted to and still have time left for shopping!

Fancy experiencing San Francisco for yourself? I have some amazing rates! Contact me to book your trip today!