True Tales of San Fransisco

After hanging out with Rick for a week I headed to the next city to see a few more friends I made in Tokyo who coincidentally all happen to live in San Fransisco. Gen a guy I worked with, Ishmael a guy I lived with and Yoni a guy I met through couchsurfing. I stayed with Yoni at his place in the Noe Valley which is a particularly nice area of town. You can tell its an area with money by the ladies at the park with their immaculate dogs as opposed to "Mexicans with pitbulls" as Yoni put it. He swiftly took me out to a house party in another part of the Bay Area which was being thrown by a plastic surgeon. It must have been interesting for him to see his own work on a girls chest walking around his party. Everyone was super nice and I got some dancing tips from a big group of Latino ladies who liked to party.

The next morning we headed out with Yonis girlfriend for some genuine San Fran Yum Cha! Man I was pumped, I figured that if great dim sum was to be found in the world it would be in Hong Kong or San Fransisco due to the giant Chinese population. It was all I hoped for as we hit up all the classics like the Sieu Mae, Cha Siew Bao and Fried Calamari and tried some new things too. I put it up there on par with Sydney. I have had better in Sydney but I only sampled one restaurant out of the literally hundreds that are available in San Fran. I must remember to move here one day. Later I caught up with Gen to hang out at the Mission District to check out the great street art, eat cheap Mexican and drink beer with all the trendy kids at Dolores Park. Then we went to a gallery opening for free booze and then met up with Ishmael when he finished work for a beer.

During the day when people were working or at school I did the tourist stuff, like see the sea lions, do a bay cruise past Alcatraz and the Golden Gate bridge and see the great neighbourhoods like the hippy mecca Haight street and one of the biggest Chinatowns in the world. But it was the evenings that provided the most entertainment. On Monday we headed to a screening of the Daft Punk film "Electroma"/Bang Gang party which would have been great except for the fact we couldnt get into the screening and the Bang Gang guys didnt play. Riot in Belgium played a great set of more or less the same thing but I got pretty drunk in preparation for a big night then they pulled the plug abruptly forcing me & Gen to go to Broadway (the strip club street) for lack of anything else to do.

On the Tuesday night we went to a $2 Mexican beer & tapas at a pretty funky bar in Soma. Then on Yoni's brothers recommendation, me & Gen took his Japanese friend Shoko to a gay bar called the Tranny Shck for a trans-gender show which was very entertaining. The show was a tribute to the 30's so a big group of she-males got dressed up in elaborate costumes & make up, then put on a performance (dancing & miming) to old showtunes. There was only one real woman who actually sang and her name was "Alotta Bootay" who more than lived up to her names image. Shoko had never seen a show like this before and loved it, I was happy to hang out with a real Japanese person since its been such a long time.

On Wednesday, my last night Yoni drove us down to Oakland to a legendary jazz club/Japanese restaurant called Yoshis to see a Blue Note artist whose name I forget (shame on me). He was a brilliant piano player accompanied by a drummer and bassist. His improvisation was brilliant as he mingled some classic tunes like "Everything in its right place" by Radiohead in amongst his own stuff. His drummer threatened to steal the show with his multiple solos and crazy symbol work but I think he over did it a bit always going nuts behind even the quietest of songs. It was a great show though, I have to remember to catch more jazz shows, especially from younger dudes who are influenced by hip hop.

So that was that, I had a great time in the great city. Even just hanging out in the neighbourhoods walking the dogs was pretty fun. As far as citys go this one is way up there. I cant be bothered doing anymore collages right now so for photos head to my flickr sets.

My Curse

This week coming up was going to be the highlight of my trip and possibly my life. Seeing Eri again for a week in paradise in the beautiful Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. I had planned out an amazing itinerary that would see us snorkelling, swimming with dolphins, visiting ruins and scootering around the islands in the Carribean sunshine. Then fate dealt its heavy hand and delivered one of the strongest hurricanes in the history of the area: Hurricane Dean. A top Category Five hurricane hitting the peninsula almost directly where we are going.

The hurricane will move across Mexico and hit my arrival destination of Mexico City on Thursday morning, the day I will get there. Then somehow I have to haul ass back through the destructive path to get to Cancun by Saturday to meet Eri at ground zero. Fingers crossed the roads will be clear, the power running, the shops open, but who knows. Even if everything is running we are still guaranteed a week of clouds and thunderstorms instead of a week in paradise.

Bad weather seems to follow me, especially when I plan something special. Like the Roskilde festival which downpoured more than it has in its 30 year history. I can accept that these things happen but this hurricane arriving just before my reunion with Eri is too much. I think we will still go and pray for the sun to come out. Also after Eri leaves I was planning on spending a month in Central America but the whole region is affected by tropical storms with no break in sight. I don't know what to do except go there and hope for the best. Maybe I will get a lucky break for a change but if history is any indicator it's highly unlikely.

Oh Canada!

Saturday saw the reunion of the deadly duo Rick James & Dirty Dave in Rick's hometown of Toronto. He took some time off work to come down and show me a good time for which I am very grateful. I stayed at his place in the suburbs which felt just like being back in Sydney which was a nice change.

On the first evening we headed out to some of his friends places for a few drinks and then to a random house party. I was very impressed by his friends condos in the city, either his friends are loaded or Toronto housing has a very high standard. The party was cool, a bunch of media industry types with a high sense of self-importance but thanks to all the beers and tequila I wasn't phased and found some nice people to chat to.

The next day we headed out to see Toronto Zoo. I have been going to a lot of zoos lately which I love but I think I need to cut down from now on, too much of a good thing. Anyway I think we went for Rick's benefit and his friend who got us in for free (sweet!). The zoo is definately up there in my books, I would place it between Taronga in Sydney and Tama Zoo in Tokyo. The North American animals are the highlight.

A couple of days later when Rick's Japanese girl came to town we headed out of the city to the great lakes and stayed with one of Reuben's friends at his family cottage on the beach. now these beaches are not on any ocean but rather on the banks of these massive lakes but for all purposes they are the same, just without waves or salt. It's pretty bizarre going under water and being able to open your eyes and not have the taste of salt in your mouth. It was beautiful up there and Reuben's buddies were great company. We all went for a few rounds at the local go-kart joint and arcade which was good fun.






















On the Thursday we took a trip up to the tourist-must-see Niagra Falls which was cool. At first glance it wasn't all that impressive but then we took the boat ride to the base of the falls and it was pretty cool hearing the thundering sounds it made and being soaked by the mist that floats away from the base. Then we did some tourist junk things like mini-golf and went to the casino to watch Reuben lose his money. Rick got lucky on a slot machine so he footed the bill for some activities.






















The other main activity we did was go out to Center Island in Lake Ontario in the city for a picnic and riding bikes around. I have a feeling it was a somewhat romantic thing for Rick & his girl to do that I was dragged along to by default. But it was definately a nice place, I was a little shocked by the "Clothing Optional" beach that a number of people were taking full advantage of. I guess Toronto is fairly liberal though, we also saw a "Tighty Whitey Car Wash" on Church St (the gay district - didnt have my camera but see a photo here) which also caught me off guard.

In the evening we hit up a popular bar for my last taste of Toronto nightlife. It was pretty decent, a very lively bunch these Canadians are. We did a bunch of other stuff during the week like play a round of golf, watched an amateur ice hockey game, went to see a major league baseball game, go see the Simpsons & Harry Potter, had a beer at a local stripclub, so even though it was all pretty low key we were always busy doing something. So thanks to Rick for being a great host. It was great to meet your family (including Baba!) and extend our friendship across another country. Next time its your turn to come to Sydney and we can do it up!

Toronto

New York, New York

Similar to my stop in Paris, I ended up in New York without any personal connections and a few days to get a feel for the place. So because my couchsurfing experiences had gone well I used the website again to find a host to stay with for three nights. The main benefits of couchsurfing is that you hang out with locals which gives you a somewhat different perspective on the place... and it's free which is a great relief on the hip pocket.

New York, the great city needs no introduction. From all the films and television shows everyone has an impression of what the city and its people are like. At first it was a little surreal being there and seeing all the yellow cabs, policemen, riding the subway and all those kinds of things. The couchsurfer (Matt) I stayed with lived in Harlem with three other girls from Oklahoma. I'm sure there are good reasons for Harlem's dangerous reputation but as is usually the case with these places I had no problems at all. I was happy to be staying in an "authentic New York" part of town. I only did a few things there like check out the famous local jazz bar, eat at the local fried chicken shop (so unhealthy). Unfortunately I didn't have time to see all the Dominicans playing checkers in the street on Saturdays or to go to the Apollo which was closeby. I felt pretty cool staying "in the ghetto" but apparently it was one of the better areas of Harlem.

Another area I really liked was Brooklyn, one night I went with one of the housemates to a free concert in Prospect Park which was cool. WIth my two days there I just checked out the major areas of Manhattan like Chinatown, Soho, Greenwich Village and the Meat Packing District, I also tried to see some of the major sites like Times Square, Ground Zero, the Museum of Natural History, Central Park, Union Square and the view from the Rockefeller Centre. Basically it was a lot of walking and subway trips around town. While I'm happy I got to see a lot, I wish I had more time to properly enjoy some of the things that the city has to offer properly. Luckily I had great hosts to hang out with a bit to keep me entertained and give me a little insight into how New Yorkers live.

New York is a lot like you would expect it to be: a cultural melting pot of people from all over the world that constantly buzzes with all kinds of interesting things happening. I think it would be very difficult to ever be bored there with the multitude of things happening. Some parts of town are really beautiful (like the villages), some parts are arty (lower east side), some parts are ghetto, some people get around in stretch Hummers, most people get the subway (which is falling apart) and its this contrast which makes the place so interesting. There isn't just one New York, there is one for every person. It's ability to cater to so many is what makes it such a great place. Anyone who gets the chance to live there is spoilt for choice, if I get the opportunity one day I'll take it.

New York/Rockefeller Centre View

Viva la France!

I caught the train to Paris a few days before my flight out of Europe was scheduled to give me enough time for a brief glimpse at the legendary city. Originally I didn't want to go to France but I was forced to due to no seat availability on flights from Spain. I didn't know anyone in the city so I arranged through couchsurfing to stay at a nice girl called Charlotte's modest place. It turned out perfectly as her place was in a convenient spot, she was very kind and showed me some interesting places and it was free!

On my first proper day she took me to the Pompidou Centre for a few modern art exhibitions which were cool but I was more blown away by the building itself and the layout of the place. It also has a huge library with great books, study areas and computers which is people can use for free. I thought it was a great way to encourage education and culture in the community.






















That evening we just relaxed and watched the DVD of "Paris Je t'aime" which I thought was very appropriate. The next day I was ready to hit up the great museums like the Louvre and another Picasso museum but when I arrived at the famous glass pyramid I found out that it and all other museums are shut on Tuesdays... shit!!! Oh well nevermind, so I hustled around checking out the areas Charlotte had recommended to me then in the evening we did the proper tourist thing of going up the Eiffel tower to get a beautiful view of Paris.






















Missing the Louvre was a bit of a bummer but it gave me the chance to walk around Paris's streets and get drawn in by the city's charms. It really is as beautiful as its reputation; the buildings are all old and stunning, the streetlights are charming, the cobblestone roads and great boulevards are pretty, even the subway stations a re nice and the whole city is laid out so well its very easy to navigate and get around. I was only there briefly but I liked what I saw, I mean it's beautiful, the food is amazing, people dress well, the French language sounds great and is fun to have a crack at, definately a very romantic place to come with someone special. I would like to spend more time there but when I am older and don't have the energy to backpack around exotic countries and have more money to do it properly.

Paris

Viva la Spain!

After returning to Madrid city from the camp, I found a hostel with two of the other "anglo's" and we headed out for a night on the town for a well earned drink after being completely sober for a whole week. I'm fairly sure I was one the only people over 18 so we headed to a district where the doormen were not to strict with the enforcement of the rules. One of the Spanish kids who became my homie lined up lots of free drinks so things got pretty messy pretty quickly... for me anyway. The night is a bit of a blur but I remember at one point walking down the street with no shirt on (because someone borrowed it) thinking I should really go home. The next day we parted ways and I'm pretty sure I'll never see any of those people ever again.

For the next few days I stayed with the guy I couchsurfed with before the camp and basically recuperated and did routine stuff like washing, updating the blog, planning etc. I got out a bit to see a bit of Madrid like the awesome Reina Sofia Museum and the great Parque del Retiro which is packed with people drumming and partying on Sundays (I'm pissed I didn't have my camera) and also go to the Madrid Zoo/Aquarium which is never a bad day but basically I wasn't feeling Madrid. Maybe it was because it summertime when many people go on vacation elsewhere or because I was staying in a guys house and not meeting other travellers but for whatever reason I was glad to leave.

Then it was off to Barcelona which is a place I've wanted to go for a long time. I got situated in a hostel and walked around to soak in the incredible atmosphere. The main road Las Rambla is packed with crazy buskers and street performers day and night. After being blown away in Madrid by seeing Picasso's great works like Guernica I had to check out the little Picasso Museum which was cool but mostly contained his early works and left over pieces not quite his best ones.






















The next morning I was extremely pleasantly suprised by the appearance of my favourite Sydney girls Eve & Briony whose visit happened to coordinate with mine. For the next few days we checked out Gaudi's various works including the completely mind blowing La Sagrada Familia, went to the beach, went to bars, hit up the biggest nightclub (was so so) and had a nice tapas dinner before I took off. It was great to have a few more very enjoyable days with the ladies since our time in Sarajevo was so short; I really look forward to our rendevous in Bolivia.






















After being a little dissapointed by Madrid, Barcelona definately more than lived up to my expectations and totally redeemed Spain for me. It was definately my favourite place in Europe so far. I love all the great buildings and Gaudi architecture, especially around the Gothic quarter, there is a real vibe of creativity and fun in the air which is very contagious. I'll definately come back to this great city any time I come to Spain.

Madrid Zoo/Barcelona