My mini OE, day four & five - San Francisco

Flags for sale at Costco

Hello all, thank you for reading my blog! Im enjoying being able to share! Yesterday Jessica and I went clothes shopping at some outlet store and I bought some goodies! So now I have a new Calvin Klein Dress for work, a nice striped French Connection top, a pair of cute pink, purple and orange heels and a new carry on bag by London Fog! I finally got to dress up in a vintage style, heres a self shot of me with my hair freshly pincurled!

Im wearing a plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up and the top unbuttoned but tied in a country girl on the farm way with a singlet on and some high waisted beige shorts. On my feet are the comfiest shoes by deuce generation and they are a fifties style sneaker.

Anyway thats enough of that, we then drove to a cafe where i got a really yummy sandwich and a coffee which had the wierdest froth, it was a cappuchino but not anywhere near the standard of New Zealand coffee!

Yummy Vege Sandwich

Weird Coffee Froth

  Jessica and I then went back to her house to collect my things for taking to Kens house.

We arrived at his house around 6pm and had a delicious dinner of fish, salad and mushrooms cooked by Ken. That left me ready to rest up for our day in San Francisco and going to Alcatraz!

Day five

Today started with a car ride in the morning to San Francisco city where we parked right next to the start of the Hop on, Hop Off Bus tour we were going on. I was excited to see the city and make the most of the time we had to check out any op shops!
The starting point was Fishermans Wharf where there was lots of street vendors selling different San Francisco merchandise for reasonable prices, and the Hop On, Hop Off bus stop was right next to them all.

The first stop was the Palace of Fine Arts and we got to hear a little bit about it from our tour guide but with the way the tour was set up you could hop off the bus and look around at each place then go back to the bus stop and wait for the next bus. The Palace of Fine Arts was really impressive and I found out it was set up in 1915 as part of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition and it was made from plaster and wood to be able to tear it down once they had finished with it. They've now changed it to stone and the people of San Francisco see it as an important part of the city.

While we waited for the bus Jessica and Ken told me the building behind us was where George Lucas had his studios for film making! Its in the Letterman Digital Arts Center.

Star Wars made by George Lucas!

We took heaps of photos of the Palace of Fine Arts but were ready to move on, The bus came and took us to the next stop which we didn't get off at because we were conscious of time as the Alcatraz Ferry trip left at 2:50pm and we wanted to see a few other places.
The Next place we stopped was the Golden Gate Bridge where I used Kens help to get a good photo of the bridge.

We only had 5 minutes there because the bus was going to stop for 5 minutes (I guess for the driver to have a break) and that was perfect because I really wanted to get a good look at the bridge. Its also the Bridges 75th Anniversary this year so they had some construction work going on.

It started to spit, here's where my waterproof coat came in handy and thanks to Jessica for lending me her scarf! I really needed it!
We drove from there to the Golden Gate Park/Conservatory of Flowers and found out John McLaren who was superintendent of the park disliked statues so he had a group of people who would plant bushes around every statue to hide it, The city then made a statue of him which he had his group take and hide in his backyard and it wasn't found until ten years after he died!

We then stopped at the place I reallllllly wanted to go to! Haight Ashbury!!!

It was quite a cool place but a little rough, kind of like Cuba street on hard drugs. I reckon Cuba Street comparatively is on Weed whereas Haight Ashbury is on Crack. Literally.

We then waited for the bus which was interesting as people walked by, we also saw a Pohutakawa!

Pohutakawa tree in Haight Street!

So after getting on the bus we were taken past all the beautiful victorian homes in San Francisco and one that was especially cool was the Full House house!

We were taken to Union Square and --- then we got off at the Alcatraz Landing so we could have lunch and wait to board the ferry!

Large Coffee and Regular Coffee - Our Large is the same size as their regular!

All in all it was a great day but I'm wishing I bought warmer clothes! I've got some Merino and wool items though so that as well as Jessica's scarf will keep me snug!

My Mini OE, Day two & three - San Francisco

Micro Brewery in Auburn

Hello! I started off the day by sleeping into 11am, I must have been tired because I must have fallen asleep at around 11:00pm the night before. Jessica had planned lunch with Ken, Nicole her daughter and Nicoles husband Adam and then we would all drive to a wine tasting at one of the local Vineyards.

Once I was dressed (T-shirts and shorts again! 89 degrees Farenheit! Yes) we headed to Nicoles with Biscuit in the car, We passed a few Motorbikers and they were the first of many that day.

When we arrived at Nicole and Adams we meet their rescue dogs Kiwi and Murray (named after Murray from Flight of the Conchords) and left Biscuit with them while we drove to a local resaurant called Awful Annies.

My meal at Awful Annies

The meal was excellent but they had really large portions, I managed to finish it because I had only had a coffee that morning and it was about 1:30pm!

We then made our way to a local Vineyard called "Wise Villa Winery" and I had my first wine tasting!

It had good legs

The beautiful Wise Villa Winery

We then finished our day with a Gelato at Fountain Valley Shopping Centre.


Day three

We started of day 3 with plans to leave before 12 to go up to Lake Tahoe but they were delayed due to waiting for our guide Jim. I'm glad we waited though because Jim was able to show us so many different places and as he explained he's given these tours before. I got the $150 tour for free which was very cool, Thanks Jim!

First off we drove back to Placerville and stopped off for a Coffee where I meet a nice american guy who had lived in Christchurch before! He started off talking to me and tried to do a kiwi accent which was all wrong! He sounded more australian!
I got to tip also!!! I don't know why but I find it really fun tipping.
I was also shown this really funny hardware store in Placerville where they had so many different things! Heres just a sample:

Jim holding one of the things you can find at the Placerville hardware store

We then drove up the mountain and got at the highest point around 6000 ft above sea level, The sights were so beautiful and I felt really happy up in the moutains, It was a nice change from all the Concrete and wide open spaces you see in El Dorado Hills and Folsom areas.

Here we are at about 1500 ft above sea level

As we made our way up the mountain the temperature dropped to around 58 degrees Fahrenheit, so I'm glad I bought my Merino Long Sleeved top with me. Is was so hot down in El Dorado hills and then as we made our way up the mountain it started to rain and we were surrounded by snow!

All the sights were beautiful and I had a really lovely time, we ended the day with driving through a little town called Truckee which has won an award for being an environmentally friendly town and going for a drink at a micro brewery in Auburn.

My Mini OE, Day One - San Francisco

I left Wellington to Auckland not feeling much other than mild worry because this is my first trip to anywhere other than Australia. I didn't know what to expect or who I would meet but I hoped for the best.

Once I arrived into Auckland I was on my toes not wanting to make any mistakes, I was told through the planes PA system that a bus would be waiting for me and my fellow travellers outside the domestic terminal and it would take me safely to the International Terminal. Even so I still had to double check with the Air Hostess what it looked like in case I got on the wrong bus, she said "it looks like a forest" and she was right it was also labelled in shining orange letters "Free Transfer to International" So I doubt I would have missed it.

Once I arrived at the terminal it took me awhile to figure out what to do because my bags were checked in at Wellington Airport and I had my ticket so I followed the arrows pointing to International Departures.

I stopped at the large sign that looms overhead giving all people information about their flights and it gave me flutter of excitement, my trip was begining!

Once I passed all the shops in the departures lounge I made my way to gate 6, where I panicked! What about departure tax! I saw a nice lady in an Air New Zealand uniform and told her my situation, she smiled and shook her head, easing my mind.

Once I got to the gate all I could see was people standing in broken Jigsaw lines so I just did as some countries do, made my way to the space that was empty and waited till I got to the boarding desk. Now I could relax and find my seat on this massive double decker plane. I've never experienced being on these planes except in movies where the plane crashes because of bad weather or snakes, not the best memories.

It wasn't too bad though and I did get to sleep despite crying babies and loud talkers (yay for earplugs!)

We landed on a beautiful sunny spring day and I felt my anxiety begin to start when I thought about the horror stories of American Boarder Control Officers, and whether my ESTA Visa went through properly. Imagine if I was turned away before I even started! Once I got to the desk it wasn't all bad, he asked the usual questions and I was more than happy to explain, especially when I said I'm on a mini OE and he looked at me like what is that?, I think I eased his mind when I said "I work for the Police Union, in the finance department"

After collecting my bag (thanks Mum and John for making it easy to spot!) I headed for the exit and was greeted by the affable Ken who is the partner of my Mothers Cousin Jessica. We headed for the car and the first thing I did was go to the passenger side, but! Its America and it was actually the Drivers side. "You driving?" said Ken said with a smile on his face.

We headed for the hills (Jessica lives in El Dorado Hills) and it took 2 and a half hours to get there, Ken lives about 2 hours from Jessica so it sucks but thats what its like, later on in the evening I heard a lady telling two others that she commutes 2 hours every day to work and two hours back.

Once we arrived at Jessicas house I couldn't help but notice the houses all looked so similar but once you're inside you can see how they would all be different, Jessica's house was beautiful. It was so hot getting out of the car, it felt about 30 degrees!

Jessicas house is so lovely and she has decorated it very nicely with Kens photography all around and her paintings. I settled in and meet her cute, Ewok dog Biscuit and got changed into shorts and a t-shirt, then I tried my best to rehydrate after the drying flight and had a nap.

Biscuit with two rows of bottom teeth!

When I woke up it was 5 o'clock and dinner was ready, Jessica had made a yummy meal and I meet Jim who is a good friend of Ken and Jessicas and a real charmer. He had been to New Zealand and found my accent very amusing. I've never been the person who gets asked to say things because it sounds funny and I laughed but I could see how it would old after awhile.

Once we ate we then headed to a little county called Placerville and went on what was called an art walk where we got to check out different galleries and a whole range of different art works. Sculpture, Mixed Media, Jewellery, Photography and Paintings were all there and it was good.

I met a few people there who picked up on my accent and one old guy who thought I was English. The area was so nice and the people were all very friendly, I had a great experience. We ended the night with sitting in a bar listening to a fantastic musician singing on guitar.

Overall my first day in the United States of America was a success!

Preparation for my Mini OE

Well, well, well. Where do I start? So far I haven't even left the country but I think one prep Blog is due so that when I look back I can remember how I felt preparing for my journey.

So far my plan keeps changing as to where I will go once I'm in London and I think I've settled on London-Paris-Rome-Madrid-Munich-London but that may change!

I've been asking people what type of baggage I should take and most people recommended a suitcase with wheels so I thought I'd go with that, At first I tried convincing my Mother that this was a great suitcase

But then I weighed it after being told it was too heavy and it is 5kg!!! So I went shopping today and bought this from Strandbags

Its not too heavy and is suitable for my trip as I'll probably be in cities the whole time. Hopefully anyway!!

I'm now needing to save as much money as I can before I leave so I don't feel like I have to be too tight the whole time, I'm going to budget though so I know how much leeway I have. I'm a good little accountant in training you know!

There are so many airlines to look through so I'll excuse myself and head off to arrange those flights!

Tata!

The Traveller

Check out Pictures of me modelling on http://www.clipic.co.nz/?portfolio=traveller Emily was such great fun to work with and if you're in need of a photographer then definitely check her out!!