I’ve really cut it fine this time, I’ve been home from Madrid for 25 hours and I’m off again. Totally worth it though, headed to the sunshine state for a week of exploring San Francisco! Initally when thinking about venturing to California, the only thing that was going through my mind was doing the PCH route from San Fran to LA, making as many stops as possible on the way, but unfortunately, I’m not patient enough to wait for enough time to do that, so have just gone with San Fran this time.. there’s more opportunities to go back at the end of the day!

I SEVERELY underestimated the jetlag I’m not gonna lie. I left my house at 5am, landed in San Fran at 3pm (11pm UK time) and wanted to try and stay awake until about 10pm San Fran time so that I could make the most of my time, but wow I was not okay. After the mammoth wait at customs (2 hours!!) I got the train straight to my hotel for a nap, and felt so much better after, but started to convince myself that time isn’t even a real thing. By the time I woke up it was around 8pm and I wanted to go out and try find some dinner before going back to sleep even more. I only headed local for the first night because I was too tired to go any further, that and the guy at the customs desk was shocked that I was in San Fran by myself (I was so confused!), he warned me to not go out after dark and to be cautious at all times. This didn’t scare me too much but did make me wonder if I hadn’t done my research properly! I decided to wait until I had a full day to venture any further, I didn’t let it put me off though, I was still well ready to get going!

I had soooo much I wanted to cram in to my visit so I was up bright and early the next day (4am lol) and headed out at around 7:30am to get coffee as I felt like this might have been my only survival tool for the jetlag I was experiencing, and from there, went straight to Fisherman’s Wharf to begin my adventures. I got the tram (cable car to Americans) down to the wharf and began by heading to Pier 39 to see the sea lions!

I honestly could have sat here all day, I wanted to jump in with the sea lions and start playing! Pier 39 is famous for the sea lions to come and sit up and wait for any catch of the day, especially at certain times of the year, they really are a crowd favourite and I loved watching them dive into the water, fight with one another and also just bask in the sunshine. What a life! I had a wander around the Pier and was really starting to feel like I was living in my Princess Diaries era, remembering the scene when Mia and her grandmother were eating corndogs on the pier. I was SO happy. The jetlag meant nothing to me anymore as I was completely in my element.

As mentioned, I was living in my Princess Diaries era and a trip to Musée Mécanique was a must! Honestly it was about now that I felt like I was in a movie, I was wandering around and started getting out some change to play on some of the games and then disappeared into their old school photobooth the take some cheesy snaps for my travel scrapbook back home.

From here I went up to Umbrella Alley which is a really cool urban kinda style street art location, where artists can design and let their hearts go wild. I was so amazed at how incredible some of the street art was and was really snapping away. Again, first day in San Fran and I was completely in my element and couldn’t believe I had waited so long to come here! I didn’t stay out too late as jet lag was absolutely roasting me, so grabbed some dinner and went back to my hotel for some much needed R&R, I downloaded all of the series of Line of Duty before I left home so I could watch them on the plane and if I ever needed something to do if I got bored of people watching (never!), so I was happy as watching this in bed, getting ready for the excitement of day two!

Swiftly moving onto day two! Omggggg! Bucket list moment! I have wanted to visit Alcatraz for years and years. Anyone that knows me knows that I have a bit of a thing for prisons, prisoners, crime, and all things associated with it, so I was very excited to finally get to visit Alcatraz! I was, again, up super early. Jet lag ruining me by this point. I headed back down to Fisherman’s Wharf to catch a ferry over to Alcatraz Island. Absolutely geeking out at this point and I think my insta stories really showed this. I had the best day.

What I liked most about visiting Alcatraz was that you had the chance to do an individual audio tour which worked so much better for me than a group tour (which I cannot stand!) as I could explore at my own pace and spend as long as I wanted in different areas. I genuinely am a proper geek when it comes to stuff like this so I was ready to spend as long as possible here exploring every single part that was possible. I was literally looking at everything, the colours, the cells, the landings, the windows, all of it was fascinating me.

One of the real highlights was seeing the restaurant menu in the canteen, which there are sooo many photos of but seeing it in real life was just a jawdrop moment, as well as seeing the cells where the three escapees were, and the model heads they created as well as the holes that they dug in the walls. All jaw drop moments. I also ventured into one of the cells (pictured above) and let me tell you how small they are! I could barely stand up, and I am fully aware at how tall I am but I also reckon that if I laid on the floor my feet and head would’ve touched either wall, they were honestly so dinky and clautrophobic, I wouldn’t have stood a chance!

But, let me just say, I had the best time ever and it really did live up to every expectation I had. There was nothing I was disappointed with whatsoever. It wasn’t just the inside that was fascinating though, the outside of the island itself was incredible. There was so much to explore around the Island and you could walk around the different areas and see the gardens, the warden’s office, the water tank and the famous sign on entry via ferry. Best day ever.

As if Alcatraz wasn’t enough excitement for one day, I knew I wanted to visit the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Anyone that reads my blogs will know that in most countries I visit, if there is a Modern Art Museum, it’s always high on my list of things to visit! So after making it back to land without having to swim, I headed back into the main city and wandered over to have an explore of the museum, and cool down! I knew I wouldn’t have time to visit all of the exhibitions due to the time of day I got there, and it was also huge. I probably could have easily spent a whole day just in the MOMA but really couldn’t fit it into my packed schedule so opted for the free ticket to see some of the exhibitions in the time I had, which were still incredible and well worth seeing. Another recommendation from me!

Anyway, San Fran part one over and out. I am doing SO much on this trip that I really do need to do a double post as if not it’ll be super long but I cannot wait to share with you what I get up to for the rest of my time here! Catch ya later, Mads x