Still Thinking…

There are only a few cities in the world I’ve visited that have the pulse and energy I can hardly race, and San Francisco is one of them. The rhythm of this West Coast city is always a thump ahead, and I can hardly catch up.

Determined to make this second visit as local as I can, I dumped the idea of renting a car to get around. DH had a WWDC conference by Apple to attend (read ‘geek convention’) and so me and SB, whose husband is a co-worker of DH attending the same conference, decided to tag ourselves along. We educated ourselves on all the various transport modes available in San Fran, bought a USD$24 all-in-one pass, and then ride ourselves silly with the cable cars, trains, historic street cars and electric trolleys.

I didnt quite enjoy the throngs of summer tourists weaving their way near the hotel where we stayed, but I enjoyed the various shades of characters that SF had to offer. The first time I was here, it was way back in 1998 – and SF was the first city in our cross-1/3 US road trip then. I was impressed by the bay, the Fisherman’s Wharf and the Alcatraz, and none of the rhythmic pulse of the city caught my attention then. This time, it felt as if someone just blasted loud, hip-hop music and by that, SF literally had blues band jamming away in some corner of a busy intersection, complete with a drum set and fully-plugged speakers.

However, the highlight of my trip had to be Ely. It was a joy to be able to spend not one, but 3 evenings with her. I kidnapped her 12-year old daughter for a day so that we can all go to the Titanic Artifacts exhibition at the Sony Metreon together, and I must have exhausted her out of walking around downtown in and out of stores and cafes! That poor girl also had to tolerate my silly antics, corny jokes and obsession with the camera, which is my killer strategy to embarass the hell out of a teenager. Hee.

Ely is as cheerful and bubbly as I remembered her to be, and looked radiant with a baby girl in her tummy. We had a yummy Mediterannean lunch on the first day we met, an Indian dinner with the husbands and kid the same night, mocha and pastry on the 2nd night, and finally – a good ol’ American serving of pancakes and eggs with DH on the last night. Yes, that ‘breakfast’ meal was eaten at 7pm. She was pregnant, and I was having PMS. So there.

DH however, did not get to see as much of SF as I did. I am pretty sure he had a ball being in the audience watching Steve Jobs revealing Apple’s new OS, but other than that – I think the trip passed by as a quick blur to him. In between the sessions he and a few others had to slog the night away completing a project, and I don’t envy that. It is a grim reminder about my own long-evenings coming up in a couple of months, when nights will be trapped inside an editing room. Ah well, one of us have to pay for the Victoria Secrets’, no?

As we flew back the day after the US issued a Red security alert on air travel – I expected a tough time at the airport, being one cladded in a hijab. Other than the long queues to check in, none of that happened. I had a better time with the US securities than I did when I flew to Melbourne to cover F1 for EMC, just 9 mths after Sep 11. At that time, no one in the Australian immigration believed I was a journalist covering a bunch of boys racing fast cars. Sigh.

San Francisco is a must visit for those of you who love to travel independently,and not be entwined by touristy things. You can do the Fisherman Wharf and all that, but leave a lot of time to explore on your own. Get lost, ask questions and walk a lot. I guarantee that you will be planning your next trip there even before you reach the airport to go home.

Godiva Chocolate Cheese Cake – just for Nazrah