I’m so excited by the 10 days I’ve spent in California! A little short for a state with so many things to see and so many things to do, but I discovered as much as I could! I am the kind of person who is willing to wake up early and stay up late and maximize my time to see as many places as I can. So here is the break down of my itinerary for my 10 days in the Golden State. As you’ll see, it’s pretty much the classical path, but it’s a good start for a first-timer like me. Day 1 – Montreal to San Francisco Well… I need to get there first… I flew with US Airways. It shouldn’t be too difficult for you to find a direct flight to San Francisco. My favorite search engine for flights is Skyscanner. You should always do a test and check the price on this site before buying from anywhere else. Day 2 – San Francisco I started with the most touristic path and walked near the Golden Gate, Lombard Street and the Seven Painted Ladies. We entended to visit San Francisco by foot as I think it’s the best […]
United States
While she was in Belgium, Pascale had the privilege to have access to a car for free, but she was scared to death to drive in another country. She was even scared to drive her own car through USA and she likes to know exactly where she’s going. On my side, I drove 2000km during a road trip in Iceland and I drove along the Pacific coast highway from San Francisco to L.A. Funny thing: both roads are called Route 1! Fortunately, no left-side driving, but a good exercise of my capacity of adaptation. So here’s a few lessons Pascale and I learned from our experience of driving in another country. 1. Learn to drive manual vehicles It’s better to learn to drive manual at home where you know the streets instead of trying while you’re discovering new traffic laws. It’s also way easier and cheaper to rent a manual then an automatic car in most of the countries. 2. Learn or write down cities’ names in their original language Pascale got lost in the Flemish part of Belgium, 30 minutes away from her hotel and she couldn’t recognize one city name. She had driven around several times before, but she thought that that one time […]
Even when I’m in a town with excellent public transport, it’s very rare that I use it. Why? Because it stinks. Always. …and also because I think the best way to feel a town is to explore by foot. So here is what I was able to see in one day walking in San Francisco with my pair of Palladium shoes. I started my day at the San Francisco Downtown Hostel. It was clean, safe, and well situated. But I must say you need to be very sociable, cause there’s people everywhere. A lot of them! … and just two showers per floor. Which means that if you like to take a shower in the morning, don’t even think about it. Or get ready to fight to win your place. Also, they offer fruits and bagels for breakfast. They brag about having the best bagels and I shut up the Montrealer in me to not make them sad. In short, a lovely hostel and an excellent option for small budget. It was Sunday so I decided to please my grandma and go to the church. For real! I have a video to prove it, but I’m keeping it for next Sunday on Facebook (suspense…). Travel Tip: […]
We passed the night in Berkeley before heading to Yosemite National Park and we had to drive 3 hours and a half to go there. And we all know that being up at 5am announce either a very wonderful day… or a terrible, horrible one. A day that begins at 5am cannot just be average. So after inhaling our McBreakfast (Yes, we ate it so fast that I think it was pretty much inhaling), we drive our rental car to Yosemite. We were not sure that it was a good idea. The initial road trip was to just go from San Francisco to Los Angeles by Highway 1, like normal people do. But we wanted to see it all, ALL California! Which we didn’t anyway. The Plan 1. Three hours and a half drive from Berkeley to Yosemite. 2. Half the hike to Glacier Point (there’s a bus so you can be lazy and do just half of this 8 hours trek). 3. Take an amazing dinner outside the park talking about how in good shape we are. 4. Relax in our room in Mariposa. We failed all those 4 steps. First, I don’t know why I still trust the time given by […]
Let’s hope I won’t be pursued by Disney for this title… To be honest, I hated Los Angeles at first sight. It’s like a trash Disney World wanting you to get addicted to entertainment by pushing lights and sounds in your veins. I wanted to go back home, and this NEVER happens when I’m travelling. Now, more than a month after my return, I think I get something about this town and I even think it had taught me something about self-love and creativity. I think I might even like it (sort of). About feeling inappropriate Los Angeles is chaos. It’s like there is no rule. When we drove through Beverly Hills, I sat in the car in my very ordinary cheap clothes feeling totally inappropriate in the crowd of well-dressed fancy people. Between a golden chrome Lamborghini and a skinny model with a Chanel purse that worth 120 000US$, I felt like it was not my place to be. I mean…120KUS$! What do you put into it? The last baby panda endangered wearing a diamond collar? When we walked on Hollywood Blvd, people were so out-of-the-box that I still felt inappropriate for being so straight. They dressed how they wanted, behaved how they wanted, […]
No road trip would be perfect without carefully selected songs. With summer coming, I think a lot about my road trip in California and thought it would be a good start in your planning to give you ideas of the best songs to put on your playlist to drive down Pacific Highway. I looked in my personal favorites, checked out the playlist shared on Pinterest, asked my DJ friends and searched in my parents libraries to give you the best of the best! Daylight by Matt & Kim Beverly Hills by Weezer Road Trippin’ by Red Hot Chili Peppers San Francisco by The Mowgli’s Big Sur by The Thrills Another Travellin’ Song by Bright Eyes California Waiting by Kings of Leon West Coast by Coconut Records California Love by 2Pac feat. Dr.Dre Alive by New Ivory California by Phantom Planet Haha Love Will Travel by The Sonics The Only Place by Best Coast L.A. Woman by The Doors Californication by Red Hot Chili Peppers California Gurls by Katy Perry Road to Nowhere by Talking Heads The Distance by Cake California Girls by The Beach Boys Green Onions by Booker T & the M G’s The Way by Fastball Life is […]
We may* not have killed anybody or steal anything, but it seems that we are a few women who like to hit the road like Thelma & Louise! *I say “may” because I don’t closely know the other bloggers who contributed to this post so I can’t really be sure… and accuracy is something I take seriously on my blog, you know. So I asked women who attended the Women in Travel Summit last March what was their best road trips. I didn’t ask for any destinations in particular, but all of them shout USA in unison. It seems like America keeps its reputation! Wonder what are the 3 USA road trips that came out the most? Read these 3 short stories. Because road trips are not just for men. I included the Lonely Planet to help you plan every of these three road trips ideas. Pacific Coast Highway People say that oceans are storytellers. Since I’m a kid, I hear stories from the Atlantic, between road trips in the East of Canada or down to Maine, but the moment I touched the Pacific Ocean, I knew I was writing a different story. From San Francisco down to Los Angeles, sun, salty air […]
Last weekend, I went to my first Women in Travel Summit in Boston. To be honest, the conference really appealed to me, but I was apprehensive that I might hate being there. I’m an introvert, I’m not good at networking, and I generally lose the “How many countries have you visited?” contest. I didn’t want to have to justify my existence to other more experienced bloggers. I wanted to meet new people, share about our passion for travel and just generally enjoy to be in Boston. Well, this is exactly what happened. Was that some kind of “law of attraction”? …I don’t think so. I now believe that women entrepreneurship is inherent with love. Three speakers catch my attention and gave us tips we can apply not only in our business, but also in our lives. (And I couldn’t resist putting pictures of my highlights in Boston here and there…) 1. Catrice M. Jackson – Cashing in On You Catrice started her conference with a simple-not-so-simple question: “What would you do differently if you knew for sure that the only REAL currency in life is YOU?” If you were in a situation where there’s no money except your personality, your soul, the way you […]
The Monterey Bay Aquarium is paradise on Earth. You can see AND you can touch. Isn’t it amazing for a museum? And there’s something very important you need to know about me: I LOVE FISH! We were coming from a very bad day at Yosemite and the thought of just calmly meditating looking at fish was really appealing to me. I’m a diver (a very occasional one), but doesn’t it look cool to say it? Hey hi! I’m a diver. I have my card. Blink. Anyway…The thing is that the most important rule when you dive (except to keep breathing) is to never touch anything ever. And I’m a ”toucher”(This sounds creepy. I’m sorry). I like to touch (Nope… doesn’t sound better). In the Monterey Aquarium, they have special pools where you can touch some crabs, sea cucumbers, bat rays, and other weird creatures I had never seen before. Things you need to know: this place is HUGE. It took me 3 hours to visit all the different sections. And I wasn’t meditating this long in front of each aquarium. Also, even if the visit is long, please bring your kids there! Seriously, they have thought of everything: quests, games, costumes, color everywhere. […]
Alcatraz is a hard place to describe with words so I’ll let images explain it by themselves. I am not a big fan of prison, but I couldn’t miss this part of American history, and it’s a good place to take amazing pictures. You break the rules, you go to prison. You break the prison rules, you go to Alcatraz Prison. It looks like Alcatraz has got me licked” – Al Capone, Inmate #85 Alcatraz was never no good for nobody”. – AZ 1576 Frank Weatherman. Last prisoner to leave Alcatraz Practical Info Cost You can visit Alcatraz with a Day Ticket for around 45US$ or a Night Ticket for around 52US$.The tickets all include the ferry to reach the island (and come back), and an audio guide. You have approximately 2h30-3h00 to visit the island and the prison, which is more than enough. I you plan on visiting the popuIar attractions in San Francisco, including Alcatraz, you should take a look at CityPASS. It’s a bundle including all the major activities, and since it’s a package, you can save around 40%. I highly recommend to book as soon as possible. And when I say “in advance”, I mean MONTHS before you […]
I’m more in a storytelling mood recently, but since you guys always ask me what to pack for different destinations and because my packing list for Iceland in summer has been pinned more than 500 times on Pinterest, I decided to write down this packing list for California in autumn. Planning your trip? Take a look at my 10 days road trip in California, between San Francisco and Los Angeles. Clothes California, especially San Francisco, is the layers’ kingdom. Hot during the day and chill at night, temperature forces you to think wisely about the way you dress. It’s also a state where the “dress to impress” seems the norm, so you may want to bring more stylish outfits than a backpacker usually do. (Unless you’re in the same tribe than me and you just don’t care Ahah!) While I was comfortable all-day in San Francisco wearing pants, it was too hot for Los Angeles. So even if it’s autumn, pack both pants and shorts. Long sleeves and one coat are also essential to go out at night. If you don’t want to carry a coat all day long, a scarf can be a good option to keep you warm. This being said, it’s still […]