The Start - San Francisco

To all of our loved ones... (you know who you are).

The final week before departure:

After dumping at least seven bin bags of my most decent clothes (an order from Carl) and saying goodbye to our parents we are finally on our way with a few of the items repacked in my rucksack after Carl made me unpack them. Both mums were in tears when we said goodbye. I thought that Carl's mum would be fine, but once we said goodbye it got all a bit too emotional (bless her). This is when I handed control over to Carl and thought "oh sh*t, how bad is my mum going to be". Considering my mum had been in tears for weeks before we left, I think she handled it quite well in the end - even when we were at the train station. It was very sad to say goodbye to our nearest and dearest but with seven months of no work and continuous play ahead of us, it was really a no brainer!


18 January 2007:

After dragging three suitcases, four rucksacks and a lot of other rubbish around for the previous few weeks, we arrived at Heathrow early on Thursday morning very relieved to see the back of them. We are now down to two large rucksacks and a day bag - not bad to say this is everything we need for six months. On checking in we headed straight for the pub - it would have been rude not to, even at 7:30 am.

We boarded the plane at 11am and squeezed into a cramped row of three seats. Unfortunately we began to feel a little uncomfortable within minutes as there was very little space. After take-off, however, we realised that the rest of the plane was pretty empty, so I moved over into my own row of four seats in the middle. Carl wasn't going to move away from the row of three seats so I left him there. It was only when he saw how comfortable I was that he decided to move over into my space. I used him as a pillow and sprawled across the four seats so he did have his uses.

We landed at San Fran at 1:30pm (9:30pm UK time). The weather was great - really warm and sunny. We must have looked a little lost because a woman approached us to find out where we were going. She was really helpful and pointed us in the direction of the tube. We then spent about ten minutes trying to work out how to buy tickets (the machines are an absolute nightmare) before another helpful soul came over and explained the procedure. We still don't get it. Give me an Oyster card any day. So, first impressions of the locals were that they are extremely helpful and tolerant of ignorant backpackers - result. So we got on the tube and it was really clean. I was careful not to make eye contact with anyone though, apart from this one person who entered. Is it a woman? Is it a man? Is it a beast? I think it was a woman with the worst facial hair I have ever seen. Creepy. If I'd have had my wax strips on me I would have lunged at her.

18 to 22 January - SAN FRANCISCO baby:.

We arrived at the San Fran Hilton about an hour later. It's just around the corner from Union Square. The views from the top of the hotel were amazing (see pictures if we ever work out how to post them on the blog). Carl was having a bit of a hissy fit. I can't remember what about because it had happened a few times already so I told him that if he didn't snap out of it he'd be sleeping on the street. Our room was on the 15th floor which gave us a pretty good view of a church and some homeless people.

After we settled in the first place we visited was the hotel bar and I was horrified to find that it was non-smoking so we walked out and moved on. Then we saw an Irish bar and thought "jackpot". Sadly it was a bit rubbish so we walked out and moved on again. Having given up on the idea of a pint we reluctantly wandered around Union Square and China Town. This was more tiring than it sounds since San Fran consists of several massive hills. We had food in a restaurant in China Town where we ordered a couple of beers but the waitress turned up with a beer for Carl and a Sprite for me!! I gave her her orders and sent her straight back. A woman needs her beer. The food was very good but the portions were huge. Carl wondered why his food didn't have the hot kick to it that had been described in the menu. I had to explain to him that the hot kick was in the red chili he had left at the side of his plate and that he should eat it. Well, Carl hadn't had a red chili before so he put the whole lot in his mouth and almost choked. A few toilet runs followed after that. After the food we just went back to the hotel and fell asleep at about 7pm. Our parents would be so proud.

Friday 19 January:

Would you believe that two pairs of eyes were open at 7am? My action man went for a run while I stayed in bed writing this crap. You lot are taking up too much of my time. We caught the cable car to Fisherman's Wharf which we think is the nicest part of San Fran. We went to the aquarium and saw loads of big and small fishes. And starfish. And we stroked a shark. I had to tell Carl that it was quite safe but he still soiled his pants. As we walked along the side of the pier we saw loads of Carl's ancestors. Big things that live in the water, have whiskers, two flappers and make funny noises. Oh and that smell. Sea lions. And hundreds of them. Again - see the photos. Great Whites and Killer whales don't enter the bay so hundreds of sea lions come in to shelter and sunbathe. Later we returned to the hotel bar where two half pints of beer cost eight pounds. We were sat there quite happily eating nibbles when Carl suddenly screamed. He had been eating his nibbles with his shark-stroking hand so he had to go and wash it.

Saturday 20 January:

Alcatraz

Wow! What a beautiful place. Outside of the prison walls of course. This must be the best historical place I have visited. It beats Roben Island hands down. We caught a boat over there from Fisherman's Wharf which only took about 15 minutes. We took an audio tour, which was fantastic as it guided you through the whole of the inside of the prison, explaining everything in great detail. It's such a spooky place, and we couldn't believe that the prison officers lived with their families on this tiny island. Apparently when the prison boat landed at the dock, bringing new prisoners, the children used to rush to their balconies and wave to them as this would have the only time they would see them. The views of San Fran from the island are amazing. You can see the view in the pictures. We would recommend doing this tour to anyone.

After our wonderful experience we continued on our quest to find a proper pub. There is no way on earth I would ever move to San Fran. I would dry out completely. We finally found a bar called Jacks but we only stayed for a pint because by this time we were not big drinkers any more. We then returned to the hotel and went up to the 48th floor to have some more beers. What a beautiful view. This floor has a 360 degree view of the city and also has a bar, it couldn't have been more perfect.

Sunday 21 January:

Today we biked the Golden Gate Bridge. After about 20 minutes I had to scream at Carl to explain that it was a bike ride and not a bike race. We were riding along the path parallel to the bay as well so it's not like it was a crap view. My breakfast pancakes nearly made a second appearance and I had to stop for quite a while. This was entirely because of Carl and his race - not because I'm unfit. The bike ride was fantastic though and the views, again, were amazing. The bridge is one and a quarter miles long. Once you get over the other side there's a big hill, but once you get over that bad boy it's all downhill baby. We cycled to Sausalito where we found a quaint little pub. It was magic and thoroughly deserved. The beer kept the pancakes down. After a few we caught the ferry back.

For dinner we went to Neptune's Place - which is on Pier 39. We had another great view of the bay and Alcatraz. Being the adventurous person I am I ordered crab's legs - a local delicacy. Carl copied me. I thought that ordering the whole crab would be too much for me emotionally. The waiter brought out a bib and nut cracker for each of us and I felt quite scared at this point but we went to town on the sucker anyway. I ate mine in a very lady-like manner. Carl, however, had juice all over his cheeks, bib, fingers, arms and even under his watch. The animal! After Carl had made such a good impression at the dinner table we then caught a cab back to the hotel.

Monday 22 January:

This is the end of the first leg. We went to the airport at 2pm and managed to get an early flight to LA. We had a few beers in the bar and then wondered around LA airport for a few hours before our flight to Melbourne. LA airport was pants. The flight with Quantas was pretty good. Fourteen and a half hours in total, so this was the last of our long flights for a while.