So we just got back from our mini trip to San Francisco.
On Wednesday we left for Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California. It is in Central Coastal California. I must say that it is a beautiful place! I loved walking on the beach because there were very few people there. It wasn't too hot either. We stayed at the Orchid Inn the first night. It took us around 5 hours to get to San Simeon. We left at 5am from Laguna Niguel. We got there at around 11am (breaks included).
The area is very nice. It was also a bit creepy because we saw a bunch of vultures eating at something dead on the rocky beach. Other than that it was good. Then at 3:30pm we went on the Heart Castle "Experience Tour" (for first-time visitors). It was very educational actually. I had never been to it before. William Randolph Hearst basically designed the castle with the help of Julia Morgan, who studied architecture in France. They built this castle together, and it was surprising to see how elaborate and how much European influence this place had. When I was at Hearst Castle, I thought I was in Europe all over again. I would have liked Hearst to have some more American influence, but he envisioned his house to have a European feel to it.
I also had some awesome apple and olallieberry pie at Linn's in Cambria =)
Day 2
On Thursday, we left for San Francisco. On the way there, we saw some elephant seals hanging out on the beach. Then we were notified by this couple that Route 1 was closed due to some forest fires in California. We had to take the 101 to San Francisco.
We arrived in San Francisco, checked into the Courtyard Marriot at Fisherman's Wharf and went on our search for Alcatrez tickets for the next day, Friday. To our surprise all tickets were sold out until Monday! We were extremely disappointed, but went to Pier 33 (where they sold Alcatrez tour tickets) anyways. I asked the lady, and she told us that they would be selling standby tickets as soon as the box office opens at 8am.
Day 3
We woke up the next morning at 5am and got to Pier 33 at 7:03am. There were already 10 people waiting on line. They were selling 50 tickets. We waited an hour in the cold and got the Alcatrez tickets! It was definately worth it because I learned a lot about the island. We took the ferry. It took about 10 minutes to get there, and then we took an audio tour. We got back at around 11:35pm. We ate lunch. I had a crab cake sandwich (delicious) at Pier 39. Then we decided to rent bicycles and ride them over the Golden Gate Bridge!
I hadn't ridden a bike in ages! I really mean that! I was really very rusty. I fell once before we got to the bike path, ugh. Finally....we got over the bridge! It took us a total of 3 hours!! It was an amazing feeling. It was a nice day to ride bikes too. I just wish the sky was clearer because there was fog and it was a bit misty so the bridge did not look too shiny.
Then we decided to drive down Lombard Street (the Crooked Street). It was really steep. Then we parked to take some pictures. After that we drove down to Alamo Square to take a look at the traditional Victorian-style houses. They were just like the ones on Full House, with Bob Saget and Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.
We had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe, and decided to go to the Wax Museum. I had never been to one before, but this one wasn't that great. THen we just went to Pier 39. I got a Banana Nutella Crepe. It was amazingly delicious.
Today
We checked out of our hotel. We ate Brunch in Chinatown. I got my Passionfruit bubble tea there as well. Then we were on our way back to Orange County. We got lost in the city a bit, but eventually found our way out. Before reaching our final destination we stopped at the Spectrum Mall at Irvine and went to eat dinner. I had a Shrimp Tempura roll and we went to Pinkberry for the last time. Paolina got rasberry and blackberry while I got mango, rasberry, and kiwi. It was awesome! Now I am extremely sore, tired and bruised from the long rides (both the bike ride and the car ride).
Tomorrow is our last full day in California...
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