Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco

I can't believe that our time in San Francisco is nearly up! We've done a lot since the last post, including being here while history was being made (the US elections and watching Obama's beautiful win). I love the buzz around Obama's win and I'm hopeful that America is entering a more enlightened age as a result.

But politics aside, I've been busy familiarising myself with San Francisco downtown while Alastair was at work the past two days. I've been catching the Caltrain, BART and the Muni. I love catching public transport while on holidays. It gives me a glimpse into the local life. I watched people head back and forth to work, students chattering excitedly about seemingly inconsequential things (not inconsequential to them I'm sure), other tourists talking quietly to each other while working out which stops to get off, seniors getting from place to place, as well as the passing diverse landscapes (from car yards, to backyards, to lots of tunnels, and people busily bartering for their groceries).

On Tuesday, I walked through the Yerba Buena area where I watched two old man gracefully work their way through their tai chi exercises. I then visited the SFMOMA (which has free entry the first Tuesday of every month). I enjoyed the exhibitions, particularly the 1000 Journals which I came across quite a few years ago (so cool to see it in person)and New Work by Zilvinas Kempinas, Alyson Shotz, Mary Temple (I love Alyson Shotz's The Structure of Light).

After the museum, I walked up to Chinatown and spent a few hours soaking up the atmosphere. The good thing about going on a week day was that it was nice and quiet. As long as I kept my mouth shut, I wasn't harassed (they must have thought that I was a local!). I think the jet lag must have caught up as I was feeling exhausted by 3.30pm. I caught the public transport home (which is about an hour each way) and had a quick nap before heading out to Alastair's work dinner at Mistral Restaurant in Redwood City.

On Wednesday, I had a bit of a sleep-in before catching public transport to downtown San Francisco where I spent the day wandering around checking out the shops. I saw Union Square and enjoyed the quirky shops and lovely architecture of Union Street shops. I got back late, missed my Caltrain stop but got picked up by Alastair on the way to a yummy Mexican dinner (great dessert!) with some of his workmates.

Today, Alastair and I drove into San Francisco where we spent the day around the Golden Gate Bridge area. We parked at the Presidio National Historic Park (near Crissy Field) and did a lot of walking in the area - such a pretty area! The Golden Gate Bridge was lovely as well. We walked across the bridge, admiring the view on all sides. We were really lucky. The weather was absolutely gorgeous - not a cloud in the very blue sky, little wind and it was warm enough that we spent the day in t-shirt and jeans! Just gorgeous.

We briefly stopped past the Pez Museum (small but very cool), then the supermarket for some supplies, then we headed back for dinner in our room.

I really like San Francisco. I can see myself living here! The only thing that I'm really struggling with is that I'm finding that everything I eat seems overly sweet. I have a really sweet tooth but I can't handle having additional sugar in EVERYTHING! I miss a good slice of toast with butter and a cup of tea. For lunch today, we bought a cheese danish hoping that it would be savoury but nope, it's also sweet. I wonder if it's possible to find a savoury dish that isn't deep fried?