If you’re going to San Francisco, be sure to wear… yourself out! As I sit here at the gate awaiting to board my flight home, I can barely find the energy to blog about this whole experience. It has been an eventful nine days in colourful Califor-nigh-ay, to rival that of my NYC trip 18 months ago. Okay, so New York had sex, and ‘The City’, but while San Fran didn’t offer up any of the same local delights, there were other ways to get myself off.I arrived Friday week ago mid-morning and immediately immersed myself in This City. (In hindsight, I should have also immersed myself in sunscreen). Work had booked me into the Courtyard Marriott in San Bruno which was conveniently only 5-10mins from the airport. The lodging was adequate but had all that I required… king size bed (fit for a queen), pay-per-view and high-speed internet. The local train station was a 10-15min walk from the hotel so I headed into San Francisco about midday. The journey takes about 25mins and I disembarked at Powell Street. First on the agenda was Sephora, to fulfill a Clinique wish-list for Shell. I then joined the queue for the famous cable-car ride to Fisherman’s Wharf. Probably what stood out most from that unique experience was the smell of the burning wood brakes!
Fisherman’s Wharf was as touristy as I expected. The sea lions were undoubtedly the highlight. (Though not their smell!) I jumped on a Bay cruise which was relaxing despite the chilly wind. Thankfully, on good advice, I’d packed a jacket. Though that didn’t do much for my exposed legs. On shore the weather was warm. Not so off. The boat looped under Golden Gate Bridge. Well, that’s what they told us. The afternoon fog was moving in so what we saw was minimal. Red. But minimal. We circled Alcatraz, which provided a preview of coming attractions - I’d booked a tour of the penitentiary for the following day –and a great overview of The Rock. Back on terra firma, I caught the cable-car back into town, did a spot of shopping at A&F before heading up to Golden Gate Theatre for the evening’s performance of South Pacific. I would have preferred to have made it back to the hotel to change into something more than casual and to offload said purchases, but time didn’t allow it. So not only did my red face clash with the jewellery-rattling elite of the Dress Circle, my white legs received a standing ovation of a different kind. The musical was entertaining in parts. The parts I was awake for! Seems I underestimated the ensuing jet lag. I only hope I didn’t snore!
Once bitten, twice shy, so Saturday saw me in jeans. Typically, the day turned out to be one of the few hot September days. It was an early start with my pre-booked City Tour shuttle collecting me from the hotel at 7.45am. It dropped us off near Fisherman’s Wharf where we boarded the proper bus for our 10am departure. An excellent tour of the city complete with accompanying narration from the driver. We took in the Wharves, the Embarcadero, the Financial District, North Beach, the Painted Ladies (Victorian homes), Golden Gate Park, with photo opportunities at City Hall, Twin Peaks and the Golden Gate Bridge, before connecting with Alcatraz Cruises for a self-guided audio tour of the prison. A must! Afterwards, I stopped by Union Square for some retail therapy before heading back to my hotel in San Bruno, where I showered and changed prior to cabbing it into the Castro. Not knowing where I was going once there, I followed a crowd to Badlands which turned out to be a good choice for some cheap drinks and a dance. No timeouts for this single lady though! The bar closed just before 2am (wtf?!) so I headed home.
Sunday began, rather abruptly, with the hotels housekeepers attending to their duties in my bathroom, unaware of my presence still in bed. Awkward! Seems I’d forgotten to hang the ‘do not disturb’ sign on the door when I got in only a few hours earlier.
***BOARDING***
When I did awake around noon, I headed into town for Folsom Street Fair, San Francisco’s world-famous, annual fetish event, where just about anything and everything goes. Clothing optional. If I thought Berlin Pride was an eye-opener, then I hadn’t seen anything yet. In some cases, FSF was an eye-sore. Just because you have a penis doesn’t mean you have to show it! Not all of them are nice to look at! The scary, the strange, the downright dangerous. They all belonged at Folsom. I was happy enough to sip my frozen margaritas and avoid prolonged eye-contact with anyone suspicious. There was still plenty of tasteful eye candy! After a few hours traipsing the streets I ventured back to the Castro for a meal before heading home to the hotel.
The following work week was massive in itself. Meeting our US colleagues, training on product and processes, all on the back of an eventful weekend and a bout of jetlag that was starting to take hold of my body. Needless to say it was very beneficial and unlike a couple of other newbies who joined that week, I was glad to have had nearly 2 months experience under my belt. I punctuated my days with social outings at night; Monday, I dined at Chili’s, the local Mexican eatery in San Bruno, while watching Monday Night Football with your average beer-swillin’ fan. Tuesday, I joined a colleague and his wife for a Giants baseball game at AT&T Park. An avid sport fan myself, I like to partake in the local sporting culture on any international trip. And they won! Apparently playing one of their better games this season. Unfortunately, it was not enough to secure them a wildcard into the playoffs. By Wednesday’s mid-week hump, I opted for a movie, Fame, at the cinema in the shopping complex not far from the hotel. Thursday, well, Thursday was undoubtedly the highlight of the whole trip… Kylie’s US Tour hit Oakland. WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! Our Dear had successfully managed to transform KylieX2008 into an intimate, but by no means, inferior production. And it just wouldn’t be Kylie without a few surprises, including a preview performance of a new track from her next (incomplete) album.
***SUPPER***
I befriended some visiting Texans in the queue so at least I wasn’t homo alono inside the theatre. We had a great spot on the main floor about 5m from the stage. Fabulous show! Long-awaited in this part of the world and by all reports, well worth it. Even Perez Hilton was in the audience, not to mention a few Kylookalikes. Thank-God-It’s-Friday rolled around and by the end of a busy week with sleepless (I thought that was Seattle) nights, I was well ‘n truly exhausted. However, I was not going to spend my last night in the country couped up in a hotel room, so I commuted back to the Castro and took in a few bars – Lookout, Trigger (where I met-up with said Texans from the previous night), Badlands again briefly before going to The EndUp. Was fun, probably would have been better had I not hit a wall. Note to self, alcohol is not a meal replacement. I jumped in a cab about 4am.
This morning, I remembered the ‘do not disturb’ sign, albeit at 10.30am but thankfully no cleaner caught me with a morning glory! Having cleverly packed most of my bags last night before heading out, I was able to sleep in until just after midday, with checkout at 1pm. I left my bags at reception and headed back into town for some last-minute purchases before hitting San Francisco’s LovEvolution. Not dissimilar to Berlin’s Love Parade, it was a chance for locals and tourists to throw on some colour (and then some) and flock to City Hall and it’s surrounds for the annual dance music festival. The end of a parade route along Market St, where floats congregated in a big square, each pumping its flavour of choice. It was complete madness. Extremely crowded and an assault on the senses. I spent most of my time straddling a fire hydrant, bumping ‘n grinding to the sounds of The EndUp’s entrant. Was fun for the most part, when it didn’t feel like a human pinball machine. I left about 5pm, commuted back to San Bruno, stopping by the local shopping centre for a coffee break at Barnes & Noble before picking up my bags at the hotel and taking the complimentary shuttle to the airport around 8pm. Shattered.
I’m nothing if not dedicated. Crossed most things off my SF to-do list. Left a couple, what with news of a return trip in early December for the company Christmas party. Good Lord. The potpourri on my shoulders is playing havoc with my hayfever. Hope I’m not allergic.







