SAN FRANCISCO

This trip was a surprise of sorts at the beginning. We initially had thoughts about going to Japan but Dad came back one day and suggested USA! Was not too delighted about the choice of dates but due to my siblings' school obligations and such we had no other choice. Missed out on half of my church camp as a result.

Was a little apprehensive about us following a tour group for this trip, cos you know how tour guides are. This was one part I didn't look forward to. But in the end, I was glad we went on a tour. Our tour guide was so so efficient, we had the best hotel locations, best possible itinerary, maximum shopping time and best travel advice.

4 hour flight to Taiwan was spent watching G-force! Other movies watched throughout all my flights for this trip include: Shorts, Funny People, Iron Man, Indiana Jones.

Love the layer of clouds. (:

We arrived in Taiwan for an hour of transit. With nothing else to do, we ate some dimsum!

Hello Kitty nursery room!

(Geri I bet you're loving the Chanel Christmas tree!)

From Taiwan to San Francisco, it was another 13 to 14 hours flight. My long-flight survival kit: chocolate and a Scrump plushie (just because my obsession with Scrump is becoming unhealthy...)

Excited! Everything looks so clean and immediately a wave of cold air hits you whenever the doors of the airport open. Goodbye Singapore heat!

Cute houses I would love to reside in. As many people know, San Francisco is known for its many hills and steep roads! Welcome to the home of Mia Thermopolis (Princess Diaries)! The steep hills remind me of the scene in the movie where she lost control of her car and it rolled down backwards, crashing into a tram.

First stop was at Fisherman's Wharf.

We had some time to walk the entire stretch of shops at Pier 39 and take a look at some of the shops there. The air was fresh, sound of the seagulls, amazing ocean view. I would love to go down there again in the future to take time and try out the seafood as well!

A shop selling stuff specially for left-handers! Wanted to buy something for Dee but we had to rush off to catch our boat ride!

This ride would bring us under the Golden Gate Bridge and pass the Alcatraz Prison.

That pointy building is San Francisco's landmark!

And so our Bay Adventure begins! The tour group had the privilege of cutting the queue. Everyone rushed to the top deck with gave the best view.

Totally loving the sunset. We were blessed with super good weather, but though you can't tell, it was super cold! My fingers were freezing through my gloves. We sat at the top deck of the boat so the wind was very strong and chilly. Had to wear sunnies to shield our eyes from the wind rather than the sunlight.

The sunset was in our favor, resulting in a very picturesque scene. I couldn't stop snapping away on my camera. I'm a sucker for beautiful skies!

Do you know that the Golden Gate bridge is actually not red in colour? It's actually orange!

Family shot! (And erh, ugly wind-blown fringe.)

Alcatraz Prison! Too bad we didn't get to go for that tour.

Nicole with our first American corndog!

We went over to the start of the Golden Gate Bridge where there was a statue of the man who designed it, Joseph Strauss. At least I found out what the columns of the bridge are made of. As you can see, it's thousands of steel rods!

After a chinese dinner and checking in to our hotel, we walked down 8th street to the shopping district. Down the streets, locals looked shady and would talk to you or beg for money but none actually meant harm (or so the tour guide said), but it was scary nonetheless. Think hobos and homeless people pushing carts filled with their belongings.

Way to keep warm: do jumping shots!

It was roughly about a 15 minute walk from our hotel to shops such as FCUK, Urban Outfitters, H&M, F21 and many more. We had only one hour to shop before shops closed. H&M was a disappointment, though my sis bought quite a few items she didn't manage to buy in Hongkong. Shopping for clothes in US at this time of the year is limited, too much winter stuff! Last stop was Walgreens (supermarket) for some groceries and bottled water (cos their tap water isn't portable, something we take for granted in Singapore!)

Part 2: Las Vegas.
UP SOON!