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San Francisco
Mar. 17th, 2012 06:47 pmWell, it was hardly a wonderful portent when I arrived at San Francisco airport to rain that was, at time, almost horizontal. All thoughts about getting the BART to Montgomery went straight out of the window. I got a cab.
That took me through Sixth St and then Taylor St, before turning right at Bush St and dropping me off at the Petite Auberge -- which was, of course, shut. I had to walk a couple of houses down to the White Swan Hotel to pick up my key.
The taxi ride was interesting. Just south of this hotel the area is, er, 'seedy' (as opposed to 'edgy'). Although I walked through part of this area this morning, I wouldn't be keen on doing so at night.
The flight had not been too bad. No crying babies (despite quite a few being on the plane) and perhaps a few too many Italians, but the movies choice was excellent. I could have watched many more than the three I chose -- My Week With Marilyn (Michelle Williams was brillant), Contagion (Gwynneth Paltrow and Kate Winslet weren't brilliant, but Jennifer Ehle was) and Anonymous (Rafe Spall hilarious as Shakespeare, Rhys Ifans a revelation as Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford). Anonymous wazs total bollocks from start to finish, but was great fun.
Of the three, I will probably not bother again with Contagion, but the other two will be worth seeing on the bigger screen (where, these days 'bigger screen' equals the TV at home).
Oh, and two of the middle-aged Italian couples, fully fledged fans of 'life angle-shooting' when it came to queue-jumping to get through immigration, promptly paid the price by getting called over at customs, while everyone else sailed by -- one of the men's furious gesticulations - presumably so successful in Rome - getting him nowhere with the US customs guys.
The food was standard BA fare, although the cabin staff were not the most efficient that I've ever seen -- at one point I actually had to ask for more coffee than the two dessertspoonfuls that had been put into my cup). But I did manage two and a half hours' sleep. That, added to my eight hours' sleep that I forced on myself last night, saw me getting out of bed at 6am and starting my walk when it got light at 7am.
I headed west along Bush St, away from downtown, with the aim of reaching Haight-Ashbury and a couple of famous houses which the 60s children among you will immediately recognize.
However, despite San Francisco being 'a great place to tour on foot', this turned out to be rather further than I anticipated. So I got as far as the 'Painted Ladies' (see below) on Alamo Square, and started heading back.
I picked up some reading glasses, an SD card for the camera, and more traditional pharmacy stuff at Walgreen's, before arriving back at 10am for breakfast. Soon I shall be heading out to buy some bus passes, perhaps catch a glimpse of the St Patrick's Day parade, and thence to the airport to meet my friend Barb, who is flying in from Chicago.
Should be a fun day.
( Pictures, not shrunk to fit, unfortunately. Haven't got hang of Photobucket yet! )
That took me through Sixth St and then Taylor St, before turning right at Bush St and dropping me off at the Petite Auberge -- which was, of course, shut. I had to walk a couple of houses down to the White Swan Hotel to pick up my key.
The taxi ride was interesting. Just south of this hotel the area is, er, 'seedy' (as opposed to 'edgy'). Although I walked through part of this area this morning, I wouldn't be keen on doing so at night.
The flight had not been too bad. No crying babies (despite quite a few being on the plane) and perhaps a few too many Italians, but the movies choice was excellent. I could have watched many more than the three I chose -- My Week With Marilyn (Michelle Williams was brillant), Contagion (Gwynneth Paltrow and Kate Winslet weren't brilliant, but Jennifer Ehle was) and Anonymous (Rafe Spall hilarious as Shakespeare, Rhys Ifans a revelation as Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford). Anonymous wazs total bollocks from start to finish, but was great fun.
Of the three, I will probably not bother again with Contagion, but the other two will be worth seeing on the bigger screen (where, these days 'bigger screen' equals the TV at home).
Oh, and two of the middle-aged Italian couples, fully fledged fans of 'life angle-shooting' when it came to queue-jumping to get through immigration, promptly paid the price by getting called over at customs, while everyone else sailed by -- one of the men's furious gesticulations - presumably so successful in Rome - getting him nowhere with the US customs guys.
The food was standard BA fare, although the cabin staff were not the most efficient that I've ever seen -- at one point I actually had to ask for more coffee than the two dessertspoonfuls that had been put into my cup). But I did manage two and a half hours' sleep. That, added to my eight hours' sleep that I forced on myself last night, saw me getting out of bed at 6am and starting my walk when it got light at 7am.
I headed west along Bush St, away from downtown, with the aim of reaching Haight-Ashbury and a couple of famous houses which the 60s children among you will immediately recognize.
However, despite San Francisco being 'a great place to tour on foot', this turned out to be rather further than I anticipated. So I got as far as the 'Painted Ladies' (see below) on Alamo Square, and started heading back.
I picked up some reading glasses, an SD card for the camera, and more traditional pharmacy stuff at Walgreen's, before arriving back at 10am for breakfast. Soon I shall be heading out to buy some bus passes, perhaps catch a glimpse of the St Patrick's Day parade, and thence to the airport to meet my friend Barb, who is flying in from Chicago.
Should be a fun day.
( Pictures, not shrunk to fit, unfortunately. Haven't got hang of Photobucket yet! )
