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Published: August 15th 2008
So my next stop on my little states tour was to be San francisco however the airlines had other ideas.....Flight from vegas was swift landing in the smallest airport i've ever seen (longbeach LA) baggage claim was even outside. So passed security waiting patiently for my next flight when time approached my flight was not on board after speaking to someone it turns out the flight had been cancelled completely no flights til next day....great..... Not to worry a friendly lil clerk arranged a complimentary hotel cab rides etc so i lost one day travelling but at least i got it all for free......
Next day much better arrived and got nice easy flight. Grabbed a shuttle bus (me being the only one in it) turns out guy had lived in England 12 years and worked in Tesco - can't escape them! Driving across the main bridge saw that postcard view of the city with the fog rolling through the golden gate bridge - Very impressive and i liked the place already.
Got dropped off right outside the door and headed up the 4 flights of stairs which was a nice lil workout! Not really knowing what to do i dumped my bag and set off for a wander. Found a free map along the way which made things easier as you all know my sense of direction is appalling! Soon came across the waterfront and walked and walked and walked ....I kinda felt like forrest gump only in slow motion even more so when i saw the Bubba Gump shrimp place! The piers were very nice with loads of shops and restaurants etc..... on the end of one pier i could see Alcatraz which seemed much smaller than i had imagined! Tried out a Mcdonalds which was very good and whilst looking at the menu noticed some strange stuff! Small coke $1.10 Large coke $1.00 I was like why is the large cheaper he was like errr i dunno ...do people actually buy the small ones? yeah ....ridiculous.... Also apple pie is $1.07 yet if you buy 2 its $1 so cheaper to buy 2 and throw one away!!!!! craziness!!!
Anywho after 4 hours walking i thought i'd best head back to my hostel (if I could remember where it was) Made a quick stop at a supermarket to buy my delicious dinner of soup and a pint of corona....Getting ID'd in the process!!!!..... Soon found my way back to the hostel and wondered how i was supposed to get changed as not one dorm had a door just big archways!!! Very cosy! Ended up chattinmg to a couple english girls (one of which had claim to fame of teaching Jeremy Kyle's daughter!) Also an Aussie guy that shared his whisky with me straight from the bottle....turns out this was a requirment as there was a REALLY annoying English guy who loved sound of his own (nasal) voice in the end i just gave up and exchanged glances with the English girls.....Eventually once he'd shut up I told a story of meeting a guy travelling who wouldn't shut up and loved sound of his own voice .... everyone agreed very loudly that this was sooooooooo annoying .....however he didn't get the hit and carried on regardless!
Next day I had to leave to go to another hostel as everything seems fully booked. I was pre-warned that apparently street that my new hostel was on was a bit dodgy..... come on now i've survived Brazil and Cambodia how bad can it be......... 3 Blocks onto my street everything started to get a little quite .....4th block and suddenly shed loads of zombie like characters appeared....Crack whores....Homeless.....Gangster looking guys wearing full on north face gear in blazing sun..... Weirdo's muttering to themselves....... So hear I am a white guy on his own fully laden with all my gear trudging up the street averting my eyes from anyone else! I thought skydiving was an adrenalin rush this was much better.............. 5 blocks later with no incidents I arrived at my very nice looking hostel. When I told reception i'd just walked they looked at me as if I was mad!
Headed back out again walking some of the many stupidly steep hills seeing the cool old fashioned trams with people hanging off each side.... Strolled through Chinatown where I eventually met up with the piers again. Booking myself on the next hour cruise to go around alcatraz and under the Golden Gate bridge..... The cruise was corny as hell with some very bad pre-taped narrative. That aside the bridge was pretty impressive with no fog so got a real good view, on the way back taking a close up look of Alcatraz which still looks pretty scary today.....
Having spent a couple of intense days wandering around the city I decided to have a chill one. Headed to the local laundrette, it was just like in 40days 40nights just take away the gorgeous girl and replace with wannabe gangsters (no that does not include me!) With my washing all rosy I headed to a dingy little barber shop (thats hairdressers to you at home) Had a good number 2 shave and even finished it off with a cut-throat tidying it up very impressive..... Seeing as everything is so cheap I grabbed a footlong subway for a mere $5 and then in preperation for getting myself in shape bought some new training gear!
After a much needed power nap decided to go on a 3-D movie night that is on every thursday where all the locals go. Had to trek to another hostel to meet up with them. We all set off grabbing the tube to a place called Mission..... Upon arrival grabbed a blanket and sat don with our pre-bought beers and shared some cheese and crackers.... Donned our 3-D glasses ready to watch Jaws, however being so far back could harldy see it let alone in 3-D or hear it. Instead me and two brittish guys (Ben & Pete) Started chatting to a goup of American girls next to us..... Basically offending them taking piss out of their food etc etc it went down quite well.......
After the the film it became apparent that the lady from hostel that brought us here was to leave us here and let us find our own way home!!!! Advising us to stay off a certain street as it was quite bad (though apparently nowhere near as bad as my street!) We found a tiny bar/club and after all getting ID'd grabbed a bottle beer and tried to blend in......I kinda managed it wearing baggy black trousers and 2 hoodies. Tho Ben being 6ft3 white wearing flip-flops and shorts and Pete with his bright ginger hair had more trouble blending in. Ben cracked me up as evrytime he asked for something or directions he converted from his very English bristol accent to some strange East London "sup blood" Ali-G type thing!!
Grabbed the tube back to downtown and set off in search for another beer. Not wanting a cheesy sports bar we carried on with our search. When i mentioned that there were a few strip clubs near my way we all decided it'd be a god idea to go! $25 entry no minimum drinks but as it was full nudity there was no alcohol served... obviously being 3 English guys we waved goodbye and set off in search of beer.
Found a small bar which looked pretty chic and headed in.... ASking for cheep lager but not stella we each held a pint of unspecific which kinda tasted like biscuits dipped in coffee...in other words it tasted like crap....Sitting down next to 6 guys 4 of whom looked like Mafia types from goodfellas. They seemed to like the brits and soon were serving us shots of there $200 bottle of vodka! When asked what they do for living they replied we rob and steal whatevers neccessary and also run a bookies! Quick check to find our wallets and cameras still intact! Had a very funny night with them all gulping down 4/5 free shots.
Parting ways the 2 lads I met set off for there nice street whilst I had to walk through ghetto ville at 2am in the morning. Pulling both my hoods up i was on a mission and thankfully i made it home without incident!!
San Fran was an awesome city absolutely loved it....next stop Hollywood...............
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Pa
non-member comment
Bravery award.....
Hi Greg you should get a bravery award. I wouldn't want to walk through an area like that in daylight let alone at 2 in the morning! Counting down the days until Saturday...............Pa xx