Hi my lil sweet English chickens! I do hope you are all well. We touched down in San Fran around 3pm and waited a good while to get through customs. They are obviously very hot on security and illegal travellers, so we had to wait our turn. We hauled our bags outside where the sun was shining and it was beautifully warm (compared to the weather in London almost 14 hours ago!). We hopped on a bus from the airport which took us half an hour to get to the city. The hostel was in 'Tenderloin', which we soon noticed wasn't one of the most desirable areas to live! After spending two nights here we then relocated to Mason Street, a hostel right in the centre of San Francisco, with plenty to see, do and buy! We took a visit to Macys and Saks Fifth Avenue where we aquired some complimentary make up and perfume and tried on some gorgeous Dior clothes. The lady in Saks thought we were wonderful and kept asking if we had everything we needed! How sweet! The food is good here, but very much the same as the English stuff. There is still lots of fast food and hardly a salad in sight (sob sob!). We spent three nights and two days camping in the Yosemite National Park which was about 3 hours from the city. We met ten other young travellers and stayed in a campsite right in the centre of the park. Strenuous walking kept us busy during the day whilst at night we made our own dinner together and sat round the campfire eating smores! These are toasted marshmallows, sandwiched between a layer of Hersheys chocolate and waffer biscuit. They are really very tasty, and make a nice treat after a good workout on the mountains! The views of the mountains and the lakes were absolutely breathtaking and certainly a trip I won't forget! It was good to see the more tranquil side of San Fran, and at this season it is certainly at its peak. The weather was very fresh in the mornings and on the first day half way through our walk we experienced a violent snow storm. The snow over here is like hail stones and it actually settles, not like the pap we get in England! In our group of 13 including our leader Jen we went on two long walks taking in some of the best sights in the park. We also saw one of the most famous mountains in the park El Capitan. We have met so many people on this camping trip, one of them was Leanne an Australian girl who always had us in stitches! We hope to meet up with her when we finally get there! Thats all for now folks! Lots of Love to you all Emma xxxxxxxxxx