San Francisco: Day 1

  

From: Splendid Eliza

Today we went to San Fran and just really looked in shops, (yas). We (mum) found a left-handed shop that had literally everything for left-handers, I am a left-hander and so is my dad and I found this place AMAZING!!! There was stuff from books to pens to can openers to measuring cups but you can't forget the hilarious mugs that are only for left-handers because they have a hole on the right hand side of the cup

Left-handed pen

Left-handed book, notice the binding is
on the other side

From an Astonishing Jane

It's just like the movies. The buildings are all painted in gorgeous colours, juxtaposed to the neighbouring ones, quirky and charming in the extreme. Houses are two or three storied with narrow, winding staircases. Car parking outside your house is a nightmare, involving plenty of negotiating, reading signs and being prepared to re-park time and time again. Is Monday the 4th Monday of the month, or only the third one, we need to work this out least the street sweeper causes our car to be towed away........

And the streets......they are steep, incredibly so.

it goes down and then up, up, up.

with one way streets criss-crossing your path, and all way stop signs causing awkward angles

Such steepness, that Logan questioned our brakes, Jonty likened it to the California Screamer roller coaster

I think the downs were way more scary than the ups, but then I'm the 'MUM!'

It's delightful to be back in a city with a harbour, and boats, and bridges, ferries, cruise ships and containers. Ah, the mighty Pacific Ocean, we have missed you greatly.

Logan had his shoes off in no time and was happily running up and down the sand, jumping among the waves

Then Jonty decided to join in too.

Pier 39 is as amazing and as much fun as it looks. Continuing the quirk and funny ideas evident in the city - stores devoted to one thing.....chocolate, left handed stuff, donuts, socks, hats or key chains...and yet all well patronised. The street artists are amazing. Music, theatre, art works....incredible, and all needing to be paid in cash. Right, the cash-less (except for quarters and pennies for the penny pressing machines) tourists that we are have learnt our lesson. The last $30, in crisp never-before-used notes picked up in NZ mid-August, will be put to good use.