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California dreaming

February 2022
A trip down memory lane with mum Read more
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  • TravelerCalifornia dreaming
    Day 9

    Sausalito and the Golden Gate Bridge

    February 12, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    We had a relatively leisurely start to the day with breakfast at the hotel and then retrieved our car and the car park and drove to Sausalito. The journey took us along some steep roads that make up the Central part of San Francisco and then eventually out onto the freeway which takes you North out over the Golden Gate Bridge. I really had to pinch myself to believe that we were actually here. The bridge is such an iconic structure and nothing I can say in this summary will do it anymore justice than those have written before.

    Sorcalito small ex fishing village located just beyond the Golden Gate Bridge. There are lots of yachts and motor boats and also a significant number of houseboats that people live on. It was quite early and I'm not sure that the village had quite woken up but we had a look round and then needed to head back to San Francisco in order to be back in time to meet for our afternoon tour of the Napa valley.

    Golden gate bridge    Read more

  • TravelerCalifornia dreaming
    Day 9

    The Big Sur

    February 12, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    We need to cover about 250 miles today to get San Francisco and after I stop at the seal beach we continue driving north. The road became extremely windy and very up and down, but the views themselves were amazing.

    The sea was sparkling blue and the sky without clouds.

    We stop briefly to admire the view and to see one of the viaduct structures that have been built as part of the road construction before continuing on to our next stop which was Pfeiffer beach.

    A couple of miles off the main road and down a very windy bumpy road we came to a car park and a short walk later. Found ourselves on a really pretty beach with a couple of coves and a large rock with a cave that goes right through to the ocean. The beach is also famous for some of the purple sand that is being eroded down from the rocks above the beach. Mum had a quick paddle and then when we're back to the car to continue our drive.

    After another hour or so we passed through Big Sur after which this part of the journey is named, although actually appeared to be just a handful of houses and visitor shops. We continued on to Monterey.    Read more

  • TravelerCalifornia dreaming
    1
    Day 9

    Napa valley

    February 12, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    A half day excursion to the Napa valley started with a 10 minute walk downhill to the meeting point. Here we got onto somewhere between the size of a minibus and a coach. After one more stop downtown we start studying with the driver/ tour guide, Marco, giving us lots of interesting information about San Francisco as we went along. We had two more parties to pick up one somewhere else in the city and the other in Sausalito.

    Once again the drive took us north from the city and over the Golden Gate Bridge and then the journey to the wine areas was about an hour.

    Our driver gave us lots of information about the Napa and Sonoma Valleys and explain that California produces 90% of all USA wine, which makes it the fourth largest wine producer in the world. However, the napper and Sonoma valleys only produce around 4% of California's wine and as such they are generally the more premium products.

    Our first stop was at the Madonna estates which was formed in 1922 and here we tried four wines. We heard that the climate in this particular part of the region is often some 15° Fahrenheit cooler in the summer than the rest of the region and so they tend concentrate on white wines and pinot noir. Here we tried:

    Sonoma valley - 90% of USA wine. 4th largest wine producer in UK

    2019 pinot grigiot
    2018 pinot noir
    Cab sav
    Gerwutzstreminer

    We stayed about an hour and then moved on to the second winery which was of Sutter. This is a much larger producer, although the wines that we tasted were their reserve wines that aren't for general sale in supermarkets and other shops.

    We tried a bubbly moscato, a reserved white Zinfandel, a cabernet servignon another red wine and a port.

    Again, we stayed for about an hour before getting back on the bus for the return trip to San Francisco where we arrived at around 6:30 p.m..

    For our evening meal, after we'd got changed, we walked across the road to the Fairmont hotel and to their bar in their basement which is a Tonga bar complete with a floating stage and pool and rain that comes down periodically into the pool. There was a live band and we had cocktails as an aperitif! We return back to the hotel for a night cap.    Read more

  • TravelerCalifornia dreaming
    Day 10

    Muir Woods and the Golden Gate Bridge

    February 13, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    For this morning's trip we were up for breakfast at 9 and then we retrieved the car and we're planning to go and see the redwoods at Muir Woods. This evolved retracing our steps from the previous day and crossing the Golden Gate Bridge once again and a trip into the mountains with some amazing views and some very windy roads. Needless to say mum didn't send much of the views because she was too busy worrying about the drop on the side of the road.

    On our way back we stopped at two points to overlook the Golden Gate Bridge and take the obligatory touristy shots. Your back tire hotel just in time for a quick comfort break before walking. Three blocks downhill to meet Andrew Parker and his wife Jamie for a lovely Italian lunch. It was lovely to catch up with them and to renew old friendships. Sadly, once again we were very remiss in relation to photographs of the event.    Read more

  • TravelerCalifornia dreaming
    Day 10

    Union Square and Pier 39

    February 13, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    We spent the rest of the afternoon. Wondering around firstly Union Square where you could see some great views around the city but also off where our hotel was and then we headed to pier 39. The last time we were in pier 39 was 34 years ago when I was younger and some of the activities were far more fascinating. As it's time for drink, we stopped off at a restaurant to have a cocktail. We did have to send the first one back because rather than a long island iced tea I actually ended up with iced tea which was something very different!

    As the sunset, we saw another of San Francisco's phenomenons with the fog slowly rolling in from the bay and starting to develop the city. We caught an Uber back to the hotel and had a couple of cocktails in the Top of the Mark which is the bar on the top floor of our hotel and after a quick freshen up we went back there for snappetizers and a couple more drinks before taking our last drink back down to my room and then heading to bed.    Read more

  • TravelerCalifornia dreaming
    Day 11

    Alcatraz

    February 14, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    Our last day in San Francisco started early so we could have breakfast and then catch a tram car down to the area where we would get the ferry over to Alcatraz for our tour.

    We've been really lucky with the weather for the whole of our trip, but it was far colder today and definitely jumper and jeans weather, rather than shorts and t-shirt.

    Report the tram car and then had a 10 minute walk to pier 33 where we got onto the ferry to take us over to Alcatraz. You're both surprised that Alcatraz was actually prison for less than 40 years given. That's the thing it seems to be most famous for and had a fascinating self-guided audio tour of the name accommodation area which was far smaller than I thought it might be. There were three rows of cells and three stories meaning prison could accommodate around 150 prisoners and also some cells for solitary confinement.

    We realised that we'd actually arranged the tour and it was quite tight for us to get back to the hotel in time to leave for the airport and so immediately after the audio tour, we walked back down the hill (mum says we ran down the hill) and were just in time to catch the ferry back to the mainland.

    We caught an Uber back to the hotel before finishing our packing and then checking out. We drove the half an hour to the airport, checked in and started to reminisce about our trip!

    So our time in the States 🇺🇸 has drawn to a close. It's been a real indulgence to have 11 days away reliving memories and creating new memories with mum.

    Great to catch up with friends..and new spouses.(thanks Simon Thompson , Marcia Britvan and Andrew Parker). Los Angeles, you were great, Palm Springs was delightful, Cambia just spectacular and San Francisco.. Let's just say I've left a bit of my ♥️ there! x    Read more

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