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Its just gone five thirty, Im sitting in the Hotel Lobby. Just added pix to my Blog to accompany my writing. 


Think I'll go to the shops one last time before heading to the airport. Having been umming & arring about a coat I really like. Im shivering here cause I decided not to carry my hooded top with me. Have a few last purchases to make. I'll be sad to leave San Francisco. I've loved everywhere I've been, though San Francisco does it for me. I would've loved NYC more if it was cold. Way too hot for me there. At least Egypt had air conditioned buses etc along the way transferring us from destination to destination. Im not so nervous at the moment, Im sure that will return soon! 


Im fretting cause I'll be further away from Mr Sanchez (sorry Pio I like the sound of it) Even though he's on the other side of the U.S. Has anyone got any constructive advice for long distance relationships? Sorry for those of you who really don't want to hear this. To be honest its more for my benefit cause its therapeutic to write things down & I want Pio (Mr Leandro Sanchez) to know that he is in my thoughts & that Im fretting with him. 

Last Day In San Francisco : ( IS ANYONE READING MY BLOG BESIDES LEANDRO & JON????!!!!

I've got less than fifteen minutes till I need to be out of my apartment. I've loved every minute of it! I feel like I've been away forever and Im not looking forward to going back (and Im looking forward to going back at the same time) I know when Im back on Australian soil it will (probably) be like I never left! I really need my return to be different though cause that is part of why I went in the first place. 

I needed a holiday after the five & a bit year relationship with my partner last year. I needed the holiday cause my Dad past away last April. I needed the holiday to break free from my stale life & go on an adventure. I needed the holiday to be exposed to the fact that there is life out there. DON'T GET FIXATED BY THE IDEA THAT THE LIFE YOU LEAD IS THE ONLY LIFE YOU HAVE! Things can be different you can see life from a different perspective. Perhaps you need to find a way to break free of your present surroundings, see life the way other people experience it. 

I've had such a rewarding experience, I've been to lots of amazing places, taken masses of photos, got lost tons of times, stressed & panic attacked, spent unnecessary money, walked more than you can imagine & made some great purchases.  The list could go on. I also found love. (this maybe corny to hear for some) Im not sure where it will take us, though beyond the grief & heartache, Leandro & I will see where it takes us. (Try to think logically & practical) 

I better finish up now. Haven't even downloaded my pix from yesterday yet. Went to the Palace of Fine Arts yesterday. Somewhere I've wanted to go since seeing it on Tales of the  City. I still didn't get to Barbary Lane :   (   !  Unfortunately there was construction work going on all around it! Managed to take some great pix regardless. Also managed to, a week later, work out the bus system here,  easy for some! I then went to The Castro, this time by bus after the Palcae, again to do some shopping, take more pix & then got the train back to the city. The train system was SO easy! Caltrain is cheap too like the buses! $2 for the ride. Did more shopping in town, chatted to Leandro on a broken communication Yahoo chat line (mayB its just my techno-phobia?) 

Today I woke up stressing, stomach tightening. I've packed about to go down stairs, Its 11:33 a.m, leave my bags & Papyrus, and look around locally & finish off with more shopping! Might do the pix and some more entries later today! 

OMG Got more than I expected in San Francisco!

I've been quite occupied these past few days in San Francisco! I hardly know where to start!


San Francisco is a beautiful city, love the city centre, the architecture, Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman's Wharf, the Financial District, The Castro, The Cocktails & places I never made it to. I also met a wonderful guy whilst here. (sorry Mum it did happen) 


There were SO many subjects worth taking pix of I didn't always know where to start, residential buildings everywhere having there own charm. Pictures taken of The Golden Gate Bridge were a real joy, especially with the cities iconic fog enveloping the upper reaches of this magnificent structure. I actually walked from the city to get here. Again I have no idea about distance, reading maps & sense of direction. I walked for several hours, it was painful, don't ask me why I didn't get some mode of transport there. Anyway it was worth the walk in the end. The walk along the bridge was gusty, my fingers close to freezing, losing there ability to clasp smoothly. The Golden Gate is Majestic!

After this experience I did something I have not done for a few months. I met a guy I'd chatted to online. I was hesitant & uncertain as I don't do it often. I felt confident though with his smile so I agreed to meet him. He said he wanted to "hang out" with me which I thought was a really cool way of saying it yet thinking Im not really cool. His name is Leandro, his close friends call him Pio. His smile is as endearing as his personality, a kind, gentle, generous person. We had great times together, the dinners & cocktails were amazing! Especially loved the gigantic steak we shared at that swish restaurant! (Not the one shown in the Blog though) Pio's a real sweet guy with a heart that goes out to others. We had some awesome romantic times together. Haven't had romance in my life for such a long time. He was only here for a few days until the inevitable departure made its entrance. There were tears on that evening. I kind of felt glad I was SO tired that evening, it numbed the feeling of loss. Unfortunately I did crash somewhat the next day finding it hard to concentrate. So thats the Lovely Mr Sanchez. 

Though Fisherman's Wharf is touristy it still managed to uphold its charm, a beautiful walk with the Bay Bridge as its backdrop. All the bridge pictures you see other than the Golden Gate Bridge are of the Bay Bridge. (incl. Room 1718 @Le Meridian) There was a real cool indoor market of fine foods such as cheese, chocolate, vegetables, breads etc. There was even a smorgasboard of every variety of mushroom! For those of you who don't know I HATE mushrooms :  )  


I took the local bus to the Golden Gate Park, yes I took the bus! It only costs $2 an adult for any journey lasting up to Ninety minutes! So you can get off one bus & hop on another within that time frame, what great value! (Though the journey is a long one) I specifically wanted to go to the Californian Academy of Sciences, and predominantly for their Planetarium. It was the same one I'd seen in NYC with a bit of San Franciscan extra thrown in. Showing the life-cycle of a star, showcasing our own star, the sun. If you haven't been to one of these dimensional shows you MUST! Its totally AMAZING! The closest we may ever get to exploring the Universe. If there was a Planetarium close to home I think I'd go there weekly, perhaps even work there! Its strange cause last time I was in the U.S in 2007 there were other astrological presentations to be seen & now there is only the one. Does anyone have an answer for this? 


It was my intention to walk the surrounds of the Golden Gate Park but my mind was utterly clouded by Leandro's departure. I didn't feel we'd established enough in the time that we had, so I couldn't bring myself to walk the rest of the park. Sad but true. 

I will finish off by saying that I was surprised by the distance of the Golden Gate Bridge & its corresponding park from the central cityscape. In my mind they were closer together like Sydney's bridge is slap bang in the city & on that beautiful harbour. 


Its interesting how we perceive things based on our immediate knowledge, based on the media perhaps & assumption. 


Time perception has had its own momentum too. Each & every experience I've had has seemed longer than it actually was. Thats the magic of time & new experiences! I have a great non-fiction book that discusses how this is possible if you're interested?   

Oh I got a Limo to JFK

Think I forgot to mention I got a stretched Limo from NYC to JFK. Didn't realize the Limo was mine. Told the man waiting at reception that Id put my bag in the car cause I didn't have tip money only to find that he was my driver! I realized too late as I was quite tired having not slept enough. I didn't get around to taking external pix only a few insider ones. It was cool but I couldn't hear my driver really well cause he was SO far away! The best part was I arrived on time with heaps of time to spare, which made a pleasant change. The end.

The Castro, Lost in Figure of Eight & cool Graffiti Pix

Things didn't go as planned today. Though I did get to Castro, SF's gay district, then I got lost BIG TIME for hours, then really sunburnt, I ate a late lunch, back to the Hotel & then back out to the shops. Was gonna make a second attempt at the Golden Gate Bridge to find that the fog had descended on the fair city. 

Castro is a wonderful strip, novelty shops, quaint architecture, colour, variety. Looks like some nice places to eat. I had a ridiculously good chocolate chip cookie with %#&*off! chocolate chips that melted on impact. ("%#&*off!" relates to awesome size of chocolate chips) There were a few pleasant encounters with friendly shop assistants, with chatting included. Anyone who knows me knows I don't usually chat with people in this context. It seems very welcoming here. I'll be interested to see how this translates in the evening. 

Speaking of evening, the weather here totally changes, in the morning as well. The classic San Franciscan fog still envelopes the cityscape from evening to morning. The day was relatively hot, blue skies & winds in parts of the area. The morning & evening goes chilly. "As I have told you" (in joke whilst in Egypt) I LOVE the chill! The sun was too harsh for me today, the surrounding suburbs welcoming in the sunshine. Geographically its a very hilly & open city. 


I got lost after Castro. Went in the totally wrong direction then went, almost, full circle before giving up on the Golden Gate bridge to finish with yet another loop. So basically I did a figure of eight. A figure of eight to NOWHERE!!! 


Late lunch was ok went to the same place as yesterday. The service was slow. Had beer battered Cod. The Cod was fried to death before arriving. Breakfast out this a.m was average, the OJ was awesome so I ordered a second one. I'd been fantasizing about.... bacon for ages during my trip, so when I finally had it it was also fried to death, sapped of any nutritional value. 


Tomorrow I intend to go to the Golden Gate Bridge, better planned this time! 

I love U.S tv!!!! Im watching a crime drama-like tv station. 


Gotta go have pix to download to accompany these words. Oh & there was a highlight of getting lost. I took some wonderful pix of graffiti! This would not have happened otherwise. I still used up several hours getting lost, big chunks of desolate city space. And tonight I took some great pix of lighting alongside Union Square where Im staying. Hotel in the pix is not my residence. 

See ya's!    

    

I've arrived in San Francisco !!! : ) Home of Bodice-Rippers & Mrs Madrigal

So here I am in the civic heart of San Francisco. Minutes from the Macy's, a huge Westfields, other department stores, etc & Union Square. 



An unusual system with United. Unlike every other airline I've EVER been on seats are "assigned" later after check in & minutes before boarding!


Did something very different for me, don't get excited now! Went to Restaurant right next to my Hotel! For anyone who knows me I'd usually walk about undecidedly for quite some time B4 eating somewhere. Had the New York cut steak. 


(Think I forgot to recount, ordered the New York Steak yesterday in NYC, they didn't have it! So I ordered another steak. The steak was swimming in a shallow watery brown broth. It smelt off but I gathered it was just the way it was cooked. None-the-less it wasn't very nice even masked in steak sauce & even though it smelt & tasted vaguely off) Anyway this NY Steak in San Fran was divine! 


Walked up the road, literally. Powell road actually from where Im staying. Just thought Id see what was around. From here I turned left. In the distance I could see a church that looked familiar. It was Grace Cathedral where scenes from 'Further Tales of the City', by Armistead Maupin,  were set. ("Its organic") Twas wonderful to see a monument from one of my favourite series! I kept thinking, Im in love! As I walked the fog started to settle. Mrs Madrigal even gets noted in the DK Top Ten Series for San Francisco! I LOVE Mrs Madrigal, I wish she was real! (In my mind she is!) 


Other literary figures Amy Tan, 'The Joy Luck Club' & the incomparable Danielle Steele charmed Bodice-ripper novelist, both locals of the area. 


So here I am in my room. 2moro I will encompass major sites such as the Golden Gate Bridge, Golden Gate Park & the Castro (Gay area) 


I love San Fran I don't want to leave & I've only just arrived! 

I've arrived in San Francisco!!! : )

So here I am in the civic heart of San Francisco. Minutes from the Macy's & etc.


An unusual system with United. Unlike every other airline I've EVER been on seats are "assigned" later after check in & minutes before boarding! Im sure there's some logical reason though it seems backward. Personally once I've checked in I like to know where my seat is, so I can relax, as much as is possible for me anyway.


The plane journey was ok, paid for lunch, slightly stale roll, guess it is domestic. TV screens along the aisle playing havoc with my neck posture. Got the BART train line in from the airport, was real easy to use, though no aircon. The weather here is bearable so far yet still hot. Though I was carting my luggage in the sun up a gentle slope. (Only metre's ahead the gentle slope goes steep)  


Im going to shower now, like you wanted to know, then head out for something to eat & exploring.

More pics on the way! Please write some comments if your reading my Blog  :  )