In October 2019 I was very fortunate to have been able to visit the amazing city of San Francisco, with my family and close friends. We had been planning this holiday for over a year since we came home from New York in 2017 (which I will be explaining in a blog in the future).

San Francisco had always been a city we as a group wanted to visit together and I am so glad that we did! The city definitely did not disappoint. The only thing that put some of us off the city was the flight- it is a 12 hour flight to get to San Francisco but it is worth it!

We stayed in a hotel just off Union Square which is the main centre of San Francisco. The hotel was a great location for restaurants and for shopping, but we did do a lot of walking when we were there. Listen to people who have been to San Francisco and understand how hilly the city really is. I didn’t think of the hills before going but by the end my legs definitely could feel it. Anywhere you go in the city we had to walk up many, many hills to get back to our hotel but even though I complained nearly every night about the hills I do feel it made the experience. We walked the longest and steepest hill in the city and to make it not seem as hard we would’ve played games to keep our mind off the fact we were practically vertical.

The first thing we wanted to see was The Golden Gate Bridge. We decided to take a bikes across the bridge on our first day there. This is a must when visiting the bridge. The bridge is 1.7 miles long, but you do not notice this distance when crossing the bridge. In my opinion this was one the highlights of the holiday. The bikes are also very handy as when you cross the bridge you can continue to cycle and end in the beautiful town of Sausalito. This town is known for its art, history, boats and restaurants. It is a beautiful, scenic town. We had lunch over looking the water, it is a calm town. It is also a must see when visiting San Francisco, and there are ferry’s which take you back to Pier 39.

The next must see when visiting is Alcatraz Island. This was the attraction we were all very excited for. I knew some of the history behind it but not that much. The whole experience of the island was amazing. You got a ferry for pier 33 which took you over to the island it only took around 5 minutes to get there. We did the walking tour with audio guide, the guide was voices from past inmates and guards telling you story’s and the history of the island. You walked in silence as you took in the voices and walked around the jail. The voices made the experience feel realistic and you felt as if you were back in 1934 when the jail had opened. We heard the stories from the inmates on how they tried to escape the island and how it was impossible. We seen everything from cells, Rec yard, canteen to the sheriffs offices.

If you want to see the best view of the city then you need to visit the Twin Peaks. We got there by Uber as it out of the city, but it is a beautiful walk through really nice residential streets then onto Haight-Ashbury, which is the hippy area of San Francisco. This was my highlight of the holiday.

I would safely say San Francisco would appeal to all ages at any time of the year and I hope to some day go back to see even more of this beautiful city.

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I have been to many different places in Europe starting from Spain, to Italy, to Portugal, to Iceland, to Lanzarote and to England.

Every holiday I have been to would appeal to all different age groups but each would depend on the persons interests and what they want out of each holiday.

Lets start off with people who are interested in geography and the world around us, then Iceland is the place for you! I was lucky to visit Iceland with my secondary school at the age of 16. I was given this opportunity as I was studying geography at GCSE, and I am so glad I availed of this opportunity. I did not understand how magical Iceland really is. When visiting all the different landmarks it was almost as if I was in a movie and everything wasn’t real.

We stayed in Reykjavik the capital of Iceland, which was the best location as it was close to all the natural landmarks we were visiting. My favourite places to visit were;

1. Visit waterfalls- personally I feel the best waterfall we seen was “Skogafoss” it is formed on what once was the cliff of the former coastline and even featured in the blockbuster “Walter Mitty”. It is squeezed in between two cliffs, you can take stairs down to the water-level and take in the surround sound of the tumbling water. It is ideal for photos as if you are lucky on sunny-misty days you can capture a rainbow across the waterfall.

2. Blue Lagoon- The blue lagoon is a geothermal spa located in a lava field on the Reykjanes Pennisula. It is a location for favourable geothermal power, and is supplied by water used in the nearby Svartsengi geothermal power station. I visited it in October and we were very lucky with the weather and it was a dry, sunny day. It feels like a nice warm bath, it was one of the best places I have ever visited. There is the main pool and also saunas, when in the pool workers come around and offer free face masks. The unique properties of its water provide not only an enchanting lagoon experience, but also the patented, active ingredients in Blue Lagoon Skin Care.

3. The Northern Lights- On our third night we took a guided night tour to try and see the Northern Lights. The best time to see the Northern Lights in Iceland is between October and Feburary. We were very lucky as we went on the tour on a dry clear night. We were so fortunate to have been able to see the Northern Lights and witness the magical experience they create. Iceland is the best place to see the Northern Lights due to its high latitude. When witnessing the Northern Lights it is hard to explain to someone how magical and amazing it really is. We all stood in silence and took in the breath taking experience. It was one of the only times it was silent and no one took their phones out.

4. Geysers- Geysers are a natural spring which, when the water meets supergeated magma far below our feet, it forces the water to bubble and gush upwards until it explodes into the air with unbelievable speed, and in some cases, height. There are only around 1,000 Geysers on the whole planet, so these are a must see when visiting Iceland. It is another element which you will wonder how it is real. But, be warned Geysers have a very strong bad odour, so stand well back. The Geysers are great fun and very surprising (nearly all of us jumped when we first waited on the Geyser) they are a fairly rare natural phenomenon

Iceland is an incredible place to visit and I hope I have given some insight and the best places to visit and why Iceland should definitely be on your bucket list.

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