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Published: June 10th 2009
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Its been rather liberating to be out of touch for a while - although it was slightly scary to discover how reliant one becomes on modern technology. I've logged on to lots of lovely messages from friends and I'm desperate to reply to all straight away but first things first - the blog. Road trip details to follow shortly, but first, San Francisco!
The train ride - I was all set for 11 hours from Los Angeles, and even though we were 50 mins late leaving, it was all good - big comfy seats, lots of leg room, the waitress from the parlour car announcing she did "bloody marys that'll knock your socks off".
There was even a wine tasting of some Californian wines. I also got chatting to a girl from San Francisco who promised to meet up and show me some local life.
Then, somewhere outside of San Jose, the train stopped rather suddenly - we'd hit a truck! Thankfully he was fine; I think the train clipped the back, but still there was debris all over the track and we were stuck for another 3 hours, waiting for all the necessary people to check out the scene.
Naughty Marietta
At the Museum Mechanique Finally we rolled into San Francisco around 1.30am (having left the hostel in LA before 7 the previous morning).
Whilst on the train, mum had called to tell me my Yosemite trip had been cancelled - this was a shame, but actually I was quite glad to have the chance to stay put for a few days and get to know San Francisco.
SO. Highlights were as follows:
The Museum Mechanique, near Fisherman's Wharf - a collection of old arcade games from the last 70 odd years; ranging from pacman to strong-arm men, to mysterious ladies who could tell your fortune. Really fun and very interesting.
Sweet Antiques in Nob Hill - a bakery (cheap and tasty) which was also a lovely antique shop.
Also liked Out of the Closet - a suitably named charity shop in the area.
Grace Cathedral - arrived just as evensong was started. so I hung around. A really impressive cathedral choir - probably putting on a good show because there was an inauguration taking place, but still.
Drinks in the Mission district with Nancy, the girl from the train. Really much like a slightly dodgy part of London with some funky bars -
My future career
Seamstress according to this machine and on the way back home, there was a crowd sitting outside the BART (tube) station - turns out people do stand-up comedy there every Thursday night. This stuff just sort of happens in San Francisco.
Alcatraz - had to be done really, and it was actually very well done (an audio tour takes you around the prison, with commentaries from ex-wardens and prisoners, along with suitably atmospheric sound effects. It must have been hard to see and hear the sounds of freedom so close if you were locked up on the island.
Art galleries - actually mainly looked at the book shops (I find this almost as satisfying as seeing the museum itself!) - but I did enjoy the Catherine Clark gallery - a showcase for new artists.
The Haight - the centre of peace and love and flower power when that was all happening - and you can still see it in evidence. I heard a man on the street say "Love will save your soul" and then less than 30 seconds later someone walked past me saying "You have to learn to love yourself before you can really love others." Man. There's an eclectic range of shops
too as my photos will hopefully show.
Sunday morning at the Glide Memorial Methodist Church - just that morning I read a newspaper article on the hostel wall and thought I'd try it out. What an experience. Hand-holding, embracing your neighbours, celebrating a baptism, ushers handing out tissues - but it was proper full-on gospel singing by a great choir, with a very tight band. And if you couldn't be there in person there was a man filming it for the live webcast.
The sermon was a bit long (aren't they all) and I stuck around hoping there would be more music at the end - unfortunately not, only a communal rendition of "We shall overcome". Great experience though.
Castro district - very colourful, out and proud. It was there I saw my second specialist dog grooming supplies shop in as many days. I had a wonderful brownie, cup of tea and read the Sunday New York Times in a diner, then went to see the film "Milk" (If you don't know, its about Harvey Milk, a gay politician who lived in the Castro district and was eventually shot by a colleague at City Hall). It was fun to see
Sweet Antiques
Great shop in Nob Hill, San Francisco the film in the area where much of it was set. A great day to finish off a really fun week in San Francisco. The only negative I really saw in the place was the huge homeless problem they have, and don't seem to be doing much about.
New Mexico, here I come....
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jwilson
non-member comment
Seamstress. That would be good. Pigs might fly too. Love