We are going to San Francisco

Arriving in the USA was a shock to the system having spent the last six months in Asia. The weather was cold, not in normal standards, but compared to that which we had left (37 degrees C). We checked into our rather plush hotel in a pretty cool part of town which was quite studenty and had a really nice vibe, Marc was also happy as it meant cheap beer (of the imported variety of course). That evening we headed to a typical diner where we indulged in a burger and shake, needless to say we couldn't finish either; we'd forgotten how HUGE the portion sizes were in America.

The next day we headed out and wandered around San Francisco noticing what a really clean and friendly place it was but also how strange it was that there were quite so many homeless people. The city architecture was really interesting and varied and the trams and hills lived up to their movie hype.

A little shopping followed a huge breakfast of eggs benedict and bottomless coffee and before we knew it our feet were tired so we headed to the North Beach area where we were told we would taste the best Italian food outside of Italy; we weren't disappointed. A wicked Italian lunch including a bottle of Barbara was a real luxury.

Awaking to clear blue skies and a crisp cold air, we headed on the boat to Alcatraz, catching a good view of the Golden Gate Bridge as we went.

The audio tour was fascinating and gave us a real taste of what being an inmate might have felt like; it was quite creepy. We also didn't know that Alcatraz had been used by the Native Indians to stage a protest for their equality after it had been closed down in the 1970's.

The prisoners could see what they were missing

Our first wine tasting followed and we didn't even need to leave SF as we dropped into a local wine bar in Fisherman's Wharf. We felt it necessary to get into practice before we hit Sonoma and Napa and not appear to be complete Californian wine novices.

The next day we picked up our home for the next six weeks and said a fond goodbye to SF heading North into 'wine country'. The van was about 22 feet long (a tiddler in US terms, but for us fine), weighed in at just over 5 and a half tonnes and had a 6.8L V10, so was really economical... Our first stop was in a pretty forested setting, followed the next day by a beach front site where the waves had to be seen to be believed; they were massive.

We were pretty impressed by the food by this point, California was certainly living up to it's reputation of good, local produce, although it was surprisingly expensive. Next came the wine tasting.
We spent a few days in Sonoma which we had been told was a more easy going version of Napa and this proved to be true. Each winery holds tastings in their vineyards most days, so you can rock up and taste what they have to offer. They sometimes charge for the tasting, but then waive this if you buy any of the wines - so it kind of makes sense to buy..umm cunning plan. Some of the wineries were a bit up themselves and we felt that they were feeding us with quality wine speak, but some on the other hand were very down to earth and were much more interesting, in particular at the Hook & Ladder winery. We concluded that wine costs what we expect to pay for it and you CAN get a decent bottle for around 15 dollars, not that some snobby wine makers will agree.

Onto Napa and this was a whole different ball game. Loads of huge wineries which looked like they belonged in the Bordeux region.  The weather turned nasty on us, so we drove through the valley, camped in a State park and were off the next day to 'Gold country' - why does every place  name in California have to be proceeded by country?

We drove on very straight roads into the Calaveras region, where the heart of the gold rush occured in the 1850's. It was a very peaceful place, full of wild west charm. Lots of rolling hills, small saloon style shops, bars, and also wineries.

What do they feed their cats out here?

Bakersfield was the next stop further south, searching for some warmer weather and chilli dogs. We found both at the 'Speedway', the west's fastest dirt track apparently. This consisted of lots of cheese in a can, half gallon beers and low octane petrol fumes. Loads of sideways action on the track; so it seems yanks can do corners?

Next we are heading to Joshua Tree national park in the south. Really looking forward to seeing some all American nature and wildlife.