From east to west in five easy hours! After a minor communications mix-up ("See you at the airport!" isn't perhaps the best thing to say) I met up with Iain and we headed into central San Francisco on the shuttle. My fantastic sense of direction sent us to the wrong H.I. hostel so we had to leg it through the perpetually dodgy Tenderloin district to where we were actually supposed to be staying. Isn't it really annoying to read in all the guide books after the fact that the area you're staying in is the one to be avoided at all costs? In the immortal words of Aerosmith, we were living on the edge! All part of the fun I assure you.
The next week was, again, a complete whirlwind of people, places and events. We chowed down big-style on major American portions and shopped a fair amount across the city itself (A&F anyone?). I celebrated my 28th birthday with some fantastic Japanese nosh at the stylish and delicious Ozumo, down by the waterfront. Best ... tuna ... ever. We managed to burn ourselves horribly (me moreso, of course) crossing the Golden Gate Bridge and back ... but the spectacular, fog-free views right across the Bay were absolutely amazing. The Pride weekend celebrations were a lot of fun too - big long gaps in the parade but a lot of interesting floats on display - what I took to be an SPCA-type trailer may in fact have been, on reflection, very much into promoting the "furry" lifestyle choice. Or both? Who knows? That's the beauty of the whole thing after all. Following our more-or-less successful dodging of the sun for the better part of the afternoon, we took off to the Civic Centre for the after-party - searing heat, expensive beer, smoky barbeques, dodgy line-dancing and nearly naked folk of all descriptions ... may the good Lord bless diversity, I say!
The obligatory trip to the Castro was also dispatched with ease (and some fine wining and dining, of course) and to round it all off, we took a trip out Angel Island and Alcatraz: very interesting insights into immigration and incarceration respectively. So ... a lot of walking, a lot of eating, a fair amount of boozing, a good whack at the shops, a dose of hill-walking, many many good laughs and a liberal amount of Californian sun/fog/sun saw us fall in love with the city - thanks Iain for ensuring the "never without a friendly face nearby" plan for North America continued without a hitch!
‹ 9.9.02
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