Entrepreneurial Bums

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Jo dragged my ass out of bed at 0830 (NB I am writing this bit a few days later in a bar in San Francisco and she dictated that last bit to me). We cabbed to Las Vegas airport and caught our America West flight to San Francisco, arriving at 1310. San Franciscos public transport system (BART) is amongst the best anywhere in the world and we were at Powell & Market in no time at all.

My previous memories of San Francisco flooded back as we were met by a homeless guy offering directions to our hotel. This is unfortunately commonplace in San Francisco but these guys are always making the effort and are without doubt the most entrepreneurial bums anywhere. He was a nice enough bloke and he knew where we were going so we handed over a few bucks for his efforts. With our not insignificant backpacks in place we climbed up the very steep street and were relieved to be at the hotel within 15 minutes.

We checked in at Hotel Des Arts and took the rickety elevator (one of the old ones with the door that you open yourself) to the 5th floor. The room had murals painted all over it and was actually quite cosy. Lunch was at a small restaurant in Chinatown - just across from the Hotel, then we walked back down to Powell/Market to buy a 7 day MUNI pass that could be used for buses, trains and trams. We caught the tram to the Fisherman’s Wharf area and had a ‘familiarisation walk’ around Pier 39. Then it was back home on the tram for an early night.

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