San Francisco

We're now back in Melbourne, but thought the blog needs to be rounded off with the last bits of the trip. So, from where we left off from last post…

We met up with Jordan at Union Square – it's been over three years since Em last saw Jordan when they lived in London, so was over the moon to see her again. Our first night there we just spent catching up at Jordan's place, cooking up a home dinner (bliss after so many meals eaten out!) and getting sorted.

Friday was slowed up a little with a heavy shower of rain in the morning, but after that it was clear skies. We followed a walking tour in our Lonely Planet, taking us through Chinatown and a visit to the Chinese American Historical museum, and we stopped for lunch in the neighbourhood. Also dropped by the fortune cookie factory on our way to Jack Kerouac Alley and City Lights bookstore – linked to beat poets. We then walked into North Beach where it shifts to Italian cafes and restaurants, and climbed up to Coit Tower for a great view over the bridges, Alcatraz and the city. The tour then took us down to the harbor along the piers, and we had a look through the market at the ferry building. After all that walking, we were in need of a break so caught a cable car around for a while. Slightly alarming sitting exposed on the side of one with cars zipping by and giant hills to go up and down. We then did a bit of shopping around Union Square before meeting up with Jordan again. We headed out in her neighborhood for a drink and then to Tartine (a fantastic bakery/café) and then to Delfina Pizza for dinner, before an icecream stop at Buy-Rite. Jordan thinks of it as the trifecta!

A later start for the Saturday morning – Joe and I headed out with some picnic food through the Presidio area to Crissy Field next to the Golden Gate bridge. It was a lovely sunny day and plenty of people out enjoying it. We walked halfway and back along the bridge (again Em was not so sure about standing near the edge) and then a walk next to the water to the Marina and into Chestnut St shopping. Again, it had been a lot of walking, so we had a little rest back at Jordan's before meeting up with her for some sushi dinner in Castro, dessert and more beers at Chow, and then more beers at Toronado in Lower Haight. Was a great night out topped off with a slice of pizza (which you must eat folded in half lengthwise) and a cab home.

Sunday was our last day. Our flight didn't leave until 10.40pm, so we had plenty of time to fit in some outings. We started off with the 'Painted Ladies' – the row of different coloured Victorian houses, before walking along Haight Street, and all the remnants of hippie culture, and into Golden Gate Park. This is a massive public park with various things in it to see (botanic gardens, bison field, Japanese tea gardens, windmill etc) – and we walked the length of it and then some with the help of a walking tour in Jordan's San Fran book. At the end, we came out at the beach and the Pacific – and we realized we'd gone from coast to coast, and that Australia was however many miles away on the other side of the water! We then got on a bus to the Mission area for another book walking tour, and saw some of the great shops and murals in the area, before meeting up for some burritos and a quick bus trip to Jordan's to get the last of our things together, say goodbye and head out to the airport.

Nothing else to report now. Travel home was uneventful. And now we're settling back into routines. Was a great trip, plenty of adventures, saw some truly amazing things and had a lot of fun.

Now we'll just have to start planning the next trip…