10 KEER LEUK NA LANDEN OP SAN FRANCISCO AIRPORT

After 5 hours and 34 minutes of flying, at least 60 minutes in a taxi, watching 85 rounds on the luggage belt thus terrified for 20 minutes that my entire stock of Cali-proof outfits was still in New York.  I finally left the airport with my luggage. Dead tired I was. On the plane I was sitting beside a baby, there was no meal, two drinks and it was long! I misjudged how easy the trip from Manhattan to SF was going to be. So like a walker (Game of Thrones) I walked to the parking lot with red teary eyes and dragging my feet. My slumber mode hadn’t passed. The slide door opened and I was received by a symphony of horns. ‘Heeelllloooo’, the blonde beauty yelled while hanging out the car window with Jason Derulo beating from the speakers.  Okay I’m awake. The party can begin.

That blonde happens to be my best friend. She lives in the States, as I do. Both expat women, both afraid of the dark, especially when we’re alone and our guys are away on a business or pleasure trip. So we have one rule. The very moment one of our guys is away for longer than 24 hours we fly out to see each other. This time was my turn. And I have had the best road trip weekend ever! Hiking, wine drinking, deer spotting, beach trips, shopping, coffee drinking.. It was the bomb and my five days seemed like five weeks. All you need is a car, a least one co-pilot and this list with 10 fun things to do after landing on SFA.

Whether you’re there for the first, second or hundredth time, a selfie on the Golden Gate is a must! Did you know this was the most photographed bridge in the world? Ha, you do now! That means; hop hop onto the bridge with your selfie stick. Check the weather first. The famous San Fran can fog up your photo moment.

The top tourist attraction in the city that waves the rainbow flag. Amidst a platoon of Kodak an Nikon mafiosos you can watch the cars make their way downhill through curvy streets filled with flowers. To see this postcard view you have to get over your I-want-to-be-like-a-local thing but it’s worth it and a lot of fun standing among hysterical tourists with mouth masks on

On Fillmore Street you find Jane. At Jane’s you can enjoy delicious coffee, a fresh avocado sandwich, slurp organic juices and stick your fork in a quinoa salad.  A great place on a great street. The place to be if you want to hang out in a cool atmosphere shopping and attend to your daily dose of caffeine.

Okay. This is the last tourist spot in SF on this list. After this it’s fab and fashion stuff.  Well this is kind of fashion-like. One of these painted ladies is the home of the most famous twins in the world. Who remembers Full House? That’s here! But the houses are quite fab to look at on their own.

From now on you need a car (and probably satnav) because slurping wine in Napa is the shit! It’s about two hours drive from San Fran but you drive right into Italy. The vineyards are green and wide, this area is magical. There are a lot of wine houses but they aren’t all as good. The one that is good and has been visited by the Kardashians is the Robert Mondavi Vineyard. We drove straight here and loved it (for those of you who don’t know I’m a big Kim & co fan). O loved it even more after a bottle of Fumé…. Or was it bottles?

A little further on beyond Napa you find Yountville. A small village with huge houses, general stores and Bouchon. Go here for a little wine compensation (a.k.a. anti-hangover potion) prepared by this star chef who also own the bakery a few doors down and has a permanent line of 15 minutes which is partly standing outside. Bizarre. But probably bizarrely good.

The Americans call this ‘God’s true creation’. And I have to say Big Sur is beautiful.  This coast is like a dream. There are different Vista points but I in my opinion Bixby bay is the prettiest. Look for yourself and be your own judge.

California has mountain lions. These are scarier than the ones you see in the zoo. They’re out in the freaking wild! Hiking isn’t the first thing that comes to mind as ‘fun’ but I did it. Camel bag and all. It was wonderful. All of California is suitable for hiking. I’ve been to eagle rock in San José but it’s great everywhere and a must for every real California trip.

Spookily abandoned and only inhabited by seagulls but Alcatraz is a super cool place to visit. There’s an audio tour. A little nerdy but because it’s voiced by old inmates it’s very interesting.

Last but not least: Carmel. The city that, not so long ago, was governed by Clint Eastwood. It’s like entering the set of Gilmore girls but it has a picture perfect beach. You can’t skip this one it’s great; the beach is open to dogs. For me as a pur sang dog lover it’s complete. What a dream this place is.