San Fran tour – part 6
I got up leisurely and had my yoghurt, fruit and granola breakfast wth tea made by putting the bag in the mug first- got them trained now! Tea seems to be a real problem here as they have no idea how to make it. You often get warm water with the tea bag on the side – now how will that mash (as we say in Sheffield)? Would you give someone a cup of warm water and the coffee on the side?! Libby, an MP friend of Jane’s gave me this way of putting it – and this seems right! I digress….
24/1/13 The open top bus picks me up on the Haight St stop. Willie, the driver with a laugh to end all laughs gives us the goss – we pass the house where Jimmi Hendrix lived, then Janis Joplin and on the way a large dark green houe where they filmed the Adams Family. I tell you, just one big film set here! We passed several victorian style houses similar to the ones here called ‘The Painted Ladies” – all different colours side by side. As we near the City Hall Willie tells us about the way it rolled from side to side in the 1904 earthquake here. The gold is real on the top of this building and pretty impressive it is too. The civic Legislature Centre has their seal in stucco on the front of the impressive round building. As we pass the gates to China town we are told Bruce Lee was born here. The Bank of America building was the tallest in town but now the 2nd tallest – The Towering Inferno was filmed in this building. We pass a green painted house on a corner and are told The Godfather was written there. It starts to spit as Peter Kaye would say and Willie tells us that he is taking the bus into the depot to get a covered one at Union Square. So we are left there to wait 15mins for next bus. I get off to see Lombard St – the crooked street and decide this is where I can get a ride on a cable car. I meet a lovely young man who was there on business from Hong Kong, but was born in Scotland. We take the cable car to Powell and the turntable where it then goes back again to where I started. This costs $6 each way but on the way back Iget a seat on the open side – very exciting! I’m like a big kid here – can’t get enough of it! I get back on the tour bus and set of for Golden Gate bridge -the spitting has stopped and all hunky dory now. We pass the street where Steve McQueen made ‘Bullet’ and end up at the bridge. Got some better photos and views and set off on next bus back through the Sunset area of SF. I see an ad for an exhibition at the De Young museum and art gallery of the Dutch masters, including ‘The Girl with a Pearl Earring’ – so I get off the bus again and dash across the park bit infront of the gallery to see the picture in the last 30 mins of opening time. Blast! Only open for members in preview days as exhibition does not open until Saturday. They showed no pity so I had to walk back across the little park area and sit outside the science museum of California to wait for the last tour bus at 5pm. Who should be my driver but laughing Willie!
He dropped me outside my B &B which was great as my leg was hurting. There were Tango classes at the Red Victorian from 5-9pm but decided this could be the death of me! I order a vegggie BLT and a cuppa and call this my evening meal. I went for a short walk up the street at night and saw a brilliant T shirt with the words ‘ for a minute there you almost bored me to death’ – loved it but they hadn’t got my size!
25/1/13 – I get up at 8am to havebrakfast at 9 and my taxi to the airport at 10. It is ‘spare the air day’ in SF – no burning fires or bonfires and I thought perhaps no farting might help too! The sky is a Dali blue and as I say goodbye to SF I am thankful the weather was so good to me. Back in Vancouver by 3.05pm and I get a taxi back to ‘home’. We all go for our evening meal at the Foundation cafe/restaurant with amazing veggie food. A perfect end to a perfect week! How lucky am I?
Tags: Travel
Freejan