So last night we just
didn't bother with the blog. It was our first night at the Lucky D's
hostel, and frankly, we were just pooped. So here' an extra long blog
post (while we're still on a high) about our past two days in San
Diego.
Yesterday morning we
left our motel in Anaheim around 9am, we had the coach pick us up,
and we said goodbye to Disneyland :( the bus trip took much shorter
than the estimated 3 hours, so we were in San Diego around 11am. We
were dropped at the Handerley Hotel, which was the closest the bus
could drop us to our hostel Lucky D's in the Gaslamp District. Rachel
went inside to ask for the number of a cab company, and instead the
guy there offered to call someone for us, he dialled a number and
said: “Where are you? Ok cool, I've got some people for you.” He
then came out and told us that a very tall man would be arriving in a
black town car and we wouldn't miss him. This made us think that it
was a bit odd, with our first thoughts being of Gossip Girl and their
town cars. It turned out to be a semi-fancy car with an African
driver, very random, but we got where we needed to be and it was the
same price as what the hotel guy had told us it would be, so while it
wasn't the drab cab we were after, it still got us from A to B, and
in much more style!
The hostel looks pretty
dingy from the outside (in Rachel's opinion anyway), with only a door
and a sign indicating that there was any sort of accommodation. We
entered the hostel with our super heavy bags in tow, and without a
lift here, that proved veeerrry difficult, as this meant the only way
up to reception was stairs! Immediately when we stepped inside there
was a whole bunch of posters and photos all over the walls as well as
writing and all these bright colours. When we went up the stairs and
onto the first floor where the reception is, it was all the same,
with cds and records covers and posters covering the walls, which
could sound tacky, but actually looks really funky and cool. We got
given our room, which is a four person room, and initially it was
just the three of us, until an hour or so later, when another girl
was assigned to our room. Luckily she's really cool and easy to share
a room with!
We then asked for a
good place to out for lunch, and the people at reception recommended
a place called 'Neighborhood' to eat, which is a bar/bistro type
place right across the road from the hostel. It was so nice, and
there was sweet potato fries!! So we got a plate to share, Sohan and
Rachel both got chicken sandwiches and Marni got macaroni and cheese
gourmet style. It reminded us of all the cafe food in Sydney! We also
considered ordering some drinks since we were given a drinks menu,
but decided against it since it's illegal here for us to drink! (sad
face)
After lunch we got all
our stuff together to spend some time at the beach. We were
recommended to go to Pacific Beach, so that's where we headed on bus.
It was pretty easy to get there, with google maps helping us along
the way. We managed to get there, had a little walk around then
settled on the beach for a little while and fell asleep for over an
hour!! Rachel thought she would be fine in her bikini without wearing
sunscreen, however she proved very wrong, as later that night the red
started to emerge on her back and legs.
When we awoke more and
had brushed the sand off our bodies, we took a little stroll down the
beach, and stepped into a few of the surfy shops along the way. In
one we met a nice and very friendly Irish guy who was working there,
who seemed to relate to us since we were also foreigners. We walked
along a bit further before heading back to the bus and going to
Souplantation! Rachel went here last time she was here a few years
ago, and remembered it to be an amazing buffet, so we went there to
see if it was as good as the memory. It was. First there was a 5
metre long buffet of just salad, followed by soup, bread and hot
dishes and of course a dessert soft serve ice cream and toppings.
Definitely worth the $11 we spent for all you can eat!
Once our bellies were
more than full, we made a quick stop into CVS Pharmacy (where very
cheap alcohol could be bought, at a pharmacy you ask? Yes, weird),
and then it was back onto the bus, then onto a trolley that took us
back to Downtown near our hostel, where we chilled out and basically
fell straight asleep, despite the noise of all the 21+ year olds
having a good ole time.
DAY 8
Zoo day! We got up nice
and early, enjoyed the free breakfast at the hostel (sugary cereal
and waffles we made ourselves) and set of to the zoo by bus, and were
there for opening at 9am. We had bought the tickets the night before
at the hostel reception, so we were able to walk straight in. There
were just so many amazing animals there, but highlights included the
meerkats, elephants, the jaguar and her two month old cubs, the
giraffes and the baby girl giraffe, the polar bears, a wolf that we
got pretty close with in a demonstration, naked mole rats, and a
'Camp Critters' show which featured a sea lion, a seal and a cheetah
and the cheetah's best friend, a domestic dog. We did a lot of
walking and saw so many animals it's too hard to write it all down!
We also went on the skyfari and a bus tour, which gave our feet a
break and enable us to see more of the zoo much quicker.
After we well and truly
saw most of the zoo, we headed back to the hostel, where we were
meeting some of Rachel's friends Kirsten, Kamryn, Angela and Joe
(plus Kamryn's friend who tagged along to), who live here in San
Diego, whom she had met when they were her host family on a school
trip about five years ago. We went to an amazing Italian restaurant,
with absolutely gigantic serving sizes, 'family servings' they called
it, and with eight of us eating three dishes, we didn't even eat
half! It tasted sooo good, we wished we could have eaten it all.
Dessert was a
Ghiradelli for ice-cream, where we got a free sample upon entry, and
we each ordered some ice cream and chatted away about TV and America
and Australia and celebrities and everything else! It was great to
catch up.
All in all a very busy
couple days.
Good night!
PHOTOS TO COME SOON WHEN NOT SO TIRED :D
No comments:
Post a Comment