second day in san francisco, and things only seem to be getting better. woke up to breakfast in the hostel common room. bagels, toast, flavoured oats and pancakes with maple syrup- not bad basics! mum set me to work making the pancakes, which was a terrible fail. after half an hour of the hot plate not heating, my pancake sticking resulting in a doughy blob, and sympathizing with an american guy who was experiencing the exact same thing i decided to give up. i headed off to the walking tour a little hungry.
the walking tour took up most of the day (9:30am-4:30pm) and was an absolutely fantastic way to see the city. we covered about a quarter of the city, and it felt like it went forever. san francisco is so much larger than i had first envisaged. meeting at market street cable car turn around, we met kevin. he was a really incredible guide that had been living in san fran about 8 years. our tour had 7 people, mum and i being the only two from overseas- slightly surprising.
we began the tour by taking a cable car up one of the steep hills all the way to the top. kevin began out tour by explaining that there's a 30 year period in which they expect a huge earthquake. he said that there is about 5 years left in that window, so the earthquake should be "any day now". oh, goody...
fortune cookies
through the tour, we went on the cable cars, bart and muni train systems and the bus. we were taken through china town, and saw where fortune cookies were made and tasted them. each area of san francisco is populated by a different demographic. chinese, japanese, italian, mexicans. it's a cultural melting pot, though each area is easily identifiable and separate.we saw a super windy street, which is a hit tourist attraction with beautifully upkept gardens. you don't feel quite as dorky doing a walking tour when you see ten tourists in helmets ride down the windy hill on segways (if you don't know a segway- google it). very funny sight.
zig zag road
my artistic side was just about crying on the inside with happiness (and a bit on the outside when i had a moment with the wall mural and how amazing it was). i saw a banksy piece, and we visited the san francisco art institute, a college for students. inside, there was a huge wall mural by diego rivera (frida kahlo's husband). the grounds of the institute were incredible and i was soon asking mum if i could sign up, as this is obviously where i belong. we also visited an incredible arts supply store with a tunnel underneath from when they used to smuggle whiskey.
diego rivera
banksy
men outside their houses/shop fronts think it is perfectly reasonable to give you the elevator, smile a cheeky smile and then tell you 'you're damn cute'. even the african american toothless homeless man outside the subway comments on 'wantin' a piece of that'. it's nice to be appreciated.
painted ladies
we saw the painted ladies before heading to lunch and then seeing some more of the city. we ended the tour by going to the tenth story of a business building to a roof garden. a city initiative to introduce more parks to the city. by putting them on roofs. of high rise buildings. yep.
disney store- always a child at heart
after the tour, we hit macy's, the disney store and H&M before dinner at a japanese restaurant and back to our room with slight sunburn and a bit of sunstroke. worth it for the days incredible weather!
-danielle
