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| All set for summer in SF ... |
The first thing you notice about San
Francisco – especially if you're arriving from simmering post-hurricane NewOrleans – is that it's waaay colder than the rest of the States
(Alaska possibly excepted) in August. The breeze and mist from the
famous bay are the reason for the sudden drop in temperature: Bex and
I arrived in our shorts and t-shirts and were shivering by the time
we got to our hostel. It really is like going to a different country,
climate-wise, and the wide range of cheap hoodies in the Union Square
Walgreen's is testament to the foolish assumption of many
tourists that America's always warm in summer.
We're staying at the oldish and quirky
Dakota Hostel on the corner of Taylor and Post, in a
third-floor room with an amazing view (and soundtrack, especially at
night) of some of SF's busiest streets. The room is largish,
comfortable and old-fashioned, with a big cupboard and an ensuite
containing a claw-foot bath (yes, really!). These advantages are
compensated for by a massive old 80s cabinet TV which only has two
channels – football and FX. Bex reckons it's a bit like somewhere
Bukowski might have stayed: I think it's too nice for that, and am
imagining a Boho Breakfast at Tiffany's-era Audrey Hepburn.
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| Our room with a view ... |
But what's indisputable is that SF is
very much more like New York than anywhere else we've visited on this
trip (even than Boston) – partly because of the population density,
partly because of the architecture and partly because of the high
hipster quotient. All of a sudden the availability of tourist
T-shirts which anyone might actually consider wearing is much higher
(as opposed to in New Orleans, where you have to hunt them out in
indie boutiques).
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| Cool. |
However, the number of indie boutiques
as opposed to national chain or high-end restaurants and shops is
correspondingly low: on Union Square alone there's a Macy's, a Saks,
a Niemann Marcus, Tiffany's, Balenciaga, etc. etc. - all the same
stuff you would see in NY or indeed any international city (London,
Paris etc.) Apart from the cable cars, which are unique to SF,
fantastically olde-worlde, and pretty expensive (to ride and for the
city to maintain). Luckily, they're so cool nobody minds.
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| Actually cooler - but not sure it's a cable car. A trolleybus? |
In some ways SF is a great shopping
city, especially if you stray away from downtown up into North Beach (where there is an incredible art supply shop and lots of indie
coffee places) or alternatively take a wander down Market Street to the
Mission area, where there are tons of cheap(ish) thrift and
vintage shops. Furniture, knick-knacks, vintage clothing by the pound at Clothes Contact – they've got it. But be warned – it's bloody miles to walk
there, so it's best to hop on the Muni ($1.75 per trip) and
get off at 21st or 24th Street Mission. Bex and
I were knackered after three of four hours out – most of it spent
on the hoof. However, the shops in the area are really worth
visiting, especially if you have an eye for a bargain or are on a
budget.
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| Pretty Mission Street houses! |
The absence of wallet then prompted a
couple of £1-a-minute phone calls to cancel both cards (worth it for
peace of mind – I consider it an idiot tax, for my having lost the
thing in the first place). Then there was some cap-in-hand work to be
done: Bex will be lending me spending money for the rest of our stay.
Such a shame to have lost the wallet, though: not only had I had it
for about 5 years, my Oyster card was in there too :( Still, if
that's the worst that happens I'll be fine. Fingers very much
crossed).
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| Thank God for tiny doughnuts |
So anyway, minor crisis dealt with, we
wandered the city centre for a few hours, picking up some tiny
doughnut things called poppers(?) for dinner (me) and a salad for Bex
– SF is also much more veggie, vegan and picky-eater friendly than
the meat-tastic South – and stumbling across a wedding party on
Union Square. There are a couple of giant 6ft hearts on the northwest
and southwest corners of the square (maybe on the other corners too,
I didn't see) for people to pose in front of and that's what they
were doing. Sweet.
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| They left their hearts ... |
We fancied seeing a movie, so having
drawn a blank at the AMC (kids' films or third-rate horror didn't
appeal) we went to the ENORMOUS six-story Westfield Centre –
yes, it's a chain, who knew? - and caught the Nick Cave-penned
bootlegger drama Lawless. This was pretty damn good –
much better than the new Total Recall (which we saw in Boston):
despite featuring the ever-slappable Shia LaBoeuf as the youngest of
three booze-running brothers, Tom Hardy as taciturn alpha-male
Forrest and Guy Pearce as the creepy eyebrowless lawman nemesis more
than made up for him. Recommended.
The next day we went on a rather
fantastic free tour of the city, guided by “Wild” Wes Leslie,
a bowtied ukulele-playing local historian who writes and sings songs
about the various locations you visit (which include the St Francis
Hotel, a secret underground tunnel entrance in the aforementioned
awesome art supply shop, a fortune cookie factory, City Lights bookstore, Chinatown, Washington Park and North Beach). Anyway,
it took about 3 hours (you set off at 10am), the weather was
beautifully warm – for a change – and it wasn't too hilly, so it
was a tour well worth taking. Tip generously if you go, and you'll
get a free CD :)
I'll leave you with a couple of videos I took on
the way: (don't worry, I paid my 50c for the privilege of filming the
fortune cookie place). The Ah Toi mention in the Waverl(e)y Place song refers
to a legendary Chinatown brothel madam who successfully sued her
customers when they tried to palm off brass shavings as gold dust (a
legitimate method of payment during the Gold Rush). Enjoy!
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