Hippies, lighthouses and giant trees

Weather was a bit dodgy again on Saturday. Joined a nearby gym – it’s open 24 hours for all those people who want to go and work out at three in the morning (who?) and is incredibly cheap (works out at about £20 per month). In the afternoon, we headed to the Haight Ashbury area, famous as a centre for hippie culture. There were still a few old hippies wandering around with long (now grey) hair and rainbow-coloured woolly hats. Spent a pleasant afternoon browsing the out-there boutiques as well as Amoeba Records, a massive new and second-hand music store. Yesterday was clearer, so we headed across the Golden Gate Bridge (in the car this time) to Marin County. The western side of the area is remarkably undeveloped, rugged and wild, not unlike Scotland. We headed to Point Bonita lighthouse, which stands at the entrance to the bay and affords lovely views back towards the bridge and the city, out to the Pacific and up the rocky coastline. I was also amazed at all the flowers in bloom, including narcissi and lilies. We left Point Bonita and headed to Muir Woods, a coastal redwood forest. Coast redwoods are the tallest living things on earth. We did a nice hike through the forest. It was only upon returning to the car park that we noticed all the signs displaying warnings like, “you are entering mountain lion country” and “you are entering coyote country” together with detailed instructions on what to do if you encounter these creatures. They advised you to look one of them in the eye (mountain lions), yet avoid eye contact with the other (coyotes), so you need to be sure what you’re dealing with! You are also advised to “retaliate aggressively” if attacked – very helpful!

Foggy days

Well, the fog has rolled in – came in yesterday and disappeared, but is sticking around today. Alcatraz is just a ghostly outline with the faint shadow of Angel Island beyond and nothing else – the far side of the bay has vanished. We finally got our FedEx shipment on Monday, but it was not a happy event. The boxes looked like they had been dropped from a ten storey building and the contents seemed to back up these initial appearances, as several items were broken. We have to wait until a transformer that we ordered online arrives to see if the DVD player, CD player and amplifier have survived, but I don’t have high hopes, as my printer doesn’t work. The moral of the story is: Never EVER use FedEx and tell all your friends!

So, what have we been up to? Well, I started my volunteer work at a non-profit organisation called Shanti, which helps sufferers of HIV/AIDS and breast cancer. I’m going to be doing a couple of days a week there. I think the US is probably one of the leaders in non-profits – I’m told that it’s because the government has a long history of not providing essential services, but they’re becoming more prevalent in the UK now (Susie will know all about them!). So far I haven’t done anything very ground-breaking, but it’s early days yet – I’ve been working on the fund-raising side, researching past donors who haven’t given for a while and establishing if they’re worth applying to again. I also went for my “orientation” for school volunteering, but I can’t start there until I have all my paperwork in place (still missing a reference from my school). Last night I attended my second Italian lesson at the Italian Cultural Institute. So far, they’ve been very good – pretty challenging, as I only have about 18 months of one hour a week tuition behind me, and I’m studying with people who’ve spent extensive periods in Italy or have Italian family, but it’s good for me! We speak entirely in the target language for 3 hours and are studying a novel. Spanish would be more useful for here, though. There’s a Hispanic district in the south of the city and I’ve heard lots of people speaking Spanish on the bus.

Jon has been going down to San José for three days seeing clients. He got his new car last night – a one year old BMW 3 series. Apparently, they’re cheaper here – or so he tells me!

Now that Mum and Dad have got a new computer, I’ve been able to have some long conversations with them using Skype. We even got the webcam working well, and the images are pretty good, so please feel free to see if we’re online (remember: 8 hours behind) if you have Skype (you can download it for free). I also put a few more pictures up on the Fotki site a few days ago. See the blog entry for 18 January for the address and password.

The weekend

Had a nice weekend, in spite of the fact that we still don’t have the FedEx boxes!! The shipment was eventually released, and they came to deliver on Friday, but they didn’t bother to ring the doorbell!! Hopefully, we’ll have them tomorrow.
Went out to a celebrated Chinese on Friday, the House of Nanking. Everyone raves about it and it had clearly been sampled by Jamie Oliver, as there was a photo of him on the wall, but we didn’t find it that special! Then repaired to a micro-brewery (basically a pub where they brew their own beer). On Saturday, we went to look at cars (Jon needs to buy one) on the other side of the Bay Bridge in Berkeley. We also had a look around the University of California (Berkeley) campus, which was pleasant enough with some grand buildings and a huge campanile modelled on the one in Venice. In the evening, we went to an Italian near us in North Beach.
Yesterday, we hired bikes from a shop around the corner and headed out on a ride to Sausalito on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge. All was going well until I got my wheel stuck in a tramline and fell off! Managed to pick myself up and continued along the waterfront through Presidio Park and a nice little nature reserve. It was pretty windy on the bridge, but there were great views of the headlands. Then it was mainly free-wheeling down to Sausalito, a cute little town with lots of cafés and boutiques, plus good views looking back towards the city in one direction and up to some wooded mountains in the other. It was really sunny and actually quite warm, so we had lunch on a table outside a café on the waterfront. Browsed the shops a bit and then wandered through the marina, which is home to some expensive yachts as well as several houseboats, for which the town is famed, including one shaped like the Taj Mahal! We then got the ferry back from Sausalito late afternoon.

Photo album

I've set up an online photo album - go to: http://public.fotki.com/EllenHardwick/
Password: moocow

Downtown to Alamo Square and the Ocean

Accompanied Jon through Chinatown to Downtown SF today to file for his all-important Social Security Number. Effectively, you don’t exist until you have one of these. Then I continued past the Chinatown Gate to Union Square, an attractive space bordered with palm trees and fancy shops. I then planned to go to Alamo Square. It was quite a distance, so I considered taking the metro, but it was such a beautiful day that I decided to walk after all. However, I soon regretted my decision, and couldn’t believe how quickly the scenery changed from Louis Vuitton and Chanel boutiques to seedy streets filled with drunks, sex shops and vagrants! It was broad daylight, but I still felt really uncomfortable. However, I then came to United Nations Plaza, a lovely promenade fronting the grand City Hall and commemorating the signing of the United Nations treaty, which apparently happened in San Francisco. From then on, the surroundings improved, but a quick perusal of the guidebook showed that when I left the shopping district I did indeed wander into probably the most downtrodden area of SF! After a good climb uphill, I eventually reached Alamo Square. More of a park than a square, it’s one of the most photographed scenes in SF – a row of multi-coloured Italianate/Victorian houses (known as the Painted Ladies) with a superb cityscape backdrop. Took the bus back to the Downtown and then had a little scoot around Macy’s, the department store – think I’ll have fun buying clothes there! Then took a cable car (that’s a tram to me and you) – a bit of a luxury at $5 a go – back to the flat.

Spent lunchtime trying to sort out some volunteer work (project management/communication stuff, I think) at an HIV/AIDS and cancer charity organisation. Then headed out on another little adventure. I had in mind that I wanted to go and see the open Pacific, as opposed to just the Bay, so I took a very slow bus westwards. Finally came to Lincoln Park, which is on the southern headland at the opening of the Bay and had a look around there. The light was beautiful – another clear day and the sun was just starting to set – so I had good views back to the Golden Gate and out to sea. Also saw a few quite nice-looking beaches, but didn’t get down to them today.

Early explorations

Went to buy a mobile phone yesterday. Was intending to walk back via a slightly different route, but got distracted by a gorgeous park with fantastic views of the Golden Gate Bridge. Then discovered across a huge crescent-shaped quay with more fabulous views in all directions and a lovely little beach! There was even someone swimming (in a wetsuit, admittedly!). It was warm in the sun and stunningly beautiful – I was just walking around with my mouth open. Couldn’t resist going to see the sealions again, and as it happens, the 17th anniversary of their arrival is being celebrated this Friday.

This morning I applied for a work permit online. I am still reeling from the bureaucratic horrors – I’m sure they try to make the process as obtuse as possible. Jon is doing another battle with bureaucracy: our FedEx shipment (11 boxes containing our personal effects) is being held up at customs because there are some tea bags and a bit of chocolate among the items. Apparently, there’s a risk that the whole lot will get sent back!

Today I wandered in the other direction towards the downtown, among the skyscrapers and past the Transamerica Pyramid. I signed up for a course at the Italian institute, so that I can continue my Italian learning. However, I came away many dollars lighter, as it was really quite expensive! It’s another beautiful day here – winter may well turn out to be the best time to visit, and I’ve certainly not seen any of the famous fog yet. I meandered between Chinatown and the adjacent Italian quarter – and Chinatown really is very Chinese – packed with restaurants, Dim Sum joints, shops selling silks and cheap jewellery, gaudy signs and lanterns, people speaking Mandarin. Then, just a few minutes away, I was being heckled by an Italian waiter outside one of the many trattorias – unbelievable! And I’ve not even ventured to Japantown yet!

Arrival

Arrived safely on Saturday, as did all our bags. It was a beautiful, clear day, so we enjoyed fabulous views over the city and Golden Gate bridge as we came in to land, twenty minutes earlier than scheduled, but alas were then faced with a very long wait to get through US immigration. Our first night was in a hotel, then we came to our furnished apartment in the North Beach area yesterday. The flat took my breath away: we are on the eighth floor with fabulous views at the front over the Bay and Alcatraz Island, and over the city skyscrapers and Transamerica Pyramid at the back. The flashes from the lighthouse on Alcatraz light up the sitting room every few seconds during the night, and you can watch the world-famous trams heading up from Fisherman’s Wharf in the daytime. Plus, the apartment is very spacious with two bedrooms, so there’s a free, made-up room ready and waiting for anyone who fancies dropping everything and heading over here this month!

After unpacking, we headed off to get some lunch, and didn’t have to go very far – there’s a lovely Italian style caffè on the corner of the street, which intersects with Lombard Street, the famously sinuous one winding up Russian Hill. In fact, we are right in the Italian quarter – the lamp posts are even painted with Italian flags. We then went to do some food shopping, which in itself was an experience, as we ended up in a supermarket where everything was organic, free range, environmentally friendly or otherwise physically or morally good for you. It was then time to go and do a bit of exploring, so we meandered to Washington Square (a five min. walk away), a little park flanked on one side by the ornate, white-fronted Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, where Marilyn Monroe and baseball phenomenon Joe DiMaggio had their wedding photos taken (but they were both divorced so couldn’t marry there). We then wandered to the waterfront (about a 10 min. walk from the apartment) and Pier 39 – horrendously touristy, but I’m afraid I like it anyway. This is famous for its boisterous colony of wild sealions. There weren’t a huge number there (their presence is seasonal), but they did a good job of being noisy and entertaining anyway. We then wandered along the front, past the crab and clam chowder stalls, sourdough bakery and converted canneries, before taking a coffee at another Italian caffè and heading back to the flat.

Woke at 4 am ready for action (the jet lag clearly hasn’t worn off yet). Across the Bay, we could see flames rising up in the darkness, so we turned on the TV, and it turns out that a refinery was on fire in the city of Richmond. Can’t really see anything now, though, so it must have burned itself out. Packed Jon off to work early– he must travel about 12 miles, crossing the enormous Bay Bridge, to get to his office in Alameda (he has GPS in the rental car, so hopefully he’ll find it okay!). It’s another glorious day here – cold (governor Arnie has declared a state of emergency for the citrus fruit crop!), but clear and gorgeously sunny. Just contemplating what I’ll do with my day ... I’ll have to go to the caffè again (what a trial) in order to post this on the blog site (they offer free wireless internet and we don’t have a connection yet) and try to figure out how to apply for a work permit. I won’t be lazing around all the time, though – I have plans for some volunteer work, but that can wait until after a latté or two...

Nearly ready for lift off!

We moved out of our house last Saturday - quite an effort to get everything ready, so it was a relief to get out! We then went up to visit my mum and dad. Since Monday, we've been staying with our friends Dan & Michelle near Hertford. Jon has been at work, and I've had a week of doing bits of admin., but also settling the cat in her new home (with Dan & Michelle) and chilling out! However, the time is nearly here - we fly at 1.45pm from Heathrow tomorrow. It's an 11 hour flight with BA. Our first night is in a hotel, then we're in a temporary furnished apartment on Taylor Street in North Beach. I can't believe the time's here already!