Blogs from North Beach, San Francisco, California, United States, North America - page 5

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SF is one of our favourite cities. It's where Patricia once lived for a couple of years and where we got married in 1997. It has so much to offer in terms of attractions & sights, and is such an easy place to get around. Our hotel is close to Pier 39, so we did the obligatory tour of that area and watched the seals on the pontoons. We then took the ferry to Alcatraz Island and spent a few hours taking in the history of this former military base and high-security federal prison (only closed down in 1963). We put Katrina & Jackson in the cells once occupied by Al Capone, Robert Stroud ('Birdman of Alcatraz') et al, but they managed to escape, so we had to bring them back with us! It was good ... read more
SF from Alcatraz
Golden Gate Bridge

North America » United States » California » San Francisco » North Beach September 16th 2011

So as we write this we are getting ready to leave San Francisco and make our way to LA. We’ve had a great time here it is such a beautiful city. A quick overview of what we’ve been up to below… We arrived around 6pm Sunday evening, absolutely shattered but excited! Darren didn’t make it thru the (very!!) strict security, probably more strict that usual with it being 9/11 and was sent to ‘secondary’ security where he was asked why he’d had so many passports since last time we came - was quite funny explaining he put one thru the washing machine - she didn’t look impressed! We then got on the Bart over to Powell St station, where the famous cable cars turn around - we thought people were just watching but turns out people ... read more
Golden gate bridge
Purple house = Jimi Hendrix
The ball room at the hostel


So.... the last phase of the trip is here. San Fransisco for the final 4 days. The last evening in Aukland was cool - we three went to a Korean buffet; something I haven't tried before. There was a gas ring on every table with a big pan and tinfoil - you help yourself to meat from the buffet and cook it yourselves, and eat along with some side veggies etc. The spicy pork was nice and the marinated beef, and the squid was lovely. But I wasn't brave enough to fry the ckicken gizzards or the chicken feet. But ala in all it was very tasty, even though the Korean kitchen staff all came out to watch us and found it all highly amusing! So the final morning - the 24th August, we had a ... read more


After arriving in Sydney I embarked on a mad two weeks of running around bars with Jonas getting drunk and high and looking for girls. By day we slept in the van we were despondently trying to sell. There were long stints without showers or clean clothes and we fed ourselves in the style of Remi Bonceur by “reducing our costs of living”. We parked on one street in Kings Cross with a handful of other hopefuls looking to offload their beaten hunks of rust where we very quickly got to know our neighbours – the corner shop owner who we went and had morning conversations with, some of the other backpackers and a wizened old dutch lady who shuffled up and down the road in the morning and evenings stretching her little poodle's legs while ... read more
The lucky passengers of Miss Daisy
San Francisco Wanderings
San Francisco Wanderings II


Hab mi so gefreut, dass wir in San Francisco sind und an dem Tag sogar schoenes Wetter war. Sind mit dem Trolley durch San Francisco gefahren, was total lustig is, wei Hanna des unbedingt wollte. Am anderen Ende waren wir in einem Geschaeft, in dem i die ganze Zeit an alle Textiler-Maedels gedacht hab: des haett euch gefallen!! Die Fisherman's Wharf is total schoen. Ausserdem waren wir im Aquarium und haben uns allerhand Tiere aus dem Meer angeschaut und sind durch einen Glastunnel unterm Aquarium gegangen, spektakulaer. Erstaunlicherweise war da ein kleines Schild auf dem steht, dass man die Umwelt nicht verschmutzen soll. Die Heimfahrt hat si dafuer gezogen.... read more


Sind an dem Tag ganz bald in der Frueh nach San Francisco gefahren, was ewig gedauert hat. Als wir endlich bei der Golden Gate Bridge angekommen sind, war alles in Nebel gehuellt und ziemlich kalt. Das sagt einem nie wer ueber San Francisco, dass es meistens eher kalt is... Aba es is total schoen. Nachdem wir zum Teil ueber die Golden Gate Bridge gegangen sind, haben wir beschlossen, dass wir eine Tour in einem Tourbus durch San Francisco machen. Die Tourfuehrerin war total nett und lustig und hat uns lauter Geschichten erzaehlt. Zum Beispiel, dass die Frauen am Dach des Museums weinen, weil es in San Francisco (zu der Zeit) keine ordentliche Kunstszene gab. Dann sind wir durch die Lombard Street gefahren, auf die alle Kalifornier so stolz sind, weil nicht gerade is, sondern in Serpentinen. ... read more


De Albuquerquanen weten duidelijk hoe te feesten. Op aanraden van Cabbie/Maestro Dave belandden we in Burt’s Tiki Lounge, een fancy studentenbar, waar we de eersten binnen en de laatsten buiten waren. Na wat 75-cent biertjes en gayed-up drankjes (Lange again) werden de tongen losser en werden er typische Belgische dansmoves uit de kast gehaald. Met succes. Opeens werd het surreële gehalte van de avond de hoogte ingestuurd toen de bende wat ‘klasse’dames aangeboden werd door de kleinste pimp in de USA. Fin du soirée top en op naar Flagstaff. Na een dagje cruisen door de woestijn met een ongeplande stop in Petrified Forest National Park (zie foto’s) kwamen we laat aan in Flagstaff en werd er een nieuw kaartspel ontworpen. De aanvraag bij het patentenbureau voor ‘Spanish Mind’ is al ingediend. De volgende dag stond er ... read more
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Our first full day in San Francisco was tremendous! This is a city like no other and is one of my absolute favorites. Between the bustling streets, fantastic food and drink and lot's to do and see, our time here is speeding by. I can see why so many song writers have had this city in mind - Chris Isaak, Otis Redding and let's never forget that the one, the only Tony Bennett left his heart here. I can totally see why. We awoke early and enjoyed fresh tomato juice and coffee in our room. Decided quickly to shower up and head to the California Academy of Sciences. One egregious oversight on my part - Jim HATES riding on public buses. Hates - couldn't be more clear. I kept thinking that we would avoid a hefty ... read more
The Rainforest


We arrived in San Francisco, the city on the bay after a 6 hour drive. The drive was beautiful, through agricultural communities that grow vast quantities of produce. Only ran into traffic at the very end as we entered the city, but even that wasn’t too bad – we got very lucky for a Friday afternoon. The Omni hotel chain is now officially my favorite. We’ve stayed first in New Orleans and on this trip in San Francisco and the stay, service and staff are top notch. Knowing that some of our nights in small town Oregon won’t afford rooms like these, we splurged on a suite on the 17th floor with arched windows that look out onto much taller high rises with architectural features that are unparalleled. We got settled and had a knock on ... read more
Our San Francisco View
Bartender at Buena Vista
Me & my Irish Coffee


Back at the hotel now recovering from all the hills!! I have a night tour of Alcatraz later so i dont want to be tired for it. I started off in Union sq which is full of shops such as Macys, Gucci, Neiman Marcus etc and also cheaper places like H&M, Forever 21 etc. The shops dont open til 10am so after sitting with my breakfast(a chocolate muffin and a orange juice) I decided id save the shops for tomorrow. Its very hot today, i had just my vest on with a cardi and had to take that off it got too hot(though i had to be ocd with the factor 30!!) So i figured i would walk to Lombard(the crooked street) and go to Colt Tower. Now As you walk through Union you enter Chinatown, ... read more
Lombard st
Presents for Freddy
Big Gulp




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