San Francisco Day 1

After a massive night it was extremely hard work getting going. We were heading up to San Fran today (only a 45 minute drive) but I was just in a bad way. After several ordinary coffees my head was almost right so we took off at around 9.30 - which was pretty much what we had intended anyway.

We rejoined the 101 - good to be back on a familiar road - soon we saw our first signs of one of the more unique cities in the world. Americans seemed to embrace the challenge of building cities in places where cities should not be built, and San Fran typifies this ideology. I thought the Greeks built the City of Atlantis, but it would not suprise me one bit if America had some secret under water city they were construcing.

The first signs of San Fran wer some brightly coloured houses that were plonked on the side of a really steep hill. These bildings were really brightly coloured. Pinks, yellows (well not bright - but pastel versions of these colours).

We drove past San Fran nternational airport, and started driving up some really gnarly roads. The Freeway at some points saw us driving on some massive gradients which made me think 2 things - 1) we are approaching the city and 2) if the freeway takes us up these hills then there must be limited options and therefore the place is as hilly as they say it is.

We also drove past Candlestick Park home of the 49ers (which was a fair way out of the coty actually) . Sherry was doing well - I believe this is where she first started driving in the States - the first leg of her infamous SanFran to Santa Barbara drive with her Mum. We were ehading to the Golden Gate Bridge first off - and the drive required heading right through the city. Sherry pointed out at one point that this street is the widest street in San Francisco. She also talked about the fires and that how this street was the cut off point - everything to the right of here burned in the San Fran fires which pretty much burnt the entire city to the ground.

Seeing the Golden Gate Bridge was cool. We saw it from the car from a fair distance away but also managed to stop at a vista point right before you go across it. From this viewpoint you could see Alcatraz and look back over the city. There were heaps of cyclists and joggers going along the path which went under the bridge and all the way down towards the beaches on the west side of the bridge.

We then jumped in the car and travelled voer he bridge and also had a quick peak from the view point on the other side of the bridge. Here we ran into more Austrlians (from Port Adelaide - Groan). We then headed through a pretty gay tunnel before turning around eventually and heading back towards the Presidio area (really nice houses that once housed army personnel at the time of the civil war but now are home to the upper class. We also checked out the bridge from a beach down on the west side. Pretty nice area.

We then drove back into the city keen for a Yum Cha. Janet's partner had suggested a place - apparantly right near a Wok shop. So we drove through Little Italy - signified by green, white and red markings on the light poles. Finding a park was a pain in the bum. We circled round numerous times before finally grabbing a park at a garage.

Yum Cha was awesome - even Sherry could eat dishes here - unlike at Dragonboat and the one in Narre Warren which seem to serve predominantly seafood. The price was reasonable too and we did not have to wait at all for a seat - strange considering how good it was.

We then walked thruogh Chinatown which was fantastic. Definitely one of the highlights of my time in America. San Fran's Chinatown is the biggest Chinatown outside of China. When you are walking aound the streets it really feels as though you are in a different country. We went looking for a temple and saw that it was on the third storey of a building. We climbed the stairs and it felt like we were walking up the sairs of some apartment building. It felt as though we were being envasive. On one floor we could here some ancient Chinese singing going on. At the top there was insense going, lots of statues - and we felt as though we were somewhere we should not be.

We didnt stay long and kept walking to a Fortune Cookie Shop. It was like a small Chinese factory shop. We walked in and were greeted by an old man. We bought some cookies and he gave us both some unfolded cookie shells. When he gave them to me and he looked at me and said "Good luck Boy!" Pretty special moment for some reason.

We then looked in some tourists shops, Sherry was fascinated by a shop that contained heaps of dried delicaciessuch as Shark Fins, mushrooms etc. They had heaps - all just spot on in terms of authenticity.

After having a bit of a browse we walked back to the car - through a Park which seemed lke a meeting hub for the Chinese. There was a band playing, people doing yoga or praying or whatever on the grass, and lots of old men playing a variety of board, mahjong or card games. Chinatown was just amazing.

We then got in the car and had a bit more of a drive around - eventually going up Nob Hil and driving down the steepest street in the world. It was that steep that it had to wind down the road. It was a real tourist trap as there was a queue to drive down it. You would hate to live there - it would really annoy you having to way for tourists to drive down your street.

It was now mid afternoon and we thought we'd check into the hotel - so we headed down to the harbour. Our room was right near here. After checking in Sherry had a snooze for a few hours. I can't remember what I watched or what i did, I know I had the computer going as I can reme\mber the power cable doubling as a trip wire acorss the front of the bed. Oh thats right - on TV there was some show with girls who had trouble finding partners - so a guy was giving them advice on how to act and behave. The girls did not take his advice well at all. Pretty crazy to watch.

When Sherry woke up we headed down to the harbour (whatever its called) but instead of getting seafood we ate at Johhny Rockets. Sherry really liked this so that was good. We then rang up a tour that I found on line - a Vampire Tour! No not a tour of vampires but a historical tour of the city at night hosted by a vampire. To get there we needed to catch a trolley up right into downtown. At first we walked the wrong way - but evenutally foudn our way to the trolley stop. It's just crazy being on these going up the streets. Its jsut hard to fathom that they decided to build a city here. The intersections are flat - so you are on a 25 degree slope, then flat for a few seconds, and then on another massive hill. Unfortuntely the trolley only went half the way so we decided to walk the rest of the way to the meeting point for the tour. God the hill we walked up was insane.

We were there way too early so walked down the street to a bar. What a dive - Sherry hated everything about it. It was possibly the crappest bar on the West Coast. Itwas like the bar maid was trying to keep people out with her crappy selection of metal music, the volume at which it was played, and her attititude towards all customers excluding her friend who was sitting at the bar. The only reason we stopped there for a drink was so that we could go to the toilet.

The tour itself was kind of okay. So much talking. Hard to concentrate on it all. Some of the stuff she talked about was pretty lame - particularly her explanation of standard vampier ethos. But we did here some good stories - even one part twice as she seemed to get herself in a loop at one point.

After the tour was over we headed back down to the harbour. But there was no sign of a trolley anywhere. At first i said we should wait - and after waiting for 15 minutes we started walking. How frustrating. We walked the whole way and just as we got to the end the trolley pulled up. Uggh!

I then ate the worst clam chowder ever. It was like eating snot. A sad day considering Fisherman's Wharf was meant to have the best seafood in America. I did get there at around midnight when all the food had probably been there for 7 hours. Yuck - I still shudder when I think of the taste. Anyway, bed time, Alcatraz awaits us tomorrow.