Sooo….. Hawaii was pretty sweet as it goes. The beaches, the bikini's, the surfing, the .. yadda yadda yadda.. are you bored yet how awesome it was? So sadly, it had to end for this trip and we had to head back to the airport. We decided on taking public transport, something we haven't really done since umm. Malaysia. Bugger me, what a kick in the teeth. The buses took an astonishing 2 hours for less than 30 miles, but we did only have to pay $1.25 each. I think we saw every single military base on the island. Having initially got up at 630 am, we had wanted to make a quick trip to see the USS Missouri, part of the floating museum in Pearl Harbour, but the getting up early only made sure we got to the airport in time for an early check in. The 52 bus is great otherwise though, and the services around Oahu are superb if you have a lot of time. The buses even have bike racks on the front for two bikes! Great!
Our accustomed easy living at the airport was sadly also a little broken, but a sign of things to come it seemed. The entire airport is undergoing extensive modernization, and like Heathrow terminals one through four, it is much needed. The lounges were rubbish not even the free wireless internet we were used to. Paying for it really does count as lounge services- Oneworld you are let down by the Qantas lounge in Hawaii for the moment. So onto our flight, a code share of Qantas; run by American airlines. I thought the stingy screens and in-flight entertainment systems were crap on Qantas and Air New Zealand. It turns out the AA doesn't even provide food for a five hour flight! I'm sure we didn't book a Ryanair flight… So.. don't fly with AA, they suck.
Arrival in San Francisco was great though, finally off the plane, we found our bags quickly and then awaited pick up, not for too long and we found ourselves chatting to Geraldine and Joe and being driven to the Californian In and Out, feeding on some great burgers and shakes, devoured by us as we hadn't eaten anything since our north shore breakfast. This arrival couldn't have been better, meeting with Geraldine and chilling out at her place avec some very long haired and friendly cats with some outstanding wine was a perfect introduction to Palo Alto. The next day we had some lunch after a lazy morning walking around, then headed off on bikes around the Campus of Stanford University. I don't think I would ever leave it if I went to university there. The grounds were enormous, the facilities amazing and like a lot more in Palo Alto, it was so pleasant to be in, it could almost be a fairy tale. The town itself is home to Facebook, Google and a couple other well know landmarks of the internet, we didn't see any of them in Starbucks though. Staying with the Shen family was superb and really made our trip beginning very special, catching up with Geraldine's parents who I'd last seen around 15 years ago as well as meeting her grandparents also made the trip a very pleasurable experience and well, thank you very much to all Shen's, and Joe. You were terrific. The next day we hoped onto a Caltrack into San Francisco where we met with Jen's mom who was out for her annual holiday!
Central San Francisco is a lot of fun, and really helped tone up our neglected legs. The steep short walks and long walks around the waterfront made for outstanding interval training, making then nice and painful for the next day or two. The sites were great to see, Union Square, 5th Street, the Pier all gave us a great impression of the city and as a whole being on a budget here means a revisit is absolutely necessary. We met Mary in a Starbucks just off Union Square and she had already done a good deal of walking so we decided it was high time to have a snack- some breakfast/brunch was necessary. Staying in Starbucks wasn't an option and we spotted a Cheesecake Factory ontop of Macy's on union square. Jen had been raving about the massive portion sizes they served so we headed up to check it out. People were just starting to be sat at tables, and whilst it was empty, it seemed to be essential to wait for at least 15 minutes before being sat. This gave us time to have a look at the very substantial range of cakes on offer- not just cheesecakes but also enormous chocolate cakes which were at least 1 meter high and covered in rich chocolate fudge icing. I had a piece of course. I didn't finish it though and had the doggy bag packed with half a ton of cake to drag back to my hotel room fridge. The hotel jen and I stayed in was perhaps an Indian version of Fawlty towers; based in San Fran, but the smell of curry pervasive into every nook and cranny was slightly different from what I would bet Fawlty towers would have smelt like- assuming mildew and mould. The door was kept locked at all time and we had to wake the family up by ringing on the door bell at all time, confusing me a little – surely a coded door entry would have been a good idea- or at least better than waking up all during the night? The room itself and the hotel were in a great location and very reasonably priced. Don't go if you hate the very delicious smell of curry though.
We were back to union square several times over the next few days, not least as it was definitely time for Jen to treat herself to a new haircut! This turned out very nicely indeed!
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/idiotproof.com/SanFrancisco#5345220397752501362
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San Francisco's first impressions on me brought back memories of university papers which described and attempted to analyze the homeless within the city, engendering their plight or what ever else people can dream up that will ensure they are paid for research. Not some of the most interesting stuff I read I'd have to say. However, the hundreds of homeless, alcoholic and drug addicted bums lying around the various shelters, green areas and beaches are seemingly just a part of the furniture in the city giving it a very distinct odour in many instances… it's pathetic that this extraordinarily rich nation cannot afford to properly look after its outcasts and provide them adequate shelters and support- perhaps it's on Obama's list of to do's?
We ate and drank well, then rented bikes to explore the city and bay area. DO THIS If nothing else, it was the best use of $30 for a while. The bike trip took us around the bay and across the bridge, the along the shores. We cycled a little further than planned - the cycle routes and sunshine making it a very enjoyable trip indeed. Just across the bay we arrived in Sausalito which has a number of very "nice" little bars, restaurants and café's making it imperative to stop for lunch and then an ice cream. From there we cycled west a little and around the various inlets to end up in Taburon for just after five pm. The ferry took ten minutes to get us back to pier 7 and provided terrific views of the city and the bay bridge on the way over. The next day was actually similar – headed out to Castro and the rainbows which was enroute to the big park in San Francisco that I can't remember the name of… We walked a pretty long way in getting there… thankfully there was another bike shop which rented bikes. The park was a great ride and we eventually found the beach after having a look at the very lazy buffalo's the various bizarre windmills (out of place or what?) and the very nice park. On the beach we took a little break and enjoyed watching the people, ships and birds on the beach before heading back up the hill towards the bike shop and our bus home.
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We topped off our visit to San Francisco with a visit to the lounge bar at the top of the Metropolitan Intercontinental hotel where we sampled a few of the signature cocktails. To our surprise while staring over the city and bay, we were joined by a live Jive/Swing band and what looked to be regulars who came to dance and gave us a show! Having spent the evening watching a spectacular sunset from the top of the building we headed back to our hotels. The next day we had scheduled to pick up the car and drive up to Napa Valley and do some more wine tasting.
MT
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