the world through a naked eye

Our last days in San Francisco were jam packed. We had sooo much to try and fit in that we didn't get to see or do everything that we wanted to. I was a tad disappointed, but I can't complain too much really. After trying to find a post office that wasn't charging $150 to post parcels back home (which took up the better part of the morning, we again opted to purchase a hop-on/hop-off bus pass that took us to the main touristy attractions in San Fran. It just seems easier to do that, however much more costly than to try and navigate the public transport system. Our first stop on the bus was of course the Golden Gate Bridge, the most photographed bridge in the world. We drove across the bridge and back again. The views were just spectacular although the smog haze reduced the visibility of the city outline somewhat. We decided not to walk across, it would take too long and didn't have the time in the short days before the sun goes down. We continued on our bus ride throughout the city, learning about the history along the way. We drove along admiring the architecture of the Victorian houses. They never get old to me. I just love them. Some of them are over 100 years old - they are the ones that survived the 1906 earthquakes and fires. We drove along a street that they used to create a fire break in 1906. One side the original buildings still stand and the other side were reconstructed buildings. We drove through the city, past union square and the financial district and decided to get off in Chinatown. The San Fran Chinatown is apparently the largest outside of Asia. We didn't really get to explore a great deal of it. We walked up one street, every shop was the same. We got tired of that. We stopped at a nice restaurant and had a meal. Surprisingly not as cheap as we would have thought and definitely not the best either. Had we not been in such a rush, we could have explored more of Chinatown but from what we had seen was quite disappointing. I was expecting there to be barley any English signs but in the section where we walked there we barley any Chinese signs. After searching Google just now, I see we must have missed out on a great deal of what the San Fran Chinatown has to offer

We waited quite a while for the next bus to come along, but we figured it was stuck in the gridlocked peak hour traffic. We were right. The traffic by this time was bedlam! When the bus eventually came, we went slowly back through the city and stopped at Fisherman's Wharf. It was quite nice there - a lot of restaurants and gift shops. But the views were nice. We walked around, browsing the shops and took in the views over Alcatraz - the tickets were all sold out (apparently advance bookings are a must). We also saw the famous sea lions basking in the last of the afternoon sun. After only getting off the bus twice, it was almost dark. So we hopped back on the next bus which drove through the city and back to our stop. It is still very early by the time we get home everyday around 6pm. But it feels so much later than that. We look for things to do every night, but mostly they are things that involve going to bars/clubs or theater shows that don't appeal to us. However this night, we knew we were going to have an early one as the next day was our trip to Yosemite National Park - a 5 hour drive away!

Yep, five hour drive - longer because of rest breaks! And it seemed to go forever! But I think that had something to do with our very odd bus driver! He wouldn't keep quiet! And for the most part, the scenery was not much to look at until we got closer to Yosemite. I put on my iPod to drown out the drivers voice and strange sense of humour (he wasn't even funny, he was down right weird). When the scenery started changing I knew we were getting closer to our destination! In the distance there were mountain ranges in the distance and as we got closer still, it was almost as if we were driving in the middle of them - there were mountains on either side of us! We were getting really excited by this time and very eager to get out of the crammed bus! Once we were in the National Park, it still took another 30 mins to reach our first stop Tunnel Viewpoint and it is probably the most recognizable view point from pictures I have seen. But the views were breathtaking and the air was so cold and fresh! You really need to see it with your own eyes to capture the true beauty. Definitely well worth the drive and having to put up with the driver. We stopped and took some photos before continuing on where we were dropped off and had about 3.5 hours of free time before we had to meet back to return home. We decided to jump on the free shuttle bus and we got off where ever we thought looked nice. We walked around when we got off - walked to the waters edge of this one small lake, and one side was forming ice and the other side was completely frozen over. There are just so may beautiful vantage points and views around Yosemite. Although, you really need a car and more than 3 hours to see most of it. We would have loved to have stayed over night there, but we had to fly out the next morning. I definitely want to return to Yosemite with a car and spend a good few nights there in a cabin. There are a lot of walking trails to do some short and others that take hours but I'm sure by the end of it, it would be well worth it. Unfortunately we didn't get to see any bears in the wild, but saw lots of deers, chipmunks and squirrels. Three hours was up pretty quickly and we made our way back for the long drive home again.

California is an amazing state. Every city is just so different and unique from each other. I think it is best to see the city by driving or taking a coach or train. There is just so much beautiful scenery and I want to come back and do a road trip through the states!

I thought I was in love with Vegas, but like I said in my previous post, I loved the rock-star lifestyle. But San Francisco I think has my heart. I could see myself one day living here. I just love it. I love the atmosphere - the vibe, the buzz, the people. People here don't seem in such a rush as they did in LA, and definitely a friendly lot here - very laid back.

The first night we arrived, so exhausted after taking two flights. We ended up falling asleep for 16 hours! I think it has been a combination of lack of sleep, the effects of flying and cramming as much as we can into the days. The house we are staying in is a lovely yellow Victorian style house that is typical of San Francisco built in the 1890's. Our room faces the front street - busy Fell Street. Luckily for sound proof windows or we would never get any sleep! The man who owns the house cooks us breakfast every morning and we eat together along with his 16 year old cat, Vladimir who sits on the window sill patiently waiting for his morning treat once we have finished eating. Kate loves having him around.

Today was a busy day. Firstly we walked to Alamo Square Park which is literally a 2 minute walk from where we are staying and saw the painted ladies if you don't know what that is, you will surely have seen a picture on a postcard somewhere. Then we walked to the Castro district - famous for it's LGBT community. Lots of shops, restaurants, bars, cafes and of course pride flags lining the strip. Also, lots of dogs and their owners - most sporting cute little doggie vests - the dogs that is! After, we got on a tram that took us back onto Fell St and we walked to Golden Gate Park which is about 3-4 kms away. Luckily the walk was flat and not up those steep streets San Fran is famous for! Else I would have died! You certainly would get fit real quick here! Our first stop in Golden Gate Park was the Conservatory of Flowers. It really was quite beautiful. Lots of flowers and plants and even home to two little turtles! After we walked further into Golden Gate Park where our next stop was the California Academy of Sciences. Now this place was a bit pricey but well worth it! We both had such a great time here. There was a 4 story rainforest enclosure that was vacuu-locked and humidified. There were hundreds of butterflies, birds, plants and water features as well as insects found in the rainforest in different parts of the world. Once at the top, we took a ride down into the aquarium where there were thousands of different aquarium species to look at. There were so many unique and colorful sea creatures down there! After we went onto the top of the building called the living roof. The roof was covered in plants. It looked really cool, but what I loved the most was the perfectly framed view of the houses on the hill in the distance. Kate took some photos, not sure how they would have turned out, because just like L.A, San Fran is very smoggy. Not realising, it was getting on in time, we got to the Japanese Tea Gardens just after they had closed unfortunately. We will be seeing them tomorrow as well as Fisherman's Wharf, Lombard St, The Golden Gate Bridge and many other sights we need to see before we leave!

Today was great - exhausting but great! We saw and walked alot. My feet are killing me, I really need to buy a pair of comfy shoes to walk in, but my suitcase is already overweight and will need to send another parcel back home tomorrow!

What can I say other than I LOVE LAS VEGAS! I love everything about it! Well maybe I just love the Vegas life! I guess it would wear off if you lived here! The hotel we are at is just amazing - the Encore @ Wynn. We have a room on the 58th floor with wall to wall and floor to floor windows overlooking the strip. It is amazing at night! I really feel like a rock-star here! The food at the hotel is scrumptious and any request we have they accommodate no questions asked! We have really been making the most of our room, sleeping in, bubble baths, room service - the lot! These two days here, will be the most costly, but hey, it's Vegas! And that is the logic behind most of our thinking! We would never normally treat ourselves like this, but this is a one time exception!

Last night, we decided to hit up some casinos, but it was extremely difficult due to this marathon that was being held and Las Vegas Blvd was blocked to all traffic and pedestrians. So we decided to do one side of the strip and the other side tonight. It's funny though, only in Vegas would you have a "Run Through Wedding" 140 couples partaking in the marathon got married then continued on their way running! There were literally thousands and thousands of people running, (44,000 to be exact) and it seemed to go on forever! http://www.lasvegasvegas.com/content/2011-rock-n-roll-las-vegas-marathon-run-dark-1323080735 We visited a number of Casinos, the nicest was the Bellagio with a beautiful water fountain show that plays every hour. The Volcano show at the Mirage wasn't showing due to the marathon so need to catch it tonight. There are just so many hotels and casinos I'm afraid I won't be able to see them all!

And the shopping! OMG! Everything is just sooooooooooooooooooooooo so cheap! We went to an Outlet shopping mall and really gave the credit cards a workout today, but after all we purchased, I really don't see myself doing much more shopping! But there is everything here, and they are designer outlets - DKNY, Calvin Klien, Tomy Hilfiger, Kenneth Cole etc! We scored some real bargains. By the end of our shopping trip, we couldn't carry any more bags if we tried!

My Vegas experience is more than I could have imagined! Even won enough in one hand of three card poker to pay for our whole Vegas weekend at the hotel so that was a bonus! I can't wait to come back here again! We only had two nights here, I think another night is needed so we could have fit in a helicopter tour over the Grand Canyon. I don't want to leave, but I know I have much more adventures yet to come!

The past few days have been non-stop. I'm thinking I'm going to be needing a holiday after this to recover. I'm just so exhausted! But that's what it's all about. We have been cramming as much into the days as we can before it gets dark. And by 5:30pm it's pitch black! Even back home the winter days last longer than that. It really does throw me off a bit! But here when the sun goes down, the weirdos come out to play! Ha! Even during the day you get your fair share, but at night, well they are on a whole other planet. Though here in Hollywood, there isn't much really to do at night unless you like to drink and go out to the bars and clubs. Which is not really for me. There are shows at the theater and the shops stay open to 10-11. But after a while you get sick of shopping in the same shops each night. But really, after the early starts and full on days, I struggle to stay awake late anyway - hence no blog entries since my first.

I don't know where to begin. Well, the first day in Hollywood, after a recommendation by Dane our host, we walked up to a cafe they regularly dine at for some breakfast and coffee. Was a nice place and sold some delicious gourmet foods, cold meats, cheese and alcohol. After breaky, we went across the street to a gourmet supermarket. Everything is so cheap! Some of it didn't even look like a supermarket. It was quite fancy and sold excellent fresh produce. Organic Bananas were a $1.62 for a bunch of 6! We bought a couple of grocery items to keep as food snacks. After we went back home to drop off our shopping then we decided to walk up Hollywood Blvd to the main precinct Hollywood and Highland. On our way which is probably a little more than a mile we were stopped at the traffic lights by a charismatic man who could obviously see we were tourists, trying to sell us a tour. In the end, we thought it seemed like a good deal so we ended up going on a tour to Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive, Sunset Strip and the mansions of Hollywood stars such as Heidi Klum, Jennifer Lopez, Madonna, Jackie Chan etc. We also went up into the Hollywood Hills for a closer look at the sign. We were in an open top bus and the wind was ice cold. By then end I was glad it was over and all I could think about was going home to have a nice hot shower and to comb out the thousands of knots in my hair from the bus ride! If only I knew we were going on such a tour, I would have dressed for the occasion! Later that evening after my lovely warm shower, we visited Madame Tussauds and Hard Rock cafe for dinner. The best thing about traveling during low season is a) less people and b) everything is so much cheaper! We only had to pay for one of us to Madame Tussauds which was a bonus. Dinner was also our first time out for a proper meal since we arrived and we were still not sure of the general tipping protocol. Our waitress though was really great at explaining how to tip and didn't take advantage of us like she said some people do. After dinner we decided to head home. Good thing we did, because after we left the Hard Rock and walked outside, we were almost blown away by the wind! This one young girl was quite literally being blown backwards the wind was that strong! We got on the next Metro and went home and arrived just before it got really bad!

The next day we had a tour scheduled for 9am at the Warner Brothers Studio. Once we left the house, we could see the mess that was made from the winds from the night before! Tree branches everywhere! I read online that some of the winds in areas reached up to 100mph! Which is hurricane strength! We later learned that that was the windiest night in LA for 25 years! I think it followed us over from Australia! The flight to LAX the pilot said was the bumpiest he has ever been on also! Than God though, it's not a normal occurrence, because that would really ruin things. So anyway, back to the tour! Warner Brothers is great! Our tour guide Kim was fantastic. We got to see the original set of Friends in Central Perk and even allowed to sit on the couch! The museum was also really good to see the original outfits worn by the actors/actresses of hit films. I highly recommend this tour if you come to visit LA. After the tour, we went back to Beverly Hills to visit a couple of shops we wanted to see. And I wanted to have lunch at the Cheesecake Factory only because it is where a character from my favorite TV show works! It turned out to be a really worthwhile visit. We got talking to a wealthy middle-aged woman Roxanne somehow, and that continued on for an hour. We were telling her of our plans, and she was giving us lots of advice on where to go while in LA. We told her about our planned trip to TJ, and she was worried for us, and didn't think it would be a good idea for us to do it. Even after speaking with our hosts Dane & Stuart, they also said the same - a stinkhole. Anyway Roxanne decided she would buy us our lunch and also gave us some more advice on the things to see and do while here in the States. Apparently according to Dane and Stuart that sort of thing never happens especially in Beverly Hills! So we must have met a genuinely nice lady! After lunch, it was a late-ish lunch to start, we hopped back on the bus and stopped at an outdoor shopping center called the Grove (which happened to be one of the places Roxanne told us to go). It was just beautiful. Being the holiday season, the shops are decorated with lights, fountains, a giant Christmas tree, themed music. It was just beautiful and really made you feel in the Christmas spirit! After a while we were all shopped out and headed back home on the last tour bus.

Friday, we went to Universal Studios. And to be honest, it wasn't as great as I expected. It was small, not many attractions. Even in the low season we waited for over an hour to do the studio tour. That was the highlight of Universal for me. We went on most of the attractions and walked all around, but got bored of it after a while, so we left. At least though, I got to see the Delorean, the Clock Tower and the Gates to Lyon Estate from Back to the Future! So that made me happy! After Universal, we headed back to the main precinct did some more shopping and went to go and confirm our TJ at the main office. And what would you know?! We were meant to be on the tour that day! So TJ obviously wasn't meant to be! In the end we weren't able to get a refund, but they gave us a voucher for the bus the next day.

So now it's today and also our last day in LA. We had sooooo much to cram in! In the end we didn't get to do everything we wanted to. But at least most of what we wanted to do we did. Today we visited Santa Monica Pier and Venice Beach. This is the part of LA I think I could live! The pier was awesome at Santa Monica. Ferris Wheel, roller coaster, merry-go-round and lots of little vendors and artists scattered along the pier. It was very windy and being low season, it wasn't packed like I can imagine it to be in the warmer months. The beaches looked completely different to that of Australia. There was at least 100m of sand before the ocean stared! I think our beaches are more inviting, our oceans are a much more beautiful in colour, the sand more white but the atmosphere and facilities of Santa Monica is much better than that of back home. A combination of the two would be ideal! By the time it took on the bus, it was dark and so we missed out on the LaBrea Tarpits which is disappointing. We did a bit more shopping at Hollywood and Highland and visited Hooters for dinner just because it's another one of those touristy things to do. I was quite surprised though, that kids are allowed to dine there. To me it just seems inappropriate. It was packed out, a bustling atmosphere, compared to that of the Hard Rock cafe right across the road - dead. After dinner we were just so exhausted but we needed to be home early to pack for tomorrows flight to VEGAS!

All in all, I enjoyed my time here in Hollywood. Next time, I think I will know how to plan my time better, and plan on venturing away from the main tourist areas. Maybe an extra day would have been great, or at least a half day. There would be no way I'd drive here, well at least not in the city areas! They are the most impatient drivers here! And the roads still confuse me. Life is completely different here in LA, everyone is trying to make a living anyway they can - some are quite in your face about it but you just have to either not look at them or just be straight up. Even getting your picture taken, they expect money. And they will keep on trying! Everyday!

I'd better sign off. I won't leave it so long inbetween posts, as details finer details fade the next day. But all in all, I feel like I'm living the dream.

After what seemed liked forever flying and a very bumpy ride, have finally landed on US soil! The flight from Sydney to LAX is around 14 hours, but it definitely didn't seem that long! Comfy seats, unlimited in-flight entertainment and lots of snacks made the time fly. Compared to Australian domestic flight, I felt like I was a first class passenger! Love the A380!

After landing, we walked through to Immigration and customs. Boy, were they rude and very intimidating! Fingerprinting, photos, 21 questions. All that took a better part of an hour. After that we walked out an into the arrival terminal. We were somewhat unorganized when we landed. Didn't know how we were going to get to where we were staying. Didn't know the phone number to call ahead. In the end, we decided to take a shuttle bus rather than a taxi. Best decision! It was like having a tour of LA! There was about four other stops made before we got to our place. Everything is really different to back home, more so than I thought. The scenery changes in a blink of an eye. From really nice houses to all of a sudden graffiti and bars over every window front. The driver had to make a stop where I had never seen such steep hills in my life. The road to his house was soooooooooo steep, winding and narrow! But the view from the top was amazing! The driver let us out to take photos while he had a cigarette. The drive up used most of his gas so he needed to refill. So it was again that sudden changed of scenery. At the gas station in the middle of a busy intersection there was a guy pacing up and down at the red light with a sign asking for money so he could eat. The driver was asked by a man for some money and there was a woman completely wasted and passed out on the curb with her friend drinking cheap booze! And this was 1 in the afternoon! Definitely won't be visiting that part of town at night! The rest of us were staying in Hollywood area. Driving along the driver says this is the hall of fame. I was disappointed. In my head I thought it was more glamorous. The girl behind me voiced what I was thinking. But as we kept driving that scenery changed again. Then it became the Hollywood I imagined to be! We were the last stop, a street off Hollywood Blvd tucked away nicely in a gorgeous house that was built in 1914.

We arrived, knocked on the door and were greeted by our very flustered host Dane. It turned out that we had arrived a day early than we had booked. He had to leave work and race home to fix up our room as he wasn't expecting us til tomorrow! It didn't even occur to us both when we left that we cross the international timezones and would have Tuesday the 29th of November to re-live again! He was really great about the mix-up and told us to make ourselves at home while he finished our room. The house we are in is just perfect. The decor is so tasteful and lots of things to look at. They also have a dog named Olive who is gorgeous. Our room is really nice and has a view of Capitol Records. By this time I had lost all track of the day and time - all I could think about was having a shower. We both planned on having a shower then going out for dinner. That didn't plan out. We just couldn't stay awake. We set the alarm for 7pm, we thought a two hour nap would be enough. It wasn't. We fell asleep again and I woke up three hours later (this point in time) and now can't sleep! Its just past midnight now. Even so the last 4 days I have had about 10 hours sleep if that. Though I don't feel as tired as I thought! Now I'm wide awake, not sure what to do! Happy that we now have gained a day we can fit in Universal Studios in LA instead of Orlando which I'm stoked about! Tomorrow we will explore the city! And even hire a car!

Everything has worked out for the better and after a year in the making it's finally here!