Yupz, here's my first Travelogue entry (probably won't have many due to NS constraints) to:
SAN FRANCISCO
San Francisco?Why?
The original plan was to traverse the white,sandy beaches of Phuket,Thailand with a group of friends....what better way to relax than to laze around on a tropical coast, sipping lemonade, swimming with mermaids and chatting up water sprites erh?
But that was not to be for Bangkok was the destination my friends settled upon after much deliberation...a destination I wasn't so enthusiastic about since it was all shopping and yeah, shopping...not really my idea of a vacation...
Enter my parents who were planning to head for San Francisco so I thought it wouldn't be such a bad idea to join them, especially since its technically free (I didn't have to fork out a cent)
DAY 1
Up into the Sky!
Take off!
Sky
Above the clouds
Cam Whoring
Sky
Sky (See how the sunlight reflects off the clouds and those black penguin-like things seem to be swimming among the clouds? Of course you can't lah,there aren't any black penguin like things)
Black and White Sky
Bart?What Bart?
This is THE BART machine:
Sounds like some word you'd use to describe a naughty kid or you know,THAT Bart who stars in The Simpsons?But is actually like your EZ-Link top-up machine at your MRT station.
The Bart itself is rather unspectacular so I couldn't be bothered to snap a shot,looks like....a train (Ok fine,perhaps I did forget to snap a shot of it but it really isn't spectacular on the outside)
Dad and Mum in the Bart.They were standing when I took the shot...the truth is the Bart has more seating than standing space available...and the bart wasn't even a quarter-occupied...
Anyway,I managed to snatch some well-shot pictures from wiki (so useful!):
THE BART
Interior
Ticket (Chao old school - Paper one with magnet strip hor)
On the Bart
At Club Quarters Hotel
We had a pretty good location,somewhere within the busting financial district and very near Chinatown.
Ok,once again, nothing spectacular...just shot...as in one shot...
Makan @ some Nameless Restaurant
Had Italian food at some restaurant near our hotel for our first meal (and a lot of subsequent meals as you'll see later on).It was by far the only disappointing meal amongst all the food we had tried over in San Francisco.Both dishes were a little too salty:
Beef Lasagna (Left) and Spaghetti (Right)
Financial District
Artistic shot
Artistic Black & White Shot
Music and Records Store
Borders Bookstore (Much bigger than its Singaporean cousin as you can see)
Union Square
Macys and Macys...Had to take them together,side by side....oh,there are 2 other Macys buildings over at the other side of the street but I didn't snap them...one for ladies and another for men so its like 4 Macys along the same street in total!!!Macys owner is one rich kid!I gotta marry her!
Other Buildings in Union Square
Victoria's Secret
Shots taken from the Cheesecake Factory on the top floor of one of the Macys building (the Cheesecake Factory serves up gorgeous food which I'll cover below...)
Insane Public Parking Lot prices...I saw one which charged US$100+ for 6 hours but didn't snap it.
What's this?
A News Stand!Artistic shot of a guy walking right past and conveniently blocking the newspaper peddler.
Tram
Cute Fire Engine
Dinner @ Tadich Grill
The Oldest Restaurant in San Francisco established since 1849 and still going strong...average waiting time is like an hour plus...with streams of patrons itching for a meal or just a good douse of alcohol along its long wooden bartop.Forgot to take pictures of its interior and the food though.
Menu:
House Bread and Butter
Clam Chowder thick and creamy
Turbot fish baked golden with assorted vegetables and rice,topped with cheese.
Fresh pan fried Scallops in red wine, served with rice
Coupled with old victorian eatery architecture (with coat hooks and oil lamps)...dinner was definitely a pleasure.
DAY 2
Elephant & Castle
That would be breakfast...
Menu:
Left - Pancakes served with honey and bacon
Right - French Toast with honey and sausages
Delicious!
Inside the castle:
Ferry Building
My dad supports Obama?
Inside the Ferry
Sausages
Chocolates
Caviar
Random Flower Cart Shot
Street Market aka Pasar
Its this market which operates only twice a week just outside ferry building,arrhh,the sights,sounds and smells!
Pickles
Pasta
Pastries
And Knife Sharpening? You mean people actually bring their knives all the way to Ferry Building just to get it sharpened?Mind you,Ferry Building is called just that because its near the bloody ocean and pretty far away from the residential areas!
Fruits
Performer
Fisherman's Wharf
On our way there...
Rest.
Finally!
Lunch @ Bourdins
Parents pose
Clam Chowder in a Sourdough Bowl
GAP...An entire building on its own!
Had some ice-cream at Ben & Jerry's
Ok, just to get things straight, we actually went to Pier 39 BEFORE going to Fisherman's Wharf
Merchants @ Pier 39
Bought lots of berries here!
Ahoy! Ship into the Sea!
And off we go!
All that tracking across a good portion of San Francisco left us hungry and so we set off to fine this French restaurant mum had read up about. So we searched.
And Searched
And Searched.
But couldn't find it, instead passing by Chinatown (which we swore we'd visit the following day) and Columbus Street which was really Little Italy (Think Little India.With pasta).Therin we discovered...
Stinking Rose!
Lots of garlic in that place....almost forgot to take a picture of the food so as you can see, half the dish is gone:
Au Dinner
Menu:
1) Silence of the Lamb Shanks with a generous portion of buttered mashed potatoes and marinated spinach
2) Foreground: Fetuccine with garlic and herbs
3) Background: Tomato-based Spaghetti with garlic,olives and dates
Sorry for the terrible and rather gross pictures but all the food look and taste gorgeous. Shall have to improve on my photography skills!Anyone cares to coach me?
Satisfied customers:
Red light (not gay) district we walked past after dinner, absolutely sanctioned by my parents! (They asked me to take it hor)
DAY 3
Falungong in Chinatown!
Yup, you read it right..the Falungong (a religious grouping banned in China) was carrying out a demonstration against the Communist Party of China right there in San Francisco's Chinatown!
All decked out in blue and waving placards decrying the Communists, the demonstrators were led by a vanguard of musicians all the way to a nearby park. It was rather amazing, especially since a demonstration isn't something you get to see everyday in Singapore...much less a Falungong one.
Yup, you read it right..the Falungong (a religious grouping banned in China) was carrying out a demonstration against the Communist Party of China right there in San Francisco's Chinatown!
All decked out in blue and waving placards decrying the Communists, the demonstrators were led by a vanguard of musicians all the way to a nearby park. It was rather amazing, especially since a demonstration isn't something you get to see everyday in Singapore...much less a Falungong one.
That was the last shot I managed to snap before my NV4 Camera battery died =(
But we did make a second trip to Chinatown...here are some snapshots!
Anyway, my parents and I were heading for lunch (we woke up late so no breakfast on the menu) along Market Street which was further up the lane...unfortunately,most of the food stores were closed on a Sunday...so we decided to dine at Quezno sub, a mexican interpretation of Subway, wherin we had chicken and beef wraps,sandwiches and soda,no pics to show for it though...
Then it was shopping at South of Market Street at this factory outlet where the prices for branded goods were really low but their clothes size was decidedly American (which basically means too big for me lah...
Alright, I'm too lazy to elaborate on the rest of the day, which satisfied the Singaporean cravings of shopping and eating.
DAY 4
Golden Gate Bridge
Walruses lazying on wooden floating platforms in the waters near Fisherman's Wharf
The all famous Alcatraz which is this standalone island out in the sea which once served as the ultimate prison for America's most notorious prisoners.
Up the Hills!
The road from up on the hill
Lambard Street with the zigzag road
A wooden car
View from the top
They probably had cars rolling down the hill at some point in their experience with gravity...Too lazy to turn it upright...
Shades of Tiffany
Where we purchased our Tiffany stained-glass set in wrought metal lamp
Satisfied Customers!
Dinner @ Italian Restaurant AGAIN
Forgot the exact ingredients which went into the dishes but it was good stuff
Menu:
Pasta...
Dinner is served:
Presenting to you
More Pasta....
DAY 5
Some random architecture
Cheesecake Factory
Sorry, its rather dim
This wonderful establishment served up some of the most sumptous and value-for-money food on top of one of the Macys Buildings situated within Union Square.
Menu:
Meatloaf served with a generous portion of Mashed Potatoes and stir-fried Nuts and Fruits
Grilled Salmon with Herbs and fresh Asparagus over a large scoop of Mashed potatoes
Shepherd's Pie
All of which were seriously large portions,at least by Asian standards...
A variety of cheesecakes of which we bought some.
Dinner
Reflections:
A wonderful and thoroughly refreshing experience in being able to revisit San Francisco once again and enjoy the great weather, good food, good sleep, good-looking people and good buys!
Although I probably won't visit San Francisco again in a long time (would rather move on to new places), but it was nevertheless, a wonderful trip =)
Oh, and a glimpse of our future:
And finally, have a nice day! Nice sporting pic of a performer near the Ferry Building
