Tuesday 23 September 2008

Day 5 in SF

The pub crawl was so good! We went to three bars, the first of which was this really excellent wooden lodge type affair. It was absolutely roasting and desperately understaffed, but pretty cheap, with a fine selection of booze on offer. There was also a jukebox which is always a bonus. After drinking a couple of beers there, the group walked en masse to the next place, having been fore-advised of the $2 beer offer they do. I didn't drink any, but was introduced to the wonder that is vodka and ginger ale, with a wedge of lemon. I had several of these, dropped about a dozen pieces of lemon and got pretty hammered. There was a really excitable old Hawaiian guy at the bar who was fun to talk to. I stayed at the third bar for one drink and then decided it was a good time to get a cab home.

The next day I got up early, knowing that the kitchen would be empty. It pretty much was, although there were some people in their looking a bit pale after the night before. I had pancakes then chatted with Giovanna about what to do on my last day. We were both pretty shattered, so we decided to go to Ocean Beach with Marie once I had checked out. We got there and stayed for about an hour before the fog rolled in. While we were on the beach we chatted with a guy who surfs there regularly, and he told us that last year a blue whale had gotten beached there, and after it died they buried it in a massive pit on the beach. It'd be ace if in a few years they could dig up the bones.

When the fog hit we decided to make a move, and went back to the hostel. Giovanna and I went down the road to get more pancakes then chilled on the hostel's excellent sofas for a bit. I didn't fancy doing much before leaving the city, so it was nice to get some relaxing done.

After undergoing intense hassle relating to withdrawing money from my bank account, I managed to get to the bus stop in time. Everyone looked a bit wary; there seemed to be loads of us, each eyeing the crowd and then the bus, wondering how we were all going to fit in. After a lot of fannying about we managed to get on and get moving. We stopped later that night at a Walmart 2 hours down the road to get some last-minute supplies and to do 'The Miracle'.

Basically the bus was separated into three sections: the back pads, which was basically one big bed that was always out, day and night. 12 people would sleep on there. In the middle were 2 dinettes - a table and 2 benches on each side. In the front were two benches, with a gangway in the middle. The Miracle involved turning the dinettes into four bunks, and the front section into one big bed. Eight people would also sleep in the luggage racks. It sounded unbelievable, but it happened. It was a real sight.

I was really bummed to leave San Francisco; I'd had a really amazing time there and was starting a tour I knew very little about, with 35 people I'd never met before. I felt sad when we crossed the Bay Bridge and left the city behind, but I soon got talking to Julie, Amy and Nancy, who would become my buddies, to stop me from being left behind at a 4am toilet stop.

SF was truly amazing. I had seen the most beautiful architecture, had fantastic weather, had eaten great food and met some really fun, friendly and interesting people. I cannot wait to go back.

Day 4 in SF


Today I woke up early, ate a pancake breakfast and embarked upon an epic shopping trip to buy supplies for the trip. I trekked to REI and got talking to one of the sales guys. He asked me where I was from (something that rarely happened) and said just outside London, because if I say Hertfordshire it is generally met with a blank stare. So then he says he's going to study at a university just outside London, and it turns out he's at Hertfordshire! We agree to add eachother on Facebook so we can meet up when he arrives.


I wasn't able to get a tent in REI but I did buy a ton of other fun things, most of which were mis-priced so I ended up paying less than I had expected. Bonus. I managed to get a tent elsewhere. The rest of the day I relaxed, in preparation for the pub crawl.

Monday 22 September 2008

Day 3 in SF

Today can be summed up in one word: walking. I took the bus to a street near Ocean Beach, and walked to Louis' Diner. I had an amazing breakfast with the most incredible views of the ocean and Sutro Baths. After stuffing my face (washing it down with some Dr. Pepper),




I walked down to the old baths to look around and take some snaps. From there I walked to Ocean Beach, watched some surfing, reacquainted myself with Dashboard Confessional and continued walking until I reach Golden Gate Park. It was absolutely roasting so I was glad to find myself walking alongside some water sprinklers. The park is beautiful and absolutely enormous - I walked for 2 hours before reaching the MH de Young Museum. I had asked a gardener at the park how to get to the Japanese tea gardens but he insisted I go into the museum to see the city from the top of the tower. I did, and how glad I am.

After leaving the museum I walked up to Clement Street to go to the Green Apple Bookstore. They have a pretty impressive collection of used and new books on pretty much every subject going.

On leaving the bookstore, in an attempt to get to the Presidio and from there the Golden Gate Bridge, I went up a series of dead ends. Eventually, after consulting my long-ignored map, I found the way. Or, one of the possible routes I could have followed, but one which nobody else seemed to know about. There wasn't a path and the cars drive pretty fast on that road, but I had it to myself and there were some great views. I stopped a couple of times along the way, and eventually reached an established coastal trail to the bridge. A sigh of relief might have been heard at home when I finally saw it behind the trees.




After trekking all day I didn't have the energy or inclination to cross the bridge, so took the bus home. I met Swiss Chris who IS Ed Red, hung out with Giovanna then went out for dinner with both of them near the hostel.

Day 2 in SF

This place is ace! Last night I met a load of other people staying at the hostel and drank an entire bottle of wine. I didn't eat dinner and the cheese didn't show up until about 10pm, by which time everyone was hammered. It was great and I laughed a lot. This morning I got up really early to make my way to the ferry terminal to get to Alcatraz. My hangover and lack of public transport knowledge saw me flagging down a cab.



The island was good, it is weird to think that it was a prison once. It was quite touristy and the staff were rather stern (paid actors, perhaps?), but it was an interesting place to visit. From the island I got the most incredible views of the city so far - I could see from one end of the city right to the other, where the Golden Gate Bridge started. It looked so big that I didn't think I'd ever be able to see all of the city.


When I got back I walked to Chinatown and up loads of hills and up Grant to the Coit Tower - AMAZING VIEWS! It was just totally immense and it meant the epic walk so worth it. You could see so much: the Golden Gate, other land across the water, so so much! It was a very 'wow' moment.






After chilling there for a bit, I walked down to the bottom and then climbed up Lombard Street; that was exhausting.

Then I walked to Fisherman's Wharf and fell asleep on the grass for a bit. I was so shattered I took the tram home and chilled at the hostel that night.

Day 7 - travelling

I'm currently on the plane to San Francisco. Yesterday was spent catching up on things I'd meant to do - I ate a pretzel, walked on the Brooklyn Bridge, went to the Jewish Heritage Museum (which was really, really excellent and made me cry). I got back to the hostel at about 6pm and, after packing, treated myself to a Ben & Jerry's. I'd bumped into Lucy earlier outside the Apple store (where a lot of this story seems to take place); it was great to see a familiar face.

I think that although I have enjoyed being able to go at my own pace, maybe the reason I didn't have the amazing time I'd hoped was because I was there alone, plus the fact that I was exhausted after camp and kind of wanted to go home.

Anyway, after the Jewish Heritage I walked along the Hudson to the Brooklyn Bridge, walked to the halfway point, took some snaps then walked back. I took the subway to Times Sq to return something, managed to get a free Jamba Juice then did some walked around 5th Avenue.

I'm still feeling pretty neutral about SF, but I know that I should be feeling really pumped and that I'm so lucky to be going. Although I am looking forward to going home, I am more excited than I was about the tour.

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First impressions of SF: everything is different, it's ace! I like all the buildings - on the drive from the airport even though the areas we went through weren't amazing, the houses looked beautiful. It feels really nice to be close to the sea, especially when you can go to the top of one of the hills in the city and see it. The hostel seems really nice too - although the NY hostel was nice, it didn't have a lot of character. Here, though, seems really different. The staff is all really young, there's music playing, and it just seems nicer. At the moment I'm sharing a 4 bed room with one other girl who seems nice. The room is clean, and the hostel itself is about 5 minutes on foot from Union Square and loads of posh shops. I had a wander around Union Sq for a couple of hours, and am looking forward to tonight's cheese and wine night.

Day 6 in NY

Today was more chilled. I ate breakfast at the hostel, then walked through Central Park to the Guggenheim. However, owing to the absence of a map or any navigational skills, I ended up at the top of the park, at 110th St. I walked down to the museum from there. There was a big exhibition on Louise Bourgeois all up the spiral, with items from the main collections in rooms at each level. She had made some very cool hanging sculptures and somescary looking enormous spider sculptures. It's mental that she's still so active.


After I left the museum I walked a little around the Upper East Side, just to the subway. I rode down to Bleeker Street with the intention of going to Katz's Deli, but when I arrived it was frantically busy, so I opted to eat in a café I'd passed earlier. I had a delicious a very cheap breakfast ($3 for 2 eggs, toast and homefries), and they had a great cake selection which I took advantage of. I left the café and walked into the Lower East Side and through the East Village, eventually getting to the Strand bookstore (I'd been told about the store while in another bookstore in the UES. In this store I'd had a look at a signed, first edition of In Cold Blood. It was a Dear Diary moment), where I bought Woody Allen's complete prose and Blindness by José Saramago. I walked from the store to Union Square where there was an ace food market taking place, and read there for a while. I decided to walk up to the Flatiron Building, but again owing to my lack of on-board GPS, completely missed it. I subwayed to 57th &5th and sat in the park for an hour, at first on the top of this hill, before getting scared by a man shouting about killing babies. I went back to the hostel, grabbed some dinner and chilled. Chilling is good.


I've missed home today and am looking forward to going back. It feels weird to think that I haven't seen anyone I know in over 2 months. I am feeling quite numb and neutral about the rest of my travelling, but am constantly reminding myself that I'm on HOLIDAY. I am forcing myself to be more pumped; I think I'll be moreso when I get to SF - NY is draining.

Day 5 in NY

Another exhausting day. Had a bit of a lie-in (up at 9am), then got up and went to the Natural History Museum. It was good - better than the London one. I saw a cool showing of a film about collisions in space in the museum planetarium.
From New York

From New York


Next I looked for some lunch, and decided to try the Burger Joint at Le Parker Meridien. Waited 30 minutes in line, almost on the verge of fainting, only to find it was cash only. Scumbags. I went to Hooters.

The Burger Joint is behind this big red velvet curtain in the lobby and while I was in line nobody came out - it was a lot like a David Lynch set. After lunch I trekked to Coldstone (I'm hooked) then down to the Jewish Heritage Museum near Battery Park. I arrived an hour before closing so, on the advice of a woman workin there, blew it off and did a round trip on the FREE Staten Island Ferry. It was pretty ace - I got a great view of the city and the Statue.

From New York


That done, I headed to the Met which was ok, but not amazing, then walked down 5th to the Apple store to check my email, etc. I got back to the hostel at 9.30pm, exhausted!

From New York


I am enjoying it here, but I don't think it's sunk in that I'm actually in NY, the place I've always wanted to go to. I think after camp it feels so hard to properly relax, especially since I want to fit so much in. Tomorrow I'm going to chill.

Day 4 in NY

Today was good! We met by the Plaza at Central Park, then walked down Madison and Fifth Aves and did some window shopping. We walked around for a couple of hours, then took Alice back to the hostel and saw her off. Ed and I ate lunch at the subway across the street, then walked and shopped some more. He left mid-afternoon, and I came back to the hostel to do some laundry. Once done, I subwayed to 50th & 9th to get some Japanese take-out and took it to Central Park to eat while watching Strangers on a Train. It was a great film, and such a fab way to watch it! They're showing Moonstruck tomorrow, which I might watch also.

The cab ride home was great - the Upper East Side is amazing! It's on my plan for saturday, if only to do some wandering.

Day 3 in NY



Today was fun, we started by meeting at MoMA (big momma), stayed there for a couple of hours, saw two really ace Bacon paintings and some Lichtensteins I hadn't seen before, then headed out to get some lunch. We went to a cafe near 5th Ave and had burritos and fountain Dr. Pepper - amazing. Dr. P never fails to rock my world. It's actually my favourite drink. Afterwards we walked around for quite a while, went into some shops (including Bloomingdales - USA department stores continue to disappoint) and walked around Soho and the Meat Packing district. They were two very distinct areas, the latter especially - it felt like we had left the city. We had a drink in a rather posh restaurant, checked email in the Apple store then ate a pretty crap dinner at a diner.



Feeling full, we went back to MoMA to watch this film, it was weird, but a bit interesting. After it had finished we walked to Times Square, had NY cheesecake, took some night time photos then said goodnight. Tomorrow we're meeting at Barneys, then Alice is leaving at noon, Ed later. I am a bit nervous at them leaving because it's nice to have company, but I think I'll be fine. I have bought a copy of Time Out and am going to make a plan.

Day 2 in NY

Today was so much better. I feel much more confident and comfortable here now. I think using the subway helped - it's made me feel sure that I'll be able to see loads of the city, and won't be confined to one small patch.

I met Alice and Ed at their hostel, ate a cheese and egg roll on their steps for breakfast, then we took the subway to Battery Park and joined an epic line to get onto the Liberty Island ferry. We waited for maybe an hour, but it was warm with a nice breeze, so we were comfy. The trip to the island was good: we saw the city from a new perspective. The statue of libery was good to see, and especially on such a fine day.




Next we sailed to Ellis Island and looked at the exhibition showing the process immigrants had to follow when they arrived on the island. it was pretty interesting, but the way some of the literature was worded gave the impression that the people arriving were treated really well, when the opposite is true.


Once we arrived back in Manhattan we ate a late lunch before taking the subway to the Empire State building, where we joined about 70 different queues. It was worth the wait and effort, though: the views were amazing and I took loads of photos.

Afterwards we looked around Macy's (BORING) then hunted down dinner. After much walking we found a great little Japanese place where a bento box cost $7. We finished with a Coldstone - yum!
The first few bits will be taken from the journal I took to America. After that will be taken from life.