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Published: November 29th 2008
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Its the 28th November, its the day after Thanksgiving, and its their version of the January sales. A guy got killed in the surge for bargins in Wallmart, Christmas carols fill the speakers of every shop street and Avenue, and theres a 7ft2' Black dude acting as security at the counter of Burger king....... I can only be in AMERICA!!
My last day in Sydney turned out to be a corker! (or "A Ripper" as Rach would say!) It was hot! We hit the beach, surfed, got the ferry into circular quay, then to Darling Harbour before having margaritas and watching the musical version of "Priscilla Queen of the Desert"!
i had not seen the film before so the whole thing was new to me and i have to say, it was superb! I was crying with laughter!
Having spent time in the bush whilst in Aus, i had encountered the characters from Broken Hill in real life and one particular scene had me crossing my legs with laughter!
It was awesome to cruise around under the harbour bridge and photograph one of the most photographed sights in the world, and this time...with the sun shining!
The next day i
flew out in the pouring rain. A 12.5 hour flight to San Francisco with the ever depressing United Airlines.
There were no screens on the back of the seats, my knees were squashed nicely up against the seat in front, and the cabin crew resembled the cast of the Rocky Horror Picture Show! The sleeping pills didn't work and the only saving grace was the fact that they played the film Mama Mia on the big TV at the front of the plane.......god i LOVE Meryl Streep!
I am staying at the Powell Hotel in down town San Francisco right in the heart of the shopping district. Opposite we have Bloomingdales, and thank heavens, a GAP store! i say thank heavens for two reasons.....one - its bloody freezing and i needed jumpers a scarf, gloves and a hat....and two - being the sales here it was "buy one get one free" on all sweaters!!! So now you know what you are all getting for christmas!
The only way to decsribe the city tonight is to compare it with New York the day before Christmas eve! For those of you that have had the pleasure of that experience you will
know what i mean when i say that although Christmas songs fill the air, there is no Christmas Spirit present in the discounted show section of Bloomingdales! Its a full scale war out there! Luckily i limited my shopping to 20 mins in GAP, loaded up with a few jumpers and skated on out as soon as i could!
Whilst sitting eating my Burger king (when in Rome!) i noticed a homeless guy sat on the pavement with a sign saying "I need a Girlfriend". This made me giggle and he certainly got noticed! Everyone walked past had a smile on their face. The sign behind him said "Broke and Hungry" so i went into the soup shop across the street and picked up a chicken soup and a bread roll and delivered it to him. He was pleased and said he hoped i came back soon! i replied with "I hope you keep making people smile".
I took a walk though the streets and soaked up the atmosphere.
Its cold, chestnuts are roasting, there is a constant "ding ding" of the tram bells and Bing Crosby seranades the crowds of bustling bargin hunters.
The Americans really do know
how to do Christmas.
Hold on....its not even December yet! I have a feeling i am going to be "Jingle belled" out by the time i get home!
The hotel is cute, its very Art Deco and reminds me of the Queens Hotel in Leeds. It has that "ive been refurbished but they've not painted over my soul" kind of feel.
I will be spending the day (tomorrow i think) in the Napa Vally on a wine tasting tour which i am looking forward to and plan on spending the other day and a half doing the usual site seeing stuff including a trip to Alcatraz. Thank you Arabella for your tips and suggestions, and to all of you for your recommendations.
I am unable to upload photos here so as soon as i can i will upload the rest of the Syndey trip and any San Fran additions.
I have no idea of the time difference here, as i have just lived the 28th Nov twice over! Ground Hog Day!
Bring on the 29th!
Lucy x
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Debs
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Miss you down here
Glad to hear you made it safe and sound albeit uncomfortably. Can't believe how much you've gotten up to on your first day. Making new friends and picking up strange men - it obviously has been a while! Have fun and look forward to your next installment. PS It is still raining here but we managed a surf for a few hours whilst the sun was out.