So the journey begins.

We have now made it to San Francisco after spending almost a day getting here. Due to excessive budgeting we chose the cheapest route from the UK. This being an IcelandAir flight from Gatwick to San Francisco stopping at Reykjavik and Denver. Didn't seem so bad when booking it until the 8hr stint from Iceland to Denver on a plane started and we were informed there were no meals on board. Bad times.

Arriving at midnight in San Francisco there were no trains running to Downtown so we got a shared shuttle bus for $17 each. This brought us right to the door of our Hostel (HI Downtown). 24hr check in was a godsend.

Friday 1st Nov

On the first day we went to see a bit of the city on foot. Walking from downtown to the ferry market building. As the temperature was fairly warm we kept walking up the coastline towards fisherman's wharf. We had heard that the wharf was a horrendous tourist infested place however it was somewhere that had to be seen on a visit to SF. We stopped off for out first meal at a nice little place by the sea called 'Pier 23'. fairly pricey but worth the money and the view over the bay was pretty good.

 Petras pint of Mai Tai

Pier 23 Cafe

After a fair old trek we reached the famous Fisherman's Wharf. It definitely met our expectations as it felt like we had just wandered into Disney World. The vast amounts of people and tacky overpriced shops were overwhelming but what made this worth it was getting to see the sealions who have made a group of pontoons their home.

Cheesy Land 

 Lazy Sealions

Chillin'

After escaping the mass of people at the wharf we headed on up to the Golden Gate Bridge via the MUNI bus. (Which was pretty easy and a 3day pass costs just $21 for unlimited rides on the buses/street cars/cable cars). The golden gate did not dissapoint although it was a bit creepy seeing all of the telephone points offering emergency counselling. Not surprising considering this is the top suicide spot in the States.

Marvel at its Golden-ness