San Fran - Been there, done that, brought a t-shirt, tick it off

O.K, when your on the travel buzz, you just seem to get up and go, well that's how I find it anyway, I mean why would you lie around all day, when you have an amazing city to go and enjoy. So even though I had a crazy sleep, and crazy dreams, I knew I had to go and seize the day, therefore I woke up with gusto and hit the road. It was a fairly overcast morning, as i left the hostel, but that was cool, a nice relief from burning sunshine.  I wondered down the road and jumped on a bus to take me to china town.  I then proceeded to climb this hill on the way to 'Lombard street'.  In hindsight, I tackled this at the best time of the day, because it got much hotter as the day went on.   also............ it's a street, sure its the the crookedest road in the world (Bar Wall Street :-)) but at the end of the day -

It's probably one of the most famous streets in the world - So ................. check it off the list of sights to see.  (All I could think of was the Tony Hawk skate boarding game - and I would seriously nail those rail slides!) I then wandered down to Fisherman's wharf, it was a good time to check it out, last time when I was there it was midday on a Saturday, this time it was early Monday morning, heaps more space to actually suck it all up.

I strolled around at the wharf for a while, and then I went to a restaurant to get a clam chowder bread bowl, you gotta do it I guess, and to be honest it was pretty god damn amazing. I then decided that to top off the San Fran experience, I should get the cable car/tram back to the city. 

Its a good ride, the trams are crazy due to the nature of the landscape, and sometimes it feels like the whole car will just ride away, there are a couple of guys on the brake mechanism and you can smell the brakes as they are applied. (Also there were all these hard out Harley Davidson enthusiasts from Canada, so I was imagining they were the Canadian chapter of the Son's from Anarchy) Anyway,  On my way back to the hostel I came across a little boutique T-shirt store, I was having a look around and became intrigued about the tune that was on, turned out it was a hip hop crew that the salesman knew and he was watching it on YouTube so I asked if i could hang out and watch it.  We got chatting and I ended up showing him the GND videos, which he really enjoyed.  I ended up back in the city, and came back to the hostel for a shower. 

Back at the hostel I organised my shuttle to the airport in the morning (6.30am) and also my pick up in New York. 

OK, transport sorted. 

I had a couple of beers in my room and then ventured back down town, I ended up in a bar and met some interesting people.  First of all I chatted to a guy from Phoenix for a while, he was right into basketball so we chatted about the NBA for ages.  He had to go and catch a flight, so I started chatting to a couple from Chicago (Well that area anyway ).  I ended up being in the bar for a good four hours or so, and they were lovely, they brought me heaps of beers and shots and we had some really good conversations.  He was 64 years old and a Vietnam veteran and she was a financial advisor. Great people, and it was cool to be able to have a good chat with some folk. I then came back to the hostel, changed again and went out to get some dinner.  

and so here I am, Bags are packed ready to roll out in the morning, and everything is tickidy-boo.

This blog is lacking in some crucial detail - but to be honest, I am struggling to even get this report in. Never the less, San Fran has been a blast, I totally recommend it to anyone who is thinking of coming out this way.  Its a cool place, with some really friendly people.

Random observations: Lots of people walking dogs, and the traffic is amazing, they are so polite, and wave you thru most intersections.

Again ............... more photos posted on facebook and much love Whanau.

This is a fairly drunken D-Miz signing out, from San Francisco, big flight to NY tomorrow and I am really excited about seeing everyone.

Much Love

D.