I tell you, Mario, it's like the fates were telling me that you were supposed to be on this trip with me. Two flight - two EMPTY flights - and a free seat next to me on both. Funny how that works, huh?
Everything went super-smooth, too, with check-in. The desks were actually open at 4 am, the check-in steward was very nice, the line-up for customs and security went quickly. So quick, in fact, that I had to inhale my yogurt, lest I have to hand it over to one of the guards! Even the customs agent, who seemed hard as nails, gave me a laugh when she asked what I was bringing to Lesley, and I replied a can of maple syrup.
 | Raining in Minneapolis
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 | Flying over the Golden Gate Bridge
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It was pouring in Minneapolis, and I think I walked the entire length of the airport on those crazy conveyor belts before finally getting to my gate.
Lesley was waiting exactly where she said she would be, right next to the luggage carrousel, and after chasing down my bag, she drove me to Belmont, where we had brunch with James at a Cafe/Crepe place called Whispers. I know, ironic, isn't it? I had an omelet - the first real meal in 12 hours. Because no one can live on cookies and pretzel packets alone, right?
 | Coastal Trails in Presidio
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 | Golden Gate Bridge
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After breakfast, we drove(tried to, anyway) to the Golden Gate Bridge to check out the view, being that it was such a beautiful clear day. No such luck, as everyone else in the city had the same idea and we got stuck in an infinite loop of stationary vehicles. We were NOT moving anywhere fast. Drivers in San Francisco have an incredible amount of patience, let me tell you! We did pass by the National Recreation Area near Presidio, which is a maze of hiking and walking trails - you would have loved it, Mario, the way they climbed up and then descended back down the coast and along the water. I bet there were some amazing views of the bridge from down below that we were not getting stuck in traffic!
Eventually, we aborted the mission and Lesley dropped me off at the hostel so I could get settled and begin my explorations on my own. After unpacking and a quick shower, I set out to get a feel for San Francisco. I made sure to tuck a few maps in my pocket, lest I get lost, and paid close attention to stores and landmarks, so I knew which way to come back by. Good thing, too, since you're not here to steer me right when I go left.
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| Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory |
I walked along Post street to Union Square, where I got my first look at the cable cars. I'll try to catch one heading down to the wharf another day. I continued up Grant Street and into Chinatown, wandering along the main drag with all the trinket shops and boutiques. Lots of color, lots of lights, lots of interesting smells. I visited the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory, a real hole-in-the-wall place, where I relished in the freshly baked toastiness of fortune cookie biscuit. Meaning flat, and sans the paper. So yummy. I also popped into several tea shops, a kite store(not as cool as you would think) and a wok shop(WAY cooler that you would think!).
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| Fresh cookie - without the fortune! |
At the end of the Chinatown walk, I transition into the North Beach Area walk, which is essentially Little Italy. plus the Transamerica Pyramid. Sadly, the pyramid would be cooler if you could check it out, but it functions as an office building, and therefore is open to office people. Boo. So I walked the length of Columbus Avenue, which by now was smelling deliciously like garlic and bread and really good olive oil. I stopped in at the City Lights Bookstore, but I couldn't figure out what you would be attracted to, and I could just get you any book off the shelf. You would have liked the store - it reminded me a little of Shakespeare & Co. in Paris. I saw a lot of murals, several churches, and the city scape glowing in the sunlight, and then I saw Coit Tower up on Telegraph Hill, and a sigh pointing out the stairs to get to it, and I knew that you would running up them. You would be proud of me, I think, I climbed up there and got some awesome views of the bay and city and the gorgeous sunset, even though the tower was closed. I think you might've been there, somehow, pushing me to climb to the top, even though you are probably climbing your own hills in the Adirondacks right now. Regardless, it was worth it.
 | Sunset over Golden Gate, from Coit Tower
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 | Cheese pizza and garlic-clam pizza
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On my way back to Grant street to return to Chinatown, I passed a line of people waiting to get pizza at Golden Boy PIzza - then I saw the pizza. Mario, it looked just like the pizza al taglia from Leonnina in Rome, and smelled just as good, and so I took the advice you would have given me about eating where the locals go and I got in line. And it was the best pizza I've had since Rome. The cheese pizza was crispy on the bottom and bready in the middle, with lots of cheese and just enough sauce, in big squares and toasty and delicious. Totally worth it. And cheap too! $4 a HUGE slice.
So, you can see that I made it back to the hostel successfully, and I'm sipping a cup of tea with my fortune cookies biscuits without the fortune while recounting the events of the day. I found it a little lonely, though. I took lots of pictures, but sometimes I found myself turning remark something and had no one the remark it to. I caught the lilting tune of U2's "Iris" coming from a laundromat and wanted to point it out, instead found myself humming it for the rest of the walk. So you know what that means, right? Next time I offer THREE TIMES to buy you a ticket to come to San Francisco with me, you're not allowed to say no.
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 | Post-flight omelet at Whispers with Lesley and James
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 | My bunk at the hostel
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 | | Gateway to Chinatown |
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 | Chinatown
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 | Mural in Chinatown
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 | | Trans-America Pyramid |
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 | Cafe Zoetrope, owned by Francis Ford Coppola
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 | | City Lights Bookstore and the Pyramid |
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 | | Golden San Francisco |
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 | | I have to climb up there?! |
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 | | The choices at Golden Boy Pizza |
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 | | Still a line-up at 8:30 at night |
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 | | Terracotta Warriors mural |
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