Pardon me, but those last days were just so busy. So let’s continue where I left off: In the morning of December 26th, I checked out from the New York Moore Hostel and took a taxi to the airport to catch my flight at 9.30am to San Francisco. Everything went well, during the six-hour flight I watched “Avengers- Infinity War” and some series but I got bored after a while, so I listened to music. I had the feeling that the time did not pass at all….When I arrived at SFO, I grabbed my suitcase and took a shuttle to the next hostel: the Green Tortoise Hostel. On this day, I shared my room with two other girls- one was from Germany, so we spoke the same language (although I always wanted to speak English to her for some reason).
I checked in, put my stuff in the room and decided to spend the rest of the afternoon walking around Union Square, where a lot of expensive stores are located, like Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Prada, Saks, etc. Of course, I did not buy anything in those shops, but I ended up standing 20 minutes in line for a bubble tea. Back in my country, I never tried bubble tea, but I have to admit that I am addicted to it, since I am in the US. Boba Guys was the name of the famous shop and the wait was TOTALLY worth it!! I ordered a Strawberry Matcha Latte and I swear, I never had something better to drink. Then, when I came back to the room, I met the German girl and we agreed on meeting each other the next day, to do some sightseeing together. I told her that I have a ticket to Alcatraz, so I would let her know as soon as I got back to the Pier. For the trip to the famous prison, I had to be at Pier 33 at 11am. That is why I left the hostel at around 9am, walking up a very steep street, from where I saw the Lombard Street vis-à-vis. The weather was beautiful- so much better than in that one summer, when I was here with my family. Since I had plenty of time, I walked all the way to the Lombard Street, but to be honest: this one is much prettier in summer, when all the flowers are actually g
rowing. Anyways, while walking down the street, to Fisherman’s Warf, I ran into a nice elderly man, who recommend the Café “Buena Vista” to me, because they would have the best Irish Coffee! I kept that in mind the whole time, but I had to be at the Pier and there was still a long way I had to walk. Passing plenty of souvenir shops and seafood-restaurants,
I reached Pier 39, where a huge Christmas tree stood. There were a lot of people, so I made my way through the crowd and continued for another 10 minutes to the Alcatraz boarding area. For the first time in my life, I got the chance to see the prison. It is crazy how all those tickets are sold out so fast and you have to book them online at least two months before you come to the city. When arriving on that island, I started with all the buildings surrounding the main house (the one with the cells), because the best comes for last, right? Here are some pictures but you simply have to experience it for yourself:
After that, I went into the main building, where the prisoners had their cells, and the staff handed out audio guides (possible in different languages) to every visitor. That was the best way to explore the cells and to hear and see what happened here in the past. It was hard to imagine, that so many people were kept here…The feeling you get there is just indescribable.
A little bit more than 2 hours later, I took the next boat back to the Pier and texted Milena- the German girl who works as an Au-pair in Calgary, that we could meet at Pier 39, which we did. We walked around a bit and got Mini donuts and corn dogs for lunch, because we did not want to wait for an hour to get a table at Bubba Gump (which was the original plan). After that, she told me that there was a museum, called the “Exploratorium“, where you can try out a lot of cool things. She also heard this from a friend of hers, but we agreed on going there. And we only paid $20 because they had an event at this time where the entry was cheaper than normal. We spent four hours there and did not even try everything. It is really worth a visit!
Back in the hostel, we decided that on the next day we would rent bikes, go to the Golden Gate Bridge and then come back at 2pm for a free walking tour.
That was the plan, which slightly changed: We got up (had 2 new roommates from the Netherlands), headed to the bike rental place, located close to Washington Square and made our way to the Pier. From there we crossed a park and drove next to the ocean until we got to the Golden Gate Bridge entrance. Sometimes, the way was really hard because of the ups and downs (the San Franciscans really love hills) but we made it! And that was the first time, I saw the bridge without fog but in bright sunshine. Halfway on the bridge, we realized that it was already time to go back to the meeting point for the tour, so we turned around. But when we were back at Pier 39, we saw that it was already ten minutes passed 2pm, which meant that we missed the tour. But we immediately came up with another plan: Now that we already have the bikes for the whole day, we would take advantage of it. On the picture below, you can see our route. We went up the steepest street in the city and made our way to the City Hall with our bikes.
Oh boy, that was really exhausting! And then we also headed to the Painted Ladies because they were close to where we were. Now, looking back, I am really proud of us. All in all, we drove more than 26km with our bicycles before we returned them. 
On our way to the hostel, I treated myself one more time with a Strawberry Matcha Latte and we bought an unhealthy Ice Cream Sandwich, consisting of: a brownie, a cookies’n’cream cookie, toasted S’mores Ice Cream and Reese’s Cups. And as if that was not already enough for a supper, we also joined the free food at the hostel. My feeling of hunger is acting strange ever since I came to the US and I do not know why… But luckily, I am not the only person with that problem.
After a shower we went to bed really soon and also said goodbye because I had to leave on the next day early in the morning.
The next adventure lies ahead, so stay tuned for that!
Let the memories begin 