Tuesday 15 October 2013

San Francisco

A trip to San Francisco for +Emma Langschied's 21st birthday - Living the dream doesn't get much better than that! 

Over two years ago I first spoke to Emma about the dream to study abroad in America, and by some miracle we have found ourselves here together. So for her 21st (the much anticipated birthday in the States) we planned a trip to San Francisco to truly celebrate in style. I promised a memorable weekend, and I think we certainly delivered!

Friday Oct. 11 
An early start for the drive from Long Beach to San Francisco. With seven of us travelling together in a rented car we found ourselves in a giant Dodge durango, also known as 'The Tank'. We took the coastal route for the drive, and with our many stops the trip took around 10 hours.

The exciting arrival in San Francisco was slightly dampened by the fog, the traffic, and a sat nav without a sense of direction. Eventually we found our way to our rooms for the next two nights, and with all our maturity we moved in by jumping on the beds.

After the long drive, as the late night closed in, we found our way to Pier 39 and started our weekend celebrations at Bubba Gump's, where I could finally enjoy real fish & chips. The night of course would not have been complete without an ice-cream and singing surprise for the birthday girl!

Road trip, Bubba Gump & room mates

Saturday Oct. 12
In true tourist fashion we managed to cram in most of our sight seeing in one day; A foggy trip over the Golden Gate Bridge, driving down the crooked Lombard Street, up to Coit Tower - and that was all before lunch.

Golden Gate Bridge


Coit Tower

In the afternoon we headed to China Town, which is one of my new favourite places, especially for the delicious pork buns! I also succeeded in solving my chocolate withdrawal problems with a trip to Ghirardelli Square. Following the recommendations of many of our local friends, we also went to Fisherman's Wharf, which gave us a true taste of San Francisco and a chance for some tourist shopping and sneaky present buying.

The bay, China Town, Ghirardelli Square, Fisherman's Wharf & Lombard Street

Our night was spent back at Pier 39, where we were treated to clam chowder bread bowls (highly recommended!) and watching the fireworks, before heading home to a night of obscure conversations and laughter with the girls in our room.

Pier 39



Sunday Oct. 13
Bright and early on Sunday morning we were lucky to see clearer skies so went back to the Golden Gate Bridge where we could look across the bay and see the amazing views. Before starting the journey home we returned to China Town to stock up on fresh baked treats for the car, and then said our goodbyes to San Francisco.

On the route home we stopped in Santa Barbara for dinner at The Brewhouse, our final celebration of a truly incredible and memorable weekend. Thank you all for the amazing company and collecting the great pictures. Happy 21st birthday Emma! We won't ever forget this one!

Golden Gate Bridge & Santa Barbara 






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