Day 18 ~ No Hooters ... What to Do!

With Hooters now closed here in San Fran, we had to think of something else to do.  Alcatraz seemed to be the perfect destination.  So we joined the 8:45 a.m. tour (the first tour of the day) to Alcatraz.  Another perfect day here in San Francisco but due to some sun damage yesterday, we decided to play it a little safe:)

We had a great trip out to the island and the weather was just a little too jolly for such a depressing place.  We arrived there a little after 9:00 and got the "do this, don't do this" talk, but we also got a bit of a treat as  Ernest B. Langeson was there today and he was a child of one of the guards on Alcatraz.  I still find it difficult to understand why you would have your children live in such an environment, but that's exactly what happened.  Families of the correctional services did live on the island.  It was extremely captivating as he gave his account of the 1946 attempt by 6 prisoners to escape the island  and who took prisoners.  One of the 9 hostages was his father, who, although was shot at (in an attempt to murder him)  survived.

Alcatraz Island

It was an extraordinary place with a hidden beauty on such a perfect spring day!  There were giant seagulls in abundance and we even found some seagull chicks.   They seemed to be nesting just about everywhere we went, and at one stage there was a male (we're assuming) getting a little upset that we had got too close (kinda reminded me of a duck experience on a golf course some years back ... for those of you who have heard the gruesome experience, for those of you who haven't, I'm happy to reiterate)!  Anyway, we sort of got the message that we may have been a little too close.  We did manage to get some pics which was great because we had never seen seagull chicks before.

Giant Seagull and Chicks

Seagull Nesting in Fireplace of  Ruins of Chief Warden's Residence

Alcatraz Cell

We headed back to San Fran after about 2 hours at the island and had some lunch and did some last minute shopping (we leave here tomorrow to return home .... ah, a cup of tea!)

View of San Francisco from Alcatraz

View of Golden Gate from Alcatraz

We have had a very enjoyable and diverse experience here in the US and Canada and it's hard to believe it's all coming to an end tomorrow (although, I think we're both looking forward to getting back to normal).  It is really hard to pick the best part for both of us because everywhere we've been has a uniqueness that is kind of special.  That's probably why, if I had some ruby red (or "wooby wed" slippers as one of my favourite little people used to say) slippers, I'd click them together and say "there's no place like home" ... and we'd be home immediately without a 14 hr flight ahead of us.

Love to all and see you in Aus (oi, oi, oi) xoxo

Day 17 ~ Cath & Ian Visit San Francisco

It was a perfect day in San Francisco, not even a fog or cloud in sight (strange here I believe).  We got a typical American breakfast in Union Square and the pigeons here don't even wait until you start to eat before they hover.

Today we decided to get one of the Hop-on Hop-off bus tours thinking that that's exactly what we'd do, hop-on and hop-off in different locations.  We mistaken with that one.  Our hop-on, hop-off had a human guide (often they are just pre-recorded in multiple languages).  We both found him knowledgeable and entertaining that we stayed on the open top deck of the bus.  We were on the bus for around 2 hours before we came to the last stop at Pier 39 which is around Fisherman's Wharf.  This is where we'd promised ourselves that we would have some lunch.  Before lunch though we also caught up with the local sea lion population at Pier 39 ... take a look (kinda how I'm feeling right now)!

Town Hall

Sea Lions at Pier 39

Hi guys, Ian here. We meandered through the city centre, past town hall, and then on to Haight and Ashbury which for you that might recall was where the whole beatnik and then the hippy thing started in the 60's.  I found this really interesting as this is where a lot of the greats such as the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix all started back in the mid to late 60's. Apparently Bill Graham a music promoter back in the 60's started these free concerts of these unknowns..can you imagine...! Fantastic! The area is great with a lot of the buildings still the way they were back in the day; also some really amazing murals on the front and side of building. One really great one on front of a building of George Harrison, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Joni Mitchell.  From here we went on to Golden Gate Park and over the Golden Gate Bridge back through Union Square and down to Pier 39.  We crossed the Golden Gate Bridge yesterday on our way to the Napa Valley and it was completely fogged in.  Today, a very different story, a perfect day and some great photos.  It was such a great tour and worth every cent.  We are very happy that we chose a live human guide rather than the pre-recorded drone which I decided to listen to on the way back to Union Square in the afternoon (rather dull).

Haight Ashbury Intersection

Detail of Mural - George Harrison

(Cath here) We wandered around Pier 39 looking for a great lunch destination and we found Swiss Louis Restaurant.  It's not too often in your life that you can eat a great lunch on a perfect day, with the back drop of the Golden Gate Bridge, so Swiss Louis was a good choice.  Our lunch wasn't that Italian really, we had Fish & Chips ... beautiful (oh, and Ian did have the Seafood Chowder, but I don't think was that impressed).

Before lunch we did wander around Pier 39 (couldn't find Hooters though so if you can help Tony, we're down there again tomorrow for our Alcatraz tour - hopefully, I can get my own Hooter's T-Shirt).

Golden Gate Bridge Today

We caught the bus back to Union Square and ended up just having Tapas at the bar here.  We are starting to run out of clothes to wear now because we've eaten so much and we may even get charged for excess baggage on ourselves on Saturday.  I guess next week we'll be back to proper eating and exercise, so we're not worrying too much at this stage!

Day 16 ~ Napa Valley

Today we left reasonably early from the Donatello and got a taxi to the Ferry Building.  It kind of reminded me of Sydney in a way, you leave the city and there's this gem beyond the hustle and bustle (in this case San Francisco Bay).

The Ferry Building is where we got a quick breakfast (interestingly, we haven't had a problem with finding good coffee here, it's tea that's causing me to miss the good old cuppa).  Strangely, the hotel rooms have tea bags, but they don't have jugs to boil water, they possibly expect that the coffee machine can do that with a good old tea/coffee flavor combo.

Ferry Building

Golden Gate Bridge in Fog

The tour that we chose was a shuttle rather than a coach so the numbers were reduced somewhat and the return home was partly via ferry back to the Ferry Building.  4 wineries were included in the tour - Mondavi, Andretti (for those of you who are up on car racing, yes, this is the same guy), Franciscan, and the Folie de Deux.  The driver was very knowledgeable, but by the end of the day, it was nice when he actually stopped talking:)


We had a relatively small group of 34 and only 2 other Australians (oi, oi, oi).  There was an interesting couple on our tour who I would like to talk more about, but I actually can't think of words to describe them (there's always one in every bunch isn't there?).  After leaving the fog of San Francisco behind, the weather was perfect, probably mid-20s and not a cloud in the sky so a great day for sampling wine.  Strangely for us, we had to pay for our tastings.  One winery seemed to discount your wine if you purchased 2 + bottles, but that is difficult when you're heading home in a couple of days.

Are those guys for real?

Us at Andretti

Yes ... I think they are!

The wine region was lovely and it was nice to step out of the city for a day and experience more of what San Francisco has to offer.  We got to see (and drive along) the Golden Gate Bridge which was fogged in this morning, but by the time we headed home, we did get some good shots.  Also Alcatraz, which we will be visiting on Friday morning, but we did see in the distance today.  We also went past San Quentin State Prison, but we didn't catch a glimpse of any of the inmates thankfully.

The Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz

Day 15 ~ San Francisco

After a good night's sleep we felt like we were back in control.  We decided not to venture too far, so we stayed around Union Square and did a bit more shopping.  We had breakfast at the Westfield here which consisted of  a ham and cheese (with egg, although we still can't decide if it's real egg) on a bagel.

Shopping here is good, but you really need to shop around.  Some things are very expensive and others great prices.  Many unknown brands to us so you really need to decide whether or not you think it's worth it.  I still haven't bought a handbag and fear I'll arrive back in Aus without one:(

We went to the Macy's Burger and Cocktail bar (can you believe that combination?  you can get a Moët for $15 and eat a burger at the same time) for lunch.  The burger was great, but I hadn't realised you could get a Moët before I ordered my wine ... tip for young travellers!  I'm sure that a burger could only taste better with a Moët.

The lounge here has a happy hour every day from 3:30 to 6:30 so we decided to give it a try today and it was great.  They even have Jazz from around 7:00.

We love this hotel and Pamela (the Tourist lady) still seems to think Ian is the ants pants.  She almost had a tear in her eye today when she told us she wouldn't be here tomorrow.  Oh well, hopefully she'll get over it.

We're off to the Napa Valley tomorrow for some wine tasting, so we should have some great pics tomorrow for you.  Ian did snap a couple today though, so I will include them here.

Love to all xoxo

Day 14 ~ Vancouver to San Francisco

No photos today sorry!!  We've left Vancouver and Canada behind today and returned to the US.  Our flight was delayed twice due to fog in San Francisco so all up, we were delayed around 2 1/2 hours which wasn't so bad except that we got up so early to get the flight.  Anyway, we arrived in San Francisco around lunchtime which was great. We are staying at the Donatello Hotel which is just a stones throw from Union Square.  The hotel (compared to what we've had over the past few days) is huge which means we can actually move around the room without tripping over our bags or shoes:)

The hotel staff are lovely and helpful.  I think the lady at the tour desk has a thing for Ian, but she is only human!  We had a bit of a walk around Union Square and went into Macy's ... I have never seen so many handbags or choices in clothing in one place before.  I think that I was a little overwhelmed (please don't judge)!  Anyway, I'll head back tomorrow with a good night's sleep and a whole new outlook.

Have just had dinner at a place called Lefty O'Dules and it was great!  Very pub like, cheap and almost cheerful (the staff are not cheery or helpful, but they throw food on your plate with amazing prowess).  Strangely, it was just what we were looking for.

Other than Las Vegas, the weather has been reasonably cool here and difficult to find warm clothes seeing they're heading into Summer.  I feel like I've been wearing the same things since I got here ... luckily nobody knows me, and thankfully I got some beautifully comfortable shoes (something I'm really not used to:))

Looking forward to a good night's sleep tonight.  More of our adventures tomorrow.

Love to all xo

Day 13 ~ Stanley Park and Vancouver Lookout

Another gloomy day in Vancouver, but it wasn't going to stop us from going to Stanley Park.  No real rain to speak of, but still reasonably cold and overcast.

Stanley Park is (we believe) larger than Central Park in New York and I think that my legs would agree.  We didn't even scratch the surface, but we must have walked at least 10 KM today.   The city of Vancouver isn't one of the nicest we've seen and the water front certainly isn't all that impressive, but Vancouver is a surprisingly easy city to walk around.  The walk certainly didn't do either of us any harm after sitting on a train for 2 days so it was nice to get out in the fresh air.

Waterfall in Stanley Park

Stanley Park

Beaver Lake Stanley Park

The park goes from an urban park through to natural lakes and dense forests.  Sometimes you think you're the only humans around until you hear the traffic of surrounding roads and car parks.  Mostly cyclists have a separate lane to pedestrians so it is very well organised.  Not like in Canberra where cyclists and pedestrians share.  We were able to find ducks, geese, goslings and black squirrels darting around the park.  I hadn't seen black squirrels before, so that was kind of exciting.

Black Squirrel in Stanley Park (Running up Tree)

Geese & Goslings

On our way back to the hotel, we decided to go to the Vancouver lookout which is sort of like a Black Mountain tower I guess, with 360 degree views of the city.  We had vouchers from our Rocky Mountaineer trip so even though it wasn't the best day we won't really have another chance because we head out to San Francisco tomorrow.  It was worth a visit, but night time may be the best time to see it.  I don't think my legs will take me that far again tonight.

Day 12 ~ Vancouver

It's Saturday so it must be Vancouver!  Again some crazy hotel mix-up that we won't bore you with in our blog, but we will bore you with when we get home, I'll bet you can't wait.  Apparently you should never deviate from the norm here in Canada or confusion will reign supreme:)  We crazy Aussies ... oi, oi, oi!

Typical Vancouver weather today, on and off rain and fairly cold so, not many pics today as we've had a relatively quiet day wandering around the Vancouver shopping area.  Not as cheap as the US here either food or clothing, but we do love Canada.

Because we weren't fed every hour (like on the Rocky Mountaineer) we decided to head out for a nice dinner tonight at one of the best Italian Restaurants in Vancouver (so they say).  It didn't disappoint!  Our waiter, who we affectionately named Fester (because he looked so much like Uncle Fester, it wasn't funny), really made it a great experience.  The food was fantastic and there was a guitarist in the corner playing great music such as Pink Floyd ... magic!  Well worth a visit if you happen to be in Vancouver.

Francesco's Ristorante

We're heading out to some of the more touristy places tomorrow like Stanley Park and the Vancouver Lookout providing the weather improves.

Day 11 ~ Rocky Mountaineer - Kamloops to Vancouver

It was an early start this morning after a good night's sleep.  We were picked up at our hotel at 7:20 and the train left Kamloops at 8:00.

Kamloops turned out to be completely different to what I expected.  Much bigger and beautifully green.  Apparently is it semi-arid but they have had exceptional rainfall over the past few days which has greened it up nicely.  This is my favorite photo of Kamloops - a mum taking the kids to school in a pull-along cart.  Sorry about the size, but she was a little way away.

Mum Taking Kids to School in Kamloops

We really haven't had to do anything for the past 2 days.  Our luggage gets taken (independently) to our destination and put in our room.  Today we just had to leave our luggage (all packed of course) in our room and it was waiting for us in our room in Vancouver.

Breakfast and a 3 course lunch are all laid out here and there are 2 sittings for each.  There are mostly Australians in our coach which has proved to be a little cringe worthy, if not embarrassing on a couple of occasions.  It seems that no matter how old or how much money you may have (or pretend to have), Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi is still hilariously funny apparently when in a crowd of fellow Australians.  We also have an Aussie in our coach who seemsto have the only video of bears here in Canada and the videos screen for anyone willing to watch, with blow by blow commentary on their behavior!  A must see - sadly we missed it:)

Don't get me wrong, we have had a fantastic couple of days, but I think we're both happy to move on to our own space later today and are looking forward to Vancouver for the weekend.

The scenery today has been (again) spectacular, but with fewer Maria Von Trapp moments.  Beautiful green hillsides and following the Thompson and Fraser rivers through to Vancouver.

2 pics of the Thomson River

Ian did spy 2 black bears on the side of the tracks that it seems nobody else saw and he didn't get a pic, so the sighting is "unconfirmed" but I'm sure he wouldn't lie about something like that.  We got to see many Osprey nests and a couple soaring over the lakes and mountains.  We saw a coyote drinking from a waterhole but that's about it for wildlife for today.  The Thompson river is renowned for its rafting, but I'm not doing that again.  Oh, and it's just a little bit too cold - thankfully!  Photo of Osprey I would have included the bears that Ian saw, but there's no photographic evidence.

Place holder for Ian's Bear photo!

They had a poem competition and a couple of fellow travelers read out theirs.  Then a lovely english lady said that her husband had written one but he was too shy to read it out.  She read it for him, and it captured every moment in history of the railways here in Canada and the hopes, dreams and aspirations of all of us on board.  It almost had me in tears.  I think it will be read on the Rocky Mountaineer for many years to come.  They were married 44 years today.

We arrived in Vancouver around 7:30 PM.  Sorry it's over, but happy that we've done it!

Day 10 ~ Rocky Mountaineer - Jasper to Kamloops

Firstly congratulations to Julie & Steve on the safe arrival of my first great nephew!  Can't wait to see some pix.

What a day for us.  We left Jasper this morning very early on the Rocky Mountaineer and have arrived in Kamloops for the night.  The journey took approximately 9 hours and we have eaten fantastic food (and a little wine).  We have been through the amazing sites of the Rocky Mountains, lakes, waterfalls and farming country and apparently tomorrow is the real treat (I can't imagine that, maybe they're just making sure we all turn up for the train tomorrow).  I can't add too many pix here, but obviously we'll have a slide night when we get home:)

Rocky Mountaineer (Gold Leaf Carriage)

I can't finish today's blog without mentioning the Von Trapp Family.  Why? I hear you ask, well, only because at every turn over the past few days I swear I could see Maria singing her little heart out on the beautiful mountains and finally the Von Trapps' walking to safety over rugged terrain (although my cynical brothers would have you believe that had they actually crossed the mountain in the movie, it would have taken them straight back to Austria, but I don't believe that for a minute).  For those of you who are interested the Von Trapps' are now living in Vermont and run a holiday lodge.  I think I'll make that my next trip, I'm sure Ian will agree!

This is Mt Robson, the highest mountain in Canada.

Anyway, I digress a little.  It didn't take long for the first bear sighting, although small, it was exciting.  I got to see the second one just a little better and although I wouldn't like to get too close to one, they are a treat to see in the wild.  There was also a Moose I believe, but unfortunately we missed it, so Ian is still on the lookout.  Sadly you really have to have your camera ready to capture these unique moments.  Pyramid Falls (above) - having trouble with the captions!

The train is really something to experience.  We are in Gold Leaf where it is completely enclosed by a glass dome all around you to get the best views.  There's even a viewing deck out the back which helps for some photo opportunities (although, they all want to get out there then). The lower level is the dining car - where the meals are 5 star - lunch was 3 course with wine.  Difficult to refuse.

Looking forward to tomorrow's adventure and eating ourselves silly!  You really should try this experience, it's a once in a lifetime.  Love to all xoxo

Day 9 ~ Jasper

Today has been relatively lazy compared to most since we arrived a week ago.

We caught the shuttle into the Jasper town centre and had breakfast and wandered around.  It's a lovely little place again consisting mostly of gift shops and mountain/hiking shops.

Some pretty funny T-Shirts and posters. These are just a couple that we found a little amusing (or am I just on holidays):

Thought of Ian S when we saw the garage one:)

Elks (female or young calves) seem to roam fairly freely around here and it's not unusual to see them.    From what I've read though, they are the most dangerous animals in Canada - hard to believe when they also have bears!

We're not all that impressed with our accommodation in Jasper (main building is beautiful but rooms small and stuffy when it's really quite cold outside.  Long story about mix-ups here that I won't bore you with here.

We will be leaving Jasper tomorrow to join the Rockymountaineer for 2 days until we finally end up in Vancouver.  Love to all xox

Day 8 ~ Lake Louise to Jasper

Today Ian and I drove (well, Ian drove and I navigated ... ha, ha, ha!) the 291KM journey on Highway 93 (Icefields Parkway)from Lake Louise through to Jasper.  Although by Australian standards, this is a relatively short distance, Ian and I took close to 6 hours to complete the journey, not because of any mishap, but because this stretch of road is so beautiful that you are continually stopping for photo opportunities.  A number of viewing areas are also closed at this time of year due to the danger of avalanche.   I'm not sure when we will tire of these mountains and lakes.

Bow Lake ... Still Frozen

Ian at Bow Lake

Ian is on the continual hunt for a Moose or a Bear (bear from a distance of course).  A couple of places we stopped today had warning signs that read "Bears can attack at any time, travel in groups and make noise", or "this is an avalanche area, please don't proceed if you are not prepared", "do you have a transmitter, shovel?".  Unfortunately, our luggage allowance didn't make provision for a shovel and the mere thought of running from a bear, didn't excite either of us, so we decided the view couldn't have been worth that effort.  Apparently though there are about 5 bears that make their home here at the Jasper Park Lodge and they closed the golf course for a couple of hours some days ago while the bears were sunning themselves on the greens (if you can believe a cabbie).  We have managed to see an Elk though right here at the Jasper Park Lodge:

Elk at Jasper Park Lodge

Although our favourite spots today were Bow Lake (frozen), Lake Waterfowel and Athabasca Glacier and Athabasca Lake (and waterfall), it was a day of WOW moments at every turn.

Athabasca Glacier

We have now returned the car and are completely at leasure ... no more driving on the wrong side of the road, anthough I have to say, today was worth every minute of it.  So, for all the views, and things we've seen and done over the past week, this is where we are tonight:

Day 7 ~ Lake Louise & Banff

Today it has been perfect weather.  Still some cloud around but compared to yesterday, it is perfect!  We ventured back into Banff today and wandered around the Banff Springs Resort, one of the main (expensive) resorts here.  We also wandered around Banff Village  which consisted of many touristy shops as well as mountain/leisure wear shops.  I think Ian is hell bent on buying a moose (Marty) of some kind before we leave Canada, but I'm trying to talk some sense into him!

Banff Springs Resort

Banff Springs Resort

Clothes shopping here is the US and Canada is great, I'm a size 4 ... I keep seeing my normal size only to realise that it won't go near me (great for the ego ladies).  Hard to believe but women's clothing here starts a 00 - what I would call a newborn size.  By the time I get home I suspect a US size 8 will fit me just perfectly so maybe I should stock up.

Which brings me to the size of their meals.  It seems that I almost insult them at every meal because I can't even finish half of it!  The food so far is really good but way to much.  I should have taken a photo of the Caesar Salad I had at Las Vegas airport.  I would call it a platter rather than a plate and I probably would have had less than 1/4.  The poor "server" (as they're called here) couldn't believe that I had finished, maybe I should have said I needed to rush to my flight.

Anyway, I digress from today.  We had a light lunch at the Banff Springs Resort which was probably the worst meal I've had since I've been away (excluding the plane I guess) and it was only a sandwich.  It cost us $30 for 2 sandwiches and 2 bottles of water - ripped off big time, should have stayed in the village and eaten at Phil's, I'm sure it would have been great food at reasonable prices:)

We went back to Lake Louise to see if we could get some pics with sun in them (or at least without rain), but I think that both of us preferred the rainy ones that I posted yesterday.  We went and had an early dinner at the Chateau Lake Louise, the other main resort here (also expensive) but quite picturesque in front of the lake, which I think I mentioned yesterday is still mostly frozen.  What I did omit from yesterday's blog was that when we got to the lake yesterday, there were 2 youngsters who appeared to be ready for a dip in the lake.  They actually did go into the lake in the small part that's not frozen.  Ian said last night that the lake doesn't get above 5 degrees Celsius all year.  They didn't stay in all that long and he seemed to be the one who screamed the loudest (not sure why that would be).  Oh to be young again.

Lake Louise - "without rain"

Raven that Regularly Visits our Chalet

And that brings me to taking selfies.  For those of you who don't know what a selfie is, it's when you hold the camera in front of you and take a photo of yourself instead of asking some lovely passer by to take the photo.  Ian and I decided this morning that it was a great idea to take a selfie of us on our balcony with the mountains behind us.  What happened next (after 3 takes) is below.  A warning to those over 30 ... let's just leave it to the youngsters ... the lense isn't as that kind to us over 40s up close and personal.  It the photo below doesn't convince you, then I can offer no more help!

With that wisdom, I will leave you until we meet again in Jasper tomorrow night.