Welcome home!!

Today (Wednesday 15 September) I landed in Frankfurt at 4 am for me but it was like 12 pm or sth. I was not in my best mood and my flight was delayed and I had to walk really long before I could find my gate. I was not fresh at all and cranky from all the lack of sleep. Thank U Helin's for the Ipod so that I could watch Twilight while I was waiting. U know, now when I'm in Europe they don't have free WiFi at the airport ;) I could also tell that I'm in Europe cause of all the unfriendly people. When I gave my passport to the check guy I said politely and happy "Good morning!" He just looked at me and grunted sth and gave back my passport. Common?! That made me even more pissed. And one thing that I don't understand is why do I have to go through another security check, when there is no possibility that I could have put anything in my bags cause I couldn't leave the airport...just silly!
The flight was delayed about one hour but it was OK cause it's such a short flight. It was with tears in my eyes I landed in Gothenburg and it felt really nice to be HOME again! I was excited to get out of the plane but everything took a while cause everyone else also wanted to get out ;) And then I needed to gather all my bags before I could go out in the big hall and look for my family.
The first one I see is Eric, my little brother, and he's waving with two Swedish flags ;) Behind him are mum and dad and there we had a big hug party. Oh, it was so nice to see them again!! It's almost unreal but at the same time it felt like I've never been away.
I wanted just to suck in every smell and emotion I felt when we walked to the car cause this was really Sweden!! With the green everywhere and the fresh air...this is my HOME and I won't leave it again soon!
I was very happy when we came to the car cause there they had candy!!! Oh, I've missed the Swedish candy ;) I think I ate the whole bag before we stopped to eat lunch ;) We ate at a Swedish pizza place and I had the "Kebab pizza" OMG!! This is sth I've really missed and I can't wait until I'll have one at the best pizza place in my town...but this was also heavenly and just to sit down and eat with my family again was a moment bigger than a lot of things.
We drove home and it takes about two hours and then I felt how tired I was and I closed my eyes for a while.
When we drove up to our house I felt like in a dream, was I really home? When I came in through the doors I stood there for a minute and felt "our" smell. I love it! Another thing was that tne newest family member, our cat Chabo, came and said hello to me. He's so cute and I'm excited to see how it works to have a pet.
In the hallway was a banderol saying "Welcome Home Sandra" and a lot of ballons and flags...so nice!
I said hello to my other brother, Robin, and got to see his new room (my old) and it looked really nice. I was, of course, curious about my new room so I ran upstairs and checked it out. It's small but very sweet. I have a sofa, not a bed ;) and I love the wall paper. One wall is light yellow and the other goes in black and grey and has houses on it. So pretty and I really love the room. There isn't much space for all my stuff so we'll see how that goes but right now it's perfect!
I'd brought presents to my family and I think evryone was happy. We didn't do so much more but that was exactly what I wanted.
This is the last thing I'll write on this blog and I want to thank U all that have been following me, supporting me and helping me through this amazing year. I don't regret anything and it's been a great experience but now I'm so happy to be home and for me one year was enough. I wish U all good luck with what ever U do and maybe I can inspire someone else to have the currage to take that step, to do sth different cause in the end it's so good for U!

Miss U all!
Love Sandra

I'm going home!!!

Today (Tuesday 14th of September) I was leaving Seattle, and the US, for this time. Over one year ago I came as a scared, unsecure little girl who didn't know what to do with her life or who she was. Now I'm leaving filled with currage and security and I feel that I have grown as a person through this year and I'm ready for what's next in my life. I still don't know what I want with my life but I got a pretty good feeling that everything is gonna be alright. I mean, after a year like this I could do anything!
The kids had to go to school and it was REALLY hard saying goodbye to them cause they were so sad and didn't want to go, and I didn't want them to go!!!
I packed the last of my things and I think I weight the bags two or three times to be sure they weren't too heavy ;) I think I broke the scale also...oopps!! ;)
Sofia called when they were half way to school, she was really sad and said that she wanted to turn and walk back and then jump down in one of my bags ;) Sweetie! Filip was sad (and kind of funny) He said that now when I was gone, he was gonna threw frisbee and no one was gonna be there to catch it. He was gonna play Monoploy but there would be no one else who would go so he would just sit there ;) Sad but funny ;)
Lotta drove me to the airport and was with me when I checked the bags. This was the most nervous thing ever, but the bags passed. They were 22,9 kg both and they could be 23 kg ;) My hand lugage was allowed to be 8 kg but mine was 8,4. But I hurried away casue she didn't see that...pfew!
Once again I had to go through with a hard goodbye. Me and Lotta have been pretty close through the year so yes, it was hard to say goodbye to her too.
Now I was on my own. I went through security and it took some time for me cause this morning I had to put on a lot of clothes that didn't fit in my bags ;) I had one top, one t-shirt, two sweters, one jacket, two scarfs and a cap...I was so HOT!!! ;)
Once through the security I walked to my gate and then I bought some lunch at the cafe. I'm glad that they have free WiFi at the airport cause then I could play with my new Ipod ;) It's so practical when U are at a place like this cause it's so small.
My flight was at 2:15 sth and the boarding went fine. It was a big plane but narrow seats. I was in the middle row and had three older ladies around me. I was sad that I couldn't be at a window so I could see Seattle when we flew away but I saw it so beautiful when me and Kadda came back from California so it's OK. I had planned to sleep most of the way, since it's such a long flight, but this was harder that I thought since I wasn't tired...I mean, we flew in the middle of the day. I watched some movies and listened to music but I couldn't sleep. Not even when we came over to the "night part" of the world.
The food wasn't so good, but is it ever in flights? And I had to stand up and walk a couple of times cause my ass was hurting ;)
Soon I'm home!!

Miss U all!
Love Sandra

Last night :(

Today (Monday 13th September) was my last REAL day here in Seattle...OMG! Feels weird to say it..I can't believe that it's already been over a year!
I spend the whole day trying to pack all my stuff but it's so hard! And I didn't have a scale so I couldn't be sure if my bags were too heavy or not. But the Stendahl's were coming later this evening and they had promised to bring one.
The rest of the day I just tried to make sure that I got everything that was mine. I went through the closet downstairs, the bathroom, my room...well, the whole house. I guess I wanted to say goodbye at the same time which felt really weird!!
I realized that I couldn't bring everything back home so I started to be a bit logical and hard, everything that was a bit broken I threw away. This way I lost a couple of shoes and kilos ;)
My room is so empty now when I took everything down from the walls. All my teenage posters, the t-shirts, the map. Now there's just empty, white walls. The closet is empty and the drawer. It seems bigger now and when U talk there is a echo in the room ;)
I couldn't pack everything today cause I need my bathroom stuff tomorrow so when I was "done", I just relaxed in front of the TV until the family got home and I played with the kids.
Yesterday in the car, Sofia asked me what my favourite food was and I answered pasta bolognese. So for our last dinner together, they made it for me. So sweet :) Before we started to eat they gave me a present, they couldn't wait ;) OMG!! They gave me a Ipod touch, the newest generation!! Are they crazy?! And the best part is that they've put on some pictures from the year and also the first two Twilight movies sinced they know I'm such a big Twilight fan ;) Hahahah..they are the best! I was so happy, didn't know what to say.
Later, after dinner, the Stendahl's came and we ate a cake that Lotta had bought for this special, and sad, evening.
I also got a gift from the Stendahl's, they gave me a toilet- and a make-up bag from the brand Vera Bradley. I've been looking at bags from them through my whole year and been wanting one so badly but never bought one so it's perfect! It's a pink, orange one with big flowers and I just love it!
I gave them a small, wooden angel from a beautiful brand, that we also have here in Sweden, and it stood for "Thank You" which I think fit very well to the Stendahl's cause they also contributed to that my year here was perfect and I'm gonna miss them so much! It was hard saying goodbye to them, the kids are so sweet!! But they are also moving back to Sweden so I'll see them again.
It was kind of late and the kids were on their way to bed, but I had some gifts for the family too. Sofia got a music box with Tinkerbell that we saw together one day at Hallmark and she wanted that so bad. She told me to tell Lotta about it so that she could give it to her, but I never did ;) She was so happy and now she can play it everytime she miss me!
Filip, who is a Monopoly lover as U know bye now ;), got a new Monopoly with Nintendo theme. Instead of streets U buy Nintendo characters like Zelda, Mario etc It seemed really cool and he was so happy. Too bad I won't have time to play with him :( He have to bring it when they move to Sweden.
For the whole family, I made a photo book with pictures from the whole year. I had written some small stuff and also a thanks and what this year had been for me. I was really happy with the book and now they have a memory that they always can look back at and remember me ;)
Now the hard part started. The kids got really sad. Sofia started to cry and was really upset, Filip isn't that hysterical but U could tell that he also was sad. I laid down next to Sofia, in her bed, and talked with the kids until they fell asleep. I told them that we are gonna meet again, and they know that but it's gonna be hard for them anyway. It's not gonna be the same. I didn't think it would be that hard for me to leave, since I know we'll meet again, but tonight it really hurt.
The Stendahl's had forgotten the scale, of course ;) But Lotta went to a neighbour and borrowed one...pfew! Wouldn't have been fun to take a chance at the airport tomorrow ;)
I had to wrestle some more with my bags before I was under the weigh limit and could go to bed, for the last time in my room!! A weird feeling!

Miss U all!
Love Sandra

Pittock Mansion & Rose Garden

Today (Sunday 12 September) I woke up happy cause my ear plugs worked, I didn't hear the train!! And the bed was so nice so I had a good night's sleep.
We had yoghurt and crisp bread for breakfast ;) A nice start for our last day here in Portland.
We started a new fire and then cleaned out the cabbin and packed everything in the car. When the last fire was out, we said goodbye and drove in to Portland again and the famous Pittock Mansion. It's a century old symbol of Portland's dramatic transformation from a small lumber town to bustling city, it's an architectural wonder. A beautiful mansion that is located on a hill where U have the view over the city. It's now a museum so U can pay and go in and there they give a tour and tell the story about the house and the family. Very interesting and such a beautiful house. Jonas and Lotta wanted to get inspired for their house and I think they got some ideas ;)
At lunch, we drove down to the city and bought some nice bagels and then drove up to the big, famous rose garden and had our lunch in the middle of all the sweet-scented flowers. It was really nice cause today the weather was sunny and warm as well.
We spend maybe two hours here and the kids found a earth pile where they made earthballs and then wanted to start a earth war with me....ehh, no thanks! But Filip threw a ball on me anyway..aarrggh!!
In the afternoon we went back home and also now there was a lot of traffic so it took a while to get home but it was OK for me cause I wasn't the driver ;)

Miss U all!
Love Sandra

Portland

Today (Saturday 11 September) I woke up pretty pissed off, cause all night a train had been blowing it's horn every other hour and woke me up...why??? So irritating!! Good thing I have earplugs with me so I can sleep tonight.
They didn't have breakfast at the campground so we drove back to the little town and ate at a diner which was really American and nice. The food was good; scrabled eggs, bacon, sausage and toast ;)
We went to a park next to a river where Filip did some fishing while the rest of us just relaxed in the sun. I almost fell asleep!! The surroundings were just incredible...huge mountains all around and green forest everywhere..the air was so fresh and we were there for a couple of hours and it never got boring.
I watched "How to train your dragon" on Filip's DSI..He has been telling me to see that movie for a while now and now when he had it with him I couldn't say no anymore ;) But it was a great movie, funny! I liked it and I'm glad he told me to see it.
Filip didn't get any fish but Sofia lost one of her shoes ;) She was running and they are a bit big so it flew of and splash in the water ;) Jonas and Filip tried to fish it up but the current took it so we had to wave goodbye to it...she was a bit sad and now she had to walk with one show until we got to a store to buy know ones. At lunchtime we took the car and drove in to Portland to see if we could find anything to eat. We walked and walked but couldn't find anything we liked. We asked a couple of people and they told us there was a festival going on now and explained how to get there. We had to take a train there and it was free cause it was Saturday today. The family was a bit confused and didn't really know where to go so I think it was good that I was there cause I knew exactly ;)
I don't know what kind of festival it was but there were a lot of stalls and booths where they sold hand crafts and food. There was a lot of people cause the weather was really nice. It was HOT and I was sweating cause I had dressed warm cause we expected cold weather.
We found some good stuff to eat and then sat down at a fountain and watched some dancers perform. They were dancing hip hop (I think ;)) and they were really good, a great dinner entertainment.
We walked around and when we were happy we drove back to the little town by our campground and bought some food for the night. I bought a SUDUKO magazine cause I needed sth to do now and also on the flight home next week.
At the cabbin we just relaxed and didn't do anything. It was so nice! The kids wanted to play so we played old fashion boccia, with pine cones ;) Felt like we went back in time and it was really nice acctually and I felt like I thought the kids that U can have fun without all the modern technology...I'm proud!
When it got dark, we lightened the fire and grilled hot dogs and then, of course, marshmallows...so good and cozy!
Everyone was tired so we went early to bed and this time I had my earplugs so I hope they'll help against the train. At this point everyone was annoyed by it cause every 30 minutes it passed by and made an aweful noise. OK, we get it!!! There is a railway, we will stay out of there!!!

Miss U all!
Love Sandra

The Expendables

Today (Friday 10th September) I slept until 10 and that was really nice. I had breakfast, took a shower and called back home. Soon I don't have to call anymore!! Can't believe that in 5 days I'll see everyone again!! I'm so looking forward to it!
Before M left she got a movie ticket from her host family but she didn't have time to use it so she gave it to me. Very nice of her!! So now, when I was done with all the shopping and preparations, I went to Redmond to use it.
I decided to see "The Expendables" which is a action movie a la Stallone with all of the old, action heroes. Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Dolfh Lundgren, Jet Lie and a lot of other big names. It was OK, like any other war movie but it was fun to see all those big actors together. It was me and two others in the saloon ;)
Before the movie started, I made a list of all the upcomming movies and series I want to see and it became pretty long...11 movies and 4 series ;) Just hope everything is coming to Sweden as well.
Before I drove home, I stopped at Michels to buy some papers and stickers for mum who wants to make a scrap book from their US trip. I found some nice for me too in case I have time to make a album sometime.
When I got home I had to pack quickly and Jonas and Lotta came home early and when we were done we got in the car and picked up the kids from school. We are going to spend the weekend in Portland as a final thing together and we wanted to go before the heavy traffic. Unfortunately we didn't so it took us a while to get there. We stopped at Red Robin and had a graet American dinner with burgers. I like that place, there is so much going on all the time and a lot to look at. They had a TV in the floor ;)
We came to the campground at 11pm! But luckily we had a cabbin this time so we didn't have to put up the tent in the dark. It was a cozy wooden cabbin with two bedrooms so me and the kids shared one with 2 bunk beds and Jonas and Lotta took the other one with a big double bed.
We just unloaded the car and then went to bed after a long afternoon on the road.

Miss U all!
Love Sandra

Saying goodbye to the city

Today (Thursday 9th September) I went in to Seattle one last time to shop souvenirs and to say goodbye to the city. It was sad in one way cause Seattle is a city that I've become to like during this year, I mean it's been my home and now I don't know when or if I'll ever come back. I like the atmosphere cause it's a big city but U can reach everything pretty easy and having the water so close by always a good thing.
I went to Urban Outfitters but didn't buy anything, then I walked down to Pike Place market and checked out all the t-shirt stores for some Seattle t-shirts and I found a funny one for me. It's a umbrella with the text SEATTLE inside, I liked it and it describes the city pretty good...except that no one has an umbrella here ;)
I walked to Pioneer Square and went to the wonderful toy store they have there. There they have so many fun stuff and a lot of "old" toys. Here I bought a laughing monkey for my two cousins (it's hillarious! Laughs when U walk by) two small medical stuffed animals for my friend, and some small walking animals...so cute!!
From Pioneer Square I walked down to the piers and bought some small souvenirs and when I was done I had a lot of bags ;) I went on the bus with a smile on my face, happy that I got a nice day in Seattle and was able to say goodbye in a proper way.
Back home, I had a late lunch (it was already 3pm) and then I took the bus to Bellevue for a last time at the mall. Feels weird to do everything for the last time, but I'm glad that I can do that without any stress. I finished all my shopping with a pair of shoes for my brother, underware for me and my friend and coffee for my other friend. I just hope everything will fit in my bags ;)
Back home, I had dinner with Jonas and the kids (Lotta was on her work out with Jenny) and then I went through all my souvenirs to make sure I hadn't missed anything and I started to go through some drawers to see what to save and what I could throw away...it was not so much I'm afraid ;)
I have some updates to do on the blog from my trip so I spent the rest of the evening in the sofa with the computer in my lap and the TV on. There was a story about a guy who had spend 19 years in prison and tonight he was gonna be executed. That's when I realized, I'm in a country where death penelty is allowed. I didn't think of it before and it feels weird. Maybe a bit double standard of moral when U kill someone because they killed someone? But I donno...

Miss U all!
Love Sandra

Bye Bye M and Kadda

Today (Wednesday 8th September) was not such a happy day cause both M and Kadda were leaving today and that means that I'm the last one left!! OMG!!
I had promised to drive Kadda to the airport since her host family is on vacation, so I picked her up at and we packed all her HEAVY bags in my little SAAB. I wonder if she pass the weigh limit or not.
It wasn't so hard to leave her cause I know that we'll meet in Europe so it was: "See U later"
M wasn't going home to France right now but she's going to New York to attend a wedding.
On my way back I stopped at the South Center Mall and strolled around there and looked for souvenirs, gifts for the kids and stuff I wanted to have before I go home. Finally I bought a sweater from PINK by Victoria Secret. I have looked at them for a long time but always thought they were too expensive but now I found one on sale :) I also bought some new underware from them cause I love them!!! I also bought new earphones to my Ipod and the sound is so much better now. I don't have to have the volume on max anymore ;)
I also found what I wanted for the kids and I hope they'll like it. I'll tell U later ;)
Before I went home, I had lunch at the mall at Panda Express which is a chinese fast food place and it was really good. I never tried it before and I regret that!
Back home I went to the bank to close my account but instead we changed it so I can have it forever for when I come back! It didn't cost anything so why not?
Before Kadda left she gave me a package with stuff she couldn't fit in her suitcase and wanted me to send it for her. She gave me money and now I went to the post office and took care of it.
At around 4:30 I was done and could finally go home. I was really tired but after dinner I took a walk to Bartel Drugs to buys some candy for everyone back home and some small stuff that I needed.
Back home I had to work on my blogg and organize my pictures so I had to do the rest of the night.

Miss U all!
Love Sandra

Seattle

Today (Tuesday 7th September) was our last day in San Francisco...well, we were flying home today so we couldn't really do much more than say goodbye while we walked down to the BART station again and it was a bit sad. San Francisco is a town I really like and to not know when or if I'll be back was not a happy thought.
We had to check out from the hostel at 9:30 and then we went to the airport where we had to wait for 2 1/2 hours for our flight. Then it's good to have a computer with U cause at there it's free WiFi.
For the first time I met a older lady with the name Sandra ;) She was behind me in the security line..so funny! She was around 50 sth and she said that Sandra was the most popular name when she was born, interesting!
The plane we were flying with was a Disney plane so it had Minnie Mouse all over the side. Really cute!
Once we were on the plane, it couldn't take off, cause of some strong wind, so we had to sit there for an hour and that was not so much fun. Good thing it's not such a long flight cause now I just wanted to get home.
It was really nice weather when we came over Seattle and we got a great view over downtown with the Space Needle and both of the fields...it's a really nice picture and it's hard to believe that I'm soon leaving.
We grabbed our bags and then went to the bus stop to get to Bellevue, but of course we just missed one and the next one was late as well so we also here had to wait for like an hour before we could get on a bus that would take us to Bellevue where the grandparents of Kadda's family waited and drove us to Kadda's place. It was already 6 when we came home and then Kadda drove me home and now she was really stressed cause she's leaving for Germany tomorrow and needs to pack and everything.
At home, I had a nice dinner with the family and I was really happy seeing them again. Both Sofia and Filip had missed me a lot and now I felt that I had missed them as well. I gave them some gifts from my trip, a giant deck of cards from Vegas and two glas with Spongebob on from Universal studios.
My day wasn't over yet cause we had decided to met at Starbucks one last time to say goodbye to Emilie who also was leaving tomorrow so at 8 I went there and it was so nice to see her again!
She gave me a little photo album and a devil bath duck, cause she knew I collect them, and I gave her a big, signed IDOL picture of me ;) I always wanted to give one to some one and M was the right person cause she understood that it was a joke and she laughed a lot over it. Now she wont be sad at the flight when she looks at it, she will just laugh ;)
Kadda didn't show up cause apparently she had too much to do to spare one hour to come and say goodbye to one of her friends...so bad of her. M was really sad and I understand her.
We weren't sad when we hugged eachother goodbye cause first we were so excited to see eachother again after two weeks and then we know we will meet again in Europe! But I sure will miss her, my little french girl...I love U M!!!

Miss U all!
Love Sandra

Biking the Golden Gate Bridge

Today (Monday 6 September) guess what we had for breakfast?....Pancakes!! ;) With maple syrup...jummy!
Now it's our last day here in San Francisco and also on our road trip cause tomorrow we are going back to Seattle. It's a bit sad cause I would like to stay here longer but also now I know that it's not long until I'll go back to Sweden so I'm also happy.

We took the cable car to the piers, it's always nice and U get to see a lot of the city in a fun way when U go up and down the hills. We didn't pay anything for our ride cause no one asked us for money and we didn't ask ;) We thought of going back and pay when we jumped off but no...

We had decided that we wanted to do sth that we didn't do last time so we went to a bike store and rented two bikes. There was a great bike path that went along the water all the way to the bridge and on the way we stopped at many great lookouts and took gorgeous pictures with the bridge in the background. The weather was perfect, sunny and warm. At one place, a guy just got up a sea star with a hot dog as bate ;) He was so happy!! Good job!

It was a unreal feeling going over the bridge..I mean, Hello!! I'm riding a bike across the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco!!! How many can say they've done that??? ;) Just incredible!

It was a narrow bike lane over the bridge and it was a two way lane so U had to look out for bikes coming the other way but also fast bikers that drove past U.

On the other side we stopped and took some nice pictures with the city and the bridge in the background...well we didn't look so nice after that long and warm bike ride but the bridge was nice ;)

We didn't stress back cause we had already passed the two hours limit and had to pay for three any way so we stopped at a Safeway that we saw on our way down and Kadda ran in and bought some stuff while I stayed outside and guarded the bikes. One thing that I discovered during this trip is the new M&M Prezel....I think that's the best thing they've made this far...OMG, it's heavenly. I think I could eat them all the time ;) Too bad they are so expensive.

We returned the bikes and then went down to Pier 39 and Fisherman Warf and walked in all the stores and just strolled around. It was hot and there were a lot of people! Today was Labor day so maybe that increased the number of people even more. We saw the sea lions again and I bought some souvenirs for people back home, it's so hard!!! But now I think I know what I want for every body and that's a good start.

We saw a famous cable car turn, where they have to turn the car by hand and as always are there musicians that played and wanted money. One guy, who played the trumpet, had a little rabbit as a pet and he jumped around and was so cute!!

We went back home and this time we paid ;) I wanted to eat out since it was the last night but Kadda didn't want to so I had noodles at the hostel instead, very fancy! But we had the dessert at Cheese Cake Factory and our German room mate Eve joined us and it was really nice. We had our last cheese cake :( I had one with chocolate chip cokkie dough (as American it can be ;)) and it was good but as always too much.

The location of the restaurant is so nice here in San Francisco. It's on the roof of a store so we had a great view over Union Square. A great evening to end this incredible trip and I'm glad that I got the chance to experience all the things I've done.

Miss U all!

Love Sandra

Alamo Square & Ocean Beach

Today (Sunday 5 September) we had, once again, pancakes for breakfast and I'm strarting to get sick of it ;) But I can do it, it's for free ;)

When we were ready, we jumped on a bus and went to Alamo Square where the famous Victorian houses are. The weather was sunny but a bit windy so we laid down in the grass and sucked in the sun then it got really warm and cozy. The houses are so beautiful and it's amazing how someone can build like that. Impressive! This time we couldn't go in as last time but we were OK just admireing them from the outside.

I had brought a bag of chips and a coke so I had a nice picnic next to the playground! Kadda needed to be close to kids cause she missed her own so much...bla bla

When we felt warm and happy enough, and before the bus ticket expired ;), we jumped back on the bus and continued all the way out to the west and the ocean beach. It was HUGE!!! The water is not swim proof but good for surfers and the beach was full of people and kites! The sand was really hot so it burned under our feet....but who's complaining? ;)

After a short walk on the beach we walked back to the bus stop throgh the Golden Gate Park and there we passed the wind mill...thought we were in Holland ;) It's a HUGE park and we just saw a small part but it's so beautiful with all the big trees and plants. There are great paths all over the park and we met a lot of joggers and walkers, I think it's a perfect place to do your work out.

Back at the hostel we had lunch, noodles and bread, and then we took a 2 hours nap again ;) That's the best with this trip, we are not stressed and don't feel like we have to do anything special so we have time to take a nap.

When we woke up, we went out and took a "walking" dinner on Subway...really good. That's something I'm going to miss when I'm back home.

Today was movie time again and now we saw "Eat Pray Love" with Julia Roberts and also the Swedish wonder Tuva Novotny. It was a good movie, a bit long but sweet and it was really fun to see a Swedish star doing a great job next to a super star as Roberts. I give it 3 of 5 Trolleys ;)

Back at the hostel we had a new room mate, a French girl and still our German friend Eve.

Miss U all!

Love Sandra

Just walking in San Francisco

Today (Saturday 4 September) I woke up with a headache cause of all the noice during the night.

Kadda tried her card again but of course it didn't work now either. Come on!! So frustraiting and irritating. We had until 11 to figure sth out and Kadda tried everything and I talked with my mum....I hate this!!

At 11 I went downstairs and paid my bed myself cause I wanted to be sure that I had somewhere to sleep! Kadda still tried to get in contact with her bank so I went across the street to the little food shop where I bought some noodles, fruit and other supplies that would be good.

Back in the room Kadda started to get everything clear...they could make it so her dad paid her room over the Internet and tomorrow he and their bank women will go to the bank and see what the problem is and maybe they can fix it.

Now I didn't want to stay in the room anymore..I mean, I don't wanna see my favourite city from inside a hostel! So we went out and walked first to Union Square and looked in some of the shops, we went to Wallgreens cause we needed to print some pictures and I needed to buy ear plugs. It was really nice weather and to just feel the smell of the city and the ocean got me in a better mood.

Kadda was tired and wanted to go back to sleep but I wanted to enjoy the city so while she returned to the hostel, I took a walk down to the water front and the ferry building.

There was a farmers market and I talked with a photographer who was really nice, and good. His pictures of the city was beautiful and we talked about all the beautiful things in the world ;)

I had a nice walk along the water and I just enjoyed being in a big city I love. I could definately live here!

One funny and nice thing was when I went to the public rest room, some one had left a flower there. Fresh and beautiful!

At the hostel there was a party tonight, with free alcohol!!! So me and Kadda had planned to go there so when I came home I also went to bed to get some rest before it all started.

We got ready but it didn't start until 11 so we were in the room and talked with our nice room mate who also was from Germany, same area as Kadda, but she lived and worked in New York and was here on vacation.

As it got late, we got more and more tired and of course Kadda fell asleep when it was time to go so I sneaked down my self but I was a bit afraid and not so social and there everyone already had grouped up so I went back upstairs and then Kadda woke up but we went to bed instead...pretty boring but I wasn't in a mood for party anymore.

Miss U all!

Love Sandra

San Francisco

Today (Friday 3rd September) we woke up at 6 am cause we needed to return the car in San Francisco at 8 am and we had almost an hour to drive from San Jose. It was good that we had packed all our things yesterday so it was just to put it in the car and go.
I was really nervous, when we came to Enterprise at the airport, that they would notice the scratch on the bumper from when I hit the pole. There were a lot of returning cars and the guy seemed a bit stressed so he walked around the car and didn't look so careful so we hurried from there ;) I'm also getting some money back cause apparently, I had paid too much...Thank U!!
We had to take the air train to the airport and then take the BART in to San Francisco and then we had to find our hostel. A guy saw that we were looking on a map so he asked and explained the way. We had to walk about 7 blocks and it was up hill in the end so we were sweating when we came to USA hostels.
Check in wasn't until 11 but we could put our bags in the storage room and then go down to the kitchen and have breakfast. The hostel made mixture for panncakes every morning and then we could make and eat as many as we wanted. It was really good and perfect cause then we didn't have to spend money on breakfast.
At 11 when we wanted to check in, Kadda's credit card didn't work....OMG!! PANIC!! I didn't have so much money left since I had to pay the car and I had paid a lot of other stuff and now it was her turn. She knew that she had money on it so that wasn't the problem. We had to take out our bags and then we sat in the lobby for like an hour and she tried to call home, her bank, use the computer but since it was Friday evening in Germany the bank wasn't open and her parents couldn't do anything.
When she tried to pay for only one night, it worked so we could at least move in to our room but there she had to try to figure out what was wrong. It was really frustraiting cause this was the part of the trip that was supposed to be the most relaxing and now we were just stressed.
She came to the soulution that maybe some kind of limit was reached and hopefully just the daily so maybe it'll work tomorrow again. Of course this was the only card she had and not a ATM card so she couldn't get money anywhere. Just crap!!
We went out for lunch and it was really nice being in San Francisco again, even though the weather was not so good this time. Now I understand what people mean when they say that it's foggy in San Francisco...we couldn't see the roof tops ;)
We went to California Pizza kitchen and now we had 10 % of since we had the lottery ticket from our last visit. I had a chicken sandwich and a asparagus soup that was really jummy. When we wanted to pay, all the computers were down in the restaurant so the waiter had to write everything by hand and it seemed to be hard for him but after a while we walked back to the hostel and took a 2 hour nap ;) I was really tired cause we had gone up early this morning and the problem with the money took a lot of energy. I'm glad that I have my mum and dad who could give me some money so I could pay my room tomorrow in case Kadda's card doesn't work. Love U!
After the nap we went out again and walked to the movie theater. There are so many good movies we want to see and this time we saw the romantic movie called "Going the distance" with Drew Berrymore and Justin Long who try to work out a long distance relation ship. It was really cute and sweet and also funny sometimes. I give it 4 out of 5 Trolleys ;)
It was a bit scary to walk home but we tried to keep up with other people that looked safe so we survived ;)
Our room was in a tower so we had a oriel where our windows were facing the street. There were two bunk beds but when we checked in there were no one else. We had also a sink and big lockers for everyone.
When we came back from the movie we had two room mates and they were already sleeping so we had to be quite when we got ready for bed. The beds were really comfy but I had problem sleeping cause it was so loud on the street. There were cars, people partying and other noices, I think I'll buy ear plugs tomorrow.

Miss U all!
Love Sandra

Santa Cruz & San Jose

Today ( 2 September) there was a a lot of fog when we woke up and the tent was all wet after the cold night air.
I was really pissed when I woke up cause some damn trucks and tractors started driving by our tent at around 6 and they made such an awful noise that I couldn't sleep plus the ground was a bit too hard so it hurt every time I moved. We didn't see a reason to stay long at the camp ground so we quickly packed our stuff and headed towards Santa Cruz.
We were 4 hours on highway 1 and it was so beautiful! In the beginning it was too foggy to see anything but when we came further away from the coast it cleared up and we got to see a different nature than we were used to. Here it was more desert with not so many houses or comunities. When it was time to fill up the car with gas we got a bit panic cause it never came a gas station...there was just nothing!! But finally we came to a truck stop where we could get some gas and then we were good to go again.
At lunch, we stopped in Santa Cruz where the weather was wonderful. The sun was shining from a blue sky and it was really hot.
We went down to the waterfront and the beachwalk where they had a huge, white beach with a lot of people playing in the sun. There was also a pier with restaurants and small stores and a small amusement park as in Santa Monica, but now at the beach and not on the pier. I loved this place!! It was too bad that we couldn't stay there longer than 2 hours. We had lunch at the Bowling Alley, maybe a weird place to have lunch but we were recommended to eat there and it was really good! I had a teriyaki chicken sandwich with pineapple and it was jummy! The waiter was really nice and helpful, he recommended some stuff we could do here and he told us about the Winchesters house which belonged to one of the founders of the Winchester rifles. After he died, his wife believed that she was hunted by the ghosts of the individuals that was killed by her husbands rifles. This is why the house always was under construction and there are stairs that end up nowhere, doors that doesn't lead anywhere and other weird stuff. We wanted to visit but of course it was closed today!
We came to San Jose around 3 pm and we went direct to a outlet mall and this time we were sure they had Abercombie & Fitch ;) It was HUGE so they had a lot of other brands and stores as well. It was really great and we spend a couple of hours there and I found a DKNY dress and a pair of shorts at A&F.
At the mall, Enterprise called me and wanted more money for the car! I was like, OK??!! So now I have paid the whole car and don't have any money left....nice!
Here we had planned to sleep at a camp ground as well but we didn't find any. We were at Starbucks, where they have free WiFi, and I tried for over 30 minutes but finally I was so sick of it that we called a motell instead. They had room and we could come imidiately so that was good. It was called Motel 6 and was only 10 minutes from the mall so we didn't have to drive so long which was nice for me who had been the driver for the whole trip.
The room was not anything special but it was good to have a room where we could repack our bags since we are returning the car tomorrow. Boy, did we have a lot of stuff!! The whole room was filled with the contents of our suitcases ;)
I had these vacum bags where we could put our sleeping bags and then take out the air so they didn't take so much space. But the easiest way is if there is a vaccum cleaner to suck out the air with, so I went to the office and told the story about the bags and asked if they had a vaccum cleaner we could borrow. They didn't, but they had a broom???!! Hahaha...yes, I think I can suck out the air with it ;) We rolled out the air instead.
Tomorrow we are going to San Francisco and our trip is going to a end. It doesn't feel like we already been away for over a week and that we have done so much!

Miss U all!
Love Sandra

San Luis

Today (1 September) I woke up after a good night sleep in a nice, soft bed!! I had a wonderful breakfast at the motel, Kadda wanted to sleep instead so she missed it. They had everything U could want for breakfast. Cereals, yogurt, bagels, waffles, eggs, fruit etc...it was jummy!

I took a shower and then we packed up and checked out to continue our journey north. Our next goal was San Luis but first we put some gas in the car and went up the city's court house from where we had a great view over the city. By the way, I rock at parallel parking ;) I've done it a lot this far and they are almost in the same class as M's ;) Anyway, the view was great from the clock tower and it was surprising how big the city was. We couldn't see the ocean cause it was too foggy. It was sun and clear in all directions but when U looked towards the water there was this fog rolling in over the shore...like "The Mist" ;)

We drove to San Luis where they had a outlet mall ;) I didn't have any plans of buying anything cause I have a money situation now so I need to think twice before I buy anything, but U can always look!

We thought here would be a Abercrombie & Fitch outlet but apparently we had seen wrong cause here was nothing! We were a bit disappointed but we found some stuff anyway. There was a great sale at Tommy Hilfiger so I got a new bikini, which I needed, for only $6!! I also bought two t-shirts at VANS where they had bye one and get one for free so I think it was OK, or? ;)

When we were done, we went to VONS (Safeway, just another name) and bought some stuff for our camping tonight and then went to the campground we looked up. Of course they only took cash there so we needed to drive back to the center to get money but then we could check in and put up the tent, this time in daylight ;)

It was a nice campground called Oceano Camping which was just behind the sand dunes to the ocean.

I bought fire woods and then we started the fire. We felt like real campers and were so proud when we got the fire going ;)

I went to check the surroundings and next to us was a river or a lake (didn't see the end ;)) and it looked like a real swamp in Brazil or sth, I was expecting a crocodile to jump up and eat me ;)

I grilled hot dogs over the fire and then we both did corn which were hard to get out of the fire pitch but so good! I tried Nutella on it and I'll tell U this, Nutella goes with everything ;)

Kadda tried to make a oven baked potato by wrapping a potato with a chips bag...donno if t was a success ;)

Of course we did smores also but with LU crackers and Lindt chocolate so a bit fancier than usual.

It was nice and really cozy but when it got dark we didn't have anything to do so we went to bed....at 8 pm!!

When I got back from brushing my teeth there was a deer family walking bye just outside our site. I watched them for a while before they were all gone and they didn't seem scared at all. Maybe they are used to be around people.

I noticed another thing I forgot today...my shampoo, conditioner and soap that I bought new in Santa Monice...AArrrgghh...I'm so mad at myself right now. I mean, it's not a big deal to buy new stuff again but it's the principle....why can't I just look after my things?

Today I also got a email from the ski resort I applied for and they want me to come on a interview the day after I'm back in Sweden. I'm so excited cause this is the first thing that responded my applications for work so I've send a email to my parents to see if they are up to driving back to Gothenburg the day after they pick me up there ;) But I also send a email to McDonald's so we'll see what they'll say.

Miss U all!

Love Sandra