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United States Fort Point

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  • TravelerWest coast here we come again
    111
    Day 3

    S franz tschüss ko

    April 15 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Angekommen in san francisco klappern wir gerade mal ein paar sehenswürdigkeiten ab. Wer kennt echt welche?🤔🤣
    War ein witziger tag.

    Zur zeit ist es gerade ein bisschen Stadt lasstig aber das ändert sich die nächsten wochen.

    Morgen gehts mit Sightseeing der stadt weiter.    Read more

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  • TravelerTwenty twenty-five
    1
    Day 71

    Poesia Café

    April 17 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Breoter, oft benutzter, fleckiger Holztisch, es ist kalt, zwei Männer am Nebentisch, unterhalten sich über Politik, immerhin, ein Tisch weiter ein Mann mit Kopfhörern, vor sich ein Tabletten, draußen an zwei atehtischcjen, schwarz, zwei Frauen, im Hintergrund an einer Wand ein eureka-lounge-banner, unweit des rainbow walks in Castro, Striche in Regenbogenfarben über allen vier Fußgänger Überquerungen, sonst noch leere Bürgersteige, es dauert immer, bis die Stadt erwacht.

    In der Metro eine Frau, blond, könnte sogar gut aussehen, kaum zu erkennen aber unter schwarzem Parka, mit vor Kälte wohl geröteten Händen einen Rollkoffer mit großer Aufschrift PAPPAS BEER umklammernd, in der anderen noch eine Plastiktüte, zur Seirekippend, dass ich schon aufspringen wollte, dann sich haltend, wegdösend und erstaunlicherweise die nächste Station CHURCH erahnend, hinauswankend. Es macht mich immer betroffen, vielleicht auch unsicher, gewahr, wie schnell eventuell der Schutz meines Passes, meiner Kreditkarte hinweggerissen werfen kann .

    Felicita, Amore, Azzurro sanft aus den Lautsprecherboxen, nicht ganz passend zu zugeknöpftem Anorak, Mütze.

    Wieder ein anderes Viertel, nicht explizit spanisch-mexikanisch, scheint mir. Different vielleicht.

    Gestern noch der Ausflug zur golden Gate Bridge. Wie wohl an jedem Tag klart es hier ab Mittag aus. Die Sonne strahlt am durchgehend blauen Himmel. Der Bus führte mich über die Hügel in ein sonnendurchflutetes Strandviertel, mich an die Stimmung von REIFEPRÜFUNG erinnern, als Benjamin im Café sitzt und hofft, Elaine wieder zu treffen. Viele Restaurants, Bars, strandhäuser, dann die breite Promenade, der Yachthafen, ich stieg aus, zog die Schuhe aus, spürte den Sand, während Kitesegler vor der Kulisse der Alcatraz Insel ihre Segel spannten, auf finnschwertern dann dahinradren, über die Bay hinweg. Langsam näherte ich mich der berühmten Brücke, vorbei an crissy fields, einem ehemaligen Militärstützpunkt, vorbei an weiß getünchten Holzhäusern aus der Zeit, immer im Blick die roten Stahlaufbauten undndie Stelle, an der James Stewart in VERTIGO Kim Nowak aus dem Pazifik fischte. Ich dachte an die anderen San-Francisco-Filme und stellte mir die Frage, ob ich mal wieder eine Filmreihe machen sollte. Aber wie lange will ich das Kino überhaupt noch machen?

    Nochmals wanderten die Gedanken zurück zu der Reise vor 45 Jahren. Niemand von uns wusste, was aus uns werden würde. Wir blieben irgendwo stehen und besahen uns die Brücke. Im Hintergrund die Stadt, damals noch ein paar Hochhäuser weniger. Sind wir hineingefahren, daran vorbei?

    Der Cappuccino ist ausgetrunken. Die beiden jungen Männer debattieren weiter über das kommende Leben und die Politik, eine ältere Dame bestellt Uhr wohl übliches Frühstück. Zwei Tische weiter schreibt ein junger Mann etwas in sein Notizbuch. Senza Madonna erklingt aus den Lautsprechern.    Read more

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  • Guatemala 2025 🇬🇹😎
    Day 2

    Ankunft in San Francisco 🫶

    April 12 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 12 °C

    Nach einer Flugzeit von 10 h und 55 min sind wir überpünktlich um 18:39 (Ortszeit) in San Francisco gelandet. Während des Fluges sind wir über Thüringen geflogen und konnten aufgrund des strahlend blauen Himmels einige Städte und Ortschaften von oben erkennen. ☺️

    Mit den Ausblicken über die Nordsee, Grönland und Canada ging es immer weiter in Richtung San Francisco.

    Vor Ort haben wir bereits einige Cable Cars besichtigen können 😁    Read more

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  • USA 2025
    311
    Day 4

    San Francisco Day 3

    March 14 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    Wer hätte das schon gedacht?! 🤯 Ein selbstfahrendes Taxi, das uns heute von A nach B gebracht hat 😮 Hier in San Francisco sehen wir diese Autos andauernd und es werden ständig Personen transportiert.
    Unser Resümee: Es ist mega hightech, aber wie haben uns sehr sicher gefühlt. Man kann am Display beobachten, was die Sensoren und Kameras des Autos erkennen. Das hat uns wirklich beeindruckt 🤩
    Das selbstfahrende Auto zeigte uns auch das Glasscherbenviertel von San Francisco, gottseidank nur im Vorbeifahren. 😳🤢
    Durch Zufall haben wir heute Früh ein altes Spielautomatenmuseum entdeckt, im Anschluss im Aquarium Rochen gestreichelt und in der California Academy of Sciences den Regenwald erkundet.    Read more

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  • USA 2025
    2111111
    Day 3

    San Francisco Day 2

    March 13 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    Der Touri-Lifestyle hat begonnen 🥰
    Mit dem Hop on-Hop off Bus erkundeten wir heute die Stadt. Bei der Golden Gate Bridge haben wir etwas länger Halt gemacht, da uns das Wetter mit Sonnenschein begrüßt hat 🌞
    Den Seelöwen beim Sonnen zusehen, Cable Cars, Lombard Street, Painted Ladies und Chinatown - all das war wirklich sehenswert 🤩 (obwohl Chinatown eher naja, auf eine andere Art und Weise sehenswert war… 🥴😬)
    Wir sind wirklich begeistert von der Stadt, es gibt so viele Facetten 🤩
    25 Tausend Schritte später sind wir nun bereit für‘s Bett. 🙈    Read more

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  • USA 2025
    121
    Day 2

    San Francisco Day 1

    March 12 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 10 °C

    Wir sind in San Francisco angekommen! 😊 Nachdem wir heute noch einmal einen langen Flug hatten, sind wir bereit für Sightseeing 🤩 Trotz regnerischem Wetter standen der Fisherman‘s Wharf und Pier 39 nachmittags am Programm. 📝
    Die lange Reisezeit hat uns doch etwas zu schaffen gemacht, daher geht‘s heute früh ins Bett. 😴    Read more

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  • TravelerUSA First Trip of Retirement
    111
    Day 9

    Last Day in San Francisco

    February 24 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

    Well, I never thought I would be saying this, but I can't wait to get the hell out of this town. It's not San Fran itself, it's more the co-incidents that have befallen us while here.

    We were somewhat stresed out before we came. But we thought the trip away would do us good. Trouble is the fourteen hour flight really took it out of us, and I am convinced that a man one row back from us and across the aisle, who sneezed big footballer sneezes several times without covering his mouth, without directing his projections into the crook of his elbow, was the culprit who gave us both the lurgy.

    First Chris. Five days to get through the worst of it. Poor man. Then me. I am on day 2 with my symptoms still getting worse before they get better. This is not a woe is me or a woe is us, it's just that it has sapped us of our energy and at times, our will to live.

    Added to that, I have to admit that the little shitbox of an apartment we stayed in was altogether unsuitable. There was no-where to sit. There was no table, one chair, the shower drained slowly, the toilet was next to the bedhead, so zero privacy. There was nothing homely about it, nothing comfortable, nothing at all that would sell it to a potential renter. I have learned my lesson.

    So, it was with an enervated heart that we set out on our last day. We dropped some washing off to Lily's. We love Lily. We then had a coffee at a doughnut shop. Good coffee for a change. The coffee here is generally shit. Clearly, I am past pulling my punches or feeling bad about indelicacy.

    We headed down into town, browsed a bookshop and ate a fancy fountain of fries and some meatballs at Old Joes. It was a lovely establishment. After that, given we were in the vicinity, we sauntered through the Palace of Fine Arts which was indeed relaxing.

    We went for a little passeggiata as the Italians would call it though LaFayette Park one more time, and on the night before we left, Chris discovered the decaf coffee I had been drinking all week was not in in fact instant, but filter coffee, which completely explained the large puddle of sludge at the bottom of my cup each evening. You live you learn. We've learned a thing or two about accommodation when travelling, lessons that will not be forgotten in a hurry.

    We head off to Seattle tomorrow with me getting sicker and both of us feeling challenged. San Fran is a beautiful city but sometimes you just gotta have all or some of the other bits go right too.    Read more

  • TravelerUSA First Trip of Retirement
    11121211
    Day 8

    A Slow Day to the Mission District

    February 23 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    Job said, "that which I feared came upon me" and sure enough, right on time, I have come down with almost certainly the same virus that Chris has been battling for a week. It's early days, but I have seen his symptoms and know what's ahead of me.

    Despite this setback, we decided to do one thing and not push ourselves. We set out with a view to looking at the Spanish church, Mission Dolores Basilica in the Mission District. The adobe chapel next to it was built in 1776 and is reputed to be the oldest building in San Francisco. The basilica was built in 1918 and designated a basilica in 1952. It has a grand exterior, one which I admired the last time I was in San Fran, but I didn't never venture inside on that occasion. Today was the day.

    The lighting is the first thing that strikes you. The lights are turned down low and dim. There is darker general feel to the church which is punctuated by bright orange and yellow stained glass windows. And turquoise ceilings down the side aisles. There is a cupola in the centre, also turquoise, and the sanctuary was not all rococo as I expected from Spanish architecture, but simple and restrained. The whole thing gave a sense of quiet and reflection. I liked it, a lot. The stained glass gave a warm feel to the interior despite the low lighting.

    We had a coffee in the Morning Dew cafe which was just lovely. The young girl did some lovely coffee art on my latte, but as she was passing it to me, she dropped a spoon in it, so there was laughter all round.

    After, we headed up to the park and sat briefly on damp grass to look at the young people just hanging and listen to a group of musos do thier thing. We caught the underground to the Embarcaderro with a view to sitting down with a beer, but on Sunday afternoon, beer there was none, so we hightailed it to the grocery store near our digs and went home, happy tp stop.

    My symptoms had come on stronger by bedtime, so not a great night for us. Tomorrow, we will relax.    Read more

  • TravelerUSA First Trip of Retirement
    2
    111121
    Day 7

    Art Galleries and Towers

    February 22 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    This post will cover two days, yesterday 21 February and today, 22 February.

    Yesterday, Chris and I did a pilgrimage back to SF's justly famous Legion of Honor, its world-class art gallery, perched up on a hill with lovely views.

    We have been here before, back in 2018, and were greatly taken by its simplicity, its openness, its collection, and the special exhibition it was showing at the time, the Pre-Raphaelites.

    This time, we slowly made our way through all the galleries, about nineten of them, lingering here and there, enjoying the various periods and seeing the artwork of a particular time. The building itself is impressive. Its outer courtyard, which has Rodin's Le Penseur in pride of place, is surrounded by beautiful columns with a portico running around the perimeter. They are a light stone and are stunning to look at.

    Inside, I was taken with Arundel Mill by John Constable ca 1835 where you can see part of Arundel Castle in the background, a castle that Chris and I have visited back in 2022. The other artwork that impressed me was Monet's The Grand Canal Venice 1908. Hazy, faint, hot, beautiful. We'll get to visit it later this year. Banks of the Loing 1891 by Alfred Sisley also took my eye for its reflections of the trees in the water.

    A more expensive dinner last night than what we would ususally do, but we're on holiday and we felt like eating out. SPQR is a Michellin rated Italian restaurant. The food was mouth-wateringly delicious and the atmosphere sitting up at the bar in the dim lighting was a bit magical.

    Today, we visited Coit Tower. I have often lamented the fact that Newcastle doesn't have something to look at with a soupcon of awe and wonder. Alas. Coit Tower is a monument built specifically as a gift to the city by Lilly Hitchcock Coit after her death. Its in its nineties now and will be one hundred years old in 2033.

    There are beautiful murals painted on its walls on the ground, first and second floors showing life in California during the Depression. The tower itself is a thing of beauty. Despite its concrete manufacture, it is not brutalist in any way and its top has ornamentation and an open to the sky viewing platform that offers spectular 360 degree views of the city, bay and mountains. I'm so glad we took the time to visit.

    Macy's followed and we were frankly underwhelmed and bought nothing. Mason's Cafe offered us lunch in a diner atmosphere, and then, groceries and home to relax. It's been a good day, although Chris is still getting through his cold/virus affliction and has had to work harder than me to have these experiences. I am hopeful now that his symptoms have peaked and that he's on the mend. The weather has been glorious since we got here, apart from one rainy morning. San Fran is still feeling like it likes us.    Read more

  • TravelerUSA First Trip of Retirement
    11211
    Day 5

    A Day at the Castro

    February 20 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    We had always intended to come back to the Castro. It feels like coming home if you're a LGBTQ person. You can come from anywhere, and if you're gay, as Chris and I are, you feel like the Castro is a welcoming and safe place. There are plenty of gay people around. You're not the only one. And, coming from Newcastle as we do, that feels very different but very nice.

    We had pre-booked a tour of the GLBT Historical Society musem. 11am, wear a mask. We were there at a minute to 11am, and having donned our gay apparel, our masks, we were duly let in and very warmly welcomed by an older gentleman who processed our tickets and gave us the rundown of the museum.

    The space isn't large, but it has a wonderful collection, not all of it on display, that we could just saunter around and take our time.

    I was particularly taken with the obvious courage of Jose Sarria who not only performed drag shows based on operas, but who was also the very first openly gay individual to run for public office in the US, albeit unsuccessfully, in 1961. Such a homophobic culture. So brave. As a young man, he was a serviceman, a strikingly handsome one too I might add, then settled in SF and started his shows. Much of the museum is his collection bequeathed to them.

    There was a segment of the original pride flag in front of which Chris and I proudly posed for a pic. The flag originated in 1978 and was designed by Gilbert Baker who said, "This was our new revolution: a tribal, individualistic, and collective vision. It deserved a new symbol". Baker desgined the flag with colour as its main feature: pink-sex, red-life, orange-healing, yellow-the sun, green-nature, turquoise-art and magic, blue-serenity, purple-the spirit.

    The best part of the collection for me was the Harvey Milk section. They had the suit he was wearing when he was killed. They had a recording of his voice, an extract saying that if you are hearing this, I am dead. He knew he was in danger from the conservative forces who hated what he stood for. There were some lovely pics of him and his boyfriend at home, some campaign flyers and a copy of the odious Proposition 6. The whole thing was very moving.

    Chris and wrote on postcards and put them on a wall for the next generation, along with others. I felt good doing that too.

    Next, was a walk around the Castro, in and out of various shops, some baklava for me in one of them, some Turkish deight for Chris, and a fabulous chat with one of the women working there. Into the bookshop, where Chris did buy a few pieces.

    And then finally on to Copper Bar where we had lunch and a beer and chatted to the handsome barman. Queer people around us just doing their thing; eating lunch, reading the paper, some girls talking about a new whisky to the barman, some guys who took their lunch out onto the pavement tables in the sunshine and ordered Old Fashions to wash it all down. Again, it was so nice to have gay people around us.

    We caught the bus home, had a small nap each and took a stroll through Lafeyette Park just before dusk. That was a lovely way to end the day. A microwave vegetarian lasagne for dinner and time writing this little post with some Johann Christian Bach playing softly in the background.

    Another good day in the City by the Bay.    Read more

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