We didn't actually go to any kind of disco, but...

After the hecticness of Vegas it was back to Hayward for a bit of wind down time and sleep, so much so that Jamie and I didn’t even get up to listen to the Gills. Saturday was spent preparing for J&L’s dinner party that evening, prompting expectations of a Hyacinth style “Candlelight Supper”. Jamie slaved away for several hours in the kitchen but the resulting Coq-Au-Vin was pretty damn good. There was also some excellent cheese dip in a bread bowl thing, peanut butter mousse cake and brownies for pudding. It was also nice to see some of Lilly’s friends again & for Tash to meet them, and a good evening was had by one and all. After this, our time in Hayward was drawing to a close, so we must say a huge thank you to Jamie & Lilly for letting us stay with them for so long, we really enjoyed ourselves. Thank you for introducing us to the delights of Carl's Jnr and sorry for all my ridiculous sneezing & hammering of your tea-bag stash.

Next we moved on to San Francisco city centre and also to our first hostel experience for this trip. Luckily, we had a private room in an annex building so at least we got a bit of privacy and a nice view of the Trans America Pyramid. Despite being in a part of town full of strip joints the neighbourhood was pretty fun, close to Chinatown (which didn’t smell half as bad as Hong Kong) and certainly nothing like The Cross back in Sydney. The only downside was it was pretty noisy and so neither of us have slept much in the last week.

To compound our sleep deprivation, the next day we were up at 5 to go on a day trip to Yosemite. As it’s been a while since we’ve banged on about scenery and how it can’t get any better, I can say this – Yosemite National Park in the “fall” is one of the most beautiful places in the world. I don’t want to detract from everything else we’ve seen, especially all the wonders of New Zealand, but Yosemite was stunning. It was amazing to see these glacial valleys and broken hunks of mountain covered in autumnal colours, dotted with evergreens and a slight dusting of snow. There were some pretty cool waterfalls that had just started picking up the first drops of melting snow, a few coyotes, bears & deer and the beautiful sound of tiny streams trickling in the distance. Unfortunately there were no miniature cowboys with orange moustaches jumping around angrily & shooting guns.


As I’ve been to San Francisco before I guess Tash should really be giving you her views, but as Tash is working hard on her college project it’s li’l ol’ me a hoggin’ the bloggin’. It’s hard to describe the feel of SF as it’s such a laid back city, which was difficult to experience as we rushed about for 3 days cramming in as much as possible.

Market area – we did the usual tourist thing of going round the shops for a bit, although I couldn’t find where the “Aaron Leevert” suit shop was.
Cable Cars – we had a few rides on the historic cable cars that run from Market to the Wharf. This is one of the best bits of SF cos you can sit inside or outside or even hang on the side whilst cruising up & down those huge hills just taking in the scenery. One trip we were serenaded by a crazy French lady who’d given herself a crew cut and kept shouting about how much she hated California, before bursting into song again!
Fisherman’s Wharf – we ate some good soup & chilli in bread bowls at Boudin’s Sour Dough bakery, saw the sea lions at Pier 39, took in the street entertainers, including one guy dressed as a bush that was jumping out at ladies. I also showed Tash the hostel we’d stayed in before J&L’s wedding. Tash also got her first proper view of Golden Gate Bridge.


Alcatraz – the old prison island amazed both for the first & second time and once again made me want to watch The Shawshank Redemption. It’s such a dark & moody place, the bleakness of the exercise yard coupled with the frustrating view of the SF skyline gets you every time.
Golden Gate Park – too big to see in one day, so we just took a bus up through the city to take in the cool, Victorian houses everywhere (included the one used in Mrs, Doubtfire) and then had a walk around Stow Lake in the park’s middle.
Haight Ashbury – one of those places you go to say you’ve seen it. It was a lot grubbier than I remembered and reminded Tash of a shabby version of Brighton. There's still a great vibe to the area, especially when you think of its importance to music in the late 60’s. Which leads on to one of my favourite places – Amoeba, the coolest record shop I’ve ever been to (seeing as the Vinyl Experience off Tottenham Court Road is no more). Yes, I did buy but time & cash restraints limited this to only 2 cds. Seriously, that’s like putting me in a room with a crate of PG Tips but only enough hot water for one cuppa.
Mission – Another cool neighbourhood with loads going on and home to a handful of thrift stores. Pickings were slim and Stu found the only real footy shirt of the day. However we had good burritos & tamales for lunch.

Just before we left and just after Jane & Stu arrived, J&L took us to a wicked Italian restaurant. Much food & Chianti was consumed by all and I think we took more photos of the food than of each other.

As MC Hammer once said, “I’ve been around the world, from London to the Bay”, well that’s you and us now preacher man.