We'd been looking forward to San Francisco all trip and it certainly didn't disappoint: what a place to spend the Fourth of July weekend in.

Our entrance on the Greyhound wasn't too shabby, either, with the drive over the Bay Bridge giving us great views of the city skyline and Alcatraz; although it would've been even better coming in over the Golden Gate Bridge. Only Sydney has given us a warmer welcome in terms of opening views, then, and the rest of the weekend continued in a similar fashion as San Francisco constantly vied for the 'top city so far' spot along with Australia's finest.

After negotiating our way through the now customary horde of beggars and hustlers, we made it to our hostel in the edgy but slightly less then salubrious Mission district of the city and proceeded to sleep off the effects of the draining overnight bus journey.

After a much needed nap and shower, it was then time to see what all the fuss was about in the Mission, which is apparently the heart of the SF 'underground' scene, whatever that means. We didn't seem to find much of this underground activity, however, so we had to settle for dinner in a fashionable little greek restaurant and then a nightcap in the local Irish pub along with the customary daily baseball game (these nutters play 162 games a season!).

We started the Fourth of July with another American favourite of ours, the smoked salmon and cream cheese bagel, and then made our way down to the main staging area for the celebrations at Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39. Being one of the top cities in the country for the holiday celebrations, the place was crammed full of Californians and tourists alike, all stuffing their faces with candy floss, pretzels, ice cream waffle cones, slushies, corn dogs........... the list goes on. All the while a cheesy country music band, playing covers of American classics, struggled to be heard over the thousands of people milling around, eating their body weight in the masses of snacks available. Not ones to be left out, we found the nearest ice cream parlour and joined in the fun: when in Rome.

The evening fireworks were easily the highlight of our, and everybody else's day, though. The crowds all gathered around the pier as the spectacular 21 minute show lit up the bay from the Golden Gate Bridge and even though the bay was shrouded in its usual cloak of fog for the evening, nullifying the larger fireworks, the show was still a spectacular success. To top the day off, we even managed to snap up a seriously discounted, super-sized pretzel for $1: perfect.

The island fortress of Alcatraz was next on our hitlist, booked weeks in advance due to its huge popularity. And not only did we get to see the world's most infamous prison, the boat ride out there also gave us a great view of the bay. Unfortunately, the fog was still all over the Golden Gate. As we stepped off the boat, we were immediately press-ganged into a mini-tour of the island's most infamous escape stories, where only three people apparently ever escaped without being recovered again. Alcatraz's most famous inmate, Al Capone, wasn't among them, although the escape did sound suspiciously like that of Tim Robbins' in Shawshank Redemption.

Our final day left us time to see the rest of the sights: the cable car ride up San Francisco's famously steep streets; the enviously perfect Victorian houses on 'postcard row'; the downtown area; and even the annual Fillmore Jazz Festival, along with all the great street stalls, selling plenty more snacks.

The evening was then a toss up between going to see the new blockbuster, 'Hancock', and a night at the ball game to see the Giants. 'Hancock' took the vote; we'll hopefully get to see the biggest baseball game of the season in Boston, when the Red Sox take on the NY Yankees.

Along with being the coolest place we've been to so far, pushing San Diego into second spot, the city's climate is also by far the best we've experienced in the USA, with temperatures in the late twenties and a nice cool sea breeze. Much better than the ridiculous desert heat of Las Vegas.

Kev