Hello! Been procrastinating for the past week because transferring approximately 2600 photos from one's camera to hard disk is no easy feat – I have yet to completely transfer all the photos – but I will be splitting up our three weeks long trip to the US into 2/3 posts so here is a summary of our week in San Francisco!
We touched down late afternoon after the looooong 11 hour flight from Hong Kong and drove from San Francisco airport (SFO) to our aunt's house, which would be our residence for the next 7 days.
I know this technically really isn't considered a day because we didn't do much but I think the post title 'San Francisco in 7 days' sounds way cooler than 'San Francisco in 6 days' so let's all just pretend this is Day 1 HAHAHA bear with me
Anyway, almost every morning we were greeted with a glowy sunrise of sorts, and our first sunrise there was no different -
Morning in Hercules!
Met a friendly doggo there and the very nice couple who were walking her!
My sister's expression whenever I request my mom to take chio photos of me HAHAHAH
The view from Lombard Street!
Day 2 – November 27, Sunday
On our first day there, we visited Muir Woods – named after John Muir, a naturalist. Otherwise better known as the guy who said "The mountains are calling and I must go." (I think this quote is very popular on Instagram bios HAHAHA)
On our way there, we drove on the iconic Golden Gate Bridge and stopped to take photos.
You can get a pretty good view of the Golden Gate Bridge and the bay from Fort Baker
Afterwards, we drove to our first planned stop of the day -
We had to drive through the many winding roads of Mill Valley before getting to our destination but the views of the rolling hills were amazing! Road-tripping through California has showed me that you'll always be rewarded with a view no matter where you are.
Anyway, back to our adventure at Muir Woods -
Magical light throughout our walk in Muir Woods!
The best thing about hiking in USA is that you don't have to bother about perspiring because of the humidity.
We had lunch at Stinson Beach and proceeded to (attempt to) hike the Dipsea Trail (which was dead tough)
On our way up -
My hiking guru of a cousin – enthusiasm, hiking stick and all
Made it to the top!
(kinda but there was no view and we didn't want to climb higher bc it was turning dark)
On our way down -
Realised that we frickin climbed 88 flights of stairs lmaozedong
Didn't manage to take lots of good pictures during this hike because I was busy trying to not fall over the edge (and plunge down 88 floors) and I was trying to get my sh*t together HAHAHAHA
Advice for hiking this trail is that one should start early to complete this hike and get the views you deserve! Especially if you are noob like us and haven't worked out in a long time.
Upon completing the trail, we raced against last light to catch the sunset at Mount Tamalpais State Park.
We actually wanted to catch the sunset at Mt. Tam's East Peak but the sunset from here was pretty great already and we couldn't make it there in time anyway (blame it on our noob legs which took so long to hike the Dipsea trail)
The sunset that day was beautiful but somehow pictures didn't fully encapsulate what we saw. During the last few minutes of light we sat in the car and listened to Paul Anka's song Dance On Little Girl (one of my cousin's favourite song - go listen to it!), and I chose to admire and watch the sunset instead of clicking away on my camera as I usually do. The mood and setting must have moved me or something because there were tears in my eyes as I watched the sunset and listened to the music HAHAH I guess the statement "the sight moved me to tears" is legit
Day 3 – November 28, Monday
We were on our own for this day because it was a weekday and my aunt had to go to work! So it was actually a pretty big leap of faith for us as we had to learn how to navigate the streets of San Francisco (without wifi) and somehow get our asses to Pier 33 so we could board the ferry to Alcatraz.
The San Francisco Ferry Building!
After walking the length of 33 piers (yes we started walking from Pier 1 HAHAHA) we made it to Pier 33 and boarded the boat to Alcatraz, otherwise known as The Rock. Alcatraz used to be a penitentiary, and was said to be one of the harshest prisons in USA.
The view of Alcatraz Lighthouse while we were on the ferry -
The audio tour guides you to various locations around the prison which are significant to Alcatraz's history. It is extremely interesting and some parts send shivers down my spine no kidding man (!!!) Some parts of the tour are narrated by ex-prisoners of Alcatraz and they speak of being so near yet so far from the city. I think the part which left the deepest impression on me was the part when the ex-prisoner mentioned that on New Year's Eve, when the wind was blowing in the direction of Alcatraz, he could hear the laughter of people on boats celebrating. I guess that's what made Alcatraz so harsh.
I think my favourite part of the island would be the Alcatraz Lighthouse! Especially since the skies were so clear and blue that day.
Love and its little ways - one of my favourite shots from the whole trip :}
Alcatraz provides a great view of San Francisco -
which is probably the saddest part for the prisoners on the island
Pretty stranger on Alcatraz
After taking the ferry back from Alcatraz, we walked further down to Pier 39 for lunch, which was great other than the fact that pigeons kept flying into the restaurant (gro$$)
Clear skies at Pier 39! And lots of people too.
While we were on our way to the toilet we heard the barking of the sea lions and were like ??? where is it coming from - turns out the sea lions were on the other side of the pier
Sleepyhead!
HAHAHA ok very funny story I just remembered - there was this sea lion who was getting bullied by the other sea lions and was pushed off the floating platforms whenever it got on - just like a scene in Finding Dory
One of the rare occasions I look good in a photo HAHAHA
Behind-the-Scenes ft. my sister being my servant personal photographer!
We had a pretty good view of Alcatraz from the pier -
There were quite a few people who were strolling by the pier to admire the rapidly-changing sunset - one moment it had hints of blue and yellow and the next it was all hues of purple and pink.
Met this friendly couple who were with their little baby son!
My squishy-cheeks radar was on HAHAHAHA QTPIE
(ohmy I just realised I dumped so many sunset photos here HAHAHA) Pier 39 / Fisherman's Wharf is must-visit if you are in San Francisco! Find a sunny day (check your weather forecast) to go there and make sure you catch the sunset there :-) It is extremely relaxing to sit there for 20-30 minutes while watching the colours of the sky fade and change.
Day 4 – November 29, Tuesday
On this day, we were all ready to be rewarded with great views of the Golden Gate Bridge as we went on a biking tour HAHAHAHA we really underestimated the term "biking tour" because we got rekt big time no kidding
Our day started off with us trying to hook onto #SFWifi and Googlemap our way to 2715 Hyde Street (where the bike shop Blazing Saddles was located). Ended up walking 20+ blocks but every street was special with their series of colourful houses and slopes of varying steepness. I was going to complain about walking such a long-ass distance just to find a bike shop but I guess I can be proud that we had to chance to explore the colourful streets of San Francisco.
We got off the cablecar at Mason Street (near the Fairmont hotel) and attempted to find our way there -
When we (finally) reached Blazing Saddles, we had just missed the earlier bike tour so we settled for the later one and decided to pop by Ghirardelli Square.
We had lunch at this place called Lori's Diner but we were all pretty full so we shared one big breakfast platter.
#nothingelsebettertodo #boliao
After lunch, we walked back to the bike shop and headed out for the biking tour.
Our first stop was the Palace of Fine Arts, which was this beautiful piece of architecture! It has served as the setting of many movie scenes from the 1950s - 1970s.
Gold on granite against blue skies!
Quite a pity we didn't have time to enter the place and look at its interior though
Our biking tour group was just us and an Australian family of four so it was not bad but holy crap no one told us about the arduous and painful rides uphill so we basically died lmao rip limbs. Also this Australian family needs to teach us their ways of cycling man how the heck they got up that steep-ass slope without getting off their bike once is beyond me
Anyway after dying and getting off to push our bikes uphill 2837846 times we were rewarded with this view of the Golden Gate Bridge -
We then proceeded to cycle up another big-ass slope which our guide deemed 'easy' and in his words "if you conquered the previous slope this should be no big deal" LIES. *cue getting off bike for the 27384627th time*
This slope led us to the Golden Gate Bridge which we then cycled across! The Golden Gate Bridge spans 2737m (totally wouldn't mind doing my NAPFA on this bridge lmao) which sounds ok on bike but omg wtfrick it was worse than I thought
Taken while I was panting like crazy on the bridge HAHAHA
oh hello there aussie family with crazy good athletic prowess (how do they do it? the mystery continues)
ft. cycling guide who doesn't wait for losers like us
Drove down a loooong slope to Sausalito which was equal parts fun and dangerous as hell - fun because no more uphill slopes hooray! but dangerous because there were cars whizzing by and we were like the annoying noobs on the road trying not to fall off and get run over LOL
We stopped at Sausalito for approximately 45 minutes and took a (much needed) break at Starbucks where we searched up Blazing Saddles on TripAdvisor HAHAHA
The glimmering city of San Francisco from Sausalito
Views from the ferry back to San Francisco -
Day 4 was probably the most! tiring! day! ever! I mean I'm glad we tried doing the bike tour but never again. It was a truly harrowing experience and the views were meh (but the views from the ferry are A1) I'd rather take the MUNI and walk there or something. In conclusion, I think Blazing Saddles is a yes if you're a biking expert and a "prepare yourself for the most tiring 2+ hours of your life" if you're a noob like us. (The emoji of the cat below is 100% me after the whole trip)
And I'm just going to be a petty Singaporean on this but the bikes are harder to operate than the bikes at East Coast Park ??? As in there are 2 gears to change and so many knobs to handle I kept forgetting which made it easier to cycle uphill etc
However, you'll feel very accomplished when you complete the whole route! About 90% of the reviews of Blazing Saddles on TripAdvisor are positive so it really depends on oneself. Also if you are more confident and prefer to do it yourself there is a self-guided tour (I nearly dragged my mom and sis to do this HAHAHA) Apart from all the noobness, day 3 was a pretty rewarding day!
Day 5 – November 30, Wednesday
Day 5 was a pretty chillax day for us (much needed because our limbs pretty much died the day before) and our first stop was the Exploratorium at Pier 15!
The Exploratorium is quite like the Science Centre in Singapore - except cooler HAHAHA
We spent much more time at the Exploratorium than expected as the displays were pretty intriguing (particularly love the magnetic-type displays)! There were quite a few kids there on a field trip as well. We ended up having to postpone our trip to California Academy of Science to another day because we spent too much time here HAHAHA
When we exited the Exploratorium, Karl the San Francisco fog was visiting -
Afterwards, we took the historical cable car (my favourite mode of transport around San Francisco!) down to Union Square and my mom spotted The Cheesecake Factory so we got off and had lunch there.
We of course tried the classic cheesecake woohoo and it was really good
We took the historical cable car once more to Ghirardelli Square and I met this friendly guy onboard the cable car! At first he thought he was standing in the way and blocking me but after I told him I was trying to photograph him at work he was more than happy to pose for a photo :-) Met him again two days later and he told me he shaved HAHAHA too bad I didn't get another photo of him that day :-( Glad to meet friendly people like him in San Francisco!
(he works onboard the Hyde-Powell cable car!)
Taking a stroll along the bay -
Walked through a tunnel of trees to reach this green field on the other side!
There were so many people walking their dogs through the field it felt like a scene out of 101 Dalmatians.
SO CUTE AHHH
Dandelions!
#wetried #Aforeffort
We got to Crissy Field and walked along the beach trying to get a good angle of the Golden Gate Bridge but the sunset wasn't particularly spectacular that day so nope! But glad to catch sight of some happy doggo running along the beach and at least we managed to burn off quite a few calories because of all that walking HAHAH
Day 6 – December 1, Thursday
Day 6 was a day of exploring futures and possibilities because we visited UC Berkeley and went on a university tour!
Wasn't particularly excited or thrilled at first to be honest but we were lucky we got an enthusiastic tour guide (I think her name was Ashlyn!) who told us all the backstories of places on campus, like the how the 4.0 hill came to be or why the building housing the architecture students may (ironically) seem like the ugliest building on campus.
Hot dude spotted at UC Berkeley??? (not a student (yet) - he was with the tour)
soz for being a creep he's just very good looking HAHAHA
(btw I took this photo while pretending I was trying to get a shot of the school LOL)
The famous Sather Gate which inspired the school gate at Monsters University!
I wasn't particularly keen on studying abroad before but this university tour was an eye-opener, thanks to our guide! I mean I'm not particularly bent on joining UC Berkeley after the tour but it has become kind of like a goal for me. I guess what I really like about universities in the US (we visited Stanford too and the tour mentioned this too) is that they have the space to learn hands-on. The student guides spoke of visiting and camping in national parks with their professors and all the interesting lessons they had attended – and after hearing about life both on and off campus I realised that I wouldn't mind having this kind of lifestyle; it inspired me to work hard and do well enough so UC Berkeley could be a possible option in the future! If you're visiting Berkeley I highly recommend you to sign up for the university tour as it gives you a great insight into life on and off campus.
After having lunch at a Japanese store which was a short walk down from Berkeley (the cool thing is that most of the students at UC Berkeley work at shops along these streets part time) then we took the BART to Embarcadero and a bus to Lands End!
The ride from the business district to Lands End was approximately 45 minutes but it was nice to look out of the window from time to time to see the colourful streets of San Francisco.
The ruins of Sutro Baths, which functioned as a swimming pool from the late 1800s to mid 1900s
We were chilling and taking in the view when we saw some wild pelicans fly by!
(am I natgeo material yet? I guess not)
I think my sister was the most excited of all ???
These were her expressions literally every time they flew by HAHAHA
Walking amongst the trees (on the right of Sutro Baths!)
Golden hour
We then walked further down to this point where the Golden Gate Bridge was in clear view
Rainbow-ish sunset of sorts
Friendly little (shy) doggo who kept sniffing my camera bag HAHAHA
+ super friendly owner as well!
(almost all the dog owners here are friendly & will allow you to play with/take photos of the dog if you ask)
Lands End will always be one of my favourite places in San Francisco - watching daylight fade into golden sunset here was one of the most memorable moments I had (though I was also racing against last light because I was worried I couldn't get any good Golden Gate photos in time). ok this is so random but y'know how every photographer's dream feeling is one where you go for a trip and you come of it being so satisfied with your shots? The photos from day 6 gave me that feeling!!! So put 'Sunset at Lands End' in your checklist of things to do in San Francisco because the view there is amazing.
Day 7 – December 2, Friday
Felt like children again on this day because we were constantly awed by all the sights at California Academy of Sciences. This place, like the Exploratorium at Pier 15, is a hotspot for school field trips so don't be surprised if you enter along with a group of excited children HAHAHA
Walking on our way to the aquarium we saw this albino alligator which was equal parts fascinating and creepy
Aquarium Exhibit!
Touchpool hehehe reminded me of a scene in Finding Dory
Afterwards we entered this glass dome thing which was supposed to mimic the rainforest habitat -
The Golden mantella - cutest frog I saw there but super poisonous
No matter how old you are you'll probably look on at the exhibits with childlike wonder :-)
A1 acting goes to my sister and mom
The Savannah / African wildlife Exhibit (??? I forgot the name oops)
All the animals are taxidermied but they look as though they're still alive and would come to life at any moment like in Night at the Museum HAHAHA no kidding I'm still so scared of the cheetah display
We then caught the 12(+)pm show for Incoming! at the Morrison Planetarium. Very cool because it is displayed on the curved ceiling of the Planetarium, giving the audience a 360ยบ experience. Incoming! is about asteroids, how some of them came to be and also speaks of the possible existence of a Planet Nine. At least that's all I remember before I fell asleep because the chairs are so comfy (they recline all the way back so you're basically lying down) + George Takei's narration and the background music are soothing HAHAHA
On our way out, we met a friendly group of staff who had a snake and encouraged us to touch it -
This old man was so happy doing his job I feel so happy whenever I look at this image
An employee being equally fascinated as we were by the snake and the touch of its skin
We then took a bus back to central San Francisco and then took cable cars to Lombard Street (and coincidentally met the friendly cable car guy!)
Lombard Street wasn't as nice as it was 11 years ago because the overgrown hedges and along the street made it tough to see the curves and bends of the street (which were supposed to be its specialty!) Nonetheless, the view of San Francisco from there was beautiful.
Watching the sunset from Lombard Street -
Lego houses at a glance
At the bottom of Lombard Street!
On our way to Union Square -
The sunset inside a frame
Day 7 was pretty much one of our chillax days because we had already ticked off most of the places on our checklist and weren't in a hurry to go anywhere.
And that concludes our one whole week in San Francisco! Though we took a road trip through California for the next two weeks, nothing could really compare to SF! We actually did spend 2 more days in SF after our road trip but I think this post will end up being too long (it is already too long at the moment HAHAHA) so I shall post it separately.
(timelapse onboard the cable car!)
I enjoyed learning how to navigate around San Francisco (using both Google Maps and a physical map) and taking all modes of public transport – from buses to historical cable cars – because I came out of it feeling like I knew the city better! I think spending one week here was just enough and I 10/10 wouldn't mind coming back here.
The next post would detail our two week long road trip through California but you probably won't see me posting it anytime soon because my brain juice has run dry after writing so much (I took like 4 days to do this post HAHAHA) and being the lazy-ass that I am I still have not finished downloading all the pictures from my camera.
Truly truly hope you like this post and kudos to you for sitting through more than 100 photos (I tried my best to vet so I don't end up posting too many but oh well)!
Till next time xx
No comments:
Post a Comment