Taller In Other Ways: #4.31 Girl At Home (Part 1)

"It is home wherever she is. =) "

It had been nearly two years since I last flew back to the United States to visit my family. While I was definitely thrilled to be able to go back home finally, I still very much loathed the exhausting process of having to go through airports and taking long-haul flights.

On the day before my scheduled flight, I left Nottingham with a heavy heart and bid goodbye to all my Smurfies. It was really heartbreaking to leave them behind because I had already gotten used to the idea of them being by my side every single day (except for the summer holidays) for the past few years.

With mixed feelings, I boarded the plane early in the morning from Heathrow, stopped at Toronto for a couple of hours, and continued my flight to Los Angeles before reaching home eventually with awfully dehydrated body and dead-tired mind. The only interesting thing during the entire journey was that Diplo was in the very same flight with me from Toronto to LAX and it was my first time to bump into a celebrity on my own thanks to my super-duper sharp eyes!

Goodbye Nottingham.

Stayed wide awake all night long accompanied by two kind strangers.

A few days later after I had won the battle over the stupid jet lag, my family and I went on a holiday trip together to San Francisco. I couldn't be more excited about the short getaway because it had definitely been quite a while since I last travelled with them. Besides that, the famous big city had always been one of my dream destinations since high school.

It all started when I began to watch my very first American Tv Series "Charmed", where the skyline of the city would always appear in the beginning of every episode. Speaking of the series, I still could not believe how many years had passed since the airing of its series finale but it would always remain as my favourite show of all time. On our way to the city, we stopped by Solvang and Silicon Valley briefly before finally arrived at our hotel and decided to call it a night.

Danish village of Solvang.

Walking around town after lunch.

Photo spot discovered by some aunties.

Daddy and Mummy.

Fake guard.

The famous cookies that were actually quite nice!

All the IT stuff that I had zero knowledge of.

Loved this quote so much!

On the next day, we woke up very early in the morning to take a tour around Stanford University. Being a total dummy when it came to famous Universities, it was actually my first time to hear about the university and my siblings had to explain to me that it was actually one of the most prestigious institutions in the world. The campus design was very different compared to the ones in the UK but it had its own charm and I loved the simple, peaceful and relaxing vibes that the campus gave off.

A nice but short tour around the campus.

The handsome building.

Family photo time.

Lovely artwork.

In front of the church.

S for Superman.

Lucky to be able to be here.

Later that day, we finally had the chance to explore the city centre of San Fran. As expected, it was a very vibrant city with cool weather and lots of happenings. I already loved it a lot more than LA just after a few minutes walk around the city centre. The only downside of the city was its steep and hilly roads so good driving skill was very much needed.

Being a bad driver myself, I could totally imagine my car sliding down the road and the never-ending fender benders that I would have to deal with if I were to drive in this city. However, all in all, San Fran was still a pretty awesome city to live in. =)

First photo of SF.

Waiting in line with the others.

The must-ride cable car of SF.

Definitely would like to come back for the ride again one day.

Like everyone else, we did the cheesy touristy thing and went to take a peek at the most famous bridge in the world. From Pier 39, we went on a ferry cruise around San Francisco Bay after having some snacks.

Besides Angel Island, the most exciting part of the tour was no other than the incredibly unbelievable view when the fleet sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge. It was no doubt the best moment of the entire tour and I was really glad and lucky to be able to have such unique experience.

The famous bridge.

With my favourite girl in this world.

Daddy and Mummy.

Crabby.

Sea lions of Pier 39.

The exhilarating feeling being under the bridge!

Thick and heavy fog surrounding the bridge.

The other bridge of SF.

Beautiful San Fran.

After the cruise, we strolled along the Ocean Beach, visited an elegant cathedral and wandered around the city hall before finally had our dinner in a Chinese restaurant, which was definitely my favourite time of the day. Needless to say, we were all really exhausted at night and slept like a log once we got back to our hotel.