Hey all, sorry for the delay in reporting, but yesterday evening the Bloggen-server must have been out of order or so because we could not enter any messages... The breakfast at The Bug, is perfectly fit for an "adventurer", for less than 10$ we could have scrambled eggs, bacon, baked potatoes, fresh fruit (strawberries, pineable, melon,grapefruit,..), youghurt, pancakes with maple syrup, muesli, orange juice,... delicious ! After we kind of stuffed ourselves, we headed for a hike in Yosemite. We first passed Bridal Veil Falls, which really look like a veil, surely in this time of the year, when the rivers are close to being dry, still, it was lovely to see. We went further in the park to Glacier point (about 40' drive - this park is HUGE!!) where we arrived about 10:30 hrs. After a look at the stunning view of Half Dome, we started the hike which a ranger at the Visitor's Center had suggested us. (if I éver see this guy again!!!) After we packed some water and some muesli bars, we left the parking lot. (and after an experience with the park's toilets, which are nothing more than a huge bucket with a lid, turned upside down on top of a large hole, no flushing possible of course, need I say more?! ) So we went down on the 7,4 km trail, curving down steeply towards Yosemite Valley, with breathtaking views along the way, with small blue lizzards crossing your path and squirrels having a look at you, we even saw a deer with her cubs !! No bears though...We arrived about 2,5 hours later in the valley, and were looking forward to a cool drink and maybe a sandwich...NOTHING there ! I wanted to take the bus back up, but my dear husband thought it was not "real", not a real challenge if we would not go up again... OH MY GOD!! this was a hike that was definitely not to be underestimated ! we started off again in the Valley where it was extremely warm ( 30°C or even more) and no wind at all, after 100 m, I was sweating like a horse which ran a full race !! Anyway, grabbed our courage and went on. Nowhere on the entire hike there is a flat part, it keeps on going up, in two curves you easily go up 20 m! Never mind the breathtaking views, this hike made the Samaria Canyon look like a walk in the park! Fortunately there was some wind and we packed enough water, after 3 hours we were back where we started (abt 7000 ft above sealevel and abt 3000ft higher than the valley), kind of crawled into the store for something to drink and I even had the courage to climb up a bit further to look at Glacier Point and the stunning view of all the rockformations and peaks! What a day! We were back in the hotel at 7:15pm and the shower was one of the best we ever had! We had a light meal and went to bed. Today we are heading for Sequoia National Park...further reporting tonight !
hello all, after a night under a starry, starry sky, we woke up too early, but could see all the stars of our milky way and could see the sunrise above the mountains and breathe in the crisp, pure air of Nevada. We had a copious breakfast in our B&B - www.bstreethouse.com- consisting of sparkling pommegranate juice, orange juice, coffee, tea, scones, muffins (homemade !!), strawberries, honeydew, melon, youghurt, eggs with herbs, turkey-apple sausage and baked potatoes with dill, which actually was our breakfast, snack and lunch-in-one! The chat with the most charming owners kept us a bit too long, but finally we headed for Yosemite National Park, a drive of 4,5 hours. And what a drive ! Wow! Beautiful scenery (Pocahontas-like) enrolled before our eyes with deep blue lakes, steep mountains, rocks, huge trees, ... it made us feel very humble. In the park we left our car at a parking lot and took a hike to the sequoia-trees at Tuolumn-Grove.Amazing those trees which are about 2500 years old, makes you very quiet (again!) Then we passed The Dome and El Capitan in the centre of Yosemite Valley. If you look at El Capitan you can hardly believe that people actually climb it as a HOBBY !!!! (cfr Mark Herremans) In the evening, we drove further to Midpine, to our room at Yosemite Bug Lodge and Hostel (www.yosemitebug.com) which is a lovely space in the middle of the woods, our room is in a kind of chalet, but when you enter it is like a luxurious hotelroom!! I love it ! The only thing is: it is very, very hot here and inside the rooms too. We are having a -very Far West- fan, but in spite of all its efforts, the rooms feels like a sauna on high speed!!!! Tomorrow, we will go back to the park for a hike of about 6 to 8 hours, don't know whether I'll have the energy to write tomorrow night, but let's see then !! :o)
hello everybody ! it was with pain in our hearts that we left San Francisco this morning. This is an awesome city (to use an american word) and we are vèry fond of it. We like the atmosphere, the people, the way of living,... the only thing that we lack is ...money !! Housing is extremely expensive in SF!!! Anyway, we took the 45-bus this morning to Union Square and observed the people on their morning journey to work (interesting!) and went to the Hertz office to pick up our car. We were helped (??) by a big asian woman, got our car and took off. Now the steep, vèry steep hills of SF were for us to be conquered! But Marc managed well and after a short while we passed the Golden Gate again (which was now completely hidden in fog, very dark, very wet, very bad weather-like, but that is just not the case because at the same time the city centre was already sunbathing, very weird! you get up, look at the sky, decide that it is autumn, dress warmly, take the buss and look like a lunatic when you arrive at the center where it is full sunshine...!!) We drove to Muir Woods and had our lucky day because today the 10$ p.p.didn't have to be paid (because is was 100 years Muir Wood or something)It is a very small park, but so lovely, so peaceful, so quiet....After that we drove to Napa City and were very surprised of how "cultivated" it looked. But that was nothing in comparison with Sacramento!!! This is the capital city of California and the old town comes straight from a Western movie ! It is amazing, it feels like getting into Disneyland !!! And still all the shops are open, restaurants are, but it is so surreal... We had a nice dinner at the side of the river, with a glass of champagne to celebrate that we made it to America (after the bad take off, remember?) and some nice Chardonnay of the region. We made a stop in a candy shop (no 50-Cent around, sorry !!!) and bought a few candies for on our way. Ah yes, we also found a Wallmart where we bought a cooler and some drinks and some cereal bars, now our journey can begin!
Tomorrow we are heading for Lake Tahoe and Virginia City, but now we will try to get some sleep in our beds next to the highway... sleep tight, till tomorrow!!!
After a good night's rest, we could "collect" our breakfast at the hotel's reception: juice, coffee, pastry and muffins. All so sweet...for us this is no real breakfast, but it for sure provides you with all the sugars you need for the entire day! And then we took off for a stroll to the Golden Gate bridge, which was unfortunately covered in fog (due to the cold water of the Pacific and the warm land temperature) When we took the bus 45 to go downtown, we realised what a hùùùge walk we have done yesterday! Completely nuts that we didn't take any bus !!! We drove to Union Square and passed China Town, of which half the population wanted to be on our bus, we immediatly thought we were somewhere in Asia! Anyway, got of at Union Square, took a look at Macy's, Bloomingdale's, bought some fruitjuice and took the hop-on, hop-off sightseeingbus, which brought us past the most interesting places to see in San Francisco: Chinatown, financial district with the Transam pyramid, Fishermans Wharf and then via Lombard street to the Golden Gate bridge where we almost froze and were blown away ! it is frigging cold out there on the bridge. We stopped on the other side for some pictures of the skyline of SF. Beautiful ! It is such a lovely city, not too many too high buildings, lovely with the steep streets and the old cable trams, we could easily live here ! We feel so at ease, so comfortable, no problem whatsoever. We took the tour again to get off at Fisherman's Wharf, we walked to pier 39 where we watched the sea lions who made Fisherman's Wharf their home. The area is also known for delicious seafood, so of course we had to taste that: shrimp salad for Marc and half a crab for me, washed down with a glass of wine...there are worse things in life !! This city is so big and so lovely and there's so much to see and the houses are magnificent, what an experience !We both love it here and feel sorry that we have to leave tomorrow.Unfortunately the SF night life will be for another time, we are both nackered again and will hit the sack....
If you're going to San Francisco...be sure to wear some flowers in your hair...
On special request of some friends, we will write this blog in English... This morning a bit after five, Joris picked us up and brought us to the airport. How convenient it is, to have your seats already picked and your boarding pass printed at home! No queueing, no waiting,...easy! The flight to London was smooth and after some tours above London (too much traffic on Heathrow) we arrived in Terminal 5. Wow !! This is a brand new terminal and cannot be compared whatsoever with the gloomy, crowded, dirty, awful other terminal (was it 4 via which we went to India last year?) Ok, we had to stand in line for a very long time for checking, had to take off our shoes, kind of "run" to catch our belongings (the trays kept on rolling!!) and then we spend some nice hours walking around, exploring Terminal 5. They also have a Starbucks, where our order was taken from a gorgeous italian-ish guy: a small cappuccino and a "Naked", this is an extremely healthy drink, stuffed with lots of fruits and even ginger, grass, brocoli, sea-algues...looked blègh, was yummie !! Anyway, we also left well in time for San Francisco, but then...this was the very worst take-off ever !!!I really thought that this was it, that we'd never make it, blimey!!! The guy next to me..I thought he would jump onto my lap, he was a bit in panic too, fortunately the rest of the flight went smoothly and we arrived at 14:15hrs (local time) in San Francisco, where we had the superbrilliant idea to take the BART (train) from the airport to the city center (Powell Station) We'd walk quickly to our hotel....yes!!! San Francisco has steep, vèèèèry steep streets, very lóng streets too !! We walked about 1;45 hrs with our heavy backpack to Lombard street n° 2702 (far end of the street of course!!) and are now about to die... that is, I'm kind of dead now, don't forget we are up for almost 24 hrs... It is 03:32 hrs in Belgium and 18:30 hrs over here. We took a quick shower, will have a pizza and then go to bed. The sightseeing is for tomorrow, but while dying on the stairs in Lombard Street, I caught a glimpse of Alcatraz and of the Golden Gate bridge. So cool !!! So dears, we made it to San Francisco, now we just have to look for some flowers to put in our hair :o)
Woensdagavond...nog één dagje werken en dan begint onze vakantie, ons Groot Avontuur in de States ! Yiehàà! Nu is het nog even checken of we alles klaarhebben, of onze rugzak nog trek-klaar is, of we de nodige pillen en prullen bijhebben en de hele santenboetiek...Nu nog rustig en nog "tijd genoeg", maar dat zal morgenavond al héél anders klinken!! Zaterdagmorgen à krieken du jour is het dan zover... stilaan beginnen de zenuwen toch te komen ...
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Lake Tahoe and a trip back in time in Virginia City
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Italië 2024
hello everybody ! it was with pain in our hearts that we left San Francisco this morning. This is an awesome city (to use an american word) and we are vèry fond of it. We like the atmosphere, the people, the way of living,... the only thing that we lack is ...money !! Housing is extremely expensive in SF!!! "Twisted Evil"){kind=icon}
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