San Francisco - Part 2
Trip Start
Dec 26, 2008
1
2
13
Trip End
Jul 17, 2009
San Francisco,
California,
United States
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
So we left you last time on New Years Eve morning.... here's what we've been up to since...
After arriving back in the city in the afternoon another jet lag episode kicked us in the head so we tried to take a power nap before getting on the sauce :-) After 40 minutes of thrashing around we gave in and got up to make a plan. We'd each brought a party dress for New Year but after speaking to our flatmate Leah we discovered that the only places to warrant getting so dolled up for were $150 a ticket organised parties; so with that in mind we headed out in our backpacking clobber to the "dive bars" of San Francisco!
We entered the North Beach area and with the echoes of our Mum's voice ringing in our heads we attempted to find a grazing spot before starting on the beers. Lastminute.com as usual... we should have booked a table - everywhere was packed so we ended up in a slicery watching New York count down on the big screen (they are a few hours ahead). Faces fed we hit the bars. A few vodys later we met some cool people and after a natter and a boogie we all decided to get some tinnies and go watch the fireworks down at the Embarcadero. A few controversial hill climbs and we found ourselves in the midst of thousands of people. Unwilling to settle for a crap view we jumped a fence, ran down a pier and hit the jackpot - an exclusive spot to watch the fireworks. The display was amazing and so too was the view of many fancy yachts that had moored in the bay for the celebrations. Back to the bars we went for a few cocktails and a bop. Much to our disappointment everywhere in San Fran stops serving alcohol at 2am (even on New Year... gash!!) Thankfully plan B came into play and we ended up back at a party in a nice part of town. When the booze ran out we found shelter in Mel's Diner where we ate pancakes at 5.30am along with many other party people and a few "nutjobs" for comedy value!
Needless to say we didn't see much of New Years Day but later on in the evening Leah and a bunch of her buddies came back to the flat so we got up to join in the fun. Met our other roomy Antonette too. Soph was feeling a bit grumpy so she headed back to bed in her usual fashion..... requiring 24 hours kip after a sesh :-) Me being me however couldn't turn down a party invitation so got amongst the mayhem! Good times had by all.
On Friday the weather was bleak so we hid in the flat and organised our trip to LA. OMG!!!.... $220 to hire a car for 2 days on a one way trip!! Seems a lot but from what we've heard the Pacific Coast route will be well worth it.... subject to mastering driving on the wrong side of the road / car.... Soph is a little concerned about letting me loose behind the wheel.... duno what she's on about.... I'm a good driver!!
Later we walked round Union Square and grabbed a $5 footlong at Subway.... woohoo cheap scoff!! Soph chucked a bit of a wobbler and decided she hated America cause everyone's skinny. It's hardly surprising she was feeling a bit sensitive after 2 days cooped up in the flat watching advert upon advert on weight loss pills and diet programs... and if it's not blooming weight loss remedies, it's anti-depressants. TV is banned!!!
Saturday arrived with the sun shining brightly once more hurray! Think we had been experiencing some seasonal depression symptoms due to lack of sunlight for 2 days. As soon as we stepped out the door, Soph's dimples re-appeared YAY!!! We walked down to the Ferry Building through the Financial District and wandered around the Farmers Market which was pleasant. We bought our Auntie Paula a stunning Orchid and hopped on the ferry over to Larkspur where she collected us and took us to her's for our Bon Voyage party. The preparations were in order, just a few rounds of sarnies left to make, so we got stuck in. Much to our disapproval we were instructed to remove the crusts. WE HATE WASTE!!! Hence we bagged them up to feed the birds.
Auntie Paula had invited some of her friends so we opted for our New Year party frocks and put on a bit of slap. They arrived bearing gifts, which was very sweet and even though Auntie Paula had got us some wine, we were on our best behaviour - Mum don't worry we weren't drunken lushes! An array of fine foods and interesting conversations made the evening most enjoyable. Big thanks to Auntie Paula!
Auntie Paula has many friends throughout California and we were lucky enough to be invited up to Napa the next day. We travelled through the wine country and stopped off at one of the many vineyards along the way ... the scenery was beautiful ... could easily have been in England (apart from it wasn't pouring down).
After a slightly nerve-racking drive through the mountains, we arrived at Ronda & Tommy's house WOW! Never seen so many Christmas decorations. What a house ... Tommy gave us the grand tour and it was like being on MTV Cribs. Ronda served us up some Portuguese cuisine and we spent time on the deck with views over the rolling hills of Napa with a couple of glasses of local wine. What a lovely family; they sent us on our journey with a 'care package' (provisions for trip to LA).
On our way back to the city, we passed over the Bay Bridge and the whole of San Fran was illuminated - a beautiful site.
Back at the flat, Soph was ready to chill out but I had a mission in mind. Much to her objections I demanded that we walk the hills of the city to burn some cals as been eating non-stop since we got here. After about 15 mins she stopped complaining and decided to 'suck it up' as they say here and surprisingly after a 3-hour trek she was in good spirits. We both slept well that night.
Yesterday there were 'sprinkles' (drizzle back home) but nonetheless we headed down Powell for our trip to Alcatraz. It was cold and miserable but we made the most of the audio tour around the main cellhouse which was interesting and a little eerie in parts. Soph kept telling me I would end up in a place like Alcatraz if I get drunk and lairy in Thailand ha ha!! Unfortunately the weather was too bad to explore the gardens and after a couple of hours we were cold and wet so hopped back on the ferry to the mainland.
Auntie Paula picked us up and took us to Bloomingdales to thaw out before showing us the Sony Metreon which is a complex with cinemas and restaurants, etc with great views of the city skyline.
Next on the agenda was dinner with Paula's friend Linda who stayed with us in the UK. Linda had recently returned from a trip to India and was feeling a little dodgy but she took us to a nice mexican tacoria anyway. It was great to catch up with her and the free beers from the manager (friend of Linda) made the night even sweeter.
Today the weather was fine and we walked downtown to meet Auntie Paula in Macy's basement for Clam Chowder at Boudin. It was our first experience of this dish and boy did we get stuck in ... blooming gorgeous!!! For those of you that know Sophie, you'll know she's a fuss pot when it comes to food but she may as well have licked the plate so that speaks volumes hey! Me personally ... I'm in food heaven ... so much choice here and I have certainly been taking advantage ... getting fattened up before 6 months on rations ha ha!!!
On the way out Paula insisted that we sample the most exclusive chocolate in America. OMG ... $11 for 3 sweets - Jees Louise!!! (Godiva - expensive but delicious)
From there she took us on another personal guided tour of the city with highlights including;
Haight Street - where flower power began in the 60's;
Golden Gate Park - Sophie was in her element here with all the unusual plants from around the world. A tag-team of squirrels fronted up and came running at us aggressively ... they all seem to be slightly insane in the botanical gardens ... no fear ... perhaps there's something in the water??!!
Sea-cliff - drove past Robin Williams' pink house in this very affluent neighbourhood - at Halloween thousands of kids flock to this area to trick or treat as the residents make a huge effort - apparently Robin Williams gave out toothbrushes last year ha ha!
The Legion of Honour - for views of Golden Gate Bridge
Vista Point - just over Golden Gate Bridge, views of San Fran.
Sausalito - a gorgeous town a little like the South of France with beautiful houses on the hills overlooking the bay.
This evening we headed back to Auntie Paula's for our last supper with her and our cousin Matthew. We then went to watch Matthew play basketball against another local team. Although Matthew's team (the visitors) lost 52 - 49, Matthew was a superstar and scored the most points. NBA for that kid if he keeps it up. It was great to watch him play and Paula said he played the best game of his life. We wanted to treat him to ice cream after the game but we had to get back to the city to pack.
We are heading down to LA tomorrow with a stopover in Monterey and Santa Barbara before a long weekend with our cousin David and his wife Megan.
We would just like to say a special thank you to Auntie Paula who has not only provided us with a great place to stay in a great city, but has also fed us, washed our smalls, put up with our jet lag moodswings and generally made sure we got the most out of our time in San Francisco. We will be sad to leave here tomorrow but we're looking forward to the next chapter.
We will hopefully be reporting back before we leave for New Zealand on Monday.
Love to all x x x
Comments
San Fran2
The truth is out! Your email said you didn't overdo the celebrations on New Years Eve?!!!
You seem to have made the most of every day and have met such lovely people. I love the photos. I didn't see those Japanese Gardens when I was there and Napa looks beautiful.Matthew is so tall - I'm glad you saw him play basketball.Auntie Paul did you proud!
Looking forward to hearing from you in LA. The dogs and family are fine.
Big hugs! Mum