Author: Rae

Day 2
by

Day 2

My feet tell me that I definitely over-extended myself today…. 🙂

Unfortunately, I’m still not used to the whole picture thing, so I have tons of pics (and movies) from my morning, but that’s it. I’ll get them on Flickr… eventually.

Here are the day’s highlights, and only highlights because if I put down everything I saw and did, no one will believe that I actually did and saw all of that. It’s been that sort of day. You try to see San Francisco in only two full free days there!

So…

From Neil’s, conveniently located in Russian Hill, near Fisherman’s Wharf and Pier 39, I trekked to:

1) the famous Lombard Street, touted as the crookedest in SF. Apparently, the locals know that’s not true, but the real crookedest street is in an unsavoury part of town…. At any rate, the crooked part of Lombard is beautiful, paved with bricks and immaculately landscaped. I have no idea how residents of this part of the street manage to navigate in and out of their driveways. I’m no photographer, but I think this pic is pretty good!
2) Pier 39. There, I used my CityPass to visit the Aquarium of the Bay. I got a stamp on my hand that would have given me in and out privileges for the day, but I saw everything in one visit and didn’t return later for shows. Highlights included a tunnel surrounded by water in which we could see sea stars, leopard sharks, bat rays, skates, big sea bass, and much more. Very cool. I walked through twice. A highlight of this walk was a display where there was an open skate pouch (‘mermaid’s purse’) with a live developing embryo in it. Followed an awesome touch pool where I got to feel leopard sharks, skates, sea cucumbers, sea stars, urchins, etc. I have to say that except for the sharks, I could have been at a similar establishment on the east coast, the species are that similar.

3) After the aquarium, I had time to catch the 10:45 Bay Cruise, also courtesy of my CityPass. When I got on, I thought it was going to be a bit hokey, but no. We got an awesome tour of the bay, going all the way under the Golden Gate Bridge and then circling Alcatraz (which I’ll be visiting on Saturday with Neil). I took some awesome pictures of the bridge from many angles and most of Alcatraz. The weather was beyond cold and I was so glad I’d brought a sweater. One lady had just a tank top and I swear she was turning blue, until a gentleman took pity on her and handed her his jacket. Some people are just silly. A highlight of the tour was seeing the sea lions of Pier 39 who used to be chased away but are now a tourist attraction (as is just about everything in SF!). The narration (by Jules Verne’s character Captain Nemo, believe it or not) was pretty funny and very informative.

Here is the underside of the Golden Gate Bridge (choosing that one because it’s not a view you often see of this bridge!):
and here is Alcatraz (I can’t wait to be able to remove the people in the foreground from all my Alcatraz pics!):

I was surprised by how beautiful and lush the island is. Saturday’s visit can’t come soon enough!

4) It was noon when we got back and I had just one more stop to make at Pier 39. My CityPass had a bonus ticket for the Boudin Bakery, which produces the most famous sourdough in San Francisco using ‘mother dough’ that’s been fed since the 1800’s! This museum was fabulous and really set the history of the bakery into its historical context. The thing I’ll remember the most is the story of how during the earthquake of 1906 the owner of the bakery had just enough time and presence of mind to scoop the starter into a bucket before running to safety as her business burned to the ground. Saving the starter meant that she could restart her business and, essentially, lost nothing. Now bad for some flour and water! The self-guided tour ended at a tasting room where I got an amazing snack of sour dough, ciabatta, and chocolate and raisin breads, with various toppings like marinated parmesan.

5) My traitorous map made it seem like the Exploratorium was close-by, so I decided to hike there next. Let’s just say I arrived an hour later extremely footsore. 🙂 I hadn’t spent any money yet today (!) so I decided to not look for lunch and just ate at the museum before exploring. The Exploratorium is so much fun. For those in Ottawa, just think of what the Science and Tech museum used to be like, and then multiply the fun factor by at least 1,000. Every single exhibit is interactive and teaches you something about a different branch of science. One of the cooler exhibits were a ‘shadow camera.’ I have no idea how it worked, but a flash of bright light would capture our shadows. Really, really cool effect. There were also some developing chicken embryos in the same style as the skate pouch. I spent a full three hours at this museum until I’d had my fill of fun. I’m such a kid. 🙂 A final note regarding the Exploratorium is an hysterical find at the gift shop–an Einstein action figure. Love it! Coming out, I went around a lovely lagoon bordered by ‘palace’ ruins. I’m adding this so I can mention the only moment I regret not thinking to pull out my camera. A family of mallards was swimming close to shore looking for handouts. In the middle of the family, nonchalantly trying to fit in, was a sea gull. I’ve never seen a gull behave like that and I wasn’t the only one to find the sight pretty damn funny!

6) I was completely burnt out by this point, but I had a rogue ticket left in my book for a downtown attraction. The other two were for Golden Gate Park. I wasn’t sure I’d have time to see the downtown one any other day and it was open till 8:45 today. Since it’s something I wouldn’t have paid to see, I decided that a half-assed, ‘been there, done’ that tour would be sufficient. Which it was. You see, I’m not a fan of modern art, as in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (or SFMoMA for cute). Now, there were some things I actually liked and I really enjoyed the Martin Munkasci photograph exhibit, but, otherwise, modern art exasperates me!!! The big going on today was the ‘Matisse as sculptor’ exhibit, but I just breezed through it since I’m not a huge fan of Matisse. At any rate, I did the SFMoMA in 45 minutes flat and I can’t imagine I would have spent more time there had I not been so burnt. I’m embarrassed to admit that the best part of going to the SFMoMA was the LONG bus ride from the Exploratorium. Hey, I can’t like everything!

7) After dinner at a nearby diner I realised that I wasn’t going to be able to walk home, so I hired a cab. Now, that’s exhaustion for you.

My left little toe is currently double its normal size thanks to an impressive blister and my SPF 60 failed me around mid-day, so I’m a tad cooked (but not burned, thankfully) and very footsore. What an amazing day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’ll just add that Neil came home with an impressive earthquake survival kit, given to him by Google. Obviously, Google knows something we don’t know, and I’m quite nervous. 🙂

Day 1 in Review (or an attempt, anyway)
by

Day 1 in Review (or an attempt, anyway)

Where do I start???

My day started with the trek through Chinatown, where I was afraid I’d become a jaded traveler. 🙁 I’m sorry, but I swear that every Chinatown I’ve been through–Montreal, Toronto, Chicago, New York–is the same, dirty and filled with shops carrying the same junk. They just fail to impress me. 🙁 So, other than stopping for post cards and a gift for Neil, I went through the neighbourhood very quickly.

Breakfast took a surprising amount of time to find, so I grabbed a Starbucks soy latte upon exiting Chinatown, using a gift card Neil gave me. I eventually made it back to where I arrived last night, Market and Powell, and found Mel’s Diner on 4th Street where I had a breakfast of more coffee and some pancakes.

Replete, I ambled down 4th Avenue towards the Caltrain when I noticed the most bizarre plant I’ve ever seen. It took me a second to realise that I should perhaps be looking up. Yes, drum roll please, this plant was my very first sighting of a palm tree in its natural habitat!!!!!
(sorry, but I can’t get Blogger to recognize that I rotated the image!)

I was able to get such a nice clear picture of my first palm tree because a very helpful man moved people aside, helpfully telling them to ‘please back away and let the tourist take a picture of the tree.’ I’m not laughing. Really.

I got to the Caltrain station a full two hours after I’d left Neil’s and had just enough time to buy a ticket, wonder if the gold coins marked 1USD I got as change from the machine were legit, and get some ‘just in case’ literature (ie. a magazine), and it was time for the 10:37 train to leave.

The ride through Silicon Valley was most pleasant and I couldn’t help but note two things, one mundane, one not so much. The first was the xeriscaping, something I’m not used to seeing. The second was that, holy smoke, not everyone lives in hostile natural environment where the climate is an enemy.

Upon arriving in Mountainview, I took Neil’s advice and hailed a cab. At Google, a security guard told me to go to building 43 (‘hook a right up the stairs, then turn right at the dinosaur’). From there, a receptionist was able to call Neil for me.

He took me on a short tour of the amazing complex and then we had lunch. I couldn’t believe the amount of food there was to choose from and it’s all FREE. After witnessing first hand all the perks at Google, I informed Neil that I’m going to send him a resume and he better pass it around the office!

After lunch, we snagged free Google bikes to roam a little farther. I hadn’t been on a bike in five years, and I’d never ridden in a skirt, so it’s there that I realised that the adage is true–once you learn, you never forget! That was a lot of fun.

Neil then gave me directions back to the train station and I decided to hike. Unfortunately, I missed the train by less than a minute, so I had to wait a half hour for the next one.

I made it back to San Francisco for quarter to 4 and, since the California Science Academy and Steinhardt Aquarium were on the way ‘home’, near 4th on Howard, I decided to stop and see if the whole thing could be viewed in the hour I had before closing time. Yes!

This was so much fun and included a touching pool. Most amusing moment: when I asked if I could touch something at the way bottom of the pool and was told: “Gee, no one’s ever asked, but okay, if you’re feeling brave. But we wouldn’t.” (I put my hand down.) “Okay, that’s sad. A tourist is more brave than we are.” *ggl* My favourite part until then was the tiny crab climbing over my hand, but things were about to get better. I found… The snake exhibit! There was a beautiful python, a green snake (my absolute favourite kind of snake, and, yes, that’s its common name), and…. an anaconda!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don’t think I’ve ever seen an anaconda before! It’s absolutely gorgeous–black with a uniquely shaped head. At one point, it moved around a bit and its gaze seemed to fall on me. It stuck out its tongue and I mimicked it. We then had a brief tongue sticking out contest. A guy behind me suddenly spoke up and said: “You’re not imagining it; it’s tracking you. I’m just waiting for it to pounce at you and bounce off the glass.”

An hour was more than enough time to see everything, so I went back up to Market and Powell, planning to meander my way home. I have a long list of things to do each day in SF and my list for today was done (!), so I decided to hop on the cable car that turns at Powell and spend the rest of the day wandering aimlessly in the general vicinity of home.

Before I left Howard street, I noticed something, and snapped a pic for Neil who laughed even harder than me. I present: How to Not Lock Your Bicycle:The cable car ride was amazing. Our driver, Jack, was absolutely hysterical and a crackerjack at customer service, favouring ‘tourists’ over ‘locals’, and dealing super well with an extraordinarily bitchy local woman. I rode the cable car right to the end at Fisherman’s Wharf, leaving my stomach somewhere across town as we zipped up and down breathtaking hills! Let me just say that driving a cable car looks like a lot of work! I have pictures of the cable car and Jack; I’ll upload them later since Blogger takes forever to upload and I’m beat.

Things were closing up at Fisherman’s Wharf, so I didn’t stick around. I hadn’t planned on staying long anyway. Neil’s place is near the water, so I figured that I could take a long cable car ride, then make my way home from the Wharf. At the Maritime Store, I picked up some reproductions of gold rush era documents that I’ll frame and hang in my study. I then decided to scout for dinner and found a Mexican place that looked promising. However, something told me to not eat just yet, so I left and stumbled on a pastel artist with absolutely gorgeous drawings of famous San Francisco landmarks. I immediately fell in love with one of Alcatraz, done in muted greys and purples and asked him, casually, how much they were. 20$, as it turns out, which was amazing value considering that they’re matted. But I was feeling cheap and would have paid 15$, not 20$. So, I walked off, slowly, sending out ‘I’m open to bargaining, but I don’t want to insult you’ vibes. Well, the man called me back and said that I could have my pick of any one for 15$! I’m very happy; this is the sort of souvenir that lasts a lifetime. I’ll have the picture framed when I get home and hang it in my bathroom since the colours will be perfect for it.

By this point, I was famished, so I decided to head home to drop off stuff and get more money, then focus on dinner. I determined based on the water’s positioning where home would be, roughly, and headed off. Sure enough, I came across a street I recognized, and then home was a mere three blocks away. I’ve got such a good sense of direction! 🙂

For dinner, I still craved Mexican, and I found little place with really good food and even better prices (10 bucks got me out of there stuffed and included beer), then I found a market where I picked up breakfast and snack items. I was beat by this point and planned to go straight home and crash, but I found a bookstore on the way back and decided to browse.

I’ve been looking for a certain book since the summer of ’05 and have looked for it in used bookstores in Gatineau, Ottawa, Wisconsin, Winnipeg, and Maine. I can’t believe how impossible it’s been to find. So, imagine my delight in finding it here, in San Francisco! The book? A hard cover copy of Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind.

I got home at about 8:20 and Neil followed just after. We settled down to watch an ep of Firefly, got in our giggling for the day, and then he went off to bed since he has an early morning tomorrow (cycling to Google–60km!).

It’s been a rich, full day. I’m wiped and off to shower and then sleep the sleep of the dead–and content!

by

I’m Here!

Quick post from my first morning in California!

My first thought upon setting foot into the Californian outdoors was so strong I actually said it out loud: “Bloody HELL! It’s FREEZING!” Boy am I glad I packed long skirts, long-sleeved tee-shirts, and cardigans! LOL

From San Francisco airport, it was a long walk and a short Skytrain trip to the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) station, which took me downtown in about a half hour. There, I knew that the only way I was getting to Neil’s was by taxi, so I made my way to the surface. For a moment, I thought I was at Montreal’s Berri station because there were so many panhandlers waiting to help travelers with doors, stairs, and directions. The one who got my suitcase up the steep stairs got 50 cents, the one who pointed out where to find a taxi got 25 cents, and the one who just begged got nada.

My taxi driver was great, getting me to Neil’s in what felt like the shortest way possible, and helping me with my luggage (he got a nice tip).

San Francisco, well, what I’ve seen of it, is GORGEOUS! I love how almost all buildings have bay windows. I thought that the terrain would be like Montreal, also a city built on hills, and it is, but a Sims City version of Montreal where the hills have been pulled up and up and up…. Going down Neil’s street, I had to tell the driver to slow down because I’d left my heart up two blocks back!

Neil’s apartment fits in with my stereotype of a ‘typical’ San Fran building–a gorgeous old Victorian with bright airy rooms. He even has a garage, which gives me a place to park my rental car when I get it at the end of the week and opens up some options for me as to when I’m leaving for Vegas.

This morning, I’m taking the CALTRAIN to Mountainview to visit Google headquarters and meet Neil for lunch. I’m aiming to take the 11 o’clock train and walking to the station. Neil mapped out a trek for me that’ll take me though Chinatown so I can kill two birds with one stone.

I’m off to find breakfast. Photos will follow later!

by

Halfway There!

And through the night, behind the wheel, the mileage clicking west,
I’ll think upon Mackenzie, David Thompson, and the rest,
Who cracked the mountain ramparts and did show a path for me,
To race the roaring Fraser to the sea.

This is what I had in mind this morning as we broke through the Rockies to find the glorious Fraser leading us to the airport. *awed*

(it’s a day for being welcomed by Frasers, obviously!)

Posting from YVR (free wi-fi, woohoo!) where I should no longer be. Unfortunately, the SF plane is broken, so our flight has been delayed an hour and a half. As long as I get there tonight, I refuse to be irked!

The day has been going well. Taking the bus was a good idea; I got to the airport in Ottawa in exactly one hour door to door and saved 27$.

US customs sucks, but what else is new? At least, I wasn’t searched, although I did have to schlepp through the security area in my bare feet (I need a shower!) and got to stand spread eagle as I was wanded over and over and over and over again and practically had to show my beeping bra strap to the attendant before she’d let me leave. LOL

Geeze, I just realised it’s 6 o’clock home time and I’ve been up for over thirteen hours! It’s no wonder I’m wiped!

I’ve been careful about food and keeping myself hydrated, eating regular small meals like tuna salad on the flight over and vegetarian udong here at the airport. I was glad I forgot to request a veggie sandwich for my flight over because I found that my tuna salad with crackers, carrots & dip, and chocolate bar were much better value for the prepaid 5$ voucher I’d bought. For one thing, I felt that I was enjoying a complete meal.

I bought myself a snack for the SF flight, but the more this flight is delayed, the more I think that I should go get something more substantial since I hadn’t planned on having dinner till I get to Neil’s…. Now, I’m thinking of revising that plan. 🙂

Let me end with this: I LOVE TRAVELING! *bounce, bounce, bounce*

Feeling Welcome
by

Feeling Welcome

in San Francisco, and I’m not even there yet. Neil just sent me details for how to get onto his computer and how to log on to the wireless network with my laptop. So, I can definitely be expected to post a few times from there! The following week, though, will depend on how compatible Blogger is with my laptop’s archaïc (and unupgradeable) browsers.


Packing is so much work now that I’m more style-conscious, WAH! I left for a MONTH in Scotland with a fraction of what I currently have in this suitcase… and I’m not done packing yet! What’s not helping is that I have to pack for four climates (home, SF, Vegas, LA) . But it looks like the suitcase will close without a) my having to ‘expand it’ or b) sit on it (or c) expand it AND sit on it), and I’ll have room left for ‘extras’ I’ll pick up along the way, so it’s all good. For carry on, I have a little matching bag which will hold my paperwork, notebook and pen, books, magazines, food supplies, and other sundries, and into which I’ll stuff my purse since my laptop doesn’t fit in it. Hopefully stuffing one bag into another will get me around the two article limit for carry on luggage…. I am proud that I’m not using the third suitcase in my set, a ‘carry on’ size. Next trip! 🙂

I’ve decided to try the bus to get to the airport this time to save 30$ (bus is 3$). So Tuesday 6AM will find me schlepping my luggage for two blocks to the Térrasses de la Chaudière where I’ll catch the 8 to Lebreton Flats, where I should have more than enough time (I hope) to catch a 97 that’ll get me to the airport for seven (it better). My plane technically leaves at 8:20.