Day 2 in Seattle

My apologies but this has to be short and sweet.

Yesterday we decided to do a tour of Seattle as we didn't know anything about the city. We have found this is a good way to orientate ourselves with whatever city we are in and find out about the sights and the different areas.

We decided to split the sights into two days so yesterday we went down to the wharf, had a look around and had lunch, then in the afternoon we went to Pike Street Public Market, famous for throwing the fish. After we got back to our room, we met one of our new roomies who is about the same age as our parents and is from Chicago. She decided to run away from home for a week ;) but she has plenty of tips for when we get to Chicago (our next stop).We ended up joining her in the bar next door to watch the Green Bay Packers play the Chicago Bears (her team) play Monday night football (the big night for football apparently). The bears won.

Public art down at the wharf
(they have heaps all over the city, it's so awesome)

Pike Place Market and Farmers Market

The famous fish shop
(I missed out on a shot of the fish flying through the air)

Produce at the market

First Day in Seattle

Yesterday, Sunday, we caught a bus from Vancouver to Seattle. We had to go through US customs at the border and we got grilled by the customs officer. What exactly do they think we are going to be doing? Every time we go through customs, Christie always gets picked on more than myself. She must look guilty of something. Anyway, the drive down was really pretty, with forest on both sides and it was drizzling with rain.

Our hostel is one street back from a heap of bars and restaurants which is good and it's not too far from the main area of the city. We had dinner during happy hour which was really cool because our meals were $3 each. Back at the hostel, every room has been painted by a different artist which adds a cool atmosphere. There was also a girl in our room who lives in New York so she gave us a heap of recommendations and her details so we could contact her once we arrived there.

The art in our room.

Day 3 in Vancouver

Today, Saturday, we were extremely lucky to have a sunny day! Yay! We were also very lucky as we discovered that out tickets for the hop-on hop-off bus had not been dated so we were able to use it a second day for free. Double yay!

One of the many different views of Stanley Park

So first on the to-do list was to head back to Stanley Park and to wander around and see the whole thing. When we got off the bus, our driver told us that another (different) bus would be coming in 10mins which was a free tour of the park. You say free, we say yes. This tour was really good and allowed us to see far more in our short space of time than if we had walked around the whole place.

The totem poles at Stanley Park

View from Stanley Park

Next, we got back on the hop-on hop-off bus and rode it to Gastown, named after Gassy Jack, the founder of the first saloon here. This is quite a touristy area with the majority of Vancouver's souvenir shops, but we found good food and cool souvenirs (I got super awesome PJ pants with moose's all over them!), and it led into Canada Place which had the Olympic cauldron and some nice views.

Gastown

The Olympic cauldron

The view towards the mountains from Canada Place

I really wish we had more time to spend in Canada. I would love to come back and drive across the whole country (yes I realise I need a license to do this!). It is just so stunningly beautiful. If anybody is interested, let me know!

Day 2 in Vancouver

Friday was yet again cold and rainy so we were in a bit of a dilemma as to how to fill our day as everything we had planned to do was outside (and we are without wet weather gear). We decided to do one of the hop-on/hop-off bus tours as they were half enclosed so if the rain let up we could sit out in the open or if it kept raining we could see the sights from inside. This proved to be quite a good idea as out knowledge of Vancouver is extremely limited so we were able to go to all the sights and have a look. We visited places such as Stanley Park, English Bay, Granville Island, Robson Street and Gastown.

Part of Stanley Park

Entrance to Granville Island

English Bay Beach

At the 'Engagement' sculpture at English Bay

Thankfully, our view of Vancouver has dramatically changed. We love it here and wish we could spend much more time in Canada. It is so pretty with so many nice areas in the city. Saturday is supposed to be sunny so fingers crossed we will get to have a closer look at some of the areas we really liked.

Friday night we had tickets to see Tegan and Sara at Malkin Bowl which is in Stanley Park. It was quite a lot like when there are events at Kings Park only in Australia we don't seem to be stupid enough to book a concert outside in a park in a time we know is most likely going to be raining. So we were rather dreading the night as it was raining and freezing and we didn't have wet weather clothing or jackets. we walked into the fenced off area and about 40% of it was mud (great for my canvas shoes!), there was no sheltered area and umbrella's were not allowed in the venue (fair enough). We had to choose if we wanted to be sheltered a bit from rain under the big trees on the hill or huddled and slightly warmer down the front but in the rain. We chose under the tree as if we got wet, we would be freezing anyway.

Malkin Bowl

So we perched ourselves on some massive roots and sat in the cold waiting (we got there rather early as the hop on hop off stopped right next to the venue so we took the last service they ran but it got us there just as gates were opening). The show was really good but it was a very cold, uncomfortable experience. And I think I may have ranted way too much just now but I want you to really understand how damn cold it was!

Tegan and Sara

Very cold at Tegan and Sara

By the end of the concert we were shaking with the cold, sore from trying to huddle into balls, various body parts were numb and I couldn't feel my toes at all and they stayed numb the entire way back to the hotel (we took a bus and then walked 8 blocks and they were still cold!). To try and warm up, we ducked into Tim Horton's (love) for hot chocolates and doughnuts.

My 'Canada' doughnut

(yes those are little maple leaf candies)

First Day in Vancouver

So, as title suggests, yesterday we left San Fran for Vancouver. It's so time consuming every time we swap cities. It's annoying, we lose a whole day practically. So anyway, we got to Vancouver late afternoon and it was raining and rather miserable looking. Not very inspiring, even though I love the rain.

We are staying downtown so we decide we would go for a little walk and attempt to dodge the rain. We are just not really equipped for the wet and cold due to limited suitcase space. As the downpour set in we retreated back to our hotel as we didn't really know what we could do to fill time. Everything we have planned for Vancouver is outside and pretty much relies on it not raining. Fingers crossed the next two days with be ok.

Dinner was had at a cool bar/pub next to our hotel called Morrissey's with great music and then we went to the other side of the hotel for Belgian hot chocolates and tasty cupcakes (still raining hence close proximity to hotel!).

Christie with our hot chocolates and yummy cupcakes

Day 7 in San Francisco

Today we had a pretty uneventful day. We started the day by posting home a heap of stuff that we have bought in the last 2 weeks and also stuff we have realised we don't need. This cost a bucket load even though we picked the slowest shipping option. Maybe we are doing it wrong... We then did laundry and had lunch, and then booked a heap of flights and accommodation for the next few stops.

Feeling as though we should probably make the most of the sunny weather, and that it is our last day in San Fran, we walked down to Union Square and hopped on one of the historic cable cars. We rode it up one of San Fran's many hills and then walked back down and now here I sit, typing this for you.

We are both really tired which is a combination of not getting enough sleep, crappy food, and full on days. So to finish off San Fran, as promised, here are some fun photos of us with our crazy hats!

Day 6 in San Francisco

Yesterday, Tuesday 21st September, we visited Alcatraz. Our ferry boarding time wasn't until 12:40 though so we wandered around Pier 39. Apparently, when we went the other day, we bypassed a massive section of it, the main tourist side. We bought some nifty little hats here which you will see in tomorrows post! And so we fluffed around Pier 39 for a while until boarding time.

Once our tickets were checked, we had to stand in line before boarding the ferry and they take a photo of you with an Alcatraz background. It's a big tourist spin and costs you a bucket load. They photograph everyone and then print the photos and when you come back from the island, your photo will be on the wall if you want to purchase it. What a freaking waste of paper and money. Sure they say they recycle the photos that people don't buy (about 90%) but seriously, why not have it on a screen or something like with the London Eye. And the kicker? The reason they don't sell many is it costs $22 for two 5x7 photos. What a rip-off! Ok, end rant.

Alcatraz

So where was I? The ferry ride over to Alcatraz was really short, only 10 mins or something. Before I came to San Fran I was thinking Alcatraz would be a little further away, not quite as far as Rottnest but certainly not as close as it is. So Alcatraz was cold, sad and creepy. We did the audio tour which was really good and was complete with some chilling sound effects. Such a miserable place (duh Jess, it was a prison!).

The greeting at the wharf

Solitary Confinement rooms

General cells

The view of San Francisco Bay from Alcatraz

Day 5 in San Francisco

Today, Monday 20th Sept, was a busy day. We caught a bus out to Haight-Ashbury to spend some time in hippy-ville but none of the shops were open yet (it was 10:20am). We didn't want to waste time hanging around until they opened so we went on to our next stop of the day with the idea to come back at the end of our days adventures.

From Haight St. we walked down to Golden Gate Park which was 4 blocks away. We spent a little while getting lost (it's not very well sign-posted) before we found the California Academy of Sciences. It is a museum that I would describe as a cross between Scitech and AQUA. They had a planetarium where we saw 'Journey to the Stars' (I happened to fall asleep during this, it was interesting, I just didn't get any sleep the night before due to the noisy street below us and it was dark and comfy and calming!). We also got to see live turtles, penguins, sea life, bugs, a macaw, frogs, a rainforest eco-dome, their 'living' roof and their most famous 'exhibit', Claude, the albino alligator.

Em these are just for you :)

Just when I thought cockroaches couldn't get any worse - Hissing Cockroaches!

So mesmerising!

The rainforest eco-dome

The living roof

Claude

Our next stop was the Japanese Tea Gardens (also inside Golden Gate Park). This was very pretty and tranquil and we got really close to squirrels (Sarah do you remember our excitement in St. James Park with all the squirrels?!).

Since the weather was really good, we decided to jump on another bus and try our luck at the Golden Gate Bridge, where, fingers crossed, there would be no fog. Thankfully the weather held and we got stunning blue sky views of the bridge.

We then caught the bus back to Haight-Ashbury, wandered the main street, bought vegetables for dinner (this is worth mentioning because we have had so much trouble finding veggies, fruit is easy but veggies is so difficult!) and then headed back to the hostel.

Day 4 in San Francisco

Sunday was our designated day of shopping since we are sending a heap of stuff back to Australia before we leave San Fran on Thursday. Because we didn't see any sights, I don't really have any photos to put up or any interesting tales to tell you.

What I can tell you is that Christie and I both bought a Calvin Klein leather jacket. The silly thing is we both bought the same one because we both loved it so much. The exciting thing is that it was originally $400 but we got it reduced down to $250 as they had three day sale on at Macy's.


I also bought two pairs of shoes for $137 (together as they were 25% off).


Yay for bargains and being able to send shopping home!

Day 3 in San Francisco

Sorry about the delay in posts, we have been without internet because the wi-fi at our hostel stuffed up. ANYWAY...

Saturday we figured out how to use the buses and trams here and caught a tram down to Fisherman's Wharf at Pier 39. Here we went to the famous Boudin Bakery where they specialise in Sourdough bread. Their lunch specialty is clam chowder inside a hollowed-out sourdough roll, which Christie had. Myself, not liking seafood, had the tomato soup inside a roll instead. So yummy (yes Mum, I actually liked eating soup!).

I swear it tastes so much better than it looks!

We then went and had a look at the sea lions out on the pier who spend their days sunning themselves. It was funny watching them as they were all crowded onto a couple of floats and some of them were pushing the others out of the way.


Alcatraz was also visible from here which is a major improvement from the day before as you couldn't see any of it through the fog. We are really looking forward to going out there on Tuesday.

Yes that is Alcatraz. It is so close to the mainland!

We decided to take a walk around the marina to visit one of the famous Ghiradelli chocolate stores. This chocolate is sooooo tasty, especially their limited edition Halloween flavour, spiced pumpkin and caramel. As the day seemed to have cleared up, we then caught a bus to the Golden Gate Bridge but by the time we got there the fog had set in again so we didn't bother stopping and stayed on the bus to head back to the hostel. Unfortunately, half an hour later it was sunny and without fog again but we couldn't be bothered going back again!


Something I find strange in San Fran: The fire engine sirens here are so pitiful and weak. They sound like they can't be bothered. They really piss us off and it is something we have to hear a lot of because they go past our hostel window at least 6 times a day, and that is only when we are even in the damn room! Either people here are really careless with fire or there are a lot of cats stuck up trees!