San Fransisco

Everything is big. Big cars, big people, big mouths, big sandwiches, big birds.

We arrived to the quaint San Remo Hotel in the afternoon, jet lagged and exhausted and immediately fell asleep. For dinner we walked a short distance down to "Fisherman's Wharf", Pier 39 and sat down at the first eating place we came to, the aptly named "Wipe Out Bar and Grill." We ordered Clam chowders, a West coast specialty. Clam soup served in a hollowed sour dour bread loaf- delicious. Our dinner was incomplete, so I later asked the waitress "what happened to our two salads?" She returned and put two beers on our table. When I looked at her with surprise she said, "you ordered two Stellas?". "Oh you wanted saalaards"

We saw the old hippy and now gay area of Haight Ashbury. Full of hippy shops, alternative book shops, "wholemeal" cafes, peace paraphernalia shops, and recycled clothing shops.

We visited the "Painted Ladies" of Alamo. Actually Victorian houses, beautifully detailed and painted.

And then we walked across the red "Golden Gate Bridge." It is painted red because that is the colour of the native American tribe, so why is it called the Golden Gate? Del thought it was "a bit cool" I thought it was "f........... freezing" Cold winds and fog coming from the Arctic, making the bridge area 7 degrees (that's fahrenheit) cooler than downtown.

Shopping at the local supermarket, I was paralysed by the incredible variety and cheap price of the beers on offer, meanwhile Del was buying sandwiches at the counter and getting chatted up by a big black bloke. He was very amiable and (just?) wanted to hear her interesting accent. "Are you from Sweden or Australia?" I returned and spoiled everything/rescued her.