San Francisco 2013

I never tired of visiting Crissy fields and joining the joggers, walkers and cyclists taking in this view.

Gorgeous jams and chutneys in Mendocino

Glass Beach at Fort Bragg

Shell beach, northern California

Street murals in the Mission

One of the best things about independent travel is the interesting and like minded people you meet. I have been so fortunate that some of my best friends are people I have met this way, who live all over the world. I met Jerod in Beijing and we've kept in touch. He lives in San Francisco and offered to host me should I ever visit California. It didn't take me long to take him up on the offer...

San Francisco is a beautiful, vibrant and happening city. I'd visited a couple of times 

(once on a big US road trip and holidaying with a boyfriend in California some years ago) but staying with a friend gives it a totally new dimension. 

San Francisco introduced gay rights (Harvey Milk was the first openly gay man elected to public office in the US), personal computers, cable cars and organic food - they were all underground ideas until San Francisco made them mainstream.

It's a city that has it all. A sense of History, great museums and street art a plenty, a vibrant music scene and more restaurants per capita than any other US city. And it's on the ocean with stunning scenery on its doorstep as well as more outdoor activities than you can shake a stick at. And there's the iconic backdrop of the Golden Gate Bridge. I knew I would never want to leave, and I didn't...

Jerod at Stowe Lake in Golden Gate Park

Some of the creative hats at the Easter event in Delores Par

After a long flight via LA, I spent a lovely first day. Jerod took me to the marina and Crissy Field area by the aforementioned bridge.   We had lunch, walked on the beach, chatted lots. In the evening I mentioned a Hunan Chinese place I'd eaten at years ago called the House of Nanking (http://houseofnanking.net/). It was more touristy than I remembered and had undergone a facelift ( it was basic, formica tables before) but the food was just a tasty. Think Chinese but with lots of chilli and spice. Yum.

We wandered past the area where the Beat Poets had hung out and spent a while in the famous City Lights bookshop (which defied the ban and sold Alan Ginsberg's Howl). 

As it was Easter weekend, Jerod read about an event called Hunky Jesus at Delores Park, in the Mission district. As the pictures show, it was quite something. The hats in particular added their own nod to an Easter bonnet. It was unbelievably over the top and camp. Even the wet weather failed to dampen spirits. Only in San Fran. 

I tried to do something different everyday. Just walking in San Fran is a treat in itself. We walked to Golden Gate Park, a huge area of green in the city which also houses some of the best museums, I walked the bridge and took pictures at Fort Point with its stunning views of the bridge from below. Everywhere you encounter gorgeous Victorian architecture in pastel hues like the famous 'Painted Ladies'. I took a day to explore some of the Diego Rivera murals and visit the Coit Tower which offers stunning 360 degree views of downtown. And I haven't even mentioned the beaches, Ocean beach was a particular favourite and I loved the Beach Hut cafe at Crissy Fields. Other street art murals can be found around the Mission and Castro districts and I spent half a day wandering and taking photographs. 

Being there for such a long stay meant I had the opportunity to leave the city for a couple of days on a coastal road trip. Jerod and I hired a car and headed North, stopping off at Bodega Bay (where the famous Hitchcock movie The Birds was filmed) and Bodega Head (a good spot for whales on the journey to and from Alaska). Regular stops at stunning points like Shell Beach (pictured) and Salt Point followed. 

We spent the night in a motel at Fort Bragg, home to the stunning Glass Beach, and within striking distance of one of the highlights for me, the beautiful and quaint coastal town of Mendocino (pictured).

This trip was perfect in every way. I cannot thank my buddy Jerod enough. I have other friends there who I met up with too so that made it even more special.My first baseball game (Go Giants), winning a pub quiz two weeks on the bounce and even a night at the opera! I look forward to visiting again before too long.

San Francisco, you stole my heart. 

The mist rolls in...

The view of the bridge from Fort Point