Sleep at last
I went to bed at 8.30 pm and I really needed to. Heather wasn't able to meet up but we confirmed lunch for the next day. So sleeping quite soundly (if a little oddly) I was great until I had a lovely but stratling call from Simon at 1.30 am. He got the times wrong. Oh well... There are worse ways to be woken up than by the sound of the man who you love on the other end of the line :)
Got up very early as I really wanted to see Alkatraz before meeting up with Heather. I managed to get on the 10am boat out and was the first person through the door into the audio tour. No my Singaporean freidns it wasn't kiasu, I just have gotten fitter and made it up the hill much faster than all the old biddies (and besides with a tight schedule I didn't want to be standing behind hoards as we shuffles through the cells). The Audio tour is brilliant, extremely well done. Very very worthwhile. On the way back dwon to the boat I met a couple from Alberta Canada. They had suspiciosly been right behind me on the way up and on the way out. Turns ou that they too wanted to do the whole island in 2 hours having booked a helicopter for for the afternoon.
I tried calling Heather nly to realise that the only number I had for her was her home one and having not recieved her email I ad no idea where we were meeting! Damn. I remembered that there was an internet cafe that I had spotted the eveing before at Fishermasn wharf (when I had staked out the Alcatraz tours) and went to check my emails. There it was, so I called her and rushed over to meet her. Well I tried to rush. Just as I reached the cab queue a bunch of septigenarian tour makers pushed in in front of me (how rude) and proceeded to take the next successive 8 cabs (which would be OK if they were all lined up ready to go but no... they were very spoardic.) Eventually I got one and rushed to meet Heather. Well I tried to rush, but she works relatively close to the ballpark, and today was the opening game of the season so the streets were filled with Giants fans of all shapes and sizes (and tempers).
Half an hour late I arrived at her office. She looked just as I expected, excpet that only yesterday I had seen a photo of her at SXSW taken by Rannie and now she has cut all her hair off. Looks great though (she says in aid of her impening birthday (she needed a change). We had a lovely lunch. She is a total inspiration to me. I am hopeing we can keep in touch. The only dissappointing thing is that not only did we NOT do a mirror shot, but I got carried away chatting and didn't even take a shot of her :( Oh well I'll have to see her again sometime I hope.
I left her and walked back to the hotel to organise the next installment in "packages I am seding to myself". Found a post office and an hour and a hlaf later (phew) I was free again. I walked to Chinatown and little Italy and Coit tower ( very very hilly) but saw so many great new things (including a Pizza shop on fire).
Finally a little worn out and painfully aware of my 5 am start the next day I headed back to pack. It was an exquisitly warm day today and the sun was lovely. I was hoping to have a glass of wine by the pool but the bar is not open yet! (opens on the 18th)
So instead I packed (so I would be organised and went to eat my last dinner alone. After eating at Olive on Larkin St ( a cool little bar) I headed around the corner to find Red Room, a bar Simon told me about from his time in SF. It is totally red, everything, the curtains, the lights the chairs etc its very womblike. Had a glass of wine, chatted to some interesting people and then headed back to crash into bed.
Unfortunately at 5.30 am I was woken with a knock on the door. My wake up call hadn't worked, I mustn'y have plugged the phone cord back in properly DOH.
What a rush. With 10 minutes to get dressed, packed, checked out before the shurrtle bus arrived I was in a real state. But I made it... I wonder what I left behind ?
At the airport, all checked in I had an hour to kill before my Lan Chile flight to Peru.
Once on board it turned out theat my promised window with extra leg room was not. Seated in the centre beside 2 face mask wearing elderly Japanese ladies I started scoping out new seats. I spied two by the windwo available and made my claim. Great, some sleep at last.
I actually managed to sleep for at least 6 of the 7 and a half hours. I needed it and I woke only really as we were landing in the darkness of Lima. When I arrived at the Hostel (Mami Panchita) my host was chewing the fat and drinking beers with a couple of dutch guests so I joined them for one before collapsing into bed at what was now 1.30... I lost another 2 hours !
Being woken up at 7.... eek. Looking forwards to getting home, to my bed, my love and my furry boy.
by
jen
at 5:36 AM
Monday, April 07, 2003
MUNI to Haight St
San Francisco - a lazy day
The sun is shining in San Francisco but no matter how hard it tries, it just isn't very warm at all :(
When standing in the actual sun you can cook but the winds are bitterly cold! Dammit. I was looking forwards to wearing some of my more summery as yet not worn items! Oh well. Not to be I guess.
Today I did a lot of wandering around. I slept in a bit ( I am quite exhausted now) and then started the day with a good old American Diner breakfast of sub standard coffee, a bagel and then just to cap it off a donut ( though it wasn't as good as the crispy cremes I had in New York). Still it got me set on my path for a lovely wandery quietish day in SF. I took a MUNI to Haight Street and wandered about. I was attempting to shop a bit, but I guess all this travel had severely beaten my shopping abilities out of me ( phew says Simon after paying my phone bill). Also I am still painfully aware of how little I can fit in my bag, though thats going to change severely tomorrow. I am going to send ome as much as I can so I only have to take the bare minimums to Peru. I'd possibly even send the laptop... but thats way too risky.
So where was I? Haight Street. There was a great shop called Villains (I think) and they had some excellent Emily Strange tshirts, but even those were hard to get ready to buy. I guess I could buy some strappy shoes and a frock for the wedding? Maybe I'll just get Simon to bring me one from home :) Amoeba records was huge and though I looked I still couldn't purchase anything fromthe plethora of great new releases. I found the Red Victorian, the b abd b I was to stay in and it looked very quaint, though I imagine at night it would be rather noisy as its right in the hub on Haight, and the room I was to get was a room with a view. That said maybe next time I would choose to stay here so that I could wander more around this colourful area.
Took loads of shots of my usual kind. Things that aren't exactly Haight Street at all as I wandered on foot back to where i came from.
In the afternoon I spent some time in SoMa, more graffiti, shop fronts, War time comments and then managed to et my inernet connection working again to upload them all.
Fading fast I went back to the ever so groovy Phoenix hotel and had a hot bath.. (probably my last one for a week or so....) and then helped Simon (or rather failed to help Simon as "jen's Mac help desk".
Lats night it became daylight savings so after going out for dinner ( a girl's got to eat) and it was a great dinner... food is excellent here, like Sydney... I had aimed to get some vaulable sleep... But no :) I guess with all the sights and sounds and the jet lag thats going to only get worse tomorrow I am finding it hard to fall asleep, and to saty asleep. Yet again even though I put the clock forward, I was wide awake at 7am ( so I guess thats really 6 OUCH!) So now I'm trying to sleep in a bit. Burt there are so many things to go see and do. I was aiming for Alkatraz, But I may do that tomorrow am ass I have lots of time before my flight. Instead? I think I'll walk down to Japantown and see if the Cherry Blossom festival has gone mad down there. But first? Coffee....
Tonight I am meeting up with Heather and am really looking forwards to that. She promises an early one because its a school night and that suits me fine. Hopefully we can concoct a duo Mirror project shot. That would make my trip.
by
jen
at 1:41 AM
