Week commencing Sunday 28th May 2000

Sunday 28th May

We thought that we would try the local cinema on Van Ness Avenue.
After some friendly discussion, we decided to see Mission Impossible 2 (just to keep Peter quiet 8-)
On the plus side, the special effects were awesome, and the pace was very fast moving.
However, it did not follow the spirit of Mission Impossible, in that it was not a team effort, but an ego trip for Tom Cruise !
Also, the pristine condition of the stars was not detracted from in any way, no matter what they went through. That said, it was a very entertaining film: Peter 8/10; Irene 6/10 8-)

This is the front door to the cinema. Pretty impressive !
The inside is a complete contrast - very plain.
We were quite surprised by the cost, though - even more expensive than London cinemas !

So, we were strolling along, minding our own business when suddenly...
What the h...
A London bus !
Gray Line tours use it as an information centre in Union Square.

These guys paint themselves up to look like statues, stand around very still, and then suddenly leap out at passers-by when they least expect it !

Monday 29th May

Delays in availability of the apartment mean more wandering aimlessly around the Streets of San Francisco 8-)

This place may not look much, but it serves food that we recognise !
Some days we miss breakfast so that we can reduce the guilt about eating here 8-)
We generally order two fried eggs, sunny side up/easy, spicy link sausages and a side of fries with white toast and coffee - totally yum yum !

This is the famous 'Crookedest Street' which is part of Lombard Street in the Russian Hill district. We waited for a stretch limo to come down, but no luck !
This side of the street was full of tourists (including ourselves) taking photos and video shots !

The Cannery used to be...yes, you guessed it, a cannery, but it has been converted to a bunch of tourist shops and this courtyard where there is usually some form of live music going on.
Don't know the flowerpot man in the foreground, but he sure looks familiar 8-)

One of the aforementioned tourist shops sells crystal goods, including this piece of work that we thought worth snapping.
You can't really tell from the photograph, but the detail is excellent !

Just when we thought it was all tourist shops, we came across this Mexican bar.

So, of course Peter had to find out if he still likes Margueritas 8-)

The view of the bay is very good from the top floor of the Cannery. There's a Tall Ship docked on the right - you can see the masts. The Golden Gate Bridge is just about visible on the left.

This is the terminus at the Bay Street end of the Powell-Mason Cable Car line. If you look carefully at the centre of the picture, there's a black guy entertaining the people in the queue (or as they say here: line). He sings a bit, then walks around the line with a sock asking for tips !
EVERYBODY here is after your money - greed is worshipped !
(They even have a game show called 'Super Greed' where a team play for millions of dollars !)

Tuesday 30th May

Market Street again !
We're beginning to think this city is smaller than we first assumed - maybe we should hire a Harley 8-)

There's a lot of development work going on in and around San Francisco. Apparently it's a booming place to be (until the next earthquake that is 8-)

We found this body in Market Street !
People were walking by as if he didn't exist - such a caring society 8-(

Wednesday 31st May

Briazz is a sandwiches and salads franchise that sells (among other things) ready-made salads. This is ideal if you are in a hotel with minimal facilities for self-catering !

'The Stinking Rose' is a garlic restaurant that provides meals with loads of garlic in them. They even have Garlic Ice Cream !

It was a close run thing, but eventually we decided to try this Italian restaurant for lunch. The deciding factor was probably the fact that they had Spaghetti Bolognese on the menu with REAL spaghetti !

Peter had a very strange experience where he was absorbed into a cartoon. We think we've got most of him back 8-)

Thursday 1st June

Still in the darned hotel. We're getting stir crazy !

Irene, a past master at improvisation, using the footstool as an ironing board !

Briazz do an absolutely excellent Jambalaya - a spicy broth with sausage, rice and allsorts of other groovy stuff !
(More improvisation - the plastic plates were the lids of the salad containers 8-)

Walgreens is a store that sells EVERYTHING !
Like a cut-down version of our Supermarkets (Sainsbury, Tesco ..etc) - about the same amount of products, but less of them.

We found this amazing jade shop in Chinatown.
The lions in the foreground and the flowers behind them are carved out of jade !

According to the proprietor, it took three guys a whole year to create this masterpiece. All carved out of a single piece of jade !

Even the cablecar signs in Chinatown are in chinese !
(The other side of the sign is in English 8-)

Peter is still checking to see if he likes Margueritas !

Friday 2nd June

Not long now. 8-)

This place does DIY salads.
Along with the steep hills, this should keep the pounds off 8-)

These fountains are made using gemstones like amethyst and rose quartz.
Irene would have liked one, but we thought it might take up too much room 8-(

We're all going to the zoo tomorrow, zoo tomorrow, zoo tomorrow 8-)

Saturday 3rd June

San Francisco zoo is located to the south west of the city.
To get there, we had to take the Muni which is underground in the city centre and then converts to using overhead cables. We were a bit nervous about using the underground after a news program about violent crime, but as it turned out, it was OK !

These flamingos seemed to be enjoying themselves despite the attentions of all the tourists.

Mr. Peacock struts around, preening himself while his wife walks around in the background.

The monkeys around here are very tame !

This gorilla kept muscling in on Irene !
Gorilla World was the most interesting area of the zoo. They had a group consisting of two males, three females an elder brother, seven years old and a baby, two years old.
The baby seemed to spend most of its time bullying the elder brother, who was very tolerant, considering !

They don't do things by halves over here - even the weeds are immense !

Wait a minute, what's this ? Aren't we in America then ?
Apparently, the climate here is ideal for Eucalyptus trees, which is the only thing these spoiled Koala's will eat, so they are quite happy to live over here. This one's doing what comes naturally - sleeping !

This looks like a plastic alligator, right ?
Wrong ! It's a genetic mutation - looks freaky huh ?

Here's the miniature puffer train - just chugs round in circles !

This is as close as I could get to my favourite animal - Orangutans !
The male weighs twice as much as the female - can you spot them in the picture ?
(The male is on the ground bottom left, and the female is on the net at the top)

A chinese market is held here every Saturday evening - we can see it from our hotel.

This Indian restaurant is a fair way from our hotel, so after some hill climbing, we decided to flag down a taxi. As soon as we got in the restaurant, Peter realised that he did not have his digital camera. Panic time ! The waiter phoned the yellow cab company, but they were engaged. Then we had a brainwave - outside was a yellow cab, so Peter walks over to the cab and there was the driver with the camera. Phew ! Thank goodness there are still some honest people left 8-)

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