The best food is not always where they tell you it is in the tourist brochures or travel books. This I have learnt many times. We experienced some great little restaurants and cafes in our local area of the Castro. This included the delectable tapas tid bits from Canela, the Hot Spiced Apple drink from Bearbucks, simple, but flavorsome pizza from Firewood, juicy and fresh fried chicken from Harvey's and the clean tastes of Zandir; a little Vietnamese restaurant that sated our appetite as we waited for our clothes to clean at the local laundromat called Sit and Spin.
Each day in the city by the bay was filled with different adventures and experiences. We often planned to do more in a day than we actually achieved. This was mainly due to us being oblivious to time and being lost in the intrigue, interest or excitement each activity could offer.
From the breezy, but not easy, bicycle ride across the Great Golden Gate to Sourcilido or the Freezy Bay Cruise on the Golden Bear ferry, we saw the city and it's waters from above and from a distance. We also got to see the bay from under the water courtesy of the Aquarium by the Bay; the highlight of an otherwise overly commercialised Pier 39 (not including our slippery little friends, the sea lions).
A stroll through the Haight-Ashbury area is one of contradictions. Seen as the centre of the alternative lifestyle and culture boom in the 60's, Haight Street at the Golden Gate Park end is crowned by the hamburger capitalist king's golden arches whilst across the road, lost teenagers huddle at the park with their blankets and spliffs, trying to uphold Dr.Timothy Leary's mantra. The shops all offer there wears, many trying to profit from the hippie foundations. However, like many Baby Boomer ideals, the message lost to the money. Despite this, the Haight-Ashbury still attracts many young adults looking for a different way to achieve an American Dream or perhaps just somewhere to roll one and not be judged by hypocritical eyes.
For a place to truly relax, the Japanese Tea Garden provides peace and tranquility (as you would expect) with the odd little critter foraging in the leaves for mild amusement (both ours and theirs). To experience the Earth and the heavens, the Californian Academy of Science offers a fantastic recreation of life and life as we know it. The planetarium's production of life taken from the building blocks of DNA to the final frontier of space was awe-inspiring, whilst a walk up and through the different levels of the recreated Amazon rain forest including diving down below the rivers and reefs is amazing.
There is still so much to talk about, but I can leave that to my travel companion. Suffice to say that you do leave a little bit of your heart in San Francisco.
The Wookey.
No comments:
Post a Comment