The Final Post - San Francisco

After a great flight with Virgin Atlantic we flew into San Francisco to a brilliant day. The heat, noticeable as soon as the plane door opened.

We arrived to check in at the Parc 55, and were informed they had upgraded us to a Suite AND they were throwing in breakfast for two each morning in the ‘Club Lounge’ on the 31st floor!

We dumped the bags and had a rest before hitting the streets to take in the surroundings. Fortunately for us, we were right bang in the middle of the shopping district.................The Gap, Levis, Planet Nike, Adidas, Bloomingdales, Macy’s whatever you can imagine it was there in abundance......and if that wasn’t enough there was half a dozen floors of shops in the Westfield Mall across the road.

The cable cars and the constant hum of heaps of people added to the atmosphere of where we were located. We both commented on the number of homeless people on every street, all trying to get a buck or two out of the tourists.

Day two and we caught a Cable car to Fishermans Wharf where we had a look around and got some ideas about what we wanted to do and see. That night we went to Boudins where we had the famous clam chowder in a sour dough bowl.

On Friday we hired bikes, riding from San Fran across the Golden Gate Bridge to a quaint seaside town called Sausalito. The company was called Blazing Saddles. Ride over the Bridge and you’ll see how they get their name! The idea is to have a lovely lunch and then you (and your bikes) get the Ferry back to San Fran. Unfortunately as the bike shop take quite a large deposit for the bike hire our bank (National Bank NZ) decided that they would freeze our account. When we arrived I went to pay for some shopping in a store and was informed I needed to call the bank. The only number on the back of our card was a toll call, and as this would be a cost to the shop owner we headed to find a pay phone. As we didn’t have any cash on us and had a frozen bank account (as this is the whole point of having a debit card NATIONAL BANK!) we couldn’t use the pay phone so tried calling the bank collect. They refused the charges! So here we were stuck in another town, no money, no phone and no way to pay for the lunch we so deserved after biking all that way! Luckily you were given the ferry tickets as part of your bike hire so we were able to get back across to San Fran. Once we got back to the bike shop, we battled with the bank for a further 30 mins before being told we needed to ring back after the “only department who could unfreeze our accounts where not answering their phone”...... needless to say a rather angry letter will be on its way to the National Bank!

That night we went on the night tour of Alcatraz. Awesome experience and very interesting finding out about the likes of ‘Al Capone’ and ‘The Birdman’.
On Saturday Kat caught up with some cake friends and I spent the day cruising the city on foot including an extended walk through an area they call ‘the Tenderloin’. This block is one of those ‘don’t walk alone or at night areas’. I made it through alive though (albeit mentally scarred) and all part of the intrepid part of my holiday.

The San Francisco Nike Women’s marathon was on at the same time as we were there so there were people everywhere and our hotel was overrun with athletes and those who wanted to be.

Sunday night came around and our 3 week holiday was coming to an end. We arrived at the airport and once the bags were put through (2 extra suitcases I might add) we reflected on what had been a fantastic, once in a lifetime holiday.

No longer would we wake and have coffee and croissants, no more being woken by the lights on the Eiffel tower, no more shopping on Oxford St, no more Castles, no more haggis, no more English beer, no more!

We hope you have enjoyed the journey along with us!

Love the Harris’

Sausalito Bike Tour

BEST BIKE EVER! 'Electric Assist' on the hills!

A very foggy (and damp) crossing of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Coffee Cake

Chris contemplating life at the Bridgeway Cafe Sausalito

This REALLY is the life!

Sausalito

A view from the bike track just before crossing the Golden gate Bridge

Bike track view
On top of the Golden Gate Bridge

At the end of the Golden Gate Bridge

On the Ferry leaving Sausalito
About to enter the fog on the ferry!

Alcatraz Tour

Visitation Block!

A very eerie view standing outside Alcatraz looking back across the Bay!

Luke warm coffee was served with a straw.....

Lemoncello Cake from The Cheesecake Factory


The Seals down on Fishermans Wharf

Alligator bread

Bread Demo

Lolly Shop!!


View from breakfast each morning!

Our 'extra' luggage

The UK Round-Up

We have been quite neglectful of our little blog, but then we have not stopped! (This holiday has been even better than we dreamed!) London is now over and we are in San Francisco!! It is all going way too fast and I am not sure I am ready to return to the real world quite just yet!!! While I am aching to see my kiddos, the thought of not eating out for breakfast every day and sitting in rush hour traffic on the way to work does not exactly enthuse me!!! I could easily get used to this life!

But just to finish off the UK part of our trip…..

Our last few days in London were incredible. On the Saturday we had Roman’s Christening. I was very honoured to be asked to be Roman’s Godmother. Is he not the most exquisite looking little boy? Then on Sunday we enjoyed a traditional Sunday lunch with my sister-in-law’s extended family.

We met up with friends Chris & Anthony on Monday and did an open top bus tour of London. We had lunch in Covent Garden at one of the most interesting & unique restaurants we had ever laid our eyes on! Chris & Anthony spoilt us rotten and we all had a wonderful day.

Our last day was reserved for my brother Gavin and sister-in-law Elizabeth who had a 'birthday surprise' for me. We set off on the bus and walked around London, visiting the NZ Memorial in Hyde Park. We then saw a whole lot of commotion and what looked like Secret Service Police, and then we saw the Queen come past us in her royal carriage! And as we turned the corner we were just in time to see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace! Gavin then announced that they were taking us to lunch at Michel Roux Jr’s new restaurant! http://www.rouxatparliamentsquare.co.uk/ I was beside myself!!! I cannot put into words how special this meal was. The service was impeccable, the food incredible and the Champagne and wine we enjoyed was spectacular! Then just to top off what was already a pretty amazing day, as we were enjoying our desserts Albert Roux appeared from the other dining room! If you are a ‘foodie’ you will understand to see one of the ‘Godfather’s of food’ in the flesh was pretty cool! As he passed our table he said to me “you know those are very fattening” and then proceeded to rub his belly and said “you’ll end up like me”….. Gavin shook his hand and said it was great to see him again (Gavin had worked for him a decade or so ago). A prefect end to what was a pretty special and memorable day!

We have 3 more days here in San Fran and we intend to pack in as much as we can and savour every single last moment! Chris and I are going to bike over the Golden Gate Bridge this morning and have lunch on the other side (takes about 1.5 hours I think) and then we will catch the ferry back over to the city. We are booked on the Alcatraz night tour tonight and we are both really looking forward to this! We will update with photos and videos as we go, but for now we leave you with some images of our last few days in London.

The pub in Cricklewood where we had Sunday lunch

Chris & Elizabeth

Chris Roman & Kathryn

Godson & Godmother :O)

Roux at Parliment Square

Petit Fours that arrived with our coffee

Chris's dessert (chocolate praline caramalised banana)

Gavin's Dessert (apple blackberry cheesecake)

Elizabeth's Dessert (Creme Brulee)

Kathryn's Dessert (Lemon Tart)

The London Eye

Coffee in London

Godiva Chocolate Demo

Gorgeous wee man

One Night in Scotland

We set the alarm to get up early in our Luton Hotel before heading across to the airport for our flight to Edinburgh, Scotland.

As the plane banked after 50minutes we got our first view of the city. It was an awsome day with not a cloud in the sky. A short bus rid to the city centre and quick walk and we were at 'The Scotsman' our hotel for our stay. The Scotsman was the base for the newspaper of the same name before being converted to a fantastic 5 star hotel.

We dumped the bags and found an open bus tour that would take us to the major sights within the city. Our guide was a Billy Connolly lookalike who was actually a pretty funny bloke to go with it. The Castle was amazing and the 'Old town' looked unchanged for hundreds of years. After an hour or so we reurned to the city centre and we looked for somewhere for lunch.

Top of the menu for this wee laddy was Neeps, tatties and Haggis. I ate all the haggis but struggled with the share amount of spud and turnip piled on the plate. .......Kathryn didn't have haggis :-)

So then back to the hotel for a bit of a rest and then I again, 'forced' Kathryn to go shopping so I could check out the castle and surrounds on foot. Just like London, just like Paris I was walking round with jaw dropped at the history and the sights. The Castle was massive and within the confines are the Crown Jewels which was neat thing to see.

Kathryn and I met back at the hotel and freshened up before catching up with her friend Lorraine for dinner, a great night had by all.

The next day saw us chilling out and filling in the day with coffees and wandering the town before catching our flight back to Luton. Back onto another bus, then the train back to London where Gavin picked us up.

Our Billy Connelly look-a-like tour guide

Kathryn & Lorriane.... Kathryn managed to find a Thai restaurant in Scotland
(what a surprise NOT)

Haggis Neeps and Tatties

Looks pretty but it was drrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyyy

For Nana Maz

Walking in London

After another early morning wakeup I insisted Kathryn went shopping downtown in London again. (Yeah right!) This would allow me to strap on the back pack and explore the city.

Armed with Kathryns verbal directions and Gavins hand drawn map,(which looked like and made as much sense as the Paris train system), both of which were limited,(read, useless) I ventured off.

First stop, Trafalgar Square from Picadilly, then down to the Household Cavalry and Downing Street. Took the necessary touristy photos of the soldiers and their magnificent horses. I walked through the arches and into the Parade Grounds and through to Horse Guards Rd and then up to The Mall. As I neared the bottom of The Mall I heard the unmistakeable screaming of what appeared to be a Drill or Parade Sgt. I ran the last couple of hundred metres and realised I was about to see the changing of the guards. Flukey Timing. Awesome, and of course out with the camera.....

I then went to catch up with Gavin at his work in Mayfair, and had lunch cooked for me by the Canadian High Commissions head Chef. Kathryn arrived a short time later and joined us for lunch and a shopping drop off. Gav took me to Guy Ritchies pub and we had a couple of pints of Spitfire and Guiness. Apparently Guy Richie walked past me and I didn't even realise it!!!!!

So all and all I walked my way around the Monopoly board and a had a great day.

Laduree Obsessed

I promise this is my last post about Laduree! Laduree's Grandson Pierre Desfontaines (who came up with the idea to sandwich the two macaron shells together) opened the Laduree tea room in the 16th century (although not on this site). In those days women were not allowed in!!! Can you imagine all those fabulous cakes - wasted on the men!?

We tried to get in yesterday but the tea rooms (which serve breakfast, brunch, lunch and high tea)were fully booked and they are for weeks, sometime months in advance. The waitress yesterday said we could come in early and see if there had been any cancellations. So I was standing outside, on the street (on the Champs-Élysées) at 7:30am this morning!

What a treat, the food was amazing as was the atmosphere..... good lord I love this place. Such a fantastic ending to what has been an amazing few days in Paris. HUGE thanks to my lovely husband for indulging my Laduree obsession.... now to find some hunting/fishing shops on the way home :O)

Our window overlooked the Champs Elysees

This is what I had.... a basket of mini pastries (I ate all but 1!!!) fresh fruit, eggs, freshly squeezed orange juice and a coffee (still haven't found a decent one in Paris though) all for the bargain price of $50nz ;-o

I can not describe how good this bolied egg was.... seriously!
The rock salted soldiers were to-die-for. Even the butter came in delicate sticks wrapped in beautiful Laduree packaging.