If you haven’t been to the Yosemite National Park, take time out with your loved one for a day trip there! The wild beauty of the place connected with both of us immediately and the raw wilderness gives you a thrill which you will remember forever.

We took a days trip from San Francisco and whats amazing is the trips can be had for as figures as sensible as 145 US $ per head. It’s nicer going with a guide and on a conducted tour ‘cause of the vastness of the place which for a first timer, you could miss a lot. We took the one hour walking tour which was great as we both love nature trails and this gave us the chance to enjoy all the wild flowers, birds and insects we encountered along the way. And of course hold hands!

Our trip collected us from our hotel and off we went driving through the San Joaquin valley into the Sierra Nevada Range. If you go in the summer like we did you will be taken to enjoy a giant Sequoia Grove. There are three groves of these giants – Mariposa which is the most popular, and Tuolumne and Merced Groves of giant sequoias which can be reached by hiking or skiing trails. In Mariposa which is three km from the parks South Entrance, and just 1.5 km from the parking area, we admired the largest grove of these gentle giants. The Grizzly Giant is 1800 years old said the tour guide to our collective gasps and immediate rush to take pictures! It is the oldest tree in Yosemite we were told and running our hands across its girth gave us a rush of excitement imagining what the tree must have been witness to in its lifetime! In the summer for those who cannot hike there is a tram tour through the grove from May to October.

After lunch we were taken for a walk to the Yosemite Waterfall which apparently is one of the tallest in North amercia and the fifth highest in the world. But being the romantic I am, the Bridalveil falls were also included in our trip. Fed by snowmelt, the 620ft fall called Phono of spirit of the puffing wind by the Ahwahneechee Indians, the wind blows the water sideways with some force, giving the fall the appearance of a delicate brides veil being lifted. And then to sip some water and take our weight off our feet we sat for a while and watched skilled rock climbers inch up El Capitan, which is the largest monolith piece of granite in the world and just opposite Bridalveil Fall.

Then we stood hand in hand in the Yosemite Valley floor and gazed up at the spectacular rock formations visitors come around the world to see. Half Dome which rises almost 5000 feet from the valley floor literally jumped off the picture postcards sent to me by friends over the years.

And just opposite El Capitan were the Cathedral rocks and Spires. Stand in El Capitan meadow and gaze at these formations and the Three Brothers who are just east of El Capitan.

Later we went to the visitors centre to relax and grab a sandwich while we browsed through the museums. We loved the Ansel Adams Gallery the man who captured some of the most stunning pictures of Yosemite. No wonder he fell in love with the place, we did instantaneously.