"Isn't it almost summer?" A cold day in San Francisco

This is ridiculously overdue. We were supposed to be blogging our way across America and here we are 3 months later with not a tale in sight! I have decided that, for several reasons (many of them selfish), this blog is not going to go forgotten like the many diaries I begun over the years.  

So, without further ado, our travels!!

Now if I may borrow from a very cool song; let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start: San Francisco. April 28, 2011.

After a lengthy flight, which included a stopover in Auckland, Commemorative Royal Wedding Cups for our tea and undoubtedly the coolest safety flight information video EVER, we landed in San Francisco California, very early in the morning. And while others may use the long flight as an excuse to hop in to those comfy hotel beds and sleep it off (and we all know how much Ally and I love sleeping), we instead jumped straight in to San Francisco. 

                             Air New Zealand Air Safety Video

Aiming to head straight to the cable car to Fishermans Wharf, we began by walking about 10 blocks down Market St in the wrong direction. After realising, and confiscating the map from Ally, we turned around and headed back the other way.

                      Denzel, the hippo, with the Royal Wedding Commemorative cup courtesy of Air NZ

We needed to get to the wharves, specifically Pier 33, to get tickets for Alcatraz. Why we hadn’t beforehand is beyond me, because those tickets can sell out days, even weeks, in advance in summer months. We strategized ways to bribe the ticket lady if necessary: we settled with me bursting into dramatic tears if she revealed there were no tickets. Luckily it didn’t come to that: we got tickets for the next day. 

                     The infamous "Bush Man"- if he scare you, you pay him. Simple.

With that sorted we wandered back up to Fisherman’s Wharf (Pier 39) and looked around. Fisherman’s Wharf is definitely my favourite part of San Francisco. It is completely teeming with tourists but I think that is part of its charm.

Everyone is there for the same reason; to see the sea lions and get the famous clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl. Every restaurant offers it, and seeing as they all likely buy off the same fisherman, you would be unlucky to get a bad serving. That said, we chose Boudin Bakery under the logic that the bread bowl could make all the difference...and it did. If nothing else, eating this meal is a myriad of texture. The crunchy exterior and spongy interior of the sourdough is offset by the creamy, occasionally chewy clam chowder. Ally, a chowder newbie, gave it two thumbs up.

                              Clam Chowder- Boudin Bakery

We headed back to Market Street. Deciding we were clearly immune to the slings of jetlag, we made the 2.5km walk (really- I just Google mapped it) to the Painted Ladies on Steiner Street near Alamo Square- better known to our generation as the houses from the start of Full House (and more recently, is featured in a Proactiv commercial). An iconic snapshot of San Francisco, this row of houses is representative of the thousands of Victorian-style houses sprawled across the city, though none quite as picturesque. 

Satisfied with our incredible walking feats, we decided on The Cheesecake Factory for dinner. Walking down to the restaurant, which sits above Macy’s, a comment from a homeless black man “Oh look at you girls, I could have fun with you two” had us swiftly deciding to catch a taxi back, but could not dampen our excitement for dinner. I had been looking forward to eating at this famous chain restaurant since I learned of its existence- I had even drooled over the menu online several times.

After waiting 40 minutes at the bar, we were seated outside in the freezing cold (isn’t May meant to be warm?!). It was so cold the waitress gave us hot towels to thaw our hands. Also, being seated outside meant we were joined by a seagull that, perched on the other side of the glass, kept sticking its beak in the glass crack to be fed. I wonder if anybody actually submits to this. Nevertheless, the dinner was good- the first of many servings of Buffalo wings to be consumed in the coming two months, and Thai-style wraps. But the dessert...! Red velvet cheesecake and Lemon Raspberry Cheesecake; they quash any queries about the restaurant’s name and certainly made the entire ordeal worth it. It also spawned what would become a growing obsession with anything "Red Velvet" flavoured. No wonder Americans are fat!

Had I known this would be the only time in our two months in the United States that I was going to be at a Cheesecake Factory, I would have ordered three more desserts -I had walked approximately 7 km that day, I deserved it!

Mel x