The trip to San Francisco took 7 hours on a Greyhound bus with views of absolutely nothing apart from farmland and a few oil wells. We then got on a local bus with a fellow traveller, an Irish girl, and quickly were packed in on all sides like sardines. When it came to our stop we were so wedged in that we couldn't get off the bus despite yelling 'excuse me' and wiggling our rucksacks from side to side. It took another two stops for us to barge our way off and even then the bus started off again before we were properly off and we half fell of the bus!

The next day we had a nice Skype conversation with Kim's parents and brother and sister-in-law who found that they could use google maps to zoom right in at street level and effectively see exactly where we were staying - weird!

Our first full day in San Fran we headed for the iconic Golden Gate Bridge. Unfortunately Kim misread the scale on the map and instead of a light 0.5 mile walk from the bus stop it turned into a 2.5 mile walk each way. We were so weary and aware of the 2.5 mile walk back that we couldn't face walking on the bridge but got some good pics nevertheless. In the evening we watched the Superbowl final between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals in a local bar. The Americans definitely don't get as hyped up about sporting events as the English... if that had been the FA Cup Final the bar would have been packed, the floor slopping in beer and fights breaking out by the time the halftime whistle was blown but in the US there was not so much as a spilled pint or a raucous yell!

Day two and we headed out for a boat cruise and tour to Alcatraz. The trip was really interesting; the cells were spooky, the tales of riots and murders were intriguing and best of all we think we may have witnessed paranormal activity. We'll leave it to you to judge for yourself but are there 3 orbs in the photo??? Kim took two pictures (one with flash, one without) within 30 seconds and the orbs were there in one and not in the other...there was nothing on the lens, no incoming light and no reflection...spooky! On return we visited Pier 39 to see the sealions and to Chinatown for dinner.

Our final day and we...

- visited Lombard Street, the crookedest street in San Francisco (along with every other tourist in San Fran)

- wandered around the atmospheric Fishermans Wharf in search of an infamous tramp who leaps out from bushes to scare people (sadly to no avail)

- climbed the Coit Tower for fabulous views of the skyline (named for a feisty woman who gambled, drank and wore mens clothing in the 1800's - you go girl!)

- visited Alamo Square for a picture postcard view of victorian houses against the skyline and rode the historic cable cars, hanging on to the sides for dear life.

- panicked when the 'outdoor emergency' siren went off warning of an earthquake... only to find out it was a test (could they not have mentioned that first?!)

San Francisco really is one of the nicest cities we've visited in our travels. We will be sad to leave!