Saturday 15 July 2000
We start off the day with heavy rain in Calgary (Alberta, Canada). On TV we
see that a tornado has destroyed a campground in Red Deer, about 130 km from
here. We get on our way to the airport, hoping that the weather will not get in
the way of our travel plans. Fortunately ou
r
flight is more or less on schedule (only 30mins late). In Vancouver we have to
catch a connecting flight to San Francisco. We have to drag our luggage through
US customs and emigration, who have their own operation here in Canada. Around
five pm we arrive in San Francisco. We take the supershuttle to the YMCA in
Central SF. The "Y" is simple, but clean and functional. It is located
between the Tenderloin (scruffy and sort of rough) and the Civic Centre (area
with mostly government buildings). We have a short rest before take a tram to
the Castro district. We eat a simple meal in in Café Flore on
Market Street. After that we explore the neighbourhood. We have adjust ourselves
to the big city pace (even Calgary was slow in comparison) and the overwhelming
number of (good looking) men around us. Finally we visit a couple of café's
and bars, that I remember from my last visit here in 1993.
Sunday 16 July 2000
We get up early and have breakfast in the "Y". We walk to the
turning point of the famous cable car at Powell Street @ Market. At the
ticket booth we buy a 3-day pass for $10. An excellent deal: public
transport gets you anywhere, all the time in SF. A single ride would have cost
$1.10 and the cable car even $2. There is a long line waiting for the ride, but
within 15 minutes we are on our way. Filled to the last possible space the car
is drawn up the hill of Powell Street. We drive along Union Square, with its
expensive shops and end up a couple of blocks south of Fisherman's Wharf. That
is still a tacky tourist trap, with bad eateries and souvenir shops selling
incredible junk. What is fun to do, is impossible alas: a boat trip to Alcatraz.
The first tour for which tickets are sold right now is on Thursday. We walk in
the direction of Aquatic Park. From there, there is somethin
g
of a view of Golden Gate Bridge, partly hidden in the clouds today. Here
is also the turning point of the Hyde Street cable car and is also the starting
point of a city walk we intend to do. This walk will take us to a number of
sights and some locations that played a part in the novels about the tenants
of 28
Barbary Lane, "Tales of the City", by Armistead Maupin. We take
the cable car until Lombard Street, the most crooked street in the world. Many
come here by car just to drive the winding stretch of this street downhill of
Russian Hill. We walk on and get to the lane that was inspirational for Barbary
Lane in the novels: Macondray Lane. We stroll through the leafy lane, before we
get to Russian Place on top of Russian Hill. Here we have a splendid view of the
city. We take the trolley bus to Washington Square in North Beach. We eat
at one of the many locations of Tomato Pommodoro. F
ine,
but standardised food. Washington Square is not a square, as it has five sides,
it is in North Beach which has not got a beach and the statue in the square is
not George Washington, but Benjamin Franklin. But that's San Francisco for
you. The square is host to a Sunday art market. The Catholic church of St Peter
and Paul was once the stage for the marriage of Joe Dimaggio and Marilyn Monroe.
We take the bus to the top of Telegraph Hill. A popular Sunday
afternoon destination, judging by the traffic jam on the way up. On the hill is
a panoramic tower. It was erected with money donated by Mrs. Coat, and devoted to
the firefighters who were so brave during the 1906 earthquake. Rumour has it
that Mrs. Coit would liked to have been a fireman herself. We take the
elevator up and enjoy the view. We go down again and take the Filbert Steps in
the direction of the Embarcadero, from the foot of the tower. The steps take us
to an Art Deco house that played a part in a movie with Humphrey Bogart and
Lauren Bacall (Dark Passage) and through a number of beautifully kept common
gardens and little alleyways like Napier Lane, one of the few surviving board
walks in the city. We end up at Levi Plaza, Levi Strauss Company's headquarters.
From here we take a bus back to the "Y".
At night we eat at Fuzio on Castro Street (pastas) and stay on a gay bar crawl.
Monday 17 July 2000
Our last day in this fair(y) city we spend largely in the area around Union
Square, where we do some serious shopping. We sta
rt
at the Nordstrom Emporium, a fashion mall, of which the four top floors
are
taken by the Nordstrom fashion store. Our next stop is Macy's, a big
general
department store, but in San Francisco with a separate men's store
across the
street. A wide range of nice clothing. Downstairs is the food emporium
where
everything is freshly prepared while you wait. After lunch we move on
to FAO
Schwarz, the famous toy store. Not too big here in San Francisco, but
special nonetheless. Then it's on to the non-plus-ultra for shopping
society people in
town: Neiman Marcus, locally dubbed "Needless Mark-up" . Very
expensive and stylish, with an emphasis on fashion. Wedding lists are
also taken
care off here. The circle shaped restaurant has a splendid view on
Union
Square. Banana Republic a few blocks east (young fashion) was
disappointing.
The we take the trolley bus to Alamo
Square. Without a doubt San Francisco's most photographed spot. The
grass in the ;middle of the square is clearly worn
by 
the
tourists. From there the perspective on a group of six typical identical wooden
houses, the "Painted Ladies" against the backdrop of the financial
district, is the best. After all that urban beauty we head for Castro Street for
some "pink" shopping. Lots of opportunities: "Don't
Panic" (T-shirts), "Does Your Mother Know" and "Does your
Father know" (posters, kitsch), "A different light" (books),
"All American Boy" (beach and swimwear), "Rock Hard" (gifts)
to name but a few. After the shopping we have a quiet drink at Harvey's
where we can watch the crowd passing by our window table.
At night we eat in style at the Grand Café on Geary Street @ Taylor. Excellent food served in a beautiful Art Nouveau surroundings. We end the day and our stay in style: in the Castro.
Tuesday 18 July 2000
We have breakfast early and than wait for the Airport Shuttle to pick us up for a ride to the Airport. Our first flight is to Detroit with NorthWest. We change planes in Detroit which involves a 3 hour wait. Our netx flight is with KLM to Amsterdam. We arrive in Amsterdam around 6am from where we take the train back to Rotterdam.