First stop San Francisco...alcatraz..golden gates...fishermans wharf...cable car....finding a hotel, no problem! Actually big problem there are something like 250 hotels to choose from, then there's apartment rentals, hostels, b&bs, talk about overload. Then to decide how much to spend. What is a reasonable amount to spend per night? It's a dilemma between wanting to have a nice hotel and thinking about the fact that we'll probably be out exploring the city so won't get to enjoy the hotel anyway.
So I referred to tripadviser for ratings...straight away the top 50 or so hotels are out due to our budget...so onto hotel booking websites to check for specials....hotels.com; expedia.com.au; octopus.com; easytobook.com; agoda.com; hotelclub.com; webjet.com; olotels.com; webjet.com; you get the idea!
After spending an average of an hour per night for about a week browsing the sites, and coming up with a pretty similar price every time, I ended up going for a nice three star so we can enjoy the city without having to worry about coming back to a group of drunken backpackers every night....there will be plenty of time for that in Canada!
After a conversation with a beautiful girlfriend of mine, I have decided to join the couchsurfing network. For those of you not familiar with the idea, essentially people around the world offer anything from a coffee catch up to a room/bed/couch in their house. The idea really appealed to me because over the years James and I have hosted a number of friends (and friends of friends) and helped them settle into their new life in Sydney. Some people have stayed just a couple of nights but we had some friends who ended up staying for 2 months!
Couchsurfers seems a strange concept at first...offering your home out to complete strangers or showing up at someones home you have never met, but there is a huge network of people out there who are not only proud of their city and want to help others enjoy it but there are so many amazing people who understand that staying in a home can make you feel much more settled in a place. I'm sure travelers out there would agree with me that after your 10th backpackers (don't get me wrong....I love backpacking and meeting people) you start craving simple things like a quiet night's sleep...or a kitchen you don't have to share with 20 other people.
It also makes you feel like there are a network of people out there who are willing to reach out and share the love! I'll have to keep you updated but I'm looking forward to making some contacts so one day when we're settled back in New Zealand we will have made some friends who can one day visit us in the land of the long white cloud. x
For those of you want to know a bit more... www.couchsurfing.org
It's FINALLY starting to feel real. Visa's are submitted...although we're not sure if we're going to get them in time...but we can worry about that later. Flights are booked...San Fran first stop then onto Calgary for the 100th annual Stampede. Spoke to my (2nd, 3rd?) cousin Janice today, she was super lovely and has said we are welcome to stay with her and also her son while we are in Calgary which is amazing. It will be so good to get to know my family in Canada and find out where Pop is from. James has heard back from the ranch just out of Calgary and they have said we are both welcome to come and stay and work with them.
James always says I stress too much which is probably true and if I'm being honest I was pretty stressed about everything but it all seems to be falling into place and it's the best feeling! Like I said it's FINALLY starting to feel real!!
