San Francisco

Reaching San Francisco early, since Josh had to get his Chinese visa from the embassy there (he was meant to go to Hong Kong straight from London when we came back), we had plenty of time to explore this beautiful city. We started downtown, but since finding parking was going to prove to be difficult we circled around for probably a good 20 minutes before surrendering to a valet parking garage. Downtown was busy and crowded so we just grabbed a bite to eat at a food hall and then started walking towards the bay area. On our walk we found a bookshop that sold maps of the city so we bought a cheap and small one in order to avoid getting completely lost. Walking past Chinatown and the Financial district we reached the bay area. We took some pictures of the Oakland bay bridge and then hopped on one of the iconic cable cars towards pier 39 and all its restaurants and shops. Since we had already been in San Fran a couple of years earlier we didn't go all the way to see the Golden gate bridge this time but we still wanted to see in a distance. We managed to get some pictures from Aquatic Park before heading up the steep hills to get some good views and pictures of the pretty houses. We also walked past the famous Lombardo street (but didn't manage to get a very good picture due to tourists and traffic). The steep hills really took a toll on our less than exercised bodies but we still decided to head towards Nob Hill and Coit Tower (where you can get a 360 degree view of the city). About a half hour later we arrived at the tower exhausted but the view was worth the struggle to get there. Starving from the workout we were grateful that the way down was quicker and less strenuous as we were heading towards Pier 39 to have dinner at Bubba Gumps (one of our fave restaurants in the US, and yes it is based on the film Forest Gump). I had a New Orleans Clam Chowder that was delicious and I don't remember what Josh had but I'm sure it was just as good. I have never had a meal at this place that hasn't been up to scratch. Happy and full from a nice meal we just had to find were we parked our car and then head to our hotel in San Jose.