Biking the Golden Gate Bridge

28 February 2015 San Francisco, CA, USA

At our third destination of San Francisco, I was determined to do something a little more touristy. We hadn't seen the Golden Gate Bridge yet, well except at a great distance. I wanted to do some more cliche types of sightseeing, and I knew that one of the most typical things of all was biking riding across the Golden Gate Bridge.

Riding a bike around is a great way to view the city, and absorb the sights, while trying to not get hit by cars and fall off, and panic due to not having ridden a bike in so many years.

The first step is finding a place to rent a bike, we headed over to Columbus Street, near Fishermans Wharf to a bike rental place we had found online that looked good. They had a sign that said they had gone to lunch. Great. We decided lunch was a great idea and did the same. We returned about half an hour later, walked inside and were greeted with "Sorry we are closing now." At 2pm. -_-

This guy sent us down the street to another recommended place.  They set us up with a bike each and little kit. Helmets were optional but I opted for them. Nothing spoils a vacation like a head injury.

The cost of renting our bikes was $25 for the day. But they took a $300 deposit! Luckily we had a bit of spare money at that point, so it was alright. Except I find out later that using my travel card for deposits like that, where they refund the cash, was a terrible idea. So I am now home from my holiday, and can see that $300 pending.. which is about $400 in Australian dollars.

Anyway we started on our journey. Josh riding up ahead, me following, clutching the handlebars for dear life, having a panic attack. Shouting at Josh to slow down from his already walking pace.
"You wanted to do this!" He shouted back.

While you don't forget how to ride a bike, you become a hell of a lot less confident.
We biked from Columbus Street to our start at Fisherman's Wharf. Where the journey and bike track would begin.


The trail starts there, goes right along the waterfront and across the bridge, all the way to Sausalito, a cute waterfront town, and you finish off by catching the ferry back across to Fisherman's' Wharf.

The ride is 15km, or about 10 miles. For someone who is unfit, doesn't exercise and hasn't ridden a bicycle in years this is a long long way. We were advised that the journey was "mostly" flat, and once you went across the bridge the ride to Sausalito was "mostly" downhill.
There were multiple incidents where I walked my bike up gentle slopes as the elderly rode past me. I'm not ashamed. I'm just unfit.

It was a long long ride. There are many great places to stop along the way to have a look, grab a bite to eat or take photos of the amazing view. Which we did many of.

Riding across the actual bridge was weirdly difficult, just because of how windy it was. Even though the bridge was flat it required a lot of effort to pedal across.

Even though it was February, and Winter, I was perfectly fine in shorts and a short sleeved shirt. Though I did pack a sweater which I needed occasionally while we were stopped due to the breeze.

Finally and incredibly exhausted we arrived in Sausalito, and chained up our bikes to have an explore. What a lovely town! Gorgeous, beach front and expensive, filled with boutiques and art galleries.


We went to the best little ice creamery called Lappert's. There were so many flavours to choose from, and they let you try them all! I went with Cookie Dough, (my favourite!) just because there are chunks of cookie dough inside the ice cream which is what makes it amazing.

Me loving the cookie dough.
We purchased our ferry tickets home, which were $11 each continued exploring because there was still around an hour before the next ferry arrived. Make sure you line up in the side that says "People with Bikes here!" Because all those people who thought they were first in line with bikes were now actually last in line because they were holding up the exit and bikeless people line.

The day we biked the Golden Gate Bridge was super exhausting, but one of the best days on my vacation! I loved it! Definitely recommend, even if you're unfit, you'll be alright. If I can do it, so can you!

This day has only further made me want to fulfil one of my New Years Resolutions, of buying a bicycle to ride around the city. When I finally get my deposit back I should totally do that!

Cya ! xx

Skiing & Bears at Mammoth Lakes

25 February 2015


I'm almost at the end of my month long vacation now and I have been having a blast! I'm currently in New York City, the final destination on my list of places.

I've put together a mini post for each location I visited all on different topics.

Mammoth Lakes was where we chose to do snow sports this year as it was close to all the other places that we were visiting and looked really cool. Our ski lodge was beautiful! Plus they upgraded us from a studio to a one bedroom apartment free of charge. 

I originally was going to do a post on snow sport basics, but on the day we were going to take photos it was raining/snowing in a very wet and slushy manner so that idea went in the trash. 


We had one very good night of snowfall that made everything beautiful and absolutely covered in snow. Josh is just a beginner when it comes to snowboarding, he was only just finding his feet. But by the end of it he was falling over a lot less! 

I've been skiing quite a few times over the years and can proudly say I can go down the mountains without falling over.
In my opinion skiing is much easier than snowboarding. (I've done both).
Basically if you're nervous whilst skiing you can just pizza (point your skis together) the whole way down the slopes and you'll slowly go down the hill. An option that you don't exactly have with snowboarding. 


We saw a heck of a lot of bear statues and signs saying don't feed the Bears all around the town of Mammoth Lakes. Which is strange and amusing to us as being from Australia we don't really have any big animals. Our scariest creatures are spiders and snakes.

We questioned a local about the Bears, and if there were many around and he just chuckled. Apparently during the main bear season, spring mostly, there are just bears everywhere. Wandering through the streets, trying to get in your garbage bins and just generally doing bear activities. 

He said its so important to make sure you take all food and anything smelly like shampoo or perfume out of your car because the bear will smell it and rip your entire car door off. Which is exactly what happened to a friend of his who left some soap in the car. 

The Bears also recognised coolers or eskys and picnic baskets as sources of food so even if they're empty you have to keep them out of view.


What I found the most amusing was that, in this town with a population of 8,000, they keep their car doors unlocked. Not just because they feel safe in their tiny town, but because the Bears know how to open car doors, and that's much preferred than them tearing the door off its hinges.

I was laughing a great deal obviously this is pretty novel to us. Bears?? We have kangaroos mate. Shame we didn't get to see any but I would have freaked out! 

I had a bunch of fun in Mammoth it was a lovely small town. On our final day to kill time before our flight we went and saw the Spongebob movie! It was cute, I liked it, the seagulls in the movie were adorable.

Which reminds me, wow seagulls over here are at least triple the size of the ones over here. They look exactly the same but they are enormous!! They were everywhere in Los Angeles!

My reasonably accurate guesstimate of seagull sizes

This is probably only amusing to Australians, I assume this is regular size for Americans. Your seagulls are like big duck sized.

Anyhoo I'll sign off now.

Also I'm hoping to hit 200 Bloglovin' followers by the end of March, and then I'm going to host a giveaway!! I'm so excited. Stay tuned.

Cya! xx


Guest Post - "How I Fell in Love with a Lumbersexual"

12 February 2015

[source]
Where have all the guys with their soft skin and baby faces gone lately? Wait, you know what – who cares! Thank God this trend with all waxed and well polished guys, better known as metrosexuals, is in the past now, and these men have stepped on the world stage. Lumbersexuals with their long beards and flannel shirts always look like they are going camping, but they make every woman forget about her fears and want to join them in the woods. They made us love flannel, and wish every month was a ‘Movember’.


Actually, it has been here for a while, but only recently has it got its own fashion term. Men have been patiently waiting for the day when they could wake up in the morning and not think about shaving. Maybe that's how it started. Maybe the trend of a lumbersexual is a rebellion against the 9-5 office jobs, or just simply admitting the outdoor clothes are more comfortable and functional. This style eventually turned into a delicate trimming in front of the mirror, what makes them almost as dedicated to their beard as women are to makeup. I do not like to be with a man who is too concerned with his looks, but I never said he should not care at all. He looks manly and confident, like he came straight out of the woods but in fact this urban woodsman just got off his incredibly expensive fixie.

[source]
They are the ones wearing a flannel shirt, untucked in their casual worn-out denim, and big construction boots that will never go out of style. And of course, the look is not complete without a long untamed beard which seems as if not touched for a long time, when in fact every lumbersexual takes a good care of it. Every guy dedicates a part of his day to shape that bush with a Wahl beard trimmer in such way that it seems that they do not care what it looks like. His laid back looks have been put together with more effort than he would like you to know.
[source]
No matter how hard I try, there is no point in denying it – I am looking for a man to take care of me, rough and masculine. I take it to a level of a fantasy: a lumberjack, head of the house, the one that is strong enough to chop wood for a fire and bring food to the table.
However, no lumbersexual could be found in the woods chopping trees. He is hitting up hipster bars and definitely not wielding an axe. He is brawny, has an impressive beard which seems painstakingly untrimmed and carries his McBook Pro around, but I don't mind. Why not act a bit more casual this season, and all the ones that are yet to come?

[source]


Post Written by Cristina Naka Kask

Los Angeles Beauty Haul

4 February 2015

Okay so I'm on my second day in the US at my first stop, Los Angeles. I went to my first US Mall today! I' spent way too much on makeup, as well as a bunch of goodies from The Body Shop because they had a buy 2 get one free deal, that upgraded to buy 3 get 3 free! So I got 6 things and only paid for 3!

My Current Beauty Wishlist:
Naked2 Palette BOUGHT
Primer BOUGHT
Face Powder BOUGHT
Concealer BOUGHT
Bronzer
Cream Blush
Contour Kit
Lipstick BOUGHT


Finally bought the Naked2 palette from Sephora! Super happy and worth every penny.
Also purchased a primer and concealer from there too.
I was walking around like a complete zombie because I had never been to Sephora before.
It was just like what is this brand, what is this, where are primers? Where is anything?

After dragging Josh in circles I picked up the beloved Naked2 Palette, a sephora concealer, which Josh claimed matched my skin colour (hopefully) and a primer. Which I definitely needed.

I also picked up a MAC tinted face powder from Macy's, the lady tried a translucent one on my face and a colored one and we went with the latter. I unfortunately didn't bring my new illamasqua brushes with me for some reason, and I didn't want to spend $35 on a powder brush when I just got a lovely set, so I bought a cheap bamboo one.


The lady that served me in The Body shop was super lovely, even saying to come back and tell me how I go with everything haha. I won't be back unfortunately but anyway. I needed a new moisturiser and I hadn't packed any body wash or face wash with me either. I ended up buying 3 vitamin C skincare items. A exfoliating skin polisher for use 2x a week. A cleansing daily wash and a moisturiser with SPF in it, so added sun protection. I also got the tea tree body wash, as Josh and I both get a few red spots on our skin, like out chest and shoulders and this stuff is suppose to clear it right up! I read a review of this recently on a blog and they loved it and I commented saying yes I need this! So now I can try it out! Boom.


With the buy 3 get 3 free I had 4 already and bad to pick 2 more that were free, so obviously.
I chose a dark purpley type lipstick, I think this colour is great for winter and I've never really had a darker lipstick before. Then I also got a lip scuffer. It exfoliates your lips for you and then you apply a moisturising balm. (I have blistex)

I'm so happy with all my purchases, I can't wait to try everything out!

This post was written on my iPad with the app BlogGo.
It's my first time using it, so hopefully it's all okay. & Excuse the terrible phone photos.

Hope to write again soon! xx


Carry On Must Haves

2 February 2015


I wanted to be super prepared for my USA trip, and I also decided that my cute Status Anxiety bag, while super handy, wouldn't always be enough during my trip. Which is why I decided to buy a nice black leather backpack by Token. Now at least I'll have somewhere to stash my camera while we stop for lunch.

Pictured are my other carry on must haves.

  • - My Own Headphones: Airlines hand them out, but these are much better.
  • - Dettol Hand Sanitiser: Airports & planes are riddled with bacteria, I feel much better knowing I have this.
  • My Status Anxiety Wallet: It's small but it still holds everything I need, and means I don't load up on unnecessary items. 
  • Quay Sunglasses: I got these beauties from my sister for Christmas. They're more useful on the way to the airport and after I land than during the flight.
  • - My iPad Mini: I filled this with music and books and it's ready to keep me entertained.
  • - Extra Chewing Gum: Chewing gum as the plane takes off helps to equalise pressure in your ears so they don't pop as you go up!
  • - US Dollars: This is the country i'm headed to's currency. It's also smart not to pack cash in your checked luggage.
  • - Blistex Lip Balm: Lip balm is always handy, and it can get pretty dry up there in the plane.
  • - Travel Sickness Tablets: All natural, and handy if I start to feel ill during the flight.
  • - My Passport: The most important thing that I can pack! I need this to get into the country!
  • - Inflatable Neck Pillow: This baby deflates super small which means I can pack it with ease, and inflate it when I'm ready to say good night.
Hopefully this is enough for my 13 hour flight!

xx