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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

  • TravelerUSA First Trip of Retirement
    1
    11121
    Day 4

    Giant Redwoods

    February 19 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 12 °C

    Today was a special day. It was the first of a number of planned and pre-paid events that we had organised. Today's was a bus trip to the Muir Woods National Monument followed by a drop off in Suasalito, lunch and a ferry back to SF.

    Our bus driver and tour operator, George, was a big man. He looked and sounded like Topol of Fiddler on the Roof fame. I thought at one point George was going to bust out 'Tradition' over the bus PA.

    He had a deep resonant warm voice and was as we describe people like this, a character. He had a lovely sense of humour which he used liberally in his commentary, he loved the performance of the whole thing (plenty of rhetorical questions which he would then answer and repetitons of words already spoken), and was genuinely extremely well-informed of the city, the journey throughout and the woods. George made me laugh and was absolutely worth the tip we gave him at the end.

    Muir Woods is the home of the giant redwoods. There is a beautifully laid out looped path that you can take either side of a running stream that has four distanced bridges across it. You can terminate your trip and turn around and return at any of the bridges, this giving ease of the experience to seasoned and not so seasoned walkers.

    It was raining today. We got a little wet on our way to the pick up point before George picked us up in SF. So, we bought identical umbrellas; yes, that's what she gave us, and once again Stu and Chris looked like the Bobsey twins. By the time we reached the forest, it was still raining lightly, not bucketing down, but lightly enough to get quite wet if you stayed out in it for five minutes. And we were going to be out in it for around an hour, so our matching umbrellas were a godsend.

    The water had soaked everything so there was a wet shiny look to the woods. The sequoias were astonishing. My camera was unable to fit an entire tree in without standing way back and the picture missing the grandeur. No matter, I snapped away at various vistas of these beautful giants, bottom halves, top halves, middle bits. They felt like gentle giants to me. There was a softness about them, but a strength nonetheless.

    So many views, so many pics, not enough space for it all here. But looking at something so old, centuries in fact, and so large, and so alive was cause for reflection. I suspect most thinking people on our tour experienced the same thing. Majesty without pomposity. Grandeur without narcissism. Maybe even something of the numenous.

    Chris and I have never seen a gift shop on a tour that we didn't love, so in we went and bought a few little odds and ends.

    George took us back to Sausolito where we dined in a restuarant called The Trident built out over the water, taking a panoramic view of SF city and drinking Mexican beer. And even a lovely sea lion swimming up close to our window for us to say hello. A relaxing trip back over the Bay in the ferry on the top deck saw us weary and ready to get an Uber to the grocery store near our digs and then home to relax.

    Another lovely day, I think the best so far. I will never forget seeing those redwoods.    Read more

  • TravelerLas Vegas
    1
    Day 7

    Bike ride over the bridge

    March 3 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    Start of the day with a long walk to the bike shop to pick up our bikes. Ended up walking up alongside Lombard Street see photo attached. Once we had the bikes, it was a lovely still day in the morning for a ride to the bridge over the bridge and down the other side into Sausalito. Enjoyed a meatball sandwich before catching the ferry back to Fishermans wharf Pier 39. Said hello to the sea lions 🦭. Dropped in at the left-handed shop before heading home. Returned to pier 39 for some clam chowder for dinner overall a fun day ready for a good night sleep.Read more

  • Traveler6 Months Around the World
    Day 11

    Day #11 Costa Rica to San Francisco

    February 28 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Early start at 2 am and travel day to San Francisco, California, USA via a stop in El Salvador.

    Nap for a little bit this afternoon then walk around San Francisco harbour and piers.

    Saw Pier 39 and the sea lions - so cute.Read more

  • TravelerUSA First Trip of Retirement
    11
    Day 3

    Coffee and Sea Lions

    February 18 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    Our day today was a relatively relaxed affair. We made our way down to the Embarcadero, where ferries and boats all depart San Francisco, and headed into the ferry terminal which is full of artisanal food and coffee and chocolate, and artisinal art.

    A fun jaunt through one of the latter saw us buy a few little arty trinkets, then head into a bookshop on the Bay where, against type, we did not purchase anything at all. This was followed by a decent coffee and a giant sugary scroll, far too big for me, but I'm on holidays and not thinking straight, so I ate it all.

    From there we walked down to Pier 39 to see the sea lions which were plenteous and fun to watch. Lolling about, swimming and eating, they have a glorious but noisy life.

    A walk through the theme park where I bought a hideous coffee and then out onto the street where we headed for the ferris wheel, the perhaps too generously named, SkyStar. Chris and I had a cabin to ourselves and had three and a half revolutions or thereabouts. It was whisper qiuet and ice-skatingly smooth, so a very comfortable and enjoyable ride we had while gaping at the extraordianry view of the city that such heights offer. My hitherto acrophobia thing didn't even make its presence felt.

    A lovely day was topped off by a microwave meal and an episode of Miss Fisher's Mysteries (nice to hear an Australian accent again) and an episode of Hope Street, a police procedural set in a little town in Northern Ireland. It felt a little like Doc Martin, only police. A lovely day.    Read more

  • TravelerWestküste USA🇺🇸
    1
    Day 2

    Pier 39 - Fishermans Wharf

    February 18 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Nachdem wir den Abend-Trip gut verarbeitet haben, machten wir uns am Weg zur Fisherman’s Wharf und zum Pier 39, wo wir uns auf neue und hellere Teile von SF freuten. Um dort hinzukommen, setzten wir uns ins Cable Car (vergleichbar mit Straßenbahn bei uns) und fuhren den „Berg“ hinauf. Man glaubt gar ned wie steil das eig. is, bissl Höhentraining wär da scho möglich. Desto steiler es wurde, desto schöner und weniger abgefuckt wurde es, die Stadt glänzte und vermittelte uns ein ganz anderes Bild als letzte Nacht. Das Motto „Crime don’t climb“ war mehr als nur true ☺️ Wie waren einerseits schockiert und andererseits fasziniert wie weit die Schere zwischen Armut und Reichtum war und wie divers und schön diese Stadt😁
    Nachdem wir mit dem Cable Car durch die Straßen cruisten, spazierten wir voller Hunger zu einem Typsich amerikanischen Breakfast…Pancakes, French Toast und ganz viele Kaloriens, aber lecker war’s 😍
    Im Anschluss machten wir uns am Weg zur Fisherman’s Wharf und dann zum Pier 39😁
    Amerikanisch wie aus dem Bilderbuch, die Häuser, die Shops, die Straßen🤩
    Am Weg zum Pier 39 beobachteten wir noch ziemlich intensiv die Robben, die sich wie Sardinen am Floß versammelten und um ihre Plätze in der Sonne stritten und brüllten…fast wie kleine Kinder😂ein chinesischer Tourist machte dann noch ä ungelogen 20 Fotos aus allen Perspektiven von uns, damit ja eins dabei is wo wir gut ausschauen😜
    Besonders gut gefiel uns der Pier 39, der ein wenig an Orlando erinnerte und mit einem Karussell, einem Riesenrad und ganz vielen typisch amerikanischen Restaurants und Souvenir Shops sehr lieb zu besichtigen war☺️Clemens seine ersten Worte: Da will und muss ich nochmal her🔥    Read more

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