San Francisco

Day 1

The views on the Amtrak train were remarkable

Arrived into San Francisco at 5:30PM and I had to make my way to the thruway Amtrak bus to get into the centre of San Francisco. The stop that I had to leave the bus on was in the financial district.

I then had to find my way to the USA Hostel which we will be staying in and then meet Jodie at the Metro station to take her back to the hostel and to check in. We then headed out for food at one of the local diners and headed to bed as Thursday was going to be an early start.

Day 2

The first thing which was a must was the head to the Starbucks located 5 minutes away from the AT&T stadium. It took us 30 minutes to walk to from the hostel which we were staying in.

AT&T Baseball Tour

The AT&T Stadium tour was incredible and it lasted for approximately 2 hours. We got to see some of the old jersey’s that the Giants players used to wear 30+ years ago and learnt about their history in baseball. We got to take some selfies and funny photos on the pitch and in the dugouts when games were being played. We weren’t actually allowed onto the playing field as the grounds keepers were getting the grounds ready for the Giants vs New York Mets match which was about the take place for the next three days.

Union Square

After the tour I took Jodie for her first experience of Taco Bell and headed towards Union

Square to have a drink and to enjoy the remainder of the afternoon in the sun.

We started drinking in the hostel and playing pool, hoping that some people would be

sociable with us and want to join us for a night out in the big city. No one was so we headed out to one of the local dive bars for a few drinks. The atmosphere was good and the music taste was our kind of vibe but they said that they would have kareoke but there wasn’t any. This saddened me! We then tried out one of the clubs a few blocks away and it soon made me realise that California is full of pretentious people. That place was not our scene whatsoever. We tried to get into one of San Francisco’s most popular night clubs but on arrival, the line was already half way up the street with more than 200 people in it so we decided to just head back to the hostel around 1am for an earlyish night.

The AT&T Stadium tour was incredible and it lasted for approximately 2 hours. We got to see DRAFTJS_BLOCK_KEY:bks0hsome of the old jersey’s that the Giants players used to wear 30+ years ago and learnt about their history in baseball. We got to take some selfies and funny photos on the pitch and in the dugouts when games were being played. We weren’t actually allowed onto the playing field as the grounds keepers were getting the grounds ready for the Giants vs New York Mets match which was about the take place for the next three days.

Day 3

Golden Gate Bridge

The day started off with breakfast in the hostel and an Uber ride out to the Golden Gate Bridge. On arrival you can tell it was going to be busy as there were other tourists heaving everywhere via numerous tour guides and buses. The view of the bridge and the surrounding islands and mountains were second to none though so what did we do? Of course we took lots of selfies and photos in front of the bridge.

The views when you’re walking along the 3.7km bridge were amazing as you could see the entireity of San Francisco however our feet didn’t like us after it. We got to the other side of the bridge thinking there will be some cafe’s and shops that we can go into for a light lunch. Nope, there was literally only a restroom and then trails up the mountains. And so we had to venture back across the bridge to get lunch.

Pier 39

After we had lunch overlooking the now sunny views of the Golden Gate Bridge, we got an Uber to Fisherman’s Wharf / Pier 39 / 33. We walked around the piers and enjoyed an ice cream in the sunshine.

Alcatraz Island Tour

6:15 came so we made our war to the pier to where the Alcatraz tour left. It was a terrifying experience on the island as it was dark and things weren’t helped by the sounds of voices and screaming on the voice guide of the prison. At one point we even got locked in one of the prison’s where misbehaved prisoners would be tossed into the cell naked and would go up to 9 days without proper food and water. I tried to be funny and rattled the gates however the fun was ruined by the guard saying ” have you had enough”. Everyone thought it was the guard and that it was planned which took away my fun.

The tour itself was interesting, learning about what kind of prisoners were kept on the island and also what happened to those who tried to escape from the prison. By the end of the tour, our feet were more than worn out so we headed back to the hostel for bed as we were excited for the baseball game the next morning.

The last day in San Francisco ended on a good note ( not so much for the Giants team). the sun was beaming, meaning we were able to get somewhat of a sun tan but we didn’t expect it to be so hot and warm so I may have got a little sun burn. but the crowd was in full swing with their singing and chanting, the teams were out on the field playing. I was a little downhearted about the action and the lack of homeruns in the game but all in all, it was a fun afternoon.