There is no sleeping in even if I wanted to. Construction is going on all around us and is in full swing and the sound is magnified by the empty block next door. We are in a very good area as far as getting to places is concerned. The transport system is quite full on but reasonably easy. You are either going uptown, downtown or across. The trick is getting to the right subway entrance first!!! Uptown and downtown entrys are not necessarily in the same place.
First up is a 3 hour cruise around Manhattan which is very informative and gives us lots of photo opportunities that we otherwise wouldn't have. It's too long really and I am bored after the 2nd hour, especially as we had to turn back at the Harlem River due to the river levels being up and we wouldn't fit under the bridge.
Afterwards we go to the Rockefeller Centre which incorporates NBC Studios and Radio City Music Hall. Radio City is gorgeous and the tour is great up until we meet one of the current Rockettes. She clearly does not wish to talk to us and is quite surly when it comes to answering questions and having her photo taken which she is required to offer. In the gift shop I buy myself a Rockettes t shirt.
We visit Top of the Rock Observation Deck which is terrific with many different levels to get amazing views from. After that we go to NBC for a tour which is lots of fun and I volunteered, naturally, to take the helm as the news anchor and read from the teleprompter. I viewed the video afterwards and I was almost sick. I know why they don't show the hands of newsreaders now. Fiddle, fiddle.
I head off to Grand Central Station which is amazing in size and beautiful in design. I pass by the Algonquin Hotel where Dorothy Parker held many a witty discussion with artists and such like. It's getting late in the evening and I desperately need to rest my blistered feet so I go home. I search for and find a bottle shop and then get some fish in Chinatown for dinner. Chris is out so I have a lovely quiet evening to myself reading and researching my next day out.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Friday, July 3, 2009
Sunday 21st June
NEW YORK CITY! Yay!
We have easy directions and make it to Chinatown where our apartment is and meet Hana, the owner. It's a great little place and we are very happy. A shower, nap and trip to the supermarket see us almost refreshed and ready to go again.
We hit Times Square and I am in an advertiser's heaven. We just wander and soak it all up. We pick up our New York Pass (NYP) which gives us access to tons of attractions. We go home and cook some dinner and relax. It seems there are no bottle shops in Chinatown - don't they drink?? So we end up walking to Little Italy. As tired as we are, it doesn't seem right to go to bed so we just get a little drunk and listen to music.
I must say the supermarket has the most wonderful selection of food available. The options at the self serve salad and meals bar were fabulous, then the over the counter options seemed endless and everything looked sooooo good. Unfortunately US food is loaded with salt and sugar so it's no wonder there is an obesity problem. Even your healthiest salads and vegetables are dripping with some type of sauce or glaze.
I'm so excited to be here. Upcoming blogs are chock full of amazing days! Oh and my blisters are settling but my shin is in pain from the way I have been walking. I will refer to this many times so you understand my distress.
We have easy directions and make it to Chinatown where our apartment is and meet Hana, the owner. It's a great little place and we are very happy. A shower, nap and trip to the supermarket see us almost refreshed and ready to go again.
We hit Times Square and I am in an advertiser's heaven. We just wander and soak it all up. We pick up our New York Pass (NYP) which gives us access to tons of attractions. We go home and cook some dinner and relax. It seems there are no bottle shops in Chinatown - don't they drink?? So we end up walking to Little Italy. As tired as we are, it doesn't seem right to go to bed so we just get a little drunk and listen to music.
I must say the supermarket has the most wonderful selection of food available. The options at the self serve salad and meals bar were fabulous, then the over the counter options seemed endless and everything looked sooooo good. Unfortunately US food is loaded with salt and sugar so it's no wonder there is an obesity problem. Even your healthiest salads and vegetables are dripping with some type of sauce or glaze.
I'm so excited to be here. Upcoming blogs are chock full of amazing days! Oh and my blisters are settling but my shin is in pain from the way I have been walking. I will refer to this many times so you understand my distress.
Saturday 20 June
We have to check out by 11am and I am ready to get out of bed at 7.30am - much to my disgust. The only thing I have left to do is ride the cable car up and down these hills. I am very happy with everything I have done. Our flight to New York is not until 11.30pm so we have a long day ahead. Packed and ready to go we store our luggage at the hostel and go into town to one end of the cable car line. A half hour queue awaits us already.
It is a bit hairy on the hills but fun and I have a smile on my face pretty much the whole time. Once we get to the other end I need a coffee and Chris wants a sundae so we pop into Ghiradelli. I have a brownie which literally melts in my mouth and I can't eat it all. I know!!! Me, not being able to eat a whole brownie! I save the rest for later.
We start walking again and go the the cinema to see Drag Me To Hell - a truly awful horror film.
Starving, we stop at Mel's Diner for a burger and then make our way back to pick up our bags. Our last stop is another cinema near the train station so we can go to the airport after our next movie - Easy Virtue. This is a much better film.
The last few days of weather have been superb and I would love to stay a little longer and relax but away I must go, New York is waiting for me. We have several hours to wait at the airport so I lie down on the floor and have a snooze. After grabbing some dinner it's almost time to go. We aren't sitting together on the plane but no matter, we'll be sleeping anyway.
My blisters are a real problem but what can I do? I must grimace and bear it.
It is a bit hairy on the hills but fun and I have a smile on my face pretty much the whole time. Once we get to the other end I need a coffee and Chris wants a sundae so we pop into Ghiradelli. I have a brownie which literally melts in my mouth and I can't eat it all. I know!!! Me, not being able to eat a whole brownie! I save the rest for later.
We start walking again and go the the cinema to see Drag Me To Hell - a truly awful horror film.
Starving, we stop at Mel's Diner for a burger and then make our way back to pick up our bags. Our last stop is another cinema near the train station so we can go to the airport after our next movie - Easy Virtue. This is a much better film.
The last few days of weather have been superb and I would love to stay a little longer and relax but away I must go, New York is waiting for me. We have several hours to wait at the airport so I lie down on the floor and have a snooze. After grabbing some dinner it's almost time to go. We aren't sitting together on the plane but no matter, we'll be sleeping anyway.
My blisters are a real problem but what can I do? I must grimace and bear it.
Friday 19 June
There is no way Chris will be out of bed before noon and I have given myself an extra hour's sleep, until 9am. I have a few ideas for today of things I want to do so sit tight this is a huge day!!!!
First up I walk into town and I come across a window displaying beautiful old stagecoach. It is an original Wells Fargo postal coach. I go in to take a photo and discover it is actually a museum and free. What a job that was back in the day with the long hours and travel time!
My next stop is the Railway Museum which is small but interesting to read about the different streetcars they have. I saw one in action that was painted in green and yellow with Melbourne on it. They do this with all the cities that have streetcars (trams).
I move towards the centre of town and go to a mall looking for a spiral escalator I have read about. I find it and ride it but it is a non event. It is too big to really notice you are moving in a spiral but I think it's a novel idea. I am suckered in by one of the shops in the middle of the walkways, you know the ones where they come at you with a sample of something so great you won't know what you did before it came along!! This is one I have bought before, the Dead Sea lotions and potions. I don't mind being stopped, the girl is lovely and we have a great time, she laughs at my jokes while exfoliating and moisturising my hands. We chat about Australia and the harsh sun and I know she is working up to the sale but I have already decided I will buy something. She will start at the value of all 3 products being $250 and work her way down to me buying 1 for $50 and then 'ssh, don't tell anyone' giving me a free gift of the second. The piece de resistance is the staff price on the third item so I can have the set but I really have to 'ssssh, she isn't supposed to do this but she is a trainer so she can'. I spend around $90. It is actually good value as these products do last the 15 months or so they say they do. Jen even gives me her personal email to let her know how things are going and if I have any questions. I am so lucky!!!
I need to get going, I didn't factor in this time waster. On my way to the Cable Car Museum I am distracted by 4 fire trucks that come speeding towards me, well to the homeless man lying semi conscious on the ground. This distraction costs me a very steep walk up Nob Hill and I am the knob because I just have to walk down the other side!! The museum is terrific with the actual cables and sheaves that the cars run on. It doesn't seem real.
My next stop is the area of Fort Mason (suburb by the water) so I head in the right direction intending to take the bus but it's too close so I walk. The scenery is just gorgeous and so summery. The bay, sunshine, tourists, attractions, me and a general relaxed attitude.
I need sustenance and a toilet break so I go into Safeway. I buy a red banana (which is purple) from Mexico but I pick one that isn't ripe and it tastes like any other banana.
Moving on I aim for Fort Point which is underneath the Golden Gate. This is where Hitchcock filmed the scene where Kim Novak dies in Vertigo. I planned to take the bus but the walk is so lovely and the houses amazing I can't stop. This is the Marina area and this lovely walk is to become my enemy as I am getting tired now and my legs are aching. I get side tracked again by an extraordinary building housing the Exploratorium. I don't go inside as it is just like Scienceworks and I don't need to re-acquaint myself with experiments and facts that I can remember anywhere. It's the structure outside the museum that I am drawn to as is everyone else. There is a wedding going on and I hear the bagpipes which are not being played particularly well.
I feel like I should be wearing a toga and am transported back to Roman times. I wonder how this structure survived the 1906 earthquake and what are the Romans doing here anyway? I find the info I need and it tells me it was built for the Panama Pacific Exposition in 1915. So it's not as old as I want it to be.
I take the bus the remainder of the way and arrive at the bridge at 4.45pm, the Fort closes at 5pm. I still have to find my way down the hill and the signage is terrible. I am sent in different directions by various people and I am not happy now. When I get there I just get a few photos and imagine what it is like inside. When we walked the bridge we caught a glimpse inside.
Desperate for a chardonnay I am seeking a cafe to sit in for a while but it's all park and beach, no shops. I am tempted to walk the The Presidio area but decide it's really not a good idea given the pain I am starting to feel. The Presidio is the area once occupied by the Marines as you would expect with a name like that. It is now one of the wealthiest areas to live in.
I have got to get to the bus stop before I collapse and after a mix up of bus numbers and finally accidentally coming across the shops, I am on the home stretch. This bus will take me within minutes of my front door.
I pop in to Enrico's at 6.50pm. I have time for a happy hour mojito. I have been out since 10am and figure I have been walking for 8 of the 9 hours.
Time for a well earned shower and then it's out to dinner and to relax. I go around the corner to an Italian restaurant. My meal is delicious - roast chicken with zucchini mashed potatoes and broccolini. My cab sav is yummy! I really like being on my own, listening and observing. Americans are very loud, we have established that and it is well known. I am loud and often feel self conscious when I catch myself. Here, there is no catching of one's self, it is the way you are.
Couple A in front of me are competing for my aural attention and all I want is to eat my vegetables. Couple B next to me are not trying to be subtle. She is disturbing me because she is shaking her legs with nerves or maybe she has a chill. My peripheral vision is awesome at the worst of time so this is just killing me and I can't turn away far enough in my seat to avoid seeing her without looking strange. Besides there is a mirrored wall on my other side and I do not want to look at myself.
I have sometimes thought I would fit in with America society given the volume I can speak at and I can be brash but geez I hope I do not come across like this. It hurts my ears it is so loud. The shaky legs are still going and I want to smack her as she takes a photo of her calzone.
Couple A man is getting louder and louder. The waiters are not attentive to my wine levels and I wonder if this is a safe drinking tactic or they are just slack. I decide they are slack! Some restaurants love to wait on a single female diner - others don't! I can't wait to leave so I can go elsewhere for dessert. Maybe I should let everyone leave before me and then I can avoid them. Plan!!
Couple C - oh no, another leg shaker! I think they are on a date. Threesome D has a foot swinger, female B is still going - is she dizzy? I'll make her dizzy. Oh, couple A has left the building. I hear someone many tables away say "ssh". I'm like, yeah shut the hell up everyone. Couple E have been eating so slowly, drinking the same wine, corporate clothing - let's meet after work Friday type of meeting. I can't hear the words coming out of their mouths, just sounds. The body language tells me everything. I know these things and there is no one here to tell me I am wrong.
Finally I leave and I am hanging out for some tiramisu. Staying in Little Italy the options are plentiful. Unfortunately I choose the wrong place. I struggle through my coffee and dessert with a constant grimace on my face.
Time to go home to bed. It's the last night here and I am wrecked.
N.B. I know there are some typos but I can't be bothered to fix them. I must really be relaxed!!!
First up I walk into town and I come across a window displaying beautiful old stagecoach. It is an original Wells Fargo postal coach. I go in to take a photo and discover it is actually a museum and free. What a job that was back in the day with the long hours and travel time!
My next stop is the Railway Museum which is small but interesting to read about the different streetcars they have. I saw one in action that was painted in green and yellow with Melbourne on it. They do this with all the cities that have streetcars (trams).
I move towards the centre of town and go to a mall looking for a spiral escalator I have read about. I find it and ride it but it is a non event. It is too big to really notice you are moving in a spiral but I think it's a novel idea. I am suckered in by one of the shops in the middle of the walkways, you know the ones where they come at you with a sample of something so great you won't know what you did before it came along!! This is one I have bought before, the Dead Sea lotions and potions. I don't mind being stopped, the girl is lovely and we have a great time, she laughs at my jokes while exfoliating and moisturising my hands. We chat about Australia and the harsh sun and I know she is working up to the sale but I have already decided I will buy something. She will start at the value of all 3 products being $250 and work her way down to me buying 1 for $50 and then 'ssh, don't tell anyone' giving me a free gift of the second. The piece de resistance is the staff price on the third item so I can have the set but I really have to 'ssssh, she isn't supposed to do this but she is a trainer so she can'. I spend around $90. It is actually good value as these products do last the 15 months or so they say they do. Jen even gives me her personal email to let her know how things are going and if I have any questions. I am so lucky!!!
I need to get going, I didn't factor in this time waster. On my way to the Cable Car Museum I am distracted by 4 fire trucks that come speeding towards me, well to the homeless man lying semi conscious on the ground. This distraction costs me a very steep walk up Nob Hill and I am the knob because I just have to walk down the other side!! The museum is terrific with the actual cables and sheaves that the cars run on. It doesn't seem real.
My next stop is the area of Fort Mason (suburb by the water) so I head in the right direction intending to take the bus but it's too close so I walk. The scenery is just gorgeous and so summery. The bay, sunshine, tourists, attractions, me and a general relaxed attitude.
I need sustenance and a toilet break so I go into Safeway. I buy a red banana (which is purple) from Mexico but I pick one that isn't ripe and it tastes like any other banana.
Moving on I aim for Fort Point which is underneath the Golden Gate. This is where Hitchcock filmed the scene where Kim Novak dies in Vertigo. I planned to take the bus but the walk is so lovely and the houses amazing I can't stop. This is the Marina area and this lovely walk is to become my enemy as I am getting tired now and my legs are aching. I get side tracked again by an extraordinary building housing the Exploratorium. I don't go inside as it is just like Scienceworks and I don't need to re-acquaint myself with experiments and facts that I can remember anywhere. It's the structure outside the museum that I am drawn to as is everyone else. There is a wedding going on and I hear the bagpipes which are not being played particularly well.
I feel like I should be wearing a toga and am transported back to Roman times. I wonder how this structure survived the 1906 earthquake and what are the Romans doing here anyway? I find the info I need and it tells me it was built for the Panama Pacific Exposition in 1915. So it's not as old as I want it to be.
I take the bus the remainder of the way and arrive at the bridge at 4.45pm, the Fort closes at 5pm. I still have to find my way down the hill and the signage is terrible. I am sent in different directions by various people and I am not happy now. When I get there I just get a few photos and imagine what it is like inside. When we walked the bridge we caught a glimpse inside.
Desperate for a chardonnay I am seeking a cafe to sit in for a while but it's all park and beach, no shops. I am tempted to walk the The Presidio area but decide it's really not a good idea given the pain I am starting to feel. The Presidio is the area once occupied by the Marines as you would expect with a name like that. It is now one of the wealthiest areas to live in.
I have got to get to the bus stop before I collapse and after a mix up of bus numbers and finally accidentally coming across the shops, I am on the home stretch. This bus will take me within minutes of my front door.
I pop in to Enrico's at 6.50pm. I have time for a happy hour mojito. I have been out since 10am and figure I have been walking for 8 of the 9 hours.
Time for a well earned shower and then it's out to dinner and to relax. I go around the corner to an Italian restaurant. My meal is delicious - roast chicken with zucchini mashed potatoes and broccolini. My cab sav is yummy! I really like being on my own, listening and observing. Americans are very loud, we have established that and it is well known. I am loud and often feel self conscious when I catch myself. Here, there is no catching of one's self, it is the way you are.
Couple A in front of me are competing for my aural attention and all I want is to eat my vegetables. Couple B next to me are not trying to be subtle. She is disturbing me because she is shaking her legs with nerves or maybe she has a chill. My peripheral vision is awesome at the worst of time so this is just killing me and I can't turn away far enough in my seat to avoid seeing her without looking strange. Besides there is a mirrored wall on my other side and I do not want to look at myself.
I have sometimes thought I would fit in with America society given the volume I can speak at and I can be brash but geez I hope I do not come across like this. It hurts my ears it is so loud. The shaky legs are still going and I want to smack her as she takes a photo of her calzone.
Couple A man is getting louder and louder. The waiters are not attentive to my wine levels and I wonder if this is a safe drinking tactic or they are just slack. I decide they are slack! Some restaurants love to wait on a single female diner - others don't! I can't wait to leave so I can go elsewhere for dessert. Maybe I should let everyone leave before me and then I can avoid them. Plan!!
Couple C - oh no, another leg shaker! I think they are on a date. Threesome D has a foot swinger, female B is still going - is she dizzy? I'll make her dizzy. Oh, couple A has left the building. I hear someone many tables away say "ssh". I'm like, yeah shut the hell up everyone. Couple E have been eating so slowly, drinking the same wine, corporate clothing - let's meet after work Friday type of meeting. I can't hear the words coming out of their mouths, just sounds. The body language tells me everything. I know these things and there is no one here to tell me I am wrong.
Finally I leave and I am hanging out for some tiramisu. Staying in Little Italy the options are plentiful. Unfortunately I choose the wrong place. I struggle through my coffee and dessert with a constant grimace on my face.
Time to go home to bed. It's the last night here and I am wrecked.
N.B. I know there are some typos but I can't be bothered to fix them. I must really be relaxed!!!
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Thursday 18 June
San Francisco Part 1 didn't actually exist so I should apologise for any confusion by my headlines. I thought about that afterwards but didn't bother changing it.
So onto Thursday. First thing to do is to book Beach Blanket Babylon so off we go to the box office just down the road. We sidetrack to the post office to send our postcards. Okay, tickets booked and we head off to the Haight, hippie headquarters. We detour to Alamo Square and the Painted Ladies for a photo. To say I am underwhelmed is an understatement. If I didn't come I would have wondered and been disappointed. I later manage to find some painted ladies that show the meaning and actual aesthetic of these houses.
Down to the Haight itself now - after I direct us in the opposite direction - and we are starving so set our sights on finding sustenance. It's not easy as we would prefer not to have pizza, but pizza it is. Chris finds himself a Dr Who t shirt in an op shop and simply must have it.
Changing course we mmove on to the Castro District - Gay Central. We soon decide to go separate ways and I take a walking tour through the Mission District. This is the main Hispanic area and has many murals painted on houses and walls. At first I am intimidated as I am the only white person in the vicinity or rather the most obvious! Oh well, I try to forget about that and soak up the atmosphere. Some of the murals are stunning and I think the photos won't really do them justice, especially the Women's Building. My walk lasts over an hour and I am weary but the day is not over. I make my way back to town taking various photos along the way.
Back at the seaside I walk almost the length of Fisherman's Wharf and the promenade. I stop at Fisherman's Alley to pick up a crab sandwich for dinner and I am hanging out for a beer to go with it. I have 1 left in the fridge back at the hostel. I am wrecked.
My beer has gone - not down my throat - I mean stolen!!!! I have to trudge down the stairs again and go to my local for another. It goes down exceptionally well with the crab. I have to hurry as I need a shower and we are meeting Daniel at 7.15pm for Beach Blanket Babylon. It is now 6.30pm. Of course the clothes I want to wear don't fit me so I throw them back into my case and choose again. Ready in a flash! I grab the Tim Tams and Vegemite for Daniel and we make our way down to the theatre which luckily is only a 10min walk.
BBB has been recommended to me and it sounds like a great night. It is the longest running revue in the world at 35 years telling the story of Snow White searching the world for love. She is taken on a whirlwind tour around the world meeting notable characters and celebrities such at The Godfather, Michael Jackson, Beyonce, Parisians, South Americans etc. I must say I am very disappointed and do not think it is as good as it should be. The hats are a famous part of the show and indeed they are incredible but it is not enough ot satisf my entertainment desires. It hasn't helped that a couple have arrived just as the show is starting and we all have to get up to let them in. Of course they need drinks but the waiter has gone and they talk and talk and talk. After a while she gets up herself and on her way back she walks over our seats in defiance, then continues to talk and talk. I am ready to punch her lights out.
After the show we head back towards the hostel and settle down with $5 mojitos at Enrico's next door. Yum! Daniel and I convince Chris that he should go out with Daniel in the Castro as it's now or never on this trip. I am happily drunk and ready for bed.
I don't know what time Chris gets home but he is really drunk and I am confident he has had a good time.
So onto Thursday. First thing to do is to book Beach Blanket Babylon so off we go to the box office just down the road. We sidetrack to the post office to send our postcards. Okay, tickets booked and we head off to the Haight, hippie headquarters. We detour to Alamo Square and the Painted Ladies for a photo. To say I am underwhelmed is an understatement. If I didn't come I would have wondered and been disappointed. I later manage to find some painted ladies that show the meaning and actual aesthetic of these houses.
Down to the Haight itself now - after I direct us in the opposite direction - and we are starving so set our sights on finding sustenance. It's not easy as we would prefer not to have pizza, but pizza it is. Chris finds himself a Dr Who t shirt in an op shop and simply must have it.
Changing course we mmove on to the Castro District - Gay Central. We soon decide to go separate ways and I take a walking tour through the Mission District. This is the main Hispanic area and has many murals painted on houses and walls. At first I am intimidated as I am the only white person in the vicinity or rather the most obvious! Oh well, I try to forget about that and soak up the atmosphere. Some of the murals are stunning and I think the photos won't really do them justice, especially the Women's Building. My walk lasts over an hour and I am weary but the day is not over. I make my way back to town taking various photos along the way.
Back at the seaside I walk almost the length of Fisherman's Wharf and the promenade. I stop at Fisherman's Alley to pick up a crab sandwich for dinner and I am hanging out for a beer to go with it. I have 1 left in the fridge back at the hostel. I am wrecked.
My beer has gone - not down my throat - I mean stolen!!!! I have to trudge down the stairs again and go to my local for another. It goes down exceptionally well with the crab. I have to hurry as I need a shower and we are meeting Daniel at 7.15pm for Beach Blanket Babylon. It is now 6.30pm. Of course the clothes I want to wear don't fit me so I throw them back into my case and choose again. Ready in a flash! I grab the Tim Tams and Vegemite for Daniel and we make our way down to the theatre which luckily is only a 10min walk.
BBB has been recommended to me and it sounds like a great night. It is the longest running revue in the world at 35 years telling the story of Snow White searching the world for love. She is taken on a whirlwind tour around the world meeting notable characters and celebrities such at The Godfather, Michael Jackson, Beyonce, Parisians, South Americans etc. I must say I am very disappointed and do not think it is as good as it should be. The hats are a famous part of the show and indeed they are incredible but it is not enough ot satisf my entertainment desires. It hasn't helped that a couple have arrived just as the show is starting and we all have to get up to let them in. Of course they need drinks but the waiter has gone and they talk and talk and talk. After a while she gets up herself and on her way back she walks over our seats in defiance, then continues to talk and talk. I am ready to punch her lights out.
After the show we head back towards the hostel and settle down with $5 mojitos at Enrico's next door. Yum! Daniel and I convince Chris that he should go out with Daniel in the Castro as it's now or never on this trip. I am happily drunk and ready for bed.
I don't know what time Chris gets home but he is really drunk and I am confident he has had a good time.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Rewind
I forgot to mention the single woman that came into Zoetrope and sat near me. She had one drink and when the waiter brought her bill over he said, "I have taken care of your check, here is my number if you ever feel like giving me a call." I thought, "What the hell is wrong with me?" Daniel brought me back to reality and said that "she probably was 'somebody' and he recognised her so was trying to make a contact. I "could" have been somebody, sittiing here writing in my journal with a confident air about me. He wasn't to know that I was writing holidays notes, I could just as well have been writing a script! Yeah!!!"
Friday, June 19, 2009
Thursday 18 June
Sorry, too tired and a bit drunk to post today's adventures! They were very interesting though.
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