Holiday Post 5: San Francisco

03rd August 2019

We ended our holiday with a three night stay in San Francisco. It was late when we got there on the Sunday so we didn’t get to see much of it (we took a detour via the Jelly Belly Jelly Bean Factory!) but we did get to drive in over the Golden Gate Bridge and enjoy the sun going down after getting stuck in some traffic and getting very hangry!

After rolling in to town we dropped off our rental car as we didn’t see a benefit to keeping it in a busy city where parking is notoriously difficult/expensive. We picked up an Uber to take us to our Airbnb- we went with this option rather than a hotel because we were able to get something MUCH nicer for our money with what little budget we had left and it was a winning choice. Hotels in San Francisco are expensive, and somewhat dingy if you’re on a budget. On the flipside, our Airbnb which was a converted basement in someone’s house, was immaculate and our hosts were perfect- friendly and on hand to help if we wanted it, but happy to leave us to our own devices. As a first experience of Airbnb it was perfect.

We were located somewhere downtown with little around in terms of dining options so we took a 10pm stroll to a nearby grocery store for a makeshift dinner. It was quite daunting at first as it was our first real city experience outside of Vegas but very interesting (and hilly!)

Our first morning in San Francisco saw us getting another Uber and heading down towards Fisherman’s Wharf, via IHOP which Bob was desperate to try (it was good!).
We don’t actually feel like we got the best experience of SF as it was freakishly hot whilst we were there- up to 37 degrees. This is not ideal temperatures for exploring a busy city and we definitely didn’t see as much as we would have liked as it was unbearable to be out for too long, but we’re already planning our next road trip which will see us back in San Francisco before driving up to Seattle.

One place we absolutely loved was Musée Mécanique- a vintage penny arcade located on Pier 45 on Fisherman’s Wharf. We spent a very happy couple of hours here playing on the old school machines and posing in the photo booths- 100% recommend a pit stop here if you’re in town!
We also took a tour of SS Jeremiah O’Brien, a WWII Liberty Ship as Bob and I are both war history buffs. This was an awesome experience and well worth the entry fee we paid. It was however far too hot to spend long on board.

We didn’t visit Alcatraz this time as we didn’t book in advance, which is a must and it was fully booked. We saw it from afar though and it’s on the list for next time.

View of Alcatraz Prison from the SS Jeremiah O’Brien.

After some lunch grabbed from a 7-11 (love those places) we headed to another famous pier- Pier 39, known best for it’s sea lions. Again it really was to hot to fully enjoy this, but it has a buzzing atmosphere and super cool vibe.

A few hours wandering this part of town and we were beaten by the weather. We headed back to our apartment to have a siesta and cold shower before going out to a fairly local shopping mall for an easy dinner (Panda Express, yum!) and a bit of retail therapy.

Day two dawned slightly cooler and we decided to get an Uber to Golden Gate Park. We picked up some breakfast in a supermarket which we ate on the beach before setting about our mission to cover as much of the massive park as we could on foot (next time we’ll hire bikes!)

We made a pretty good dent in the park as well, but there are so many zones to explore you really need a couple of days to get the most out of it.

As an aside, this was on the Tuesday and not one person had mentioned that at noon on a Tuesday they test the emergency alarms, so when they went off there was genuine terror and visions of us about to be engulfed by a tsunami, especially as our Uber driver had kindly told us this freak weather scared him as it made the chances of one much higher! Consider yourself warned!

After about four hours of walking we got yet another Uber and went back down to the beach for one of my favourite parts of the entire holiday.
Before we went I had posted on Facebook that I’d be in San Francisco and this actually presented itself as the perfect opportunity to meet up with one of my most longstanding online friends.
It’s so wonderful to be able to turn an online friend in to a real life one, and our afternoon with Meghan was perfect. We drank cocktails at the Beach Chalet then took a walk on the beach to dip our toes in the Pacific.

It was the most idyllic ending to the holiday of a lifetime and I hope that when we go back to the states we can meet up again.

That evening we headed to another shopping mall, ate more Panda Express (we were so taken by this chain, and we were priced out of local restaurants by this stage in our trip!). We also finally visited a Trader Joes and loaded up on snacks to take home- England needs Trader Joes asap!

Shopping and dining done we headed back to our Airbnb for an early night ready for our epic day of travelling the next morning.
The flights home were smooth sailing, although we didn’t get an minute of sleep so we were slightly delirious by the time we landed in a cold and rainy Heathrow, and we had four days of truly horrendous jet lag. But we had the absolute best time and came home to a very happy to see us Pablo, a house full of engagement cards and balloons, and of course, a wedding to plan!

As I mentioned earlier in the post, we’re keen to re-visit San Francisco in more normal weather conditions. We were a bit overwhelmed when it came to choosing where to visit and what to see, so although it won’t be for a couple of years now we’d love some recommendations.

I hope you’ve enjoyed our little holiday re-cap series! Hopefully there will be more travel posts, both UK and overseas in the future, we’ve certainly got the exploring bug!

Permalink 1 Comment

The Top 6 Things About The Countryside *

18th July 2019

If you live in a city or a town then an escape to the countryside is needed every so often. Even if it’s just for a day trip, visiting the countryside can make you feel like you’ve had a break, and it can often help to clear your mind and reset your batteries. Here are a few reasons why visiting the countryside is one of the best things you can do.

You Can Take Great Photos

If you’re an Insta fan, then you can get some beautiful photos of the countryside. There are some stunning landscapes, beautiful colours, gorgeous animals and magical scenery. The country is breathtaking, and you’ll want to capture it and treasure your memories forever.

You Can Go For Amazing Walks

Walking is so good for you and so is the fresh country air. There are so many different walks you can take, download a walking app to show you the different routes and you’re set. Walking in the country is pleasurable and never feels like a chore because you are always surrounded by beautiful things and exciting things to look at.

Enjoy Long Drives

Long drives in the country are fantastic too. You won’t find yourself stuck in traffic and getting frustrated (although tractors are a risk!) but you’ll be able to enjoy your car and enjoy the roads. If you need a decent car for the countryside, then look no further than LRC 4×4 Limited where you’ll find something to get you through those country terrains.

You Can Meet Great People

Many people say that in the countryside the people are friendlier than they are in the city. Now, this is hard to measure of course, but what you probably will find is that in the country people are less busy, the shops are quieter meaning that there’s time for a friendly chat with the shopkeeper, the streets are quieter meaning that when you walk past someone, it’s likely that they’ll say hi to you. There might be more opportunity to speak to people and to find out about them. Locals might be very proud of their country village and want to show tourists a good time; therefore they will make an effort to chat with them and make them feel welcome.

You Can Visit Great Country Pubs

The cosy country pubs can’t be beaten. When you come in from a long walk and go in for some warmth and a home-cooked meal and a nice drink, it’s the best feeling in the world. Many people say that the food is fresher in the countryside too as it is most often local food and perhaps more traditional in the country. With access to local farms and produce, you can enjoy some local delicacies and usually some homemade comfort food.

You Can Do Lots Of Activities

With nature walks, horse riding, visiting animals on the farm, there is lots to do in the country if you want to do it. You won’t get bored, and there’s usually some sort of attraction you can get to by car if you’re going to go somewhere and get out of the country for a day.

Permalink 1 Comment

Holiday Post 2: Ventura, Santa Barbara and Big Sur

06th July 2019

Following on from my previous post, where I left off in the Mojave Desert, we continued our epic drive in to California. This was the longest drive we did, if I recall correctly, with a total of around 11 hours in the car…did we tire of it? Not really, the scenery when you drive through America is incredible vs. what you see in the UK and because everything was new to us it was all incredibly exciting. The worst part of the drive was through LA and Hollywood- somewhere we elected not to stop in favour of other places within the time constrains of our trip. The traffic was INSANE, as were the other drivers- we were both relieved when that leg of the journey was over.

It was late by the time we made it to our Hotel in Ventura (we stayed at The Amanzi Hotel) so we didn’t get a chance to explore the town much. We did head down to the beach after breakfast though, but it was super overcast so we just had a meander down the pier before driving on to Santa Barbara.

The novelty of facing the beach looking one way and the mountains when you looked the other never really wore off.

By the time we got to Santa Barbara and parked up the sun had started to come through, showing us what California beach life was like. Santa Barbara is such a pretty place and although we didn’t have much time to explore we walked the pier, grabbed a coffee and spent some time watching surfers head out in to the ocean.

The next part of our journey was probably our favourite drive of the holiday, with some of the most incredible scenery along the way. We drove through Vineyards and past mansions on the way to one of most anticipated pit-stops and somewhere we wished we had stayed much closer to, and for much longer.

Big Sur and the Californian costal route in general is one of the most breathtakingly beautiful places I have ever seen. Throughout this trip I found myself constantly in awe of nature and it’s ability to create such stunning scenes.

As one might expect, staying in Big Sur was expensive and therefore we elected not to, with great regret. Our next overnight stop was pretty beautiful to though, we drove a further hour to a place called Carmel-By-The-Sea. This was a town like no other I have seen, really pretty and quaint with enviable houses and a real air of affluence (the local shops included Kate Spade and Tiffany!)
We found the local dining options out of our price range- a common story for many parts of this holiday so we headed to the Del Monte Shopping Centre in search of food. We settled on California Pizza Kitchen which proved a worthy choice in terms of value and deliciousness- I’d never considered brie, chicken and grapes a pizza topping up until now but it needs to be a thing!

We bedded down in a more authentic American Motel that night ready for our most hotly anticipated destinations of the trip- Yosemite National Park and Mammoth Lakes.

Looking back I realise we didn’t take nearly enough photos on this part of the trip. We only took our phones with us and we spent so much time drinking in what we were seeing that taking photos didn’t really occur to us until after the event. Thankfully the memories we made are ones we’ll never forget, but it would have been nice to have more visual memoirs of our dream holiday.

Permalink 2 Comments

Holiday Post 1: Vegas to the Grand Canyon

29th June 2019

It’s been just over two weeks since we got back from our holiday of a lifetime, and despite being desperate to share what we did and what we saw I’ve been struggling to put it in to words.

We started our adventure on the 31st of May when we headed up to The Hilton at Heathrow Terminal 5- we had booked a park and fly package which worked out brilliantly for us. It was only about £30 more to do it that way than it was to drive up in the early hours of the Saturday morning and park at Terminal 2 and it was a fantastic, luxury start to our holiday. Getting to Terminal 2 was a doddle in the morning and we were far more relaxed than if we’d had to leave our house at 3am!

We flew with United Airlines who were fantastic, we missed our connection to Las Vegas from Chicago due to a delay in London, but once we landed we found we only actually lost an hour and had been booked on to the next flight.

Landing in Las Vegas was insane- straight away you’re greeted with Slot Machines, and as first time visitors to the USA everything was larger than life. We were exhausted at this point and were desperate to get to our hotel. A short Uber ride later and we arrived at The Four Seasons where Bob had booked us a suite.

The Four Seasons is above the Mandalay Bay hotel and has it’s own private entrance, making it one of the few hotels on the strip where you don’t have to walk through a Casino. This was much welcomed after our first full day, and whilst we technically didn’t need a suite, it was a beautiful sanctuary after the heat and madness that is the strip!
The hotel is located at the far end of the strip (near the Luxor) making it a little quieter than some we saw. It’s so easy to get anywhere you want in Vegas- either using the monorail or Uber so we didn’t feel we had missed out by not being more central.

We only had two full days in Vegas, but it felt like enough. Evidently we took very few photos as we were just flat out overwhelmed by the sheer enormity of the place, and it felt like by whipping out the camera we were constantly in someone’s way.
Mostly we spent our days walking around various hotels and casinos, but we did take a short trip to the Las Vegas North Premium Outlets which we highly recommend for designer bargains. I picked up the Kate Spade bag and wallet you see above for a mere £103!

With so little time we didn’t get chance to really explore the culinary scene, and the restaurants within casinos were very pricey. We mostly stuck to chains- PF Changs was a hit, however we had an excellent meal in Citizens within the Mandalay Bay- the New York Strip steak and Fish Tacos were divine!

On our last morning in Vegas we picked up our rental car (highly recommend Sixt) and headed to our next destination- Flagstaff in Arizona.
Obviously we had to stop at the Hoover Dam on the way, although it was 40 degrees out so we limited our time there to an hour of very sweaty walking.
The Dam itself is a breathtaking sight, it’s entirely man made and mind-boggling to think about how it was achieved.

Driving in America was something we didn’t tire of the entire trip. 12 hours in the car was no big deal when there was so much to take in. We were blown away by the sheer amount of open space and just how much you can see!
The drive to Flagstaff was our first time on the road and the rules of the road took some getting used to. Once we settled in and got the music blaring we just enjoyed the crazy scenery.

We spent about four hours driving that day before we hit our home for the night- the Twin Arrows resort just outside of Flagstaff. We had already dined on the road – why is Chick-Fil-A not a thing in the UK? Their waffle fries are insane! We were exhausted at this point and after a brief explore turned in for the night ready to be up early the next day for a drive to see the Grand Canyon and then make the epic trek back down through Arizona and in to California.

The Grand Canyon is one of the most insane things I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s just breathtaking. We weren’t really prepared for how busy it would be though, and by the time we had parked and walk to the viewing point it was lunch time and heaving. We had to cut our visit short, with a ten hour drive ahead of us, but it was well worth the heat and the crowds. If we’d had more time in Vegas I think we’d definitely have done an organised trip to see more of it, but just the snippet we did see left us blow away.

We then hopped back in to our car and started driving. And driving, and driving. We spent much of the day going through Mojave desert which is somewhere I have wanted to see for the longest time. It was a balmy 44 degrees when the above photo was taken and I had just made the mistake of googling local wildlife (pro tip- don’t!)
After a USA sized bucket of icy cold drink it was back in the car and on to Ventura, California.

Stay tuned for the next installment!

Permalink 3 Comments

I’m Engaged!

16th June 2019

Just when I thought our dream holiday couldn’t get any more perfect (and rest assured, there are a few holiday re-cap posts in the works), Bob asked me to marry him in a secluded nook by the Lower Yosemite Fall Trail.

I didn’t hesitate in accepting. Tears (of joy) were shed.

It was the most perfect proposal, and a complete bolt out of the blue for me. He filled me on how he made it happen, which made some little bits of oour holiday suddenly make sense, but I honestly didn’t see this one coming (although it seems most of my friends and family had an inkling). He did such an amazing job pulling it off and for picking such a beautiful ring- you can’t see but it has a sapphire nestled under the diamond so I already have my “something blue”.

It happened almost ten days ago and it still feels very surreal, partly, I suspect to the four day jet-lag marathon we seem to be running.

I’m so excited to spend the rest of my life with this man.

Permalink 9 Comments

← Older posts Newer posts →

A Daisy Chain Dream

Category Archives: lifestyle

Holiday Post 5: San Francisco

The Top 6 Things About The Countryside *

Holiday Post 2: Ventura, Santa Barbara and Big Sur

Holiday Post 1: Vegas to the Grand Canyon

I’m Engaged!