James & Susan's Supersite!

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2010-03-14T19:00:00.001Z

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Day 26

2009-04-13T23:34:00.000Z

Arrived home in the afternoon - very tired and very grateful to Elaine who picked us up and brought us some home made soup! Lovely!

Day 25

2009-04-12T23:34:00.001Z

On our final day we went for a walk around one of the gardens in the St Kilda area. It was lovely to see where Thomas and Kath will be living.

We then went into the city centre to have a look around the local markets that were selling crafts and jewellery.

We then went on a boat trip around the docklands area. This barge took us towards the river mouth and below some very low bridges so we had to make sure we were sitting down while we were going beneath the bridges. Melbourne is a beautiful city with some beautiful and contemporary architecture so it was great to get a good view of it all from the river.

Thomas and Kath then took us to the Airport where we had dinner with them and we were sent on our way home - via Hong Kong.

Day 24

2009-04-11T23:33:00.000Z

Thomas and Kath wanted to show us around their new neighbourhood since they had just bought a new house. They were going to be moving to St Kilda, a cosmopolitan area of the city. We had breakfast and a wonder around the area. We decided to go to Luna Park, a fun park that has a very distinctive entrance! Once inside we went onto a wooden roller coaster – which was controlled by a man standing in the middle with a hand brake! It was all a bit scary and rickety for me!

That evening we went to an Aussie Rules football match between The Blues (Carlton) and The Bombers (Essenden). It was great fun! We had pies and chips and beer to keep us going. It was a really good humoured and mixed crowd – there was no team separation. There were some great fans shouting the whole way through which kept us amused.

Day 23

2009-04-10T23:33:00.000Z

That day Kath decided to have a rest in the morning while Thomas, James and I walked to the local beach (at the end of the road) and then along the beach into the city centre. We stopped for breakfast at a little cafe on the end of a pier when Kath came to join us in the car. We ate breakfast with the most beautiful view over the cityscape in the background. After breakfast Kath went back for some more rest and Thomas was going to take us a tour of some breweries and show us the city centre.

Our first stop was Melbourne's tallest building the Eureka tower which had a 360° observation floor. Jutting out of this floor was a glass block that you accessed by going into a dark room and stepping into a glass room. The glass was obscured and after a few moments and some loud sound effects the obscuration disappears and you realise you are in a glass block hanging off the top of a building!

After that experience we walked down to the riverside for a couple of beers. The international comedy festival was on in Melbourne so there was a lot of street comedy around.

When we finished our beers at the bar by the river we went to another bar which had the famous painting the Chloe in an upstairs room. The Young and Jackson bar has been displaying the huge painting for a hundred years.

Thomas then took us on a tour of the lanes and alleys that host some of the most spectacular graffiti. The graffiti is permitted and is definitely a tourist attraction and more like art work than anti social behaviour.

We then went to a roof top bar that was quite high up and had an astro turf type roof. While here Thomas and James decided that they weren’t cool enough to be in the bar so James tried to increase his street cred by putting his cap on backwards – not sure it worked!

After a beer here we went to a lower floor in the building to try some thai food. I think the thing that attracted Thomas and James to the restaurant was the fact that the beer menu listed hundreds of beers! We each choose a beer and a Thai dish to keep us going until dinner time when we would meet up with Kath. Our food was absolutely delicious but about two mouthfuls into the food we discovered that Thomas and James had ordered probably two of the hottest dishes on the menu as their faces turned bright red and they struggled to eat or drink their beer!

We moved on to another bar to in search of something to soothe the chilli! In the middle of the alleys we found a bar that was outside in what looked like an old waste ground. The seats were old crates and the walls were metal gates. There were trees growing around us and they were lit up with lanterns.

We left there to meet up with Kath and went on to see a comedy show – which was excellent. We then went to a Greek restaurant for a lovely dinner.

Day 22

2009-04-09T23:32:00.000Z

After leaving Philip Island we started to go back towards Melbourne in the direction of the Dandenongs! We stopped off at a town called Belgrave where James noticed there was a steam train called "puffing billy" that he was desperate to see! When we got there we discovered we could get a train ride from Belgrave to a park about an hour away. Puffing Billy had open sides so we could sit and get a great view of the Dandenong hills as the train took us towards the park. James was in his element! After we arrived at the park we had lunch and headed back to Belgrave again. We were aiming to get right into the Dandenongs so we could get a Devonshire tea (cream scone & tea). We found a little tea room in the middle of the range with kookaburras and parrots outside the windows.

It was a beautiful drive through the Dandenongs to Elwood in Melbourne where Thomas & Kath live. We went out to their local bar for dinner and live music that night. We had a lovely meal and had a couple of games of pool - which Kath struggling with her belly still managed to beat me!

Day 21

2009-04-08T23:31:00.000Z

The next morning we went to a Koala sanctuary where we seen some grey and the larger brown Koalas quite close up. After our tuition on what to look for by our cousins Chris and Heather we were able to spot them quite easily. Some of them were quite close to the purpose built walk ways so it was good to get a close look at them. After that we decide to play a game of crazy golf - which was so funny since there was only 3 of us sticking to the rules (If James isn't good at something there is no chance he is going to pretend he is sticking to the rules!). It was great fun - especially at the holes where we couldn't work out where the start and end was!

Kath and myself had booked a treatment at a spa in town so we left the boys playing crazy golf and went to pamper ourselves. Kath had a pregnancy massage and I had a hot stone massage which was wonderful. We enjoyed our couple of hours of spoiling ourselves before returning to pick up Thomas and James. They had abandoned the crazy golf and went into the brewery next door!

We went back to Cowes to have lunch then wonder around the town. The town was very quiet but we still managed to find some silly souvenirs!

That night we drove to the South of the island to see the fairy penguins - one of the smallest penguins in the world! We had booked special seats that allowed us to have a great view of where the penguins would arrive on the beach. Every evening at around 6.30pm the little penguins would return to the beach after fishing for up to a few weeks. They would gather into little groups in the sea and they would come ashore together. There was a guide there that told us all about them, and how they survived in their habitats. She also told us that we would hear them before seeing them. By 6.30pm it was quite dark so there was some low level lights on the deck that we were sitting on so we could see some of the penguins! We sat patiently with our popcorn and hot chocolate and at 6.30 we started to hear a squawking noise from the edge of the sea. Then we could see some little penguins gathering and starting to waddle towards their burrows which were situated below our deck and in the hillside beside us. They moved in groups as it was safer for them to prevent attacks by predators. They were lovely little things and they were quite noisy once they started trying to find their nests! By 7pm there was hundreds of tiny penguins rushing out of the sea and across the beach. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take photos so that was a shame as they were so close I could have picked one up if I was allowed!!

We then went back to the brewery that James and Thomas found earlier in the day to have dinner in the evening. It was lovely but there was too much food!!

Day 20

2009-04-07T23:30:00.000Z

That morning we drove the short distance to a place where we had our helicopter rides. We got into the helicopters in two's and had a great tour over the twelve apostles, and the other rock formations along the coast. It was beautiful - and great to capture such fantastic views. It was the first time I have ever been in a helicopter so I was convinced this is the best and most convenient mode of transport after that ride!

After our ride we drove along the great ocean road through some little towns were we would stop for a walk on the beach and a look around then carry on. Each town had its own spectacular piece of coast and it was beautiful. Slowly we made our way towards the ferry that would take us towards Philip Island. When we were on the ferry we seen some spinner dolphins jumping along side the ferry.

When we finally reached Philip Island we drove to our accommodation - another chalet. This one was in a busier area and it looked like there was some permanent residents in the area.

That evening we went out for dinner in a restaurant just down the road. Philip Island is quite a small island so the main town of Cowes was quite quiet.

Day 19 - Melbourne

2009-04-06T23:29:00.000Z

Chris and Tania picked us up early in the morning and dropped us off at a train station as they were going to work and uni. When we got our train to the airport the train in front of us derailed so we got stuck on the train for an hour. This meant that we would miss our flight to Melbourne. Luckily the flights were every hour so we were able to transfer to the next flight. When we arrived in Melbourne we were met by Thomas and a four months pregnant Kath! Kath then drove us all the way from Melbourne to Flew to Melbourne & drove to far end of Great Ocean Road where we stopped to enjoy some of the crazy rock formations, including the grotto, London bridge and many others. After seeing these we went to our accommodation for the night which was in a chalet near the 12 apostles. We checked into our chalet and found we had two rooms - one with a double bed and the other with single beds so we insisted that Kath and Thomas took the double room. We then walked the 50 yards to the main building where we had dinner that evening. We were welcomed by a very jolly man who I think spent most of the evening drinking - and giving away glasses of port to James and Thomas. The nick-named the man the teary eye man because he had a really runny eye! He did take a liking to Kath and gave her a lovely teary hug at the end of the night! It was so funny because we were the only guests bar an older couple in having dinner and they left shortly after we arrived so I think the man was enjoying some company!

Day 18

2009-04-05T23:28:00.000Z

The next morning Pat and Heather took James and I to a local park where we met up with Chris and Tania and went to see Koalas & wallabies. We walked about with Heather and Chris showing their local knowledge telling us about the birds and also what to look out for when looking for Koalas. We seen several Wallabies including one that had a tiny Joey that hopped out its pouch! It was only when we were in the car park about to leave when we finally spotted a Koala high up in a tree.

After that we went to Graham & Pats house for a Sunday roast - cooked on the BBQ! It was delicious and great to have a roast sitting out in the garden!

That night we had to take Harry to the airport as he was going back to work for another 3 months. When we got there we discovered he had missed his flight by 24 hours so after his flight was changed we headed back to get ourselves organised for our departure early the following morning.

Day 17

2009-04-04T23:23:00.000Z

The next day we got up and had a wondered around Underwood and seen a bit more of the area. We also went over to see Sharon & Dwayne's house. Dwayne was away working so unfortunately we haven't met him yet!

That evening Uncle Harry was hosting a family BBQ and all of my cousins were coming along. I hadn't seen David & Chris since they moved to Australia years ago - and I hadn't ever met Heather as she was born in Australia! We also met Tania who is Chris's fiancée originally from South Africa. We had a fantastic evening catching up and getting to know everyone. I don't know how many bottles of fizzy pink wine we had but every time we finished one Harry put another bottle in front of us!

Day 16 - Brisbane

2009-04-03T23:22:00.001Z

We had another early start as we were flying from Sydney north to Brisbane where we would spend a few days with my family. I had not seen my uncles since my Nana's funeral in 2006, but I had not seen my aunts and cousins for a lot longer (probably about 18 years) so I was very excited about getting to see them all again. We were getting picked up at the airport by my uncle Harry (mums brother), his wife Liz, their daughter Sharon and her son Saxon. We were staying with Harry and Liz in their house in the Underwood area of Brisbane. Their house is lovely and sits on the top of a hill with a beautiful view over the valley below them. The house was huge with a lovely swimming pool outside. We went for lunch at Nandos when we arrived and we had a look around one of the shopping centres in the Underwood area. After that we went back to Harrys house and relaxed outside with a cold beer. That evening we would be going to Surfers Paradise with Harry & Liz and another of my mums brothers - Uncle Graham and his wife Pat. We drove down there to have some fish and chips in a place right on the sea front. We went in and choose our freshly caught fish from the counter and it was fried in front of us. We sat outside and listened to the sea as we ate our dinner. Since it was dark we couldn't actually see the sea but you could hear it clearly!

After dinner we walked around surfers paradise and had a coffee at a before going the short drive back. It was a lovely evening and it was great to spend time with everyone.

Day 15

2009-04-02T23:18:00.001Z

We went out straight out into the centre of Sydney and headed straight for the harbour. We had breakfast right in front of the harbour bridge looking at the opera house. We had booked onto a bridge climb in the morning so we had a look around the harbour and appreciated the bridge from the ground. We then headed up to the bridge to prepare for our climb - and take a breathalyser test! We had to take this to make sure we were in a suitable condition to climb the bridge! Once we had passed the breathalyser test we were given a safety briefing and given some overalls to change into. We were then given a quick tuition on how all of the ropes and clips work - and given clips to hold absolutely everything onto you. We couldn't take any of our own possessions onto the bridge since we were right above the traffic - so no cameras allowed! We were however given a space-aged headphone set which would keep us in contact with our guide. It was almost like putting on headphones - except the ear pieces were flat and sat on your jaw bone and you heard through the vibrations! It was very weird but it was to make sure everyone could hear and there was no distortions from outside noise, and you could still hear the noise from the city.

We walked into a warehouse type building that covered the door that led into the big stone stanchions. From here we walked through the newly created path and found ourselves standing on the lower part of the bridge. Straight away we were quite high - and knew it would only get higher! Some of the other people in our group included 3 older women who were in Sydney for a Christian conference, a couple of females travelling and another couple. The 3 older women were able to walk around as if there was no height at all! At the highest point we would climb to 134m above the road. We were attached to the bridge at all times with our safety cable. When we got to the top we had the most fantastic view of Sydney in all directions. We were right above the Opera House, and we could see all around the areas that we had explored that morning.

After descending from the bridge we went for some lunch, and amazingly found a German Lowenbrau restaurant with a view of the bridge! The restaurant sold large maß of beer - and sold all of the food that you would expect to see in Germany!

We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the city and decided to check out if there was anything on at the Opera House in the evening. We found out there was an Irish comedian, Jason Byrne, was there that evening so we got some tickets to see him. When we were waiting for the theatre to open we sat along the harbour front watching the city light up as it was starting to get dark. It was a good opportunity for me to grab some photos! When we went into the Opera House we quickly discovered there was quite a lot of Irish ex-pats living in Sydney after the comedian asked how many Irish people were in the audience.

Jason put on a great show and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

Day 14 - Sydney

2009-04-01T23:16:00.000Z

We drove the short distance from our hotel back to Honolulu airport where we dropped off our car. Our next flight was to Sydney crossing the equator along the way. This flight was with JetStar who are owned and run by Qantas. They were fantastic and we had really good service. While flying over the South Pacific we saw some of the most amazing and isolated islands. There were beautiful sandy beaches and volcanos on the islands. Absolute Paradise!

When we finally arrived in Sydney we hopped onto the underground at the airport and took a train to an area in the centre of the city to our next hotel. The next hotel was a boutique hotel - it was very contemporary and chique.

The first night we arrived we were quite tired because it was an early start in the morning and there was a bit of a time difference between Hawaii and Australia. We had effectively flown into a different time zone and it was now Wednesday not Tuesday!

We went to a local restaurant and ate lovely hand made pizza in the garden outside. It was really relaxing but that was about all we could manage that night!

Day 13

2009-03-31T23:14:00.000Z

We spent the morning driving around the coast towards the North of the island but we kept stopping at view points as the scenery was so dramatic and there was a lot of amazing beaches. We kept seeing mountains and wondering if they were the ones that we would watch on Lost!!

After returning to Waikiki we went into a shop to buy some water when James noticed that they sold something called 'crickettes' beside the till. On closer inspection they were actually real crickets that you would find hopping about! He had to buy them and eat them - I couldn't touch them!!! Yuck!!

We had booked on a submarine trip in the afternoon so we went to the Hilton hotels private jetty and got onto the boat that would take us out into the sea where we would then transfer onto the submarine. On the boat out we saw lots of people surfing quite far out from the beach - which is one of the things that made Waikiki famous. Once we were out in the sea the boat stopped and we had a quick safety briefing and we were told to watch out of the right side of the boat as the submarine emerged from the sea. The submarine lets up a huge bubble first to let boats on the surface know it is coming up - then pops up a few seconds later. It was something I had only seen in films before but it did literally come shooting out of the water! We then stepped down from our boat onto the top of the submarine and climbed down the hatch. It was surprisingly spacious inside! We then dove to 110ft below sea level and instantly seen some of the man made reef. There was old planes and boats sunk to the bottom of the sea and through the really clear light blue sea there was huge schools of fish, sharks and sea turtles.

The rest of the day was spent wandering around Waikiki and enjoying the relaxed atmosphere felt in the Hawaiian city.

James & Susan On Tour 2009

2009-03-31T19:42:00.001Z

Just to let you know that we've posted some pictures of our 2009 holiday in the gallery!
See http://www.eviljames.com/gallery/ for the details!

Day 12 - Hawaii - Oahu

2009-03-29T23:13:00.001Z

We had to have an early start to drive the short distance from Volcano to Hilo airport where we dropped off the car and got a flight back to Honolulu. Once in Honolulu in was noticeable busier. We picked up our next car from Honolulu airport (a red ford focus with great air conditioning) and drove to Waikiki beach where our next hotel was. This is one of the most famous beaches in the world, and it is easy to see why. At one end of Waikiki is Pearl Harbour and at the other end is Diamond Head - a beautiful mountain. We checked in to our modern hotel right on the beach in Waikiki. We had a partial sea view from our room but when we complained that the internet wasn't working in our room we got a free upgrade to a room on the 25th floor with a full sea view. In the evenings we could see the sun set into the sea from our balcony. As soon as we got settled into our hotel we went exploring around Waikiki and soon found the beautiful markets and shops. I got a lei made by a woman in a market who looks at you and decides on the colours that suits you. She made me a beautiful pink and yellow one. We walked round the markets looking at all of the Hawaiian shirts, dresses and other Polynesian items for sale. We wandered around the beach area and shopping streets then got a recommendation for a restaurant that had over 250 beers on tap! They had a fantastic food selection with a lot of it being local sea food.

Day 11

2009-03-28T23:11:00.000Z

We drove South and then East around the coast of the big island to Hilo. On the way we stopped at a black sand beach where the erosion of volcanic material had caused the sand to be black - really surreal!

The drive around the South of the island took us around some amazing scenery and we were at the most Southerly part of the Hawaiian Islands. When we finally reached the volcano national park we were given a map and told not to breath in any sulphur fumes! We headed straight for the largest crater to find huge plumes of sulphur spilling out as the hot lava met the cooler air but it was going in another direction so we were safe! We then drove around the national park looking at other craters and eventually reached a lava tube that had collapsed so we could walk all of the way through it. It was like a big cave but make of lava. We then drove round to some steam vents that were venting out of big cracks in the ground. They were strange because they were really hot, and the ground around was hot too. We then walked on a board walk around a sulphur field where the sulphur was crystallising and turning green and yellow.

We then decided to go to the Volcano town to check into our accommodation - a lodge called at the craters edge - named that because the owner has a lava tube in the garden! We had our own little flat and it was beautiful. The owner had baked us fresh bread for us to have for breakfast, and we had fresh juice in our little fridge. We got such a lovely warm welcome that I would recommend the place to everyone. There is a hot tub hidden away in the rain forest garden for the use of guests. The whole of the East side of the island is lush rain forests and the West is drier and sunnier.

After checking in we went back to the volcano park so we could drive down to where the lava was still flowing over the main road! The road is impassable since there is so much lava over it but it was funny to see where there was once road and now there is huge lumps of lava - completely destroying everything it came into contact with. There was road signs completely covered in lava giving an indication of the height that the lava has reached. We scrambled over it for a couple of miles to get a view of the steam in the distance as the hot molten lava hit the sea. The island is still growing every year because the volcano is constantly erupting.

When we went back to volcano village we found a little restaurant that sold the biggest portions of food! It was lovely and really homely with lots of local beers.

Day 10

2009-03-27T23:10:00.000Z

We spent the morning wandering around the local market and the village. We decided to try some water sports that day and booked onto a parasailing trip in the morning. We went out on the boat and decided to go to 800ft as a tandem so got hooked onto the parachute and sat at the back of the boat. The boat sped up and we were gently let out above the pacific. It was so calm and peaceful when we reached 800ft and we got such fantastic views of the coast and the mountains. It was beautiful and the 10mins flew by. The parasail also included what is called a free fall where they stop the boat and you glide down to the water then they speed up again. There was another 2 tandem flights in our boat so when the parachute is in the air the boat has to go quite fast and so some crazy turns to keep the parachute up so that was a bit of an adventure! Great fun!

That afternoon we went whale watching and went North of the big island to catch some excellent scenes of massive hump back whales fighting and playing. The pods were travelling south so we got some great views of the leaping out of the water as they passed us. They were massive and when you were watching a little whale at one side of the boat you would just hear the whoosh of water as another pod would pass really closely on the other side. A great sight that really gave us a good appreciation of the size of them!

When getting off the boat we were walking along the beach on the Kona coast when we spotted a green sea turtle on the beach. They are lovely creatures so it was great to see one in its natural habitat!

We went back to our hotel to use some of the facilities there as there was the most unique and idyllic pool and Jacuzzi built into the lava at the front of the hotel overlooking the Pacific. We went for a swim in the pool then jumped into the lovely hot Jacuzzi in time to watch the sun set over the Pacific in front. There was fire torches lit all around the pool and the hotel grounds, and eventually there was little boats appearing lit up as they were taking people out night diving to look for Manta Rays in the bay.

Day 9

2009-03-26T23:07:00.000Z

We had the morning to explore Kona some more and found a really good cafe called 'buns in the sun' run by a man who loved talking to us about the UK. The food was fantastic and fresh. I had a papaya filled with yoghurt and granola for breakfast with freshly squeezed orange juice. This was also the place where we would be picked up for our afternoon/ evening excursion to see the observatories. We were picked up in a 4x4 mini bus and driven North and then East to ascend the second largest mountain in the Hawaiian Islands, Mauna Kea. As we were driven up we stopped off just above the cloud line to capture some photos of some snow capped mountains and take in the views. We were then driven up to 9,000ft to Parker ranch where we stopped to acclimatise at the visitors centre. Here we were given our dinner in a box and an Arctic parka. We enjoyed our dinner in a window seat while getting to know some of the other people on our tour. After eating our meal we got back on the bus to continue to the top of the mountain in time for sun set. When we reached 13,500ft we couldn't believe it as there was snow everywhere! The even more surprising thing was that there was trails in the snow where people had gone skiing and snowboarding! We got shown all of the observatories which were huge. They were all buzzing into action and whirling round to position themselves ready for when the sun went down. It was beautiful watching the sun go down at such an altitude. Another island of Hawaii was visible in the background and the sun set just beside it. After the sun had set we had to descend down to 9,500ft so we didn't interfere with the work in the observatories. Back down at this altitude it was still cold and there was still some snow. Our guide set up some telescopes so we could stargaze. Apparently Hawaii is one of the best places in the world to see the stars and it certainly didn't disappoint. Even with the naked eye the stars were amazing - with the Milky Way clearly visible. We were shown several stars close up and shown several galaxy's but for me the most amazing sight was when we looked at Neptune through the telescope and the rings were so clear. It was certainly one of the highlights of Hawaii. After looking at a few constellations we were given hot chocolate and cookies with Hawaiian macadamia nuts to heat up.

Day 8 - Hawaii - The Big Island

2009-03-25T23:06:00.002Z

We had an early start so got a taxi to the airport. Our flight to Hawaii ran smoothly and when we eventually landed in Honolulu we then had to go to the internal terminal and get a flight to Kona on the Big Island. The flight was short and was in a small plane and we had some fantastic views of the islands below during the flight. The volcanous islands and sandy islands were spread across the Pacific Ocean. Once arriving at Kona airport we walked into the roofless terminal where the baggage carousel was under a Bali hut styled roof! We then went over to the car hire area to pick up our Jeep Wrangler 4x4 that we would use to explore the island. It was a straight forward drive to the hotel other than the fact that it was hard to watch the road when there were so many amazing sights from every window! When we got to the hotel we were astonished at how beautiful it was and at the fantastic location that it was in. It was a large white hotel with a sweeping drive up to the 1st floor reception area. When you walked into the reception it was all open and there was huge floor to ceiling windows looking out over the Pacific on one side and the other looked out onto the hotel pools and the lava rocks below. We went to our room and found we had views out over the tennis court, gardens and sea. We wandered around the hotel and found a path that takes you from the hotel spa to the sea in front weaving over the lava formed rocks.

That evening we drove into the main town for a meal and a look at what we would do the next day. The main town is a beautiful sea-side town that has little tourist shops, markets and restaurants and curves round forming a bay with little sandy beaches. It is one of the most beautiful places and it wasn't crammed with tourists so it was nice to feel like we weren't in some artificially created town.

Day 7

2009-03-24T23:04:00.000Z

We went to a sour dough bakery beside the hotel for breakfast and had pancakes and french toast for breakfast - fresh from the bakery. We had booked onto a tour for the day to take us from our hotel to Muir woods and then onto Alcatraz. We were picked up in our mini bus and driven up to the Golden gate bridge for some photos and then across the bridge towards Muir woods. We had an hour and a half to follow a trail through the woods looking at some of the tallest trees. The woods were beautiful and the trail gave us a chance to walk off some of the food we had been indulging on!

After finishing the trail we were driven to a lovely village called Sausalito which is just across the bay from San Francisco. I would love to live there as it is so beautiful. We had an ice-cream here and wandered through the little village looking in the galleries and tourist shops, then round the marina. Sausalito had lovely views of the Bay bridge, the Golden gate bridge, San Francisco and Alcatraz. After getting back on the bus we headed back across the Golden gate bridge and drove to pier 33 where we got on a boat to Alcatraz. The boat sped across the bay and once at Alcatraz it is amazing to see how big it actually is. You don't have an appreciation of how far the island is from the shore until you are actually on the island too so you can see why is was used as a prison! We were given our headsets and sent on our way round the prison listening to the commentary by a former inmate! It was really easy to follow and there was a lot of stories told that you wouldn't appreciate until standing in the prison imagining it.

After out tour finished we got the boat back over and had a look around USS Pampanito, an old submarine that is berthed in the bay. We also spent a bit of time in an old arcade that had arcade machines from the 1900's to more modern ones. It was great to reminisce about the machines that we seen in our childhood. I even got a squashed penny!

We eventually got the tram back to the Fishermans wharf where we had dinner and relaxed on some deckchairs in front of an open fire pit.

Day 6

2009-03-23T23:03:00.000Z

We walked out of the hotel and heard sea lions from the bay in front and had our first look at the Pacific Ocean. We wondered around the bay and around pier 39. We then decided to go into union square and since our hotel was near the cable cars we hopped on one. The streets are so steep that it would be hard imagine walking up and down the hills. We got off the cable car in union square where we had brunch and a coffee in the cafe in the centre where we took in the sights. We had a look around then decided to walk through China town. I believe San Francisco has one of the biggest populations of Chinese people outside China. It was absolutely amazing there. The buildings were styled around what I would think of as Chinese buildings, and there were red lanterns outside restaurants. We then continued to walk back to the Fishermans Wharf area and along the Embarcadero. We spent the afternoon exploring pier 39, apparently Americas 3rd most visited tourist attraction. We had dinner and went to the main shopping area. We had a look around the shopping centre and then decided to go to the bus station where we caught a bus to the beach in time for the sunset. We didn't stay too long as it was quite chilly in the evening on the beach!

Day 5 - New York to San Francisco

2009-03-22T23:02:00.000Z

We got a yellow cab from our hotel to the airport at 7am. We found out flight to San Francisco was cancelled so had to wait in a huge queue to be told we could get another flight at 6pm. There was nothing else we could do! A woman at airport told us there was a shopping mall nearby that we could get a cab to and we could spend some time there. Fearing being bored all day we jumped in a cab and was dropped off at the mall. Our first stop was a Wal-Mart where we had a look around and decided that it wasn't that different from shopping centres so we went into the mall beside it. We wandered about the mall and had lunch then went back to the airport!

Eventually we got an American Airlines flight to San Francisco. The flight landed late at night and our bags had gone on an earlier flight so we didn't have to wait for them at all. We got a train into San Francisco town centre, and then got a tram round the Embarcadero to the Fishermans Wharf where our hotel was on the front. It was quite dark so we couldn't see any of the views when we were coming in! We checked into the hotel and when we got to our room we found the bed was one that you could control the hardness and softness using a remote control - and each side of the bed was different so you could change each side separately!

Day 4

2009-03-21T23:00:00.001Z

We ate breakfast at the same chain of pancake place as we had found the previous day - but this one was nearer central park. We then went to Bloomingdales as I had a shopping list from Kate! We bought her a little and medium brown bag. Bloomingdales was fantastic, and the customer service was absolutely fantastic.

It was a beautiful sunny day so we got the subway to very top of central park in Harlem and walked from the top all of the way to the bottom. We stopped off at Belvedere Castle, the turtle pond and boating lake. It was beautiful! It gave us an insight into some of the characters that can be found in New York. The most memorable bits for us were a dog with proper little boots on and a cat that was out for a walk on a lead! So funny....
After walking most of the day we went into Times square for a wander and some souvenir shopping and then went to a place called Knickerbockers for dinner. We found it by searching Google and it was highly recommended and it absolutely lived up to its reputation. James got a filet mignon and it was huge - and very tasty! I would definitely go back to this place if we were in NY again.