Iconic

After our first day of exploring pretty much the whole of San Fran on foot (up and down about a million hills, might I add), we decided to switch up our mode of transportation for a day exploring a certain famous bridge and an equally iconic creepy little island.

 We were told SF would be grey, cloudy and rainy at all times. Yet- we had the most glorious few days!! This was the warmest, loveliest day we had seen in about 5 months- damn was I glad to see some sunshine and not have to wear my puffy snow jacket!!

 Pale little ghosties!

 Badass fo sho

 We cycled across the golden gate and over to the little neighbouring town of Sausalito- a super gorgeous, sleepy little seaside town where we had the most delicious salami sandwiches (which I ate so fast I didn't manage to document), and of course- a bottle of wine to go with it (don't worry- we were done with riding by this stage, so we didn't drink and ride!)

 Ice cream for dessert was necessary, clearly! Especially in the delicious sunshine!

We caught the ferry back to the city rather than attempting the (extremely uphill) ride back- gorgeous views of the city included!

 In the afternoon it came time for another ferry ride. Out to... Alcatraz!

 We went on a night tour, arriving in the late afternoon. It started off with a little walking tour up to the main prison, where we were told a bit about the island's history and political significance. Particularly interesting was its history as a place of occupation for native indian protesters during the 60's

Seeing some of those faces and hearing the stories was pretty creepy- some of them were truly quite disturbing. However it interested me greatly that a lot of the people held on Alcatraz weren't necessary the most hardened, sick criminals- some were simply young boys who had been caught on petty offences and subsequently attempted to escape from a different prison, and thereby sent to the 'inescapable' prison island. Of course, some were of the truly nasty category.

One of the scariest inmates

 It was an almost eerie beautiful sunset from the island. Luckily we managed to escape...

x

Flowers in your hair

Our second last stop on our epic trip away was one of the places I had been looking forward to all along- San Francisco! I had heard so many good things about the city from so many people, so I couldn't wait to check it out for myself.

Boy- did it deliver!! I almost instantly fell in love with the place. The weather, the people, the music, the bars, the surrounding nature- it really is pretty special.

We had a (HUGE) wander on our first day. Seriously. We walked pretty much... everywhere!!

We were staying in the famous and very central union square, and from the first wandered down through China town! Which was pretty cool I thought- quite clean (for a China town- in my experience!) and long, with lots of different (well, let's face it, most of the knick-knacks are exactly the same) shops and things to see.

Then we moved into Little Italy, where we stumbled upon this rather impressive church! Incidentally, this is where Marilyn Monroe married Joe DiMaggio!

Of course we had to walk along the waterfront. I always love a city with a good harbour. Having grown up in consistently dry and drought-plagued Canberra, I really appreciate what a waterfront can do for the vibe of a city. The whether, the activities, the atmosphere- it's almost guaranteed to be happening along the water!

Ahhh shhit this was a bit ridiculous- there were like 200 sealions sun baking, squealing, playing dead, roaring and pooping on the wharf- it was the funniest thing! But it was almost even funnier seeing all the tourists (well.. we were included in this for a while..) scrambling to to see them, they were seriously almost falling in/ over each other for the best spot to see the (rather smelly) creatures.

Just a little lollypop ;)

So much awesome street art everywhere! In fact, so much art generally- we perused many a corner art gallery! So much creativity going on.

I thought this was a good background for an impromptu photo shoot. Because I'm just that glaaam! Ha!

The painted ladies. AND a film being shot behind me! Who knows, maybe I'm in the backdrop of something famous.

Mac and Cheese in Castro district! Was actually so yuuummo!

Tim doing as he was instructed! (Yes. He is dancing. Not pretending take a shit. hahaha kidding, babe- you're a great dancer!)

You've seen a lot, I can tell. Wise looking man in a street of murals- really awesome place.

If you're going to San Fransisco... you know how it goes! <3

SO this barely touches on San F- I have so many more photos! So I just might do another post on it! Being that it was definitely one of my favourite places, I think it deserves it!! X

Vivaa Las Vegas!

It has been more than 2 weeks now since we returned- so these posts are a bit behind schedule, but I'm loving looking through all the photos and laughing at the silly, fun, amazing moments we had! 

Vegas is one of those places that you 'must see'. Because it is tacky, because it is an icon, because it is in your face- it's Vegas! I had fairly low expectations to be honest- I thought it would be superficial, exploitative and kind of sad and really not my thing- and in some respects, I was right. BUT, that being said- we actually ended up having SO much fun!

 This was my dessert. At the breakfast buffet. Because- you know- I could.

We stayed at Treasure Island- one of the many resorts on the main strip of Vegas. It was one of the old hotel/casinos- and was delightfully trashy- complete with pirate themed decor and a 'Wenches of Treasure Island' show out the front! It had everything we needed- many (actually good- and cheap!) restaurants, comfy beds in big rooms, and one of our many opportunities to gamble to our heart's desires (which was severely limited by our wallets, mind you).

 Classiest man I know!

It's a funny place really. Sightseeing involves walking through one giant casino/hotel with some extravagant theme to another. It also involves people watching, drinking and gambling. We did a lot of the first two, a little of the other for fun, and came out happy, confused, enchanted, mesmerised and amused. We met a few absolutely charming, helpful and funny people- a few old locals who gave us perspective on the place in its hey day, and others for whom the city had more charm away from the extravagance and craziness of the main strip and where there are actually real people living. We didn't really see that side to the city apart from in stories, but I guess that comes with being a tourist and having limited time. But it was fun to hear about another side to such a famous city.

Pretending to be fancy at the bathrooms of Caesar's palace

The Bellagio Fountain show was pretty spectacular really- done to the theme song of Viva Las Vegas- of course!!

Drinks at the Paris Las Vegas (which comes equipped with a model Eiffel Tower and views of the fountain show)

Sometimes you just can't take life so seriously. Yes, Vegas is consumeristic, extravagant and ridiculous- but we had an amazing few days absorbing all the crazy.