Updated By PaulTen hours of flying still doesn't prepare you for this city!
Day 1 - A short shuttle journey from the airport to our hotel - The Mosser - a hotel with its own recording studio! Was tempted to lay down a track but the jet lag kicked in in time to knock me out cold after a quick beer in the Fourth Street bar. Some strange game was on the TV - big lads chucking orange balls into baskets - looked a bit like Netball! Roll on the world cup when we teach these yanks how to play a real sport. I refuse to call it Soccer though!
Day 2 - Jesus Christ, waking up at 5.30am - we're supposed to be on holiday here! After a quick jaunt round the Museum of Modern Art we jumped on a boat round the bay. Cold, Foggy, Wet - this ain't the California the Beach Boys Sung about.
Sailed round the Golden Gate Bridge and sighted Alcatraz. thinking of planning a jail break from there for tomorrow. What??! - gotta pay $26 dollars each for the privilage? I bet Clint Eastwood never had that problem....
Day 3 - Up at 5am again - damn you jet lag. Off to the Golden Gate Park on the tram system. We cut through San Fran's China Town - A place so massive it made London's China Town look like the China Kitchen restaurant in Greenford Avenue!!
Still have not figured out whether this is the most friendly country in the world or the most annoying. I sneezed on the tram and someone shouted out "bless you" from half way down the carriage. Of course this meant I had to shout back "thank-you" - how inconsiderate of that person!! Just wouldn't happen in London.
Academy of science was fun - where else in the world other than America can you visit an indoor rainforest littered with hotdog stands?
Caught the boat to Alcatraz - took the tour round the cell block. Didn't think much of the decor - don't think I'll give the estate agent a call back about this one! Was interesting though to see where Al Capone and others were locked up in solitary isolation along with the blood and grenade marks from previous jail breaks. Was tempted to make the swim back to the mainland but the wind was against us today!
Caught a cable car back from Fisherman's Wharf to downtown. These things are lethal.. 90 degree hills (well nearly) and these old victorian things hurtling down them in between the traffic. Great stuff - didn't stop me hanging out the side though snapping away on the camera.... better than the big dipper at Blackpool anyday!
Day 4 - Now this is what I've been waiting for - Wine tasting around Sonoma and Napa....!! Picked up at 8.30am - never too early to start boozing!! Our tour guide had other ideas though and insisted we do the nature visit first around Muir woods first. Boooo!!
To be fair, the giant redwoods were "awesome" - damn I'm even talking like a yank now!!
Drank more wine than was good for us but enjoyed every bit of it. Still desperate for a beer when back at the hotel later on though. Spent 25 dollars on a nice bottle from the Jacuzzi vineyard - yep run by the same family that invented the hot tub. expecting this to be a nice bottle of bubbly!!!
Drove back over the Golden Gate Bridge, a rare clear day in the bay. Probably added another 50 photo's to the world's most photograped bridge.
Off to bed slightly sozzled - off to Vancouver, Canada next. Its got a lot to live up to after San Fran!!
See photo's by clicking the link below:
