San Francisco
Trip Start
Mar 27, 2008
1
17
42
Trip End
Jun 30, 2008
San Francisco,
California,
United States
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
For a city of less than 1 million people San Francisco has always punched above its weight. It was a very influential place for me during my formative years. Not only musically (Jerry Garcia and Carlos Santana both come from here), but culturally (Mark Twain, Jack London, and Jack Kerouac were all residents), and politically (ranging from the bizarre like Timothy Leary, the very bizarre like Patty Hearst and the Symbionese Liberation Army, to the completely bizarre like Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters - complete with Wavy Gravy ).
In some ways there's no need to come here at all, because you've already seen it all, on TV and at the cinema. Cable cars, the Golden Gate bridge, the Transamerica pyramid, and Alcatraz
Skyline from Russian Hill
. Icons in an iconic city. And then of course there are the hills. Remember Steve McQueen in Bullit? Here's a reminder: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-7IEPTAoTgEven though that was filmed 40 years ago, a lot of the views in San Francisco are exactly the same (watching that again, I found myself thinking "Oh yes, I know where that was filmed, and that bit, and that.............)
The city is laid out in a grid, superimposed on a very hilly area, and showing no regard whatsoever for the contours - and some hills are so steep that your feet slide to the back of your shoes when you walk up them. This gives San Francisco a character all of its own (although the city planners did exactly the same thing in the centre of Glasgow - and it works there too).
I intended to do all sorts of things here, like a day trip to Yosemite and a tour round Alcatraz. What I've ended up doing is walking the streets all day long, hills and all. San Francisco is a fantastic city to wander round, user-friendly and easy to negotiate. I've used up some serious shoe leather here.
One thing I did manage to do when I wasn't walking was to hire a bike. I cycled over the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito on the other side of the bay, then caught a ferry back. Highly recommended, and an unforgettable day out
The Golden Gate
.The weather has been a surprise though. It's sunny every day, but there has been a viciously cold wind, and it's freezing. I know that Northern California isn't particularly hot at this time of year, but I didn't expect it to be as cold as this. When the wind finally drops though, it's lovely.
In some of my earlier posts, you may have detected a tad of antipathy towards the US and its citizens - not here though. The San Franciscans have been tremendous: friendly, polite, helpful, and good to chat to (and they chat a lot). Cars stop to let you cross the street. From Cow Hollow to Nob Hill, they are the perfect hosts in a perfect city.
The food has improved immensely as well. Double Elvis-burger (with extra bacon) is no longer the default meal as it was in Venzuela and Puerto Rico, although I'm sure you could find one here if you wanted. San Francisco is a foody's paradise, and I've already eaten Vietnamese, Japanese, Thai and Afghani food here. The main difficulty now is that there's too much choice.
Tomorrow I fly to Tokyo, and hopefully meet up with Mary there. If we miss each other there's a problem, as the Tokyo/Yokohama metropolitan area has a population of about 15 Million. I'd imagine it's fairly easy to get lost. This could also be the last update for a while, as I have absolutely no idea what the Internet Cafe situation is in Japan. I've got a feeling that life is about to become a bit more interesting.......
This will also be my last long haul flight of this trip - Sayonara!!
