San Francisco

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With a feeling of anticipation we left Toowoomba on the late afternoon bus for Brisbane and a lovely Greek meal with Robyn and Sam. Great company as usual and the best way to start our trip. Next morning the early train took us to the airport and a rather uncomfortable 14 hour flight to San Francisco. The only highlights of the trip were Jerry leaving (twice!) a bag at the security check and me topping that by leaving my passport at the information counter at San Francisco airport….. After a lecture (well deserved) from the airport police upon it’s return we headed off, very tired and jet lagged, into San Francisco centre. The Hotel Vertigo and it’s hot shower were very welcome after the long flight.
That afternoon we walked into the Union Square shopping and financial area, a few blocks from the hotel. The weather was dull and grey and unfortunately the forecast was for more of the same. Visited the tourist office and got some idea of the city layout. On first impressions it was a very pretty city - not a lot of high rise buildings and all the older brick buildings were decorated with patterned embellishments around the doors and window frames. Wandered passed Macy’s, Tiffany’s and Saks Fifth Avenue - iconic brand name stores in the US. The large Border’s Bookstore on Union Square, one of the largest in America, was closing down and had large sale signs on display - the latest victim of the financial crisis here. We headed back to the hotel to rest and wait for Devin and Jane to arrive. They had spent the previous few nights further north in rainy cold Seattle.
Great to see them both!! That evening Jane had made a reservation for us all at a lovely restaurant called "The Slanted Door" in the Ferry Building. The food was wonderful, beautifully presented, very tasty, and the service was attentive. Jerry and I had only been in the city for a short time and had already been blown away by the courtesy and politeness of the American people. One week later as I write this our impression has not changed - everybody has been absolutely wonderful to deal with and service everywhere is of a very high standard. The area around the Ferry Building looked very pretty, lights sparkling in the water and the long Bay Bridge stretching into the distance. The streets here are all very wide and the waterfront esplanade (The Embaracadero) was no exception - eight rows of traffic (of which there was very little), tram lines, wide walkway around the bay and a large park opposite the terminal which sadly seemed to be the sleeping area for a large group of homeless people. We walked back through the city to the hotel after dinner, looking forward to the next day of sightseeing.
Next morning, after breakfast at the Bagel Bar on the corner, we bought 3 day travel passes and headed out on one of the historic trams which circled the city area to explore the Castro district. The tram’s final stop was under a large rainbow flag at the edge of the Castro district - it was here that saw the birth of the Gay Rights Movement in the city. The weather was decidedly chilly but we forgot about it as we wandered the neighbourhood looking at the houses. I loved them, tall thin weatherboard houses, gaily painted, many with turrets and gilt trimmings.
With Devin acting as our GPS (he has a wonderful sense of direction!) we spent the rest of the day walking, catching different buses, and just enjoying the streetscapes. We spent some time wandering around the poorer streets in the Mission district, a Latino area, looking at the many murals which were painted on the buildings. We found out later that there had been quite a nasty gun battle there the night before between two gangs, resulting in five serious injuries. The main shopping street had many dilapidated old cinemas, most with "For Sale' signs on them. We visited the Mission de los Dolores, a church which is thought to be the city’s oldest building. The graveyard was featured in Alfred Hitchcock’s film ‘Vertigo’, as was the Hotel Vertigo where we are staying. Devin and Jerry were lucky enough to spot a couple of hummingbirds mating amongst the gravestones.
We ate lunch at ‘It’s Top’s Café, stumbled upon by chance - it’s been a café on the same spot since the 1950’s and is still decorated with all the original fittings. Everybody else had the requisite burgers but I tried black eyed pea soup! Great food, atmosphere and music! Another bus took us to the Haight- Ashbury district, home of the original flower children of the 1960’s. I loved this area - it was full of fun cafes and retro shops. By now though it was raining heavily and we were all getting pretty damp. As we were close to the row of Victorian houses, known as the ‘Painted Ladies’, on Alamo Square, which are an iconic symbol of San Francisco so decided to find them before heading back to our dry warm rooms. They were pretty but really no prettier then many other similar houses we had seen that day.
That evening Devin and his soaked shoes visited the laundromat, luckily next door to the hotel, whilst the rest of us enjoyed a drink at the local bar on the corner. All followed by great pizza by the slice before heading off to bed.
Woke next morning feeling very hung over - the result of jet lag and not alcohol - a not very pleasant feeling which unfortunately lingered for a few more days. It’s the first time it has ever affected us. Bagels once again started the day and then a long walk to an Outdoor store so Devin could buy new shoes (he didn’t want another day of wet feet) before we caught one of the old wooden cable cars up and down the hills towards Fisherman’s Wharf. We stopped a couple of blocks before at Lombard Street, considered the most crooked street in the country. It was constructed originally to allow the horse drawn coaches to come down the hill from the mansion houses which abound in the area. I would hate to live there now as the traffic created by tourism would be horrendous - imagine a constant stream of cars twisting down the hill past your home. We walked down towards the bay where we had our first view of Alcatraz Island, the notorious prison which closed in 1963 and is now a premier tourist attraction in San Francisco. We walked the couple of blocks along Fisherman’s Wharf - a full on tourist mecca of souvenir shops and restaurants. We did what all good tourists do here though and enjoyed clam chowder in a bread bowl before heading off to walk the bay side path to see a view of the famous Golden Gate Bridge. It was great to see, and though cold, at least it was not foggy or wet so we were able to enjoy the view. Next we were off to see the sea lions which have made one of the piers at Fisherman’s Wharf home. They are a big draw card as the pier was very crowded. They were fun to watch. The whole area is too touristy for me though - there were just too many tour booths and souvenir shops, though some of the buskers were fun. And there were some fun guys begging - one had a sign saying he needed the money for alcohol research and another held a sign saying ‘that he was being honest - he just needed more weed!’
After deciding that we really didn’t want to queue to catch a tram back up the hills - the queues were ridiculously long - we started trudging back up the slopes towards the city centre. After reviving with an icecream Devin and Jane left to spend some time alone and Jerry and I headed off by cable car ((it’s easier to catch them away from the starting points) to meet Ginny and Mum who had arrived in San Francisco earlier. We had all come to the US to attend Deb’s daughter Petra’s wedding which was to be held in Las Vegas later that week. It was great to see them both - we rang them from the footpath and found that we had got off the cable car coincidentally right outside the shop they were both in!
We spent the evening with Mum and Ginny and were up early next morning for a tour to Muir Woods, a national monument close to the city. The US Government refers to places of National Historic interest as monuments. We had a wonderful morning walking through the tall redwood trees with a very informative guide. It was in this park in 1945 that the Charter of the United States was signed. The trees were beautiful, all the paths were very mossy and it was very peaceful. We caught the ferry back across San Francisco Bay after the walk and it passed very close to Alcatraz Island prison - a very imposing place with a rich history that we were to visit later that evening. We arrived back at the city terminal and spent a couple of hours dodging the St Paddy’s day drinkers, strung with all manner of green decorations, and going from pub to pub. The streets around all the Irish pubs were to be closed off later that evening to allow the celebrations to overflow into them. We joined the throngs of people on the only night time tour held daily to Alacatraz. It was very cold by then but the night sky was clear so we had a fabulous view of the city lights from the island. The audio tour was very enjoyable, despite the crowds of people. It would have been a very different experience had there been nobody else on the island with us - probably very spooky ! The sound effects and histories recited on the audio tour made for an enjoyable evening, though we were all very cold by the time the ferry berthed.
Unfortunately it was raining again next morning, our last in the city, so we caught a taxi back to the Haight district to wander the shops. Found a very weird taxidermy shop where we passed a fascinating half hour. It kept raining so in the end we gave in and headed back into the city. Later that afternoon we caught the bus to Merced where we were to spend the night before catching a bus to spend 24 hours in Yosemite National Park.
We all loved San Francisco and would love to revisit one day. It is a city I could live in. We also were totally charmed by the friendly, courteous service we received every where we went. You tip here for good service and If all the courtesy we received is because of this I’m wandering whether we should introduce it in Australia.

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Photos

Jerry and I in Clarion Lane
Lovely photo compliments of Devin's camera skills

Evening view of Bay Bridge
A very long bridge over which we left San Francisco to go to Yosemite National Park.

Comments

[Roslyn Amiss]

Good to hear from you.
Many thanks for your usual great blog. I will send this onto the girls if you don't mind as Luy is really starting to think about their trip now. old and wet in HoiAn and we are being very diplomatic and sharing our love around all the restaurants - including Cafe 43....... Hope the weather improves for the wedding on Friday - but considering etting jackets made if this weather continues. Thought about you last night when we had dinner at the Indian restaurant here....... Loved the wedding video on Facebook. Regards, Ros.

[kelly]

amazing photos
looks like you're both having an amazing time, looking forward to seeing your fantastic photos and adventures love kell.. will pass it on to everyone at the bookshop