Vancouver

I arrived in Vancouver and was greeted by wet, grey and cold conditions! No point in being upset by this, as Vancouver is not known for it’s sunshine. I spent the afternoon getting my bearings downtown and visiting Canada Place for views of Stanley Park, it’s also a good spot to view the mountains but not today as there was too much cloud.

In the 3 days here I have covered most of Downtown and Gastown. I have visited Granville Island which has some great artist studios and an excellent market. I spent a day at Stanley Park and walked the 10knm perimeter, stopping for lunch by Beaver Lake.

I also met up with Chris, one of the notorious Wilson clan! It was nice to see a friendly and familiar face, we enjoyed a few beers and had some good food at the Steamworks Brewery.

Sadly I haven’t been able to truly appreciate the scenery here as the wet weather has continued, I am hoping things improve for my stay on Vancouver Island which starts tomorrow.

Seattle

Having forced myself to leave Portland, after stocking up on cheap books and dvds, I headed north to Seattle. My hostel was on the corner of Pike Place, home to the famous Pike Place Market and the world’s first ever Starbucks. Needless to say my first afternoon was spent checking out both the market and Starbucks!

On day 2 I visited the University of Washington. On my way back to Downtown Seattle I visited Seattle Centre and the Space Needle, a tower and observation deck overlooking the city. The sun was finally shining o I thought it was only right to enjoy a pint or two in a local beer garden.

My final full day in Seattle was a Saturday and the first day of the Pike Market Festival. There was a parade, live music, BBQs, the huge market and a great atmosphere. I also managed a visit to the Seattle Art Museum, mainly due to the rain!!!

Although there’s not a huge amount to see and do in Seattle, its a great place to kick back and relax and sample the delights of everyday life here.

Must stop shopping

So having stayed up until midnight playing on my Macbook I slept in until 8am, yes that is late, for some reason I am still unable to sleep late!

After an hour of yet more mac time and finding I could speak to Hayley, Tristan, Debbie and Paul, I finally disconnected myself and waled into town.

I returned to Byways cafe for Blueberry pancakes which were even better than the french toast. I then walked into town and hit the shops! Obviously Abercrombie and Fitch took a direct hit, followed by American Eagle. I then returned to the Apple store for some technical help before more retail therapy in Urban Outfitters. Unable to carry much more I stopped at Trader Joe’s Grocery Store and picked up bread, peanut butter and beer, what more do I need?

So here I am yet again hooked up to my Macbook, uploading photos (5000 already) and drinking beer. People keep asking if I miss work, does this answer the question?

An expensive first day in Portland!

So I survived the 15 hour overnight bus trip from San Francisco, mainly by giving anyone who even looked like they might sit next to me my normal evil stare, meaning I was able to spread out and get some sleep!

Once I’d dropped off my bags at the hostel, which looked great, I went out to get some brunch. Having got a recommendation I found Byways Cafe. It looked promising by the fact that people were waiting outside for tables! As I was on my own and happy to sit at the counter I didn’t have to wait too long. It’s a really friendly place with a nice traditional vibe about it. I had french toast which was amazing, I might have to go back for pancakes before I leave!

I then walked through town discovering some nice stores, although some were closed for Memorial Day so there’s more to see tomorrow!

I found Powell’s Book Store, America’s biggest book store which covers 4 floors in a store which takes up an entire block!

I forced myself out of all these shops to find the Apple store, my aim for today. After an hour I had purchased a Macbook, case, some software and aftercare, and I was happy! Even happier as not only was it tax free and at the great exchange rate, but I also managed to convince them to give me student discount!

San Francsico Part 2

Well I’m about to leave San Francisco, and I’m exhausted!!!

Following my day at Alcatraz, I decided to hire a bike for the day and head over the Golden Gate Bridge. I picked the bike up and cycled along the waterfront, managing to come off twice! All very embarrassing but hey at lease I was amusing all the tourists!!!!

After an hour or so I’d got to grips with the bike just in time to make it up the hills to the start of the bridge. The views were amazing, cycling along the bridge was interesting due to the huge number of tourists both cycling and walking and stopping for photos, can’t really complain though seeing as I was one of them!

When I reached the other side I stopped for my lunch purchased earlier from an excellent deli  in North Beach (Little Italy). I then cycled down to Sausalito, relaxed with a drink by the marina and browsed the art galleries and shops before catching the ferry back to the city. I dropped the bike off at about 5pm and walked to America’s crookedest street, Lombard Street. Should be known as America’s most dangerous t-junction due to the crowds of tourists trying to take photos while the traffic is trying to avoid them!

The following day was a more laid back affair, checking out Chinatown, the upmarket shopping areas along Union Street and Chestnut Street and a walk around Presidio Park. I went out for dinner in Chinatown which sadly was pretty disappointing.

The weekend was a bank holiday to mark Memorial Day. I walked to the Mission district which was hosting a carnival, after checking that out I found a cafe, Tartine, and had the most amazing lunch, so amazing that I returned today for lunch and had to join a queue that had about 60 people in it!!

Following a walk around Mission, I headed to Castro District, you’ve never seen so many rainbow flags in your life! (Well I haven’t anyway!) I spent a couple of hours here browsing some very cool shops and managing to keep my credit card in my wallet.

Having returned to my hostel for a much needed shower etc, I went out for dinner to Plouf, not only recommended in every guide book I’ve read but also recommended by Sarah Jessica Parker (Sex in the City). I had moules mariniere avec pommes frites, followed by apple tart tatin with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce!! Oh and a cocktail and some white wine, superb! Suddenly my feet stopped hurting! Life is good:)

Today is my final day before getting the night bus to Portland, I went to see the Memorial Day Parade on Mission Street before returning to my favorite cafe for lunch and supplies for my bus journey!

San Francisco Part 1

I thought I’d break up my blog on SF as I’m here for a week and on day 3 I am already losing track of what I’ve seen.

I must admit city life took some adjusting, bearing in mind I skipped downtown Los Angeles this time, San Francisco is probably the biggest city I’ve been to since Melbourne. So arriving downtown with far too many bags, (I am going to have to send more stuff home this week) I dragged myself through the maze of streets trying to find my hostel. What I hadn’t realised was just how hilly San Francisco is! So after 20 minutes I was hot, sweaty and rather pissed off! So I hailed a cab! 2 minutes later I had arrived!

By this time it was late afternoon so I just had a brief explore around Union Square, an area which is home to every designer store you could possibly think of. For once I was grateful to be too tired to shop!

After some much need rest I was up early (as always!) and made my first stop Nob Hill, yes it really is called that. This involved a very steep climb, at the top I found Grace Cathedral so had a look around. I decided to go and explore Golden Gate Park (nowhere near the bridge). This took about 90 minutes to walk to via the hippy area of Haight Street. Golden Gate Park is a huge urban park, home to the Conservatory of Flowers, the Japanese Tea Gardens. Botanical Gardens and the National AIDS Memorial Grove. I spent a couple of hours walking around the park before deciding to head back across town. By this time my feet were somewhat tired but having managed to figure out the buses I was able to save myself another 90 minutes of walking.

I got the bus all the way across to the Ferry Building where there was a Farmer’s Market, some nice shops and views of Eastern Bay Bridge.

After a walk back along Market Street, the main downtown shopping area, I called it a day.

Today I changed hostel as planned. This involved an early start and a trek across town by foot and bus. Once checked in I headed through China Town to Pier 33 where I would catch the ferry to Alcatraz!

It was a 15 minute ferry ride giving nice views of Alcatraz Island and the Golden Gate Bridge. Once on the island you are issued with an audio tour headset. It took about 2 hours to explore the prison and hear the stories of what happened there. It was really interesting and brought alive by the ex-convicts and prison wardens telling their stories through the headset.

At the end you are, predictably, forced through the gift shop. I, as always, intended to pass through unharmed! However, sat in the corner was an ex-convict selling his book about his experience on Alcatraz. The book is now packed in my bag and the name escapes me but he signed it and seemed such a nice old guy, however when he got annoyed at some slightly insensitive questions, maybe you caught just a glimpse of the convict in him!!!!

So I returned to the mainland and took a walk along the shoreline before heading back. Another long day, and another 4 more long days to go!

Santa Cruz, it’s strange how things work out!

So I left San Luis Obispo early and travelled another 3 hours north to Santa Cruz. My planned stay of 3 nights here had to be cut down to 1 due to a film festival hitting town and causing a shortage of accomodation. I arrived at midday and spent half an hour dragging myself and all my bags to find the hostel, which was very nice. It was a short walk to the beach so I went to investigate. Apart from the hot sunshine, it reminded me of Southend seafront! After a walk along the pier I escaped the crowded beach front and walked into town, again unimpressive.

So it dawns on me that a week ago I was stressed at the prospect of having to stay 4 nights in Santa Barbara and only being able to have one night in Santa Cruz. I was stressing again about the fact that I was going to have to pay fees to change my travel dates as I had already booked the bus. I changed my travel dates in Santa Barbara, the nice man in the bus station let me off all charges. Santa Barbara turned out to be a stunning beach-front town. Santa Cruz turned out to be my idea of hell.

What can I say, it’s nice to have someone looking over you.

The only positive thing I have to say about Santa Cruz is that I had a very nice evening. I went to the cinema to see Then she was there, Helen Hunt, Colin firth and Bette Midler. I thought the film was great. I finished my evening with an outstanding Italian meal at Kiantis complete with some very nice red wine. It certainly made up for my disappointment in Santa Cruz!

San Luis Obispo

I left Santa Barbara and headed north to San Luis Obispo. I arrived at about midday and found the hostel which was a pretty house in a residential street. I spent the afternoon wandering around the small town. Its a very relaxed town probably due to the fact that not many tourists stop here! In the town I found a few art galleries, the San Luis Obispo Mission, a museum and numerous little cafes and interesting shops.

On the way back to the hostel I found a nice park so enjoyed the last couple of hours of sunshine there with my book.

I only had one night here, which on one hand was a shame but on the other probably wise, I’m not sure what I would have found to do on day 2!

Santa Barbara, for longer than planned!

So I left San Diego and headed north on the Greyhound changing bus in Los Angeles and arriving in Santa Barbara mid-afternoon. The bus terminal in right in the centre of town and the hostel was a five minute journey on the 25 cent shuttle that travels up and down the main street. Once I’d checked in and dumped my bags I went for a stroll around town and found a farmers market selling all sorts of fresh organic produce. I immediately got a good feel about the town, which is just as well. Due to the film festival in Santa Cruz I had to book 2 extra nights in Santa Barbara.

This gave me 3 full days in the town, during which time I have visited the Santa Barbara Mission, the courthouse, been on an unsuccessful whale watching trip (luckily it was almost free!), spent many hours laying on the beach with a good book (I have found Sand in My Bra, Part 2!) and browsed the hundreds of shops in town which include some really nice independent stores.

I would strongly recommend Santa Barbara as a great place to visit, but bring your walking shoes, I have blisters:(

 

San Diego Part 2

So I’ve had nearly a week in San Diego. I spent my first couple of days exploring the city visiting Seaport Village, Little Italy, Old Town, U.S.S. Mission and the Harbour area. I then took a slight detour and had a day in Mexico! Admittedly it was a very tacky area of Mexico, but made for a fun day drinking lots of Mexican beer and tequila!

On Sunday I went to Petco Park, home of San Diego’s baseball team, The Padres. I watched them play the Colorado Rockies and I’m pleased to say they won!

Today I visited the world famous San Diego Zoo and Balbao Park which were both pretty impressive.

Next I’m heading north to Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo before Santa Cruz, unfortunately I have timed my stay in Santa Cruz with a film festival and I am struggling to find somewhere to stay so if anyone has any ideas let me know!