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Disneyland California and West Coast Trip Reports Trip Reports |
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7 Feb 17, 07:00 PM |
#1
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Very Serious Dibber
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The Grand Tour...First day in San Francisco!
The hotel was a great first night stop, very comfortable and clean. We slept well and were raring to go the following morning. We packed up quickly and had breakfast before checking out, the breakfast was fine, enough to keep us going anyway!
This next bit was so exciting, I got to use my Uber app! What a great invention, honestly we were so impressed, we could see the car and drivers details and were able to see where the driver was on a map. We had a great ride into the city, so glad we did this in daylight. Our driver was fab and when he saw how excited we were when we spotted Alcatraz he took us to a good spot for photos. This ride cost around $20 as we had a code, we also gave a tip which the driver seemed very surprised but grateful for. We entered the Holiday Inn Express, Fisherman’s Wharf around 9.30am and were greeted by a lovely lady, we explained we were early for check in, she looked us up on the system and although our room wasn’t ready she offered to store our luggage, result! Bags safely locked away we walked up to Fisherman’s Wharf, it was so nice as it wasn’t too busy yet which meant we were able to get some great photos. First stop was Boudins Bakery…WOW! We bought bear claws and chocolate twists for later, we also checked out the menu as we would be back! From here we walked across the street where we had more views of Alcatraz, it was so surreal seeing this place we had wanted to visit since watching The Rock with Nicholas Cage and Sean Connery. I had to keep pinching myself. It looked quite mysterious now as the fog was surrounding it, great photo opportunities! From here we wandered up to Pier 39 to witness the boisterous sea lions, not only were they noisy but they stunk too It was a great spectacle although there weren’t as many as I thought there would be. We stood for ages taking it all in, we were in San Francisco! We strolled up through Pier 39 looking at the shops whilst checking out the location of Bubba Gump’s for tonight’s meal. There was a sports merchandise shop and as we were seeing the SF Giants play on Thursday we wanted to purchase caps to show our support. We were advised to buy beforehand to save some bucks, we found four different caps each which came to around $90, pricey but they came in handy and its made a great souvenir! We were starting to get a little peckish so walked over towards Fisherman’s Wharf and spotted a small pier with seating so headed down there to eat our Boudins purchases which were very tasty. We had a fab view of Alcatraz and sat for a while taking in the views, we learned that we were right by Forbes Island, an enchanting ‘lighthouse’ restaurant. We had a Dylan’s Tour booked for tomorrow so thought we’d walk up to the meeting point on Hyde Street so we knew where we had to be. It was a lovely walk up Jefferson Street noting all the shops and restaurants along the way, In & Out Burger was one, we definitely need to sample one of these bad boys very soon! We soon found the meeting point which was stress-free, from here we walked along the beach by the Maritime Museum getting in some great views of the Golden Gate Bridge and fog! We intended to purchase the NPS annual pass so popped into the Maritime Museum, we discovered that this wasn’t where we needed to get it from but spoke to a lovely lady originally from NYC now living in San Francisco but had previously lived in the UK near to where we live! Sometimes this is such a small world we live in… We spotted Ghirardelli Square across the street so popped in before pursuing our annual pass. It’s a quaint little area with boutique shops and the obviously named Ghirardelli chocolate shop. We had to have a nose, firstly we received free chocolate upon entering then we spotted an ice cream parlour at the back so we grabbed a table and ordered two sundaes to share between four, DS and DH had the ‘Lands’ End’ and DD and myself had ‘Crissy Field’. These were amazing. We headed towards The Argonaut hotel as the Maritime Visitor Centre was next door, this looked like a fab hotel with superb location and views. Although this again was not where we were to purchase the annual pass however we were heading in the right direction! Across the road we go to the actual entrance of the Maritime Historical Park and this is eventually where we acquired the pass. It was $80 and covered all the National Parks on our travels so in our opinion was a bargain! We agreed from here that we’re going to trek up a hill we had spotted…mainly to burn off all the calories we had just consumed! We didn’t quite realise how hilly San Francisco was until it was too late! Walking is certainly the best way to view the city but our legs didn’t agree! We had some great sights of the city and cable cars on our way. We witnessed homeless people but no more than we’ve seen in London, it’s still sad to see though. We managed to walk up to the top of Lombard Street, it was so busy and I must admit I got a little irritated here with some European students who were being incredibly disrespectful by climbing on the walls and nudging other tourists out of the way. We soon descended down the street after we’d taken some photos. Not sure I would want to live on this street as it was so busy, however it was very well maintained and looked beautiful. We still had lots of time on our side so we thought we’d walk to Union Square. Again it was very hilly so we just took our time. We popped into Macys and a few surrounding shops, not really looking for anything in particular as we were being careful regarding our baggage allowances! From here we wanted to catch a cable car back to Fisherman’s Wharf. We did not anticipate the stress involved, honestly it was ridiculous. There was a sort of queuing system however some locals were getting agitated with the people choosing not to queue, to be honest I don’t blame them! It was around 5pm when we wanted to head back which on reflection was possibly not the best time! After waiting enough time for 3 cable cars to go by without stopping as they were full we opted to walk back. Finally we arrived at the hotel, checked in, grabbed luggage and went to our room. The room was fab, bigger than we expected and very clean! We unpacked and took turns to shower, we daren’t have a lay down as not sure we would have got up again! We headed back out to Pier 39 as everyone had decided on Bubba Gumps for tonight’s meal, we knew where we were going as we had checked it out earlier. We arrived to a huge queue so I popped in to find out wait times, minimum of an hour! It was here that I mentioned I had a Landry card, well it was like I was a celebrity, and it was amazing! We were all taken to an area at the bar, offered drinks and told to wait for the manager. He arrived within minutes and took us to a table straight away, not any table, one overlooking the harbour with views of Alcatraz too! It was all a bit surreal. We ordered our drinks and food, it arrived quickly and was as good as we all remembered. The bill was still quite high considering we had a $50 credit however it was a great first evening meal! Steps today; 21,294 Floors climbed; 88 *Tip of the day… Due to the changeable $ rate try and pay for hotels before you travel at a price you are pleased with*
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Whistle-stop Tour Of Copenhagen Feb 2017 The Grand Tour (West to East trip) 2016 The 'Bombshell' Trip to NYC @ Christmas 2014 Trip report, Our first time to WDW Sept/Oct '08; Edited at 08:40 PM. |
7 Feb 17, 07:50 PM |
#2
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Imagineer
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What a relaxed first day (though you did do a lot of steps!)
Love the last photo!
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Index of my trip reports 2016 Quebec - Kuala Lumpar - New York City 2017 Dubai - Eurocamps France - Ontario and Quebec - So-Cal 2018 Montreal - Bangkok - New England 2019 Argentina - Quebec City - Hong Kong - 2020 Switzerland 2022 Arizona - Costa Med Cruise - Oslo 2023 Hong Kong - Gothenburg |
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7 Feb 17, 08:05 PM |
#3
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Apprentice Imagineer
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Great day looking forward to hearing about your Dylan tour we've booked to do thst
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Elainex courtyard by marriott, marriott suites clearwater,rpr july 07 westridge villa,rpr, july08 cypress point,rpr, aug 09 tuscana resort july 10:spin hard rock hotel July 10 watersong villa, rpr Jan 2012, sandy ridge villa June 2016 |
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7 Feb 17, 08:13 PM |
#4
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Apprentice Imagineer
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Loving your report, we're off to SF this August first visit
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Laura |
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7 Feb 17, 08:17 PM |
#5
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Guest
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One thing to bear in mind re the Rock v. Alcatraz - The extensive network of tunnels shown in the movie "The Rock" are fictional and only existed on a Hollywood soundstage. The tunnels on the island are much less impressive.
However, the rest of Alcatraz is a blast. Take a night tour if you can. Love San Francisco - it's my favourite US city. We stayed at the Argonaut and whilst pricey it is a lovely hotel. The building used to be a cannery belonging to the Del Monte company. Edited at 08:19 PM. |
7 Feb 17, 10:39 PM |
#6
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Imagineer
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A great first day, loads of walking. Can't wait to hear more.
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7 Feb 17, 11:07 PM |
#7
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VIP Dibber
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Sounds like you did quite a lot whilst getting your bearings in SF. My legs are aching for you just reading about those hills though!
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NYC and Boston - Sept 2014 Toronto and Niagara Falls - May 2015 Road Trip to California - July/August 2017 Vancouver and the Rockies - July/August 2018 Five Days in Washington DC - October 2019 Norwegian Fjords Cruise - August 2023 Universal Orlando - October 2023 Cruising the Caribbean - March 2024 - complete |
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7 Feb 17, 11:14 PM |
#8
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VIP Dibber
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Great day. Lots of places seen and tasted!
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tocpe |
8 Feb 17, 09:24 PM |
#9
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slightly serious Dibber
Join Date: Feb 16
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88 flights climbed! Kudos for walking those hills. We cheated and took the cable car up to Lombard Street.
Great first day, looking forward to reading more. |
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10 Feb 17, 01:01 PM |
#10
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VIP Dibber
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Great first day
Joan
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