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Published: July 11th 2011
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The Hills
Walking was tough with the infamous hills...but to save money and keep fit we walked everywhere... Not really sure where to start, as we did so much and stayed for a long time in our terms; we got quite settled in the bed bug ridden minging hostel we were in for 9 days! Slight exaggeration as we got moved when I found the bugs although they put friends we met in the same room without sorting the problem out. Anyway less of that and more about San Francisco; We were excited about seeing this place; Liberalism, freedom of speech, quirky people, cool coffee shops and lots of homelessness was what we expected and we got this and a lot more thrown in. Initially, we thought the people we were encountering were a bit bolshy and rude, but after talking with a guy who had lived in San Francisco, our opinion quickly changed, and we realised that actually we had become accustomed to people being friendly to us because we are tourists whereas here, you are less noticeable and just fit in.
I’d like to say we spent all our days doing all kinds of cultural things but in reality half of them were spent hungover and in the hostel and the other half doing the highlights.
China Town
SF has the largest Chinese population outside of China...apparently? One of the main highlights was the Filmore Jazz festival ; it was a free street festival with loads of food and craft stalls, and 3 stages of really good artists; our particular favourites being the Nigerian Brothers and California Honeydrops. There was a great atmosphere and loads of people; the sun was shining and we had a few beers and watched the lindy hop and blues dancers who were amazing.
We spent our 7 year anniversary doing a walk from the guidebook around Chinatown and other areas; stopping at a really cool coffee shop for a cup of tea and cake (very English) along the way. In the evening we intended to have a typical American dinner at Lori’s Diner but we only made it to the bar and ended up drinking instead of eating, joined by an Ozzy guy and then later an American guy who reminded us of Jim; very romantic!
Another day we walked to the beautiful Golden Gate Park where we had a picnic in the Aids memorial gardens which were really peaceful. On the way back we walked via Haight Street which was really cool; lots of lovely shops that we couldn’t
Where are we?
China or USA? It was good to walk down these street as it took us back to the beginning of the trip in China. afford to buy anything in but it was still fun. We spent Independence Day at Fishermans Wharf; we saw views of Alcatraz from here; we celebrated with a couple from Belfast; Lara and Stuart (who was a Scot but sounded Irish), another guy Scott from Wisconsin and a couple of girls from York and Nottingham met us later on. We wer¬¬e a bit merry by the end of the night, but again there was a great atmosphere; live music, lots of people and fireworks (we took lots of video footage but lost it – boo hoo); a great day.
On Jane’s birthday, (Happy birthday and welcome to the 30’s club) we left San Fran, visiting Golden Gate Bridge on our way out. Initially we were highly disappointed as it was so foggy; but there was a bit of light at the end of the bridge as the fog settled slightly giving us a lovely view as we crossed, so it wasn’t all that bad after all.
So to sum up; a vibrant and cool city with lots to do, with a dark and edgy side too; the amount of homelessness and people with drug, alcohol and mental health
Graffiti
Loved the verse; these were on the walking tour we did they were really good. issues was astounding. I wondered what was being done to assist or support them or if they wanted any support at all, as there seemed to be quite a community going on between them, which maybe some of them felt comfortable in. I have to say that we never felt intimidated or threatened which other tourists mentioned feeling; in fact when we asked some of them for directions and help they were more than happy to help us. I don’t really know what I am trying to say and hope you get the gist, but I couldn’t write about San Francisco without mentioning this aspect as it is such a huge part of the city; that in our opinion adds to it rather than degrades it like some people we spoke to seemed to think.
San Francisco we will see you again in 4 weeks when we drop the car off, we can’t wait!!
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