Hello everyone!

It's been a great trip so far... can't believe I've been here for more than a week already!

Last Wednesday I met up with Laurel to do a Russian Hill / North Beach walk. We started in Russian Hill - they have lots of STEEP hills! We climbed our way to Lombard street, but it was definately worth it. The views were gorgeous, and the crooked part of Lombard street was beautiful. After Lombard street there were some more hills, and then the ultimate one: Telegraph Hill with Coit Tower on top. Everyone that we met along the way kept telling us that it was well worth the climb, and they weren't lying! The murals inside Coit Tower were amazing, as were the views from the top.
North Beach was a lot flatter, thankfully. We had lunch at Molinari's Delicatessen - the sandwiches were HUGE! And delicious :) We still had some time left after the walk, so we decided to continue in Chinatown. Very colorful, and lots of cute little shops.
After an entire day of walking we met up with Leslie when she was done with work and went out to get some dinner. Good ending to a great day!

On Thursday I decided I needed some rest from the day before, so I decided to sleep in (it is my vacation after all! ;) ). Once I was up and about I took Bart to the city where I did some more shopping... yes, really! The stores there are just so much more fun than in Holland :p

On Friday I did a "Golden Gate promenade" walk. I started in the Marina and walked down to Crissy Field and Fort Point. And then it was time to walk The Bridge! I was very lucky with the weather, it was completely clear and sunny - no fog at all. The views were breathtaking, but the bridge itself was a bit noisy what with the wind, the cars and all the people.
After that I went back to the Marina to check out the Palace of Fine Arts. I'm officially jealous of the people who live in that neighbourhood... the houses are beautiful and it's very peaceful there.
At night we met up with some of Leslie's friends at a little club, where a friend of Leslie's was spinning.

As Leslie and I were both pretty tired from the past week, we decided to sleep in a little on Saturday. Later in the morning we headed over to the Golden Gate Park where we were going to visit the Japanese Tea Garden and the Conservatory of Flowers. We made it to the park ok, but finding the Japanese Tea Garden was a bit of a challenge... there weren't any signs to be found anywhere. But with a little help from some people in the park we managed. The garden was beautiful - very silent and serene, even with all the people that were there. When we were done walking around the park we had some tea and lunch in the little tea house, which was delicious.
Then we were up for the next challenge... finding the Conservatory! We needed some help from passers-by again, it's kind of a maze in that park and it definately didn't help that there were no signs... I must say that the Conservatory was smaller than I expected, but it was beautiful all the same!
As we were still pretty tired, we decided to take a little nap once we got back home - it was much needed :p After dinner it was time to get ready for some dancing! We went to Ruby Skye, a club in the city. The place looked really cool and the DJ was very good.

On Sunday we took it a little easy. We left for the Asian Art museum late in the morning, which was very interesting. After browsing the museum for a bit, Leslie went off to the gym while I spent some time on her balcony reading in the sun. The weather's been great so far, I wish I could take it home with me...

As I've taken so many photos during the week and I haven't had the time yet to organize them all, I've only posted a few this time... the rest will have to wait until I'm back home!

Hi all! Yes, I'm still alive ;) Turns out I don't have internet at "home" here, so I'll only be updating the site a few times.

So, last Friday was the big day! Had to get up really early to go to the airport, where I left on my first flight to London. HUGE airport! Lots of security too... I thought I'd have plenty of time to get some lunch etc, but I had to hurry in the end. The flight from London to San Francisco was of course very long and exhausting, but not all bad. The food was pretty good (chocolate mousse cake... YUM!) and we had these personal entertainment systems to watch movies, play games. When we arrived and I got to immigration, they gad some music on and it was like waiting in line at Disneyland, haha! The guy who helped me thought I was very suspicious, I don't think he believed a word I said. But eventually, I got in!

On Saturday we started the day with some... shopping! Leslie and I both bought quite a few things, so it was a successful trip! After that we went to the city for the Chocolate Festival at Ghirardelli Square. It was very busy, but not in an annoying kind of way. The sun was shining, there was a little breeze... perfect! They had so many chocolate! We bought one ticket for fifteen tastings and they were all very, very good. When we were done there we walked down to Fisherman's Wharf, where we ended the day with pizza and a salad at "Cioppino's". A good first day!

On Sunday I had to start with some Starbucks of course! I know we have one in Holland too now, but somehow the drinks in Spain and the US are better :p When we'd gotten our caffeine shots we took BART to the city for... more shopping! The mall was HUGE... I wish we had places like that back home.
When we got home we had a little workout (all the chocolate... LOL) and then we just had a nice relaxing night at home.

Yesterday I drove to work with Leslie, from which I took the cable car to Ghirardelli square. The view was breathtaking! I was glad I took the ride early in the morning, because these cars are popular! There are huge lines at the turntables all day long.
After the ride I visited Ghirardelli Square again to see what it looks like without all the people. Very nice place! I visited the Ghirardelli chocolate shop and got a free sample. Delicious! Think I'll have to take some of that home with me ;) Most of the shops weren't really open yet, so I strolled down to Municipal pier where you have a gorgeous view over the bay. It was a little foggy so the Golden Gate bridge was hidden at times, but the view was spectacular. I took about a million photos, haha! After that I walked down to Fisherman's Wharf for some shop browsing and people watching, which was fun. Ate my lunch in the sun, overlooking the bay... perfect!
Still had some time to pass before Leslie would get off work, so I walked up to Fort Mason. From the travel guides I'd read I wasn't really interested in it, as it is an old army ground, but I'm glad I took the climb! It was very beautiful and had some great views.

I took about a million pictures on Monday - if you click on any of the thumbnails below it will take you to a separate page where you can see them all :)

Today I'm taking it easy "at home" - my body is kinda sore from all the shopping and walking I've done the past few days, haha. The weather is gorgeous, so I'm out of here to enjoy the sun!

Hey everyone! I'm back online :) Took a bit longer then expected and I'm not completely back yet, but it's a start!

For now this will be my blog about my upcoming holiday - I'm leaving for San Francisco tomorrow! I will try to write about it and post photos as often as I can, so stay tuned!