Chilling in San Francisco

I was lucky enough to spend 4 days in the beautiful San Francisco in 2009. It was my first ever taste of the West coast and I feel that the first taste will be hard to be beat!

I must say my arrival wasn't exactly fantastic. I spent 6 hours waiting in the airport for my friends (who were driving down from LA and had seriously underestimated their travel time). Unfortunately all I can report on Sam Fran airport is it is the same as every airport you will visit. Dull cream coloured walls, grey machinery, and random people purposely marching to one place or another.
Now when we got to where we were staying we were in the thick of it. The city would be a jogger or a cyclists nightmare, I have never been anywhere so hilly, and not just minor climbs but full on steep hills. It is a pretty city however and a really friendly place.
The first few days were spent chilling in our very luxurious apartment (how we landed that I will never know, the joys of the internet) which overlooked the city with a postcard view, day and night.
It wasn't until the second evening that we did some actual sight seeing. After turning up at a shockingly expensive restaurant my associates, Nick, Tom and Ben, decided we were going to find something cheaper. After a walk round what seemed to be the quieter part of the city, we stumbled across China Town. Now every major city seems to have a few streets (or in Newcastle's case, one street) in which it calls 'China Town'. San Francisco's China Town earns it status as its stretches on for ages and ages. Also, when I finally settled down to my Chicken Sweet and Sour, it tasted fantastic, comfortably the best I have ever had!
The next day was my last full day, and I insisted that I did some sight seeing before I left. We came up with the idea of hiring a bicycle for the day and getting round as many site as we could. If you wanted my advice, if you don't have long to see a place, do it on a bike, its cheap and you can certainly get about. We got everywhere, the bay, we overlooked the daunting Alcatraz, we went through the Golden Gate Park.
The highlight for me, however, was riding across the magnificent Golden Gate Bridge. A perfect structure, and exhilerating to ride across. The wind beats you from both sides and there are so many other people it is a wonder I never had an accident. Once it is done and you settle for a bit, it is such a good feeling to know you have had your day on such an iconic landmark.
I would recommend San Francisco to anyone, my only regret was that I didn't stay longer, but I will certainly be treasuring the time I had.