On the third day of Blogmas, I present to you my thoughts on San Francisco. 

I have written a couple of posts about our amazing honeymoon to the West Coast of America over the summer. We started off in Las Vegas before travelling to Hawaii and Los Angeles. After our time in perfect Los Angeles was complete (I was very sad about this!), we hit the road and drove up to San Jose to see Taylor Swift in all her country turned pop superstar glory.

   
    
   
I’m going to be honest, being stuck in a car for six hours with my new husband wasn’t something I was looking forward to. In fact I was even dreading it a little. Not because I didn’t want to spend the time with him, I mean let’s face it I was spending every minute of a whole month with him thousands of miles away from home, but because we have completely different driving styles and the thought of spending six hours in a car with anyone doesn’t excite me. We had a Sat Nav, but I was really worried about getting there in time and finding the hotel. I needn’t of worried though, the journey was great. Hey, I’d even say it was pretty enjoyable. Open roads going on for miles through grape vines and mountains. It was pretty rad. We spent the six hours calling home for a catch up, listening to Tay Tay (to get us in the mood, obvs!) and chatting about unimportant topics. It was lovely. We also stopped off for an In N Out burger and a mooch around a town that comprised of an In N Out burger and a ranch. Oh California…

After our bizarrely stress free drive to San Jose, we were ready to hit up the Levi Stadium in Santa Clara to see old Swifty.

It’s no secret that I am a huge fan of Tay Tay. I’ve always been interested in country music and when Taylor arrived on the scene with her big blonde curls and tales of heartbreak, she really revived the country scene. I’ve loved her ever since. Although, I am a bit sad that her country days seem to be well and truly behind her with a paradigm of pop perfection left in it’s place. We had a great evening watching her perform in Santa Clara. Swifty sure is something!

   
    
    
   
The next day we drove up to San Francisco, which was to be our base for the following few days.

I was really excited about hitting up San Fran. I couldn’t wait to see the sea lions, Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz. Not to mention shopping in Union Square. Whilst I did enjoy doing all of those things and I did like San Francisco, I didn’t love it and found myself desperate to get back to Vegas by the end of our stay. I can’t pinpoint the exact reason why I was disappointed. I think that it may have been a combination of things. We hated our hotel. Like really hated it. Like it was literally the worst place I have ever stayed and I wouldn’t have been able to force myself to stay there any longer even if a small part of me wanted to. It was nothing short of awful and I was glad when we handed that white swipe card in to reception. 

Anyway, on to San Fran itself. Well, we loved exploring by foot. We always walk pretty much anywhere whilst away because you can really experience the place if you take the time to walk amongst it. 

I was pretty desperate (and I mean desperate – just ask Phil about my Long Beach mishap), to see the sea lions, so our first port of call was to Fishermans Wharf and to Pier 39.

   
    
    
   
I was in my element watching those sea lions bask on Pier 39. I adored hearing their chatter and watching them interact with one another. Fishermans Wharf is pretty rad too (although it’s home to the dirtiest Starbucks I’ve ever set foot in). 

We also did some serious shopping. So serious that we had to buy another suitcase. We also had to buy another one in Las Vegas. This was all fun and games until you are navigating six pieces of luggage through a busy airport and shovelling items of clothing into your hand luggage so that your case isn’t over the limit. Brilliant once you are back home and parading around in your holiday attire bursting with memories though.

  
We had decided that we wanted to go to Alcatraz a couple of months before our trip. A few friends advised booking way in advance as it is such a popular place. I’m so glad that we booked before we went because it really does sell out weeks in advance and we wouldn’t have been able to go otherwise.

I really enjoyed visiting Alcatraz and learning about the inmates. It was a real eye opener and fascinating.

   
    
    
    
  
I really didn’t connect with San Francisco in the way that others have and I thought I would. I genuinely thought that I would fall in love and spend my days counting down until my next visit. Sadly, I feel like I don’t need to go back. We saw what we wanted to see and had a great experience. It just wasn’t incredible. I really think that this was down to a few factors (like the hotel). I didn’t feel that safe in San Francisco and I found that it felt a bit grubby. Overall I think everyone should go once. Whether or not you find its your place is up to you. 

L x