9th December San Francisco

Today I wanted to check out the shops at Union Square so I decided to buy myself an all day pass for the Rail system. The San Francisco cable car system is the world's last manually operated cable car system. It is an icon of San Francisco and of the twenty-three lines that existed between 1873 and 1890 only three remain. Two routes run from Fisherman's Wharf to downtown Union Square and a third one operates along California St. While the cable cars are used to a certain extent by commuters, their small service area and premium fare for a single ride makes them more of a tourist attraction. I took all three routes throughout the day and buying the all day pass at $14 was far better than the $6 single ride. The first cable car ride I took however stopped along the route and it was going to take a while for it to get a push to start up again. As it had stopped fairly close to Chinatown I decided to walk the rest of the way up to Union Square. Chinatown was quite pretty as the Main Street was filled with red lanterns and it had all the familiar smells that I associate with Chinatown. I made it up to Unioin Square and had a look through Saks Fifth Avenue, Williams & Sonoma and I bought some Peppermint bark...not sure what it is but it looked popular...and then headed across to Macy's. I wound my way upstairs to where the Christmas decorations were and before you know it I was in the line to walk through Santa Land! What a great thing for kids...and big kids! Then I had my photo taken with Santa and while they did the professional one where they charge you at the end, they will also take your photo with ou own camera and phone as well. while my phone and camera pics weren't great, they were better than the way I loked on the professional ones so i didn't buy one. I also checked out their big Westfield as well as Bloomingdales, Barney's and Nordstrom. Then I headed back to the cable car because I wanted to see Lombard St before it got dark. It was also intersting watching them turn the cable car manually on the turning circle too. Lombard St is best known for the one-way section on Russian Hill between Hyde and Leavenworth Strrets. The roadway has eight sharp turns or switchbacks that have earned the street the distinction of being the crookedest (most winding) street in the world. The switchback's design was born out of necessity in order to reduce the hill's natural 27% grade, which was too steep for most vehicles. The crooked section of the street is about 400m long is reserved for one-way traffic travelling east downhill with a speed limit of 8km/h and is paved with red bricks. I got off the tram at Lombard St and walked down the hill...with many other tourists! The street is lined with manicured hedges and flowers, it's really very pretty. After a short rest at the hotel I walked down to Pier 39 and took some photos as the sun was setting over the bay. I then took one of the ...rail cars around to where the California cable car begins from and caught that up to Taylor St and then changed to the other cable car back to Union Square to take some photos of Union Square at night. There was a guy busking and playing the bagpipes, among other buskers. The Christmas lights and windows were all very beautiful. I then caught the cable car back to Fishermans Wharf to pack my bags because tomorrow I am off to Vegas! Oh...and last night at Ghirardelli they gave me a free sample to try and tonight when I looked at it, it is peppermint bark, so I tried it...OMG!!!!! Now I am fussy with my chococlate but OMG!!!! this stuff is beautiful. It has a milk chocolate layer with a white chocolate layer on top sprinkled with peppermint rock sprinkled on top...if they have this at the airport tomorrow I am getting some more!!!!

8th December San Francisco

Today I woke up fairly early as my body clock is still on New York time, but also because I had an early night last night. It gave me plenty of time to have a good breakfast before I headed for my Alcatraz tour. The hotel has a Denny's restaurant inside it which is more than sufficient for breakfast. I went up to the tour office and picked up my ticket, boarded the bus and went down to the Pier where the Alcatraz tour leaves from. It is about a 20 min ferry ride over to the island. Alcatraz has served the army as a fortress and military prison, and the Department of Justice as a maximum-security federal penitentiary. Today, this once-desolate island in the centre of San Francisco Bay is a national parkland with historic gardens, tidepools, bird colonies, and bay views beyond compare. When you get off the ferry you walk up the hill to the cellhouse at the top of the island, about 0.4km and a climb which is equivalent to a 13-story climb. On the way up to the cellhouse you see the Guardhouse and Guard Tower, the Miltary Chapel, the Water Tower and the Military Morgue. Once up at the cellhouse you pick up an audio guide which is presented by former Alcatraz inmates, correctional officers and residents as they reminisce about life on Alcatraz. Alcatraz was transferred from the War Department to the Department of Justice and reopened as a federal penitentiary in 1934. Alcatraz is best known for it's notorious criminals, including - Al "Scarface" Capone, George "Machine Gun" Kelly, Robert Stroud the "Birdman of Alcatraz" and Alvin"Creepy" Karpis...but it actually housed 1,545 men. Most of the inmates were men who had proven to be problems in other prison populations. The best known escape at Alcatraz was in June 1962, when Frank Morris and brothers John and Clarence Anglin slipped into the water. They used raincoats as floatation devices and were presumably bound for San Francisco. Although their bodies were never found, it was assumed that they had drowned. They were never found and presumed drowned because at the time the authorities didn't believe anyone can swim that far. However many people today have in fact swam between Alcatraz and San Francisco...including a 7 year old...so it is possible! Increasing maintenance and operating costs led U.S. Attoney General Robert F. Kennedy to close Alcatraz in 1963. Prisoners were transferred to other federal correctional facilities, and Alcatraz was left to the care of a lone custodian. Today many parts of the island are closed to the public because they are in a state of disrepair and it is unsafe to go there. It really is an interesting place and I can imagine how isolating it must have felt especially at times like New Year when the sounds of parties could be heard drifting across the bay to Alcatraz. I then headed back to the ferry and back to the mainland to join the afternoon tour of San Francisco. I had half an hour to kill so I walked up to Pier 39 and had a quick look at the sea lions who began 'hauling out' in Pier 39's West Marina shortly after the 1989 San Francisco Loma Prieta earthquake. 

I then joined the afternoon tour of San Francisco and the first place we went was the Golden Gate Bridge, a must see on a visit to San Francisco. The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the "Golden Gate" which is the opening of the San Francisco Bay into the Pacific Ocean. Construction on the bridge began on January 5 1933 and was completed in April 1937 at a cost of around $35 million. The weight of the roadway is hung between two cables that pass through the two main towers and are fixed in concrete at each end. Each cable is made of 27,572 strands of wire. There are 129,000km of wire in the main cables and the bridge has about 1,200,000 rivets. The bridge is popular with pedestrians and cyclists and was built with walkways on either side of the six vehicle traffic lanes. The colour of the bridge is officially an orange vermillion called 'international orange'. The colour was selected because it complements the natural surroundings and enhances the bridge's visibility in fog.  Next we stopped at Lands End, a park within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. There we stopped to look at Seal Rock where the sea lions from the Bay Area used to haul out on. Since September 1989 the number of sea lions on Seal Rock has decreased and the number on Pier 39 has increased. Some people speculate that the sea lions moved to the docks because of the earthquake and that they feel safer inside the Bay. We could also see the ruins of the Sutro Baths. They were a privately owned indoor swimming pool complex built in the late 19th century. A visitor to the baths not only had a choice of seven different swimming pools - one fresh water and six salt water baths ranging in temperatures - but visitors could also visit a museum, a concert hall that had seating for 8000 and at one time an ice rink. The baths closed due to high maintenance costs in 1966 and not long after a fire burned down the building and it was abandoned. Then we went to Twin Peaks and had spectacular views over San Francisco. After here we continued our tour of San Francisco but we were not able to stop anywhere else so we could only see the rest of the sights from the bus. The bus was also not able to go down some streets as some streets are clearly marked with signs saying 'no tour buses' or 'no tour bus stopping'...mainly the nice parts of town where the residents have complained. Some of the highlights pointed out to us included many streets where different movies were filmed, Chinatown, and the Victorian homes or 'painted ladies' as they are called. 

Once the tour was finished I walked down to Pier 39 to have a look at it at night and to get some dinner. I tried Boudin's Clam Chowder in a sourdough bread bowl. The chowder was nice but the bread was very heavy and I couldn't get through the top part they scooped out let alone the bread bowl! I also went to have another look at the sea lions. Although it was dark you could still make them out. They are such time wasters...you could stand and watch them for hours! One seal was fiercely guarding his space and two other seal repeatedly kept coming back at him and every time he managed to knock both of them back into the water! After that I walked to Ghirardelli Square to the Ghirardelli Chocolate shop and cafe to try their famous Hot Fudge Sundae...and yep it was pretty good. Then it was back to the hotel to try and catch up on some blogging! 

7th December New York to San Francisco

This morning was an early start...at least the earliest I have had in a while...I was picked up by the airport transfer at 7am and taken to JFK airport. It was self check-in at the United Airlines terminal...I hate self check-in! And they measure weight in pounds which makes no sense to me...but my bag was under the weight so all was OK! I went to a cafe at the airport for breakfast. I had French toast, maple syrup and bacon. They started boarding the plane at 10:15am but we didn't take off until about 11:20, so it was a while to wait. As I was getting on the air hostess was asking passengers to remove their coats from the overhead lockers until all bags had been stowed as they were running out of room. I think it had more to do with the fact that people carry two pieces of carry-on luggage here even though I'm sure I read on their website it says one! Here I am with my little bag....never breaking the rules...I think I might start!!!!! The seats on united airlines are narrow but there is definitely more room to comfortably stretch your legs out in front. You can also buy wifi...I didn't! I managed to find the airport transfer to the hotel...eventually! And then 'eventually' got to the hotel...almost two hours later...peak hour traffic San Francisco style and I was the last stop! My ears didn't pop on descent again, which I thought was going to happen. At War Horse the other night someone near me was wearing perfume that did not agree with me and my sinuses began to react immediately. I bought some Claratin but it always takes a couple of days to clear...and I didn't have a couple of days. I used the nasal spray, took the Claratin and chewed gum...but still they didn't pop...at least this time I knew how to pop them. By the time I got the the hotel I was exhausted, hungry and I had a huge headache. I dumped my stuff and went to find where my tour tomorrow was leaving from, which was just around the corner. I then headed down to the wharf to find something for dinner. There are lots of places selling clam chowder, crab and a range of different seafoods. I stopped at a place called Pompeii's Grotto and had the fried shrimp...and a glass of wine! I did feel a little better after I'd eaten so I went back to the hotel to get an early night. Tomorrow I go to Alcatraz! 

PS. Checked the hotel booklet...and found in the safety section about what to do in case of an earthquake! A bit freaked out by this possibility!

6th December New York

Today is my last day in NYC and I am a little sad...it has gone way too fast!!!! This morning I was booked into the 9/11 Memorial at the World Trade Centre. You have to reserve a timed place online before you go, they will not let you in if you have not booked. It costs nothing, although they do ask for a donation...and they are happy to take your credit card number! I think it's timed entry because they have so many people wanting to go to the site and they have airport like security that you have to go through and there is a lot of construction work going on in the area. I caught the subway to the World Trade Centre, picked up my ticket, waded my way through the many security checkpoints and eventually got into the Memorial site. They have created two big pools, the North Pool and the South Pool on the site wher the two towers stood. Around the edges are the names of all the people who died. It really is a beautiful memorial, very simple but I think that's what makes it so lovely. I heard a lady say 'what a sad place' but I didn't feel that, I thought it was a very peaceful and tranquil place and a fitting memorial for the people who lost their lives that day. 

On my way back to the subway I stopped at a store called Century 21, which stocks some designer gear, eg Guess, Michael Kors, Calvin Klein at discounted prices. Didn't see anything I liked so i headed to the subway and to Chealsea Market. I went to'the lobster place' and bought the 'Slider' which is three mini burger like buns with a filling. One was a lobster roll, a prawn one and a crab roll, the lobster one was my favourite. I then went to Fat Witch and bought a 'Wicked Brownie'...as in the musical... which was a peppermint choc chip brownie....delicious! I then went across to the post office to buy a box to ship some more purchases home...yep another box! I then went back to the hotel to pack it.

There is still so much I want to see in New York and as usual I get to the end of the trip and then try and run around the city like a mad woman! But now I've worked out the subway thing I'm doing it with subway assistance which cuts down travel time! I hadn't been for a walk through Central Park yet so I headed up to the Museum of Natural History where I thought I would begin my walk through the park (about half way down), knowing full well that I would only get to see a fraction of it. I had also wanted to have a look at the dinosaurs at the Museum of Natural history but didn't think I had time, but standing out the front....I just went in! I knew it had to be a short visit so I headed straight upstairs to the dinosaurs. they also have a good display of a variety of stuffed African animals. I then headed for my walk through Central Park. While the city of New York is relatively safe, they did suggest not walking through Central Park at night so I was trying to make sure I got through it before then. This place is beautiful! In fact I think I found my 'happy place' in New York. It is just as well I left it to my last day here, because if i had come here first I don't think I would have seen anything else in New York! Personally, if I was looking to buy in New York...and I'm talking, had the money to buy anywhere I wanted...I would choose views over Central Park any day over views over the Hudson River. Now being winter here, most of the trees have lost their leaves, so this place would look very different again in the summer, but I thought the bare trees, as the sun was setting was spectacular. I didn't plan a route, I just took whatever path presented itself to me with the idea of making sure I was heading in the direction of the city. Along the way I stumbled upon lots of squirrels foraging for food as well as some lovely lakes and bridges, some of which I recognised from movies. I think there will be lots of movie watching when I get back home, because now I have a much clearer picture in my head of New York...locations will make more sense to me. there was a movie crew packing up while I was there but I'm not sure what they were shooting. I also stumbled upon Central Park Zoo...which I had forgotten was even there....and the seal show was on, so I took a couple of pics. There were lots of carriage rides waiting at the end of the park...but I just didn't have time...next time! I took a few photos of the Plaza Hotel and then headed back toTiffany's. no it wasn't to make another purchase...my chain is too short on my necklace so I went to see if they would lengthen it. Unfortunately they couldn't do it until 7pm and as I was hoping to go to a show I knew I didn't have time, but the lady said that the Sydney store would do it for me, although it may have to be sent away. In New York they can do it on site because as the flagship store they have jewellers there. I then made a quick dash across to FAO Schwartz...the toy store with the piano. I had a quick look through there...saw lots of things I could have bought Mia and the boys, but knew they weren't going to fit in the suitcase...so I settled on a Princess baby jumpsuit for Mia. I then headed for Bloomingdales, not to buy anything particularly, but just to say I had seen it. It was quite busy and they had some nice things but their Christmas decorations were very expensive for the poor quality they were...so I didn't buy one! I then headed to the TKTS stand to get a ticket for Jersey Boys. I had seen it in Sydney but was keen to see it here in New York...considering it had all began for Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons not far from New York. 

I stopped at an Asian restaurant and gragged some dinner and then went off to the show. I was sitting next to a couple from New York who were very keen to have a chat. They were lovely and the man had been a photo journalist for a New York newspaper for 40 years, so they were telling me about the changes they had seen in New York over time. They were also fascinated that I had made the journey from Australia as they said that while they would love to go, the flights to Australia are just too long! Back to jersey boys....it was fantastic, in fact I think I enjoyed it more tonight than I did when I saw it in Australia, and the crowd loved it too...they were all on their feet applauding at the end of the show.

It was quite cold in New York today, it was a beautiful clear day with lovely blue skies but there was an icy bite in the air. It was really cold walking back to the hotel so I stopped at Starbucks to get a hot chocolate. Now I love chocolate....especially the Cadbury peppermint kind...but I rarely drink hot chocolate, I just prefer to chew my chocolate, but tonight I needed to warm up so that's what I ordered....and oh my goodness! Now I know I could not live in New York during the winter...because I would be drinking way too much hot chocolate! It did the trick and I was warmed up in no time. back at the hotel i packed my bags as I have an early pick-up from the hotel in the morning to take me to the airport.

5th December New York

This morning I headed to Pier 83 to take the Circle Line Sightseeing cruise along the Hudson River. It was a 75 minute cruise past some of New York's most memorable landmarks including the Space shuttle, Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. Due to Hurricane Sandy, Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty are closed indefinetly so I thought this was probably the best way to see the beautiful green lady! The Statue of Liberty was a gift to the United States from the people of France. She is a robed female figure representing Libertas, the Roman goddess of freedom, who bears a torch and a tabula ansata upon which is inscribed the date of the American Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776. A broken chair lies at her feet. The statue is an icon of freedom and of the United States...a welcoming signal to immigrants arriving from abroad. After my cruise I headed to Grand Central station and had lunch at Juniors...a branch of a famous Brooklyn restaurant who is well known for their cheescake...and it was divine!!! I then ventured onto the Subway on my own...I know, I had been a little intimidated by it till now, but my feet just couldn't stand walking so far anymore. I got off at Spring St and found the Kardashian's store called 'DASH' for Jess and Hannah (my two little Kardashian fans)...there were signs on the door requesting that only genuine clients enter! I then caught the subway again up to Penn station to shop at the One Direction store (I have a niece who likes them...not for me) and to also have a look at Macy's. I was particularly interested in their Santa section and then found myself having my very own Santa photo taken...let's just say it's been a while! After all that shopping I went back to the hotel to drop off the bags and then onto the Lincoln Centre to see War Horse. I have read the book, seen the movie, so decided to see it on stage. I was a bit skeptical as to how they were going to pull this off and I didn't really like the movie...I think the ending of the story was a bit ordinary. The stage production of this is AMAZING! It is coming to Sydney in March and I will definitely be going to see it again. The way they work the pupets is outstanding! I was sitting in Row C, so close down the front, which made the action at times tower over me, which may have influenced the overall impact of some of the action. I can't stress enough how wonderful this production is so if you do get the chance...go and see it!