Bye bye San Francisco

Today is our last day here in SF. Guess what. Sunnnnnny. Yes. Every day raining like hell and today that we leave, sunny…

Anyway. This morning we woke up later than usual. We went downstairs and we realized it was rush hour for pancakes. We got our spot and we cooked the worst pancakes of all these days. They were more like scrambled eggs… They were tasty though. We packed and we left the bags in the bag room. They gave us the $20 deposit that you give on day one and bye bye.

We  walked towards the Civic Centre, and listened to a politician convincing people on how green the city hall of San Francisco is with a project with a private sector company that he kept on pronouncing wrongly to integrate hybrids cars into the city. Inside the city hall we were quite amazed by the huge dome and stairs. We culturized ourselves a little bit more with the wedding intricacies and very different fashion touches in SF. Then we walked up to Coit Tower, when we thought that we were terribly mistaken we finally got to the art deco tower and visited inside the paintings commissioned to the then young artists of the bay in 1934 picturing the regionalism style of the Grand Depression years. The tower was a gift of a wealthy and peculiar lady who got married to Howard Coit. She was unconventional not only in her dressing code (man clothes), but also in her attitude: smoking cigars, gambling, the kind of woman I like!

We were feeling a little bit hungry so we decided to stop at Lori’s dinner and enjoy a go bananas milkshake, a vanilla milkshake with burger, house sandwich and mozarella stickers, ummmm, yummy but quite too much.

Now here we are drinking coke and water at the SFO international airport waiting for our connection flight to LA and then Papeete!!! Ji ji ji ji ji.

Scenic drive with Dylan

Today we had booked a tour with Dylan. He came at ten and took 10 of us in his van for a great 4.5 hours. We visited most of San Francisco, the golden gate, and the highlights: muir woods, with the amazing redwood trees with 120 m high and some more than 1000 years! One would say that we were on a fantasy film and that little men would come from the forest. So let me try to remember all I heard from Dylan from the beginning. We started in our neighborhood which is called Tenderloin and is where most homeless and drug addicts hang around because of the drug dispensers where apparently anyone with a special card prescribed by your doctor "to help you sleep" which costs 100 USD could go and get very cheap marihuana. We passed soma district where according to dani, the guy who transmits SOMA FM is based, then we headed to Mission district where the city was born as Yerba Buena thanks to Spanish missionaries who settled there because it was the only flat area around, and at that time the main living was farming. We continued through the Castro -  or gay area – with fancy restaurants, bars, shops and plenty of rainbow flags. We took a picture below the 4.20 clock at the most famous crossing: Haight Ashbury, and we passed by the house where Janice Joplin lived for a while and others who created the hippie movement. We took again another picture at Alamo Square with the 7 sisters (Victorian houses that survived the 8.1 1906 earthquake). Down in the Richmond we were told that most blue collar workers lived there. Then up to Twin Peaks and its magnificent views, just before passing the Golden Gate Bridge with about 1600 suicides attempts, and only 45 or some of them survived. If the fall does not kill you the chilled waters (10 Celsius) or the currents would do. We entered Marin county which is the most expensive in USA, and then we see why: Sausalito and one of the best views in the world.

And after 10 minutes of driving we reached Muir woods where we walked for an hour between these impressive trees. You can breath in the calm and quietness of the wood, really inspiring and so close to the city.

These giants have the best conditions to grow so tall, the fog and a river underneath. We learned that in 1945 the UN organized a meeting there to instill the peace that the woods provide into the delegates mind. Do not think that it accomplished that, but I think this place would make an excellent work retreat.

On the way back we passed by the most expensive district in SFO: Pacific Heights with massive houses which can cost  up to 30 millions USD. Then Marina district or Yuppi area which is not the place to be when the big earthquake strikes.

Back to the hotel area, we stop at a very nice and expensive place for a tea (earl grey) and a coffee and then caught a bus to the Golden Gate Park. Dani lost his orientation and for the first 15 minutes we were walking in circles, but then I asked for a map, which I got for free thanks to my beaten up dog face and the fact that it was raining cats and dogs. By that time dani has resolved to use his very much loved GPS who took 10 minutes to position itself, the poor thing was unsure that the quantity of rain was right for SFO. We felt like " Singing in the rain" but without singing. Dylan had told us that it rains 30 days per year, so boy we hit it hard. The park was fab, but a couple of times we had to go backwards because the area was flooded and although our shoes are waterproof, our trousers not.

Golden Gate Bridge

After having lunch at Hard Rock cafe in pier 39 we walked west. We were looking for the stop of the bus number 28. It is the only one taking you to the bridge. Here the bus ride costs $1.5 and you can use the ticket for 90 min. Not bad. Anyway, we got there, and guess… raining like hell. It did not stop us from walking in the bridge. It was very windy also, but the view you have over the bay is great. Most of the photos I took with the nikon, not with the iphone or with Nuria’s n79. Same thing applies to Alcatraz, so if you want to see nice photos you will have to wait until we are back ;-)

Once the bridge was seen. It is a nice bridge, and I bet when they built it it was an engineering challenge of using steel (you could go 3 times around the earth with the length of cable used) but now it requires a lot of maintenance: it is constantly being painted and as you know, the ocean is not a very good friend of iron.

We took the 28 again, thinking that it would go to the Golden Gate park. Well it didn’t so we changed plans. It took us to where we took it before, close to the Ghirardelli square. The new plan was then to go to Alamo square. In Alamo square you have the typical picture of San Francisco with 4 or 5 typical houses and the city behind (again, photos with the nikon camera only). The problem was that it was already pretty dark, but it is nice. We have to recognize though that in the walk to Alamo’s square, in particular Laguna street, the houses were much nicer that the ones of the typical photo. What they did not have, was the skyline behind, that is true.

We also passed through the Japanese district where we stopped to buy some water (and a iogurt).

After the photo, we took the bus number 5 to market street, passing by the civic center, one of the nicer buildings of the city. We stopped at the level of Powell street and we got into a shopping centre, but we were so tired that we came to the hostel.

Nuria is now going to sleep while I type.

Alcatraz

This morning, after the pancakes (we are now experts) we went out under the rain towards powell street and then to market street to catch the classical F tram. I took a photo from the inside. It was raining a lot. It was one with everything in Italian. From Milan. We stopped at pier 33 where the ferry to Alcatraz departs. Welcomed by ranger John, we watched a 30 min video about the history of the island. Armed with audio sets we entered into the inmates cells and learned how they lived and tried to escape. I do not know in 1934 when the prison opened but today it was wet, windy and cold. The good news is that it stopped raining and the sun is finally shining. Just then we went outside to take a look of the fantastic view over San Francisco.

I must say that the audio tour was very good. It was included with the ticket. It shows you around the prison and explains stories of how people tried escaping from it. Very interesting. It makes you feel like going back home to watch the movies again.

Well, after a while going up and down the island we took the ferry back to pier 33. We waked towards pier 39 and we stoped for lunch at Hard Rock cafe. It has been a while since the last time I had food in one Hard Rock. I guess it was probably in Barcelona. Anyway. I have a salad and Nuria a burger. While we wait I start writting this post.

Cable Car museum, China Town and SFMOMA

We started the day again after 12 hours sleep. Today was our second day with pancakes, the result was much better. See the photo. We managed to cook nice pancakes. Once we finished our macro pancakes, all day walking under the rain. Yes, it has been raining all day non-stop. We should be paid by north face, millet, merrell for testing all their gear.

Anyway, first we visited the cable car museum.

It is incredible how they can manage all 4 lines of cable cars from that building. An engineering achievement. I really enjoyed it.

Nuria had more difficulties understanding how the cables were distributed on the huge wheels that separate them into the 4 different lines. We just manage to leave before the horde of Japanese filled the museum up. Then we continued under the pouring flood waters direction China town,

with a stop over at Grace Cathedral, impressive cathedral, inspired by Notre Dame but given the 1906 devastating earthquake, made of concrete. In Chinatown, we first had a jasmin tea in a typical Chinese crappy place (with no tourists) and then lunch also at the least touristy place we could find. Nuria made a mistake in the order, as she thought that the fantastics vegetables she had in a chinese restaurant in Geneva were called Chinese brocoli, so with absolutely no doubts and great grandeur at being able to recognise something she ordered the green things she has in her hands, big mistake… but we ate them all. The noodles were very tasty and the din sum very nice also.

After spending the rest of the morning around Chinatown, we headed to SFMOMA where we are now. I am staring at a Rothko and resting while I found that there is wifi.

And after the Moma, we went to Yerba Buena Gardens, beautiful place, with a commemoration fountain to Martin Luther King, another commercial center and a very nice tea lounge, just to escape again from the rain. Dani wanted a coke, but guess what, only tea, my paradise!!!

I had a white strong tea according to the nice waiter, true that it was not sweat, but the water in Bilbao is stronger. Dani had a chilled drink made of green tea with a terrible appearance and even worst taste, but he said he liked very much, must be the rain that is affecting his taste…

After lunch…

We are now back to the hostel. I have noticed that the date of the posts is the date of the server, not our time here, so take into account that for us, now is 8 hours less, so all today’s posts that appear published as the 15 are actually the 14th.

Well, after crab lunch we walked all around the fisherman’s wharf. We visited USS Pampanito submarine. Pretty cool! a World War 1 submarine for 85 people… incredible how they could fit there…

We were looking for the boat that takes you for the visit of Alcatraz, and we found it at pier 33. Those in other piers were just going around the island. Guess what. Full until Monday! So we are going on Monday at 10am.

We walked all around the pier 39, where all the shopping is, and the sea lions!! amazing. We also visited the Ghirardelli centre, where they sell this great chocolate. Then we wanted to walk towards the golden gate bridge. It was raining and we realized that was very far, so when we arrived to the presidio park, we walked to Lombard street, the typical street with the zig-zag turns going down that appears in so many films. Photos of all this I took with the nikon, so I will not post them in the blog.

In our way back we stopped at the North Face shop close to union square. We did not write it but on day one the backpack that we have, a 70 liters “North Fake” that I bought in China, died. Well it broke down, and now I am trying to fix it a bit, but we just bought a new one. Slightly smaller (60 liters). Great price 30% plus a 20% so 50% off.

Crab crab

We are at Fisherman’s wharf, and even if we have not yet digested the pancakes, we could not miss having seefood lunch. Now the weather is not that good. It rains 10 min per hour.
The way here was nice. We saw where the cable cart turns using a rotating platform, we tried the Ghirarselli peanut butter chocolate mmmm and later on we might go to alcatraz.
Now we are enjoying white chardonnay from San Francisco bay with seafood at Fisherman’s Grotto, with a lovely view over Golden Gate and the wharf.
Nuria is winning the battle against the grilled garlic crab, soaking her fingers every 30 seconds in the sauce while saying mmmmm.

Goood morning San Francico

After more than 12 hours we woke up on this St. Valentine day and went downstairs for breakfast. At the USA hostel San Francisco we have free pancakes in the mornings (you have to cook them yourself though). See the monster pancakes we cooked… I was ashamed of not being able to finish them…
Later on with all our waterproof equipment (there is a weather red alert on the bay area with strong storms and winds) we went out direction to Powell street towards fisherman’s wharf, and surprise, sunny.

San Francisco

Well well…. after more than ten hours we finally made it. Here I am in the USA hostel San Francisco (with free wifi), 6.45pm local time and Nuria just fell KO…. and give me a couple of minutes and I will follow.

It is been more than 24h without sleeping.
San Francisco? Great. It was sunny when we arrived with the BART train from the International Airport to Powel station, but latter on it started raining. We went to macy’s and then we were very hungry so we go into an Indian deli restaurant. We ate 1/2 of what we order but Nuria had the courage to ask for the doggy bag ;-) so we have indian food in our little fridge here in the room.

Tomorrow more.