morpheus

Snow in London

corina — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 22:06:00 GMT

On the 8th Feb 2007 there was snow in London!

Visiting Oz in April

corina — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 22:41:00 GMT

I've changed my ticket and will be coming back to visit Oz on the 8th April for the easter long weekend. Time to catch up with everyone in one week as I am flying out on the next Saturday (14th April) for the UK.

Paris

corina — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 20:46:00 GMT

Two weekends ago I made my second trip out of London and headed for Paris - beautiful city, I can picture how much more beautiful it would be in any other season than winter.

This trip shall always be remembered as the first time that I have missed a flight. I got there 5 or 10 minutes after the check in closed.. and.. had to wait until 7am in the morning for the next flight. I could have abandoned the plans to visit Nic and Christine in Paris and gone home but I couldn't, wouldn't, and didn't. I especially did not feel like going home and being asked a million times about why I was not in Paris on the weekend and how it was that I actually missed the flight (another question that might come to people is why did I catch a plane to Paris instead of the Eurostar). Fortunately, I was not the only person that had missed that flight, a Frenchy did too, and what could have been a terrible time at Luton airport by myself (waiting for the minutes to tick on by) was made more bearable. It was comforting to have someone there feeling just as you do.

I sms'd Nic to let him know that I would be delayed in getting to Paris, the French dinner and champagne would have to wait, and attempted sleeping in Luton airport on uncomfortable chairs, strapping the backpack to the chair so I wouldn't have to worry about it being stolen (thanks for the sms from Eiffel tower mate that made me feel that much better while I was waiting at the airport, haha). An insight into the Amazing Race, it isn't as much fun as it looks like on TV. I didn't get much sleep during the night, two hours if I was lucky, and then an additional hour on the flight. It is unbelievable that even after having an overnight still didn't make it in the A boarding group! My only chance and I missed it by five seats.. Not that it mattered in the end since groups A and B got on the bus at the same time and being near the door managed to be one of the first ten people on the plane.

The first day in Paris involved strolling around the city, having two great tour guides, after which a nap was needed then dinner and a Parisian club. The waiter at the restaurant (which had a view of the Eiffel tower) informed me that I pronounced "l'addition s il vous plait" in good French. The second day involved more French food, climb of the Eiffel tower, and flight back to London.

New Year Celebrations

corina — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 20:23:00 GMT

The coming of the New Year (2007) was celebrated in Timisoara, very close to what I believe New Year celebrations should entail.

The temperatures were still hovering around the -5'C and we had tickets to an Operetta (The Bat) and then reservations to a restaurant from 10pm onwards. I didn't bring many clothes with me, half my suitcase was filled with presents, and I was forbidden by Daci from wearing jeans.. thus my only option was to wear a dress. This was the first time I attended an Operetta, in Romanian, and I liked. Through the second and third acts I was trying to translate for Christine the jokes and the storyline, the role each person was playing in order for it make more sense.

After the Operetta we walked to the restaurant and had our entree after, then headed back to the city centre to watch the fireworks display, walk back to the restaurant again, eat, dance and be merry. At the restaurant each course was served approximately at an hourly interval.. by 5am the troops were tired and we asked for our dessert to come out early so we could head home. The company, the dancing, the food, the restaurant, the recording of Nic dancing, and the early hours made it into a terrific New Year!

We arrived home, people brushed their teeth and got ready for bed. I was the last one to head to the bathroom to brush my teeth (it just had to be so). I was tempted not to and maybe I should have just gone to sleep. I walk to the bathroom and flick on the light switch (which is outside the bathroom next to the door). Fortunately for the location of the light switch because I could have been showered with glass. The bulb blew, noise like a firework throughout the house, and the lighting on the entire upper level worked no more! Sit on the stairs of the upper level watching poor Adi trying to fix it.. in the end we gave up, using a torch I started to clean the shards out of the bathroom.. they were everywhere, sink, bath tub, all over the floor, even near the door. I can thank my lucky stars that the light switch was not inside the bathroom.

December 2006 - London / Budapest / Timisoara

corina — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 18:16:00 GMT

The end of the 1st year in which I decided to have New Year Resolutions - even though they weren't in a normal sequence. I decided what they would be either a month before the New Year or a month after the New Year. This year there will be more, a combination of old and new (still a work in progress).

To go over December - the holiday and Christmas party haven. Christmas was spent here in London with Nic and Christine and their relatives. Not having any relatives here I was "invited" to spend Christmas with them, or was it me inviting myself along ; ). It was the first time that I had a proper English Christmas lunch, delicious food and like in all other cultures it was too much food, if you attempted to eat it all it would have been hard to move a muscle hours afterwards (isn't this right Nic?).

We flew to Budapest early on the 26th - there could have been a few problems as Nic decided to turn my alarm off (not snooze but off) and if it wasn't for a distant voice (Christine) which asked "was that the alarm?" that came to me like in a dream and made me wake up we could have continued sleeping. We all slept on the plane to Budapest and when we exited out of the airport we took the exit which was less crowded and tried to find our Regina car hire desk. There was no desk.. go to the information desk where the lady is on the phone.. ask "Can you" and get an answer of "No" even before finishing the sentence. In the end Regina car hire was found (two persons with a sign containing Nic's name on it, but because my great idea of taking the exit which wasn't as crowded we didn't pass them). We exit the airport and make our way to the car park, the Regina employees walk over to a cute Mercedes, open the doors and take out paperwork. It is a beautiful car, but it must surely be his personal car? Nope, it was our car, a delight to be a passenger in (car mirrors that folded inwards when you locked the car / seat warmers for those -5'C days).

Budapest is a beautiful city with delicious food and mixed people, friendly to completely unfriendly. The accommodation that we found was reasonable too, an apartment which could have housed 6 or 7 people instead of 3. The next day we did some more sightseeing, Nic helping to fund the lifestyle of two illegal gamblers at one of the sights that we visited. The drive to Timisoara was pleasant with a side stop at the Kora store (Christine and I wanted to stop at Metro but Nic made the executive decision and took us next door to Kora).

Night's Out

corina — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 00:31:00 GMT

Time has quickly passed on by and Nic and Christine have arrived in London! Caught up with both / Adrian, plus their very extended family last night at Red Oak in Borough (after getting off at London Bridge tube station only to catch the tube one station south to Borough). The gathering at the pub was fun (a stranger remarked that he liked my leggings, I am becoming very acclimatised wearing dresses in the middle of winter) as was the dinner afterwards in Chinatown at the Friendly Inn - photos to come shortly.

Ahh.. not to forget, yesterday I also had my interview (interview? my thought was more along the line of a meeting) at the Job Centre for my National Insurance number. The appointment was at a non-local Job Centre office and it took me 1 hour to get to Tooting! I arrived on time, just, after passing the building and having to stop at a nearby shop to ask for the shop number. The assistant at the shop informed me that he was the ladies favourite number (is there never a straight answer?). I made it to the Job Centre only to wait in one queue, than another queue. The person who I had the interview with was very friendly and such a lovely person. He noticed that I had travelled from afar and I mentioned that I noticed that there were two markets in Tooting. He was kind enough to tell me about them and also about the shopping centre located in the area. After the paperwork was filled out the paperwork and credentials had to be checked by yet another person and .. another wait took place.. after a duration my interviewer left and came back with my credentials and delivered them to me (I also mentioned that I had friends arriving from Sydney). Felt special since he had to call the names of the other people out but mine was personally delivered without that necessity :).

Last weekend was another outing visiting the Soho Lounge, aliased on the guest list - photos to be posted from there as well.

Transient People

corina — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 18:56:00 GMT

Unfortunately I don't have many stories of new places that I have visited - expensive living here on Aussie dollars converted into pounds! Soon that shall be no more and I'll be living purely on pounds that have always been pounds. I need to plan the Christmas / NYE / plane ticket back to visit Oz (which will probably have to be changed) because they are all coming up in the next two months and now I have a contract to consider.

Met some more random strangers - on Sunday tourist business men were taking photos near where I was sitting on the south bank opposite Westminster. One approaches me, even though I was wearing headphones and reading a book, and asks me "can I take photo with you?". Sorry Scotty, but I had to say no! There are many Christmas decorations on Oxford Street or London sights that would have been more suitable than I.

People are very friendly around here, yesterday someone greeted me with "hey sister" and today I found an "eye colour brother". Not the mention being asked for directions too many times (scary actually being able to help them out!).

Australia vs. Ghana Football (1-1)

corina — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 22:24:00 GMT

Too right Marky - my mustard yellow boots might have provided the support that the Aussies needed to win the match! Unfortunately I have left them behind in the safety of the closet in Sydney.

The atmosphere of the game was excellent - there were so many Aussies in the crowd, great musical support from the Ghana supporters too. I took my farewell Aussie flag to cheer (it made a handsome scarf in the second half!).

Asked for Directions

corina — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 18:25:00 GMT

On the weekend, while I was strolling through Hyde Park I was asked for directions twice! I must have looked like I knew where I was going? The first person I was able to help although there is a suspicion that he was handing out pamphlets and not really looking to get to Trafalgar Square. The next group of people wanted to reach the Marble Arches, I pointed them in the direction and then they asked me about how to get to Queen's or King's Garden / Park... they were getting out of my depth on that one.

That's about it for this week, not that many events (I am still in shock from the wake up call this morning from Nic asking me to remember passwords).

Next Tuesday I will be going to watch the Australia vs. Ghana football match. I need to figure a way to wear the Aussie flag..

Tube / Train stories

corina — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 20:43:00 GMT

Home alone on a Monday night – this might be the first time that I have been home alone on any night for the past couple of weeks. So here I am running around the house from upstairs to down below eating the plums from the fruit basket (someone has to eat them).

I will try to start these "Week in review" sessions each week; otherwise it will be months before I write another posting!

Friday day, overall, was a bad day. As the day was coming to a close I had to make my way to the tube station to get to Euston station in order to catch the train to Manchester. With plenty of time I decide to leave the house after 5pm, needing to get to Euston at 6.20pm. There should have been plenty of time, only, the tube didn't end up arriving as promptly as always, then it made random stops along the way in between stations. Get off, run to catch a different tube line to get me to Euston, run from the underground to the trains to make it there just after 6.20pm! Our little group of four persons was unable to find four seats together; actually we were unable to find three empty seats at all! Luckily for us they decided to open up one of the first class carriages and the train journey felt like 20 minutes instead of 3 hours with the vino degustation and five hundred (card game).

… (what happened in Manchester stays in Manchester)

The train back from Manchester to London was full also, prompting the train officer to make an announcement before we left the station that “persons unable to find seats should kindly catch the next train”. If I was to interpret the message by the tone of his voice it would have been along the lines of “get off the train now”.

Quote for the week

corina — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 20:19:00 GMT

"And there I was sitting here thinking we haven't heard any train stories in a while" - in relation to the train story from Monday 23rd Oct at Holborn tube station.

Germany (in short)

corina — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 16:06:00 GMT

It has been more than a month since the visit to Germany; lets see how my memory serves me.

Germany, the Bavarian countryside was exceptionally beautiful. Germany is a place where I would like to visit and drive from town to town and stay at pensions along the way. The pine forests, greenery everywhere, hamei, wild flowers, perfect weather, and efficient trains that arrive and depart to the minute.

On one of the days in Germany a tour of Ludwig's Castles was booked, booked from back in Sydney. This trip featured another one of my moments - after boarding the coach and waiting for 8.30am, the time that the coach was due to depart, I get off the coach and go for a wonder to buy a bottle of water. I get back and decide to ask the person that was informing people on which coaches to board (assumption was that he was the coach driver) if the seats right at the front of the bus were used by anyone. The reply was, as expected, that the tour guide sat there. I then had to say (why stop there no?) that if the tour guide didn't enjoy sitting at the front I would be more than happy to sit there. We were all merry and had a laugh, I get back onto the bus and take my seat at the back. The departure time comes and an unknown person arrives and takes the driver's seat! The person who I asked about the seating boards the bus as well, only to introduce himself as the Tour Guide. Not to say more, but I was remembered for the whole day there as well, plenty of jokes to be had. Trivia for you, apparently during the whole month of August there was as much sunshine as we had that day, Mr Tour Guide informed at the beginning of the trip ~9am or 10am. We were a lucky group with wonderful weather to enjoy the sights at both Linderhof and Neuschwanstein. I recommend them to anyone and everyone (remember, drive through Germany staying overnight at pensions).

Another day was reserved for sightseeing in Munich, forever marked in my memory as the day before the Pope arrived. In all the main areas and major buildings flower arrangements were being set up and red carpet laid (I walked on a patch of the red carpet!).

In Ingolstad I learnt a new recipe for making apple pie (secret is breadcrumbs) which I have successfully reproduced here in London.

This entry shall now be concluded with a description of the bus trip from Ingolstad to Munich Airport. It was a chilly morning in Sept 2006 when, for the first time in Germany, the bus that was supposed to take us all to the airport did not arrive on time. While on the bus, the designated time to arrive at the airport came and went - no indication from the bus driver when we would arrive. Other persons, speaking German, began approaching the driver asking when we would arrive (I am assuming that that was what they were asking since my German is limited to identifying sour cherries). To make matters lighter, when we reached a T intersection I pointed that at last there we were seeing signs pointing towards the airport! But then the bus went towards the left and not towards the right. Not to worry all, the bus did reach the airport, maybe not two hours before the departure time but on time. As I was boarding the plane towards London I had my passport examined by German security, when he saw that I was from Australia he said to me "You are the first kangaroo of the day!". He then asked what area I worked in, because of the working holiday visa, and we shared yet another thing in common. I have been fortunate along the travels, meeting the best of people :).

Timisoara (Day 14, Day 15, Day 16)

corina — Fri, 25 Aug 2006 20:48:00 GMT

Compacting a few days into one, and finally I am up to date until tomorrow. The days in Timisoara are being spent getting for the upcoming wedding this Sunday.

Toronto - Vienna - Timisoara (Day 13)

corina — Fri, 25 Aug 2006 20:41:00 GMT

Can I start another entry with the last day in city <fill in the name please>? It did start in the morning, this time I managed to leave the alarm clock button on the musical alarm and the music was much better to wake up to than the loud beep beep beep the previous morning. The general getting ready on limited sleep, going down to a buffet breakfast, and getting back up to take the luggage and check out before 11am. There was plenty of time to sightsee from 11am until 6.30pm, walked around Toronto in the opposite direction and rested in a park for a couple of hours watching the chipmunks gather food. The drive to the airport was pleasant, and the taxi driver very informative. He kept on pointing out buildings which were not there three years ago and the new apartment blocks that were being constructed. Also found out that in Canada there is paid maternity leave for one year!

No queues to check in at the airport this time! Waiting, waiting, waiting, catching the bus to a new terminal along with the flight crew and walking onto the plane based on the row numbers. As I was entering the plane one of the persons from the flight crew said to me "I remember you from the bus" I answered back "I remember you too", and then he mentioned that it was a long way to travel from Sydney. To this moment I am still puzzled as to how he knew I was from Sydney. Backtracking I remember having my passport out on the bus, but... Unfortunately he wasn’t working in the section that I was seated and I didn’t ask him how he knew. Next time I’ll walk around and ask instead of pondering on such things.

I like how they allocate seats on flights, being right at the back there were plenty of empty seats around and I ended up with two seats for myself. I could have watched two movies at the same time. Ice Age was supposed to be one of them but it is a movie that I doubt I will ever end up watching! This time it wasn’t playing even though it was in the guide.

Arrived in Vienna earlier than expected which gave more time to wonder around during the 4 hour stop over. The previous times that I have visited Vienna I have caught the express bus from the airport into the city. This time there were advertisements everywhere for the CAT (express train into the city that takes 16 minutes). Had to try the CAT, knew how the bus worked and needed to expand the knowledge. Bought a return ticket and took a pamphlet that was located at the ticket machine.

While reading through this pamphlet at the train station, even the train station looked great decorated with the CAT colours (all I remember is the lime green right now), I noticed that if you buy a return ticket it is valid up to 30 days. Why o why? Sitting on the train and moving from wondering how the cabin crew knew I was from Sydney to why a return ticket on the CAT would be valid for 30 days, in the distance I saw the light. The ticket inspector man, he would know! He moved like in a dream, crimping tickets along the way. I asked if he spoke English and he said "a little". Then I asked "why are the return tickets were valid up to 30 days" and he replied back with "it’s not a bad thing" in a pleasant questionable tone. I defended the fact that it is indeed not a bad thing, but that I was curious as to why. This is another question that was left unanswered.

The CAT trip was fun, the train itself was comfortable, had an onboard WC, upper and lower areas, and you needed to press the open doors button if the doors were closed. Got off the train and used the chapel tower as a guide to the city centre, walked and took very few photos (too many people and areas under construction). Caught the CAT back to the airport, and somehow got the same ticket inspector, who once he reached my seat said "I remember you, the 30 days.. ". Yes, that is me. Got to the airport and had lunch, waited on the most uncomfortable chairs that I have ever sat on (they haven’t changed in three years, still metal, cold, and uncomfortable in a boring waiting area of the airport) until the propeller 14 row airplane (!!) took off and landed in Timisoara an hour later. In Timisoara it was afternoon, I had been a awake for many hours.

Toronto (Day 12)

corina — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 23:54:00 GMT

Ventured on a city and harbour tour of Toronto; best way to get acquainted with each new city in such a short period of time. The guide on the city tour didn’t have as many jokes up his sleeve (or was it me being tired) but at one stage it was hard to stop the yawning. Generally, he told us, he didn’t stop the bus and take people on a short walking tour.. but.. because we looked like trustworthy tourists he was going to take a chance with us. When I tried to get out of my seat I realised that my legs had fallen asleep too ; ).

The night before I analysed a guide map found in the hotel room. On this map it showed that there was a large underground shopping complex. The underground mall was great, many shops finely arranged with quality clothes. (Still couldn’t get used to the price displayed on the tag and the different price at the cash register due to the tax that is added after. As a tourist in Canada you can claim back the tax).

Brentford - Toronto (Day 11)

corina — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 23:46:00 GMT

It was time to move onwards from Brentford to Toronto to see what the city had to offer. It was impossible to arrive and depart from that airport and not see Toronto, what would I say if people asked me how Toronto was?

A hotel was booked in the heart of the city, near an area that I would closely associate with Kings Cross in Sydney.

Brentford (Day 10)

corina — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 23:25:00 GMT

During the short traveling time I began to wonder if rain will befall the trip. Yes it did, rain on the Saturday; the day designated to visit Niagara Falls. The schedule was not changed and the view of Niagara Falls through changing weather conditions (heavy, light, misty) was still a beautiful sight.

Had a buffet dinner at the Casino there too, the best buffet so far. The reason I mention this is because before I could get into the Casino (need to be over 19) the person at the door asked how old I was. Thought about it for a few seconds (it gets harder with age doesn’t it?) and replied back. Apparently I looked younger than 19 and they asked me for identification after which they stamped my wrist to indicate that indeed I am over 19. To prove that the stamp system works, I wondered outside of the Casino to visit the falls, and when I attempted to get back in they asked for identification again (the stamp was enough this time)!

Brentford (Day 9)

corina — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 23:16:00 GMT

Brentford is a small city which brought me closer to nature. I was able to watch chipmunks (large, small, brown, and black) feeding on roasted hazelnuts that morning in the backyard. The afternoon consisted of a drive around Brantford and the surrounding towns, dramatic change to see greenery everywhere in comparison to Arizonian land.

That evening I tried Weetabix, the possible replacement for the Aussie Weetbix to be found in London. It is… different (a mixture of sweet and salty)? I doubt very much that I could replace my beloved Weetbix.

Phoenix - Toronto (Day 8)

corina — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 18:21:00 GMT

Thankfully the flight from Phoenix to Toronto was with a different company and the service was great. They had the on demand system and I watched the movies that I wanted to watch when I wanted to watch them. The plane landed in Toronto around 9m and by the time the final destination was reached (a small town one hour away from Toronto) it was close to 11pm. What did I learn that night; Tim Horton's is the Canadian version of Starbucks?

Phoenix (Day 7)

corina — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 18:17:00 GMT

More relaxation by the swimming pool with a visit to Saguaro Lake and an American Restaurant (after the night before I was scared to order). This time I ordered a combination of a cup of soup and a half club sandwich. The soup was excellent and the half club sandwich was still too large for me to finish. All this food was followed by dessert after which I told myself that I will never eat chocolate again! The brownie Sunday ordered ended up being four times as large as one that you would buy in Sydney. Not to mention the ice cream, cream, and chocolate sauce that it came with.

Phoenix (Day 6)

corina — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 18:08:00 GMT

After all the time in Las Vegas the day back in Phoenix was used for sightseeing, shopping (bought two tops for $2.99 US each, bargain!), and going out for a very large dinner at a Mexican restaurant. The serving was absolutely extreme and I did not eat even a quarter of it.

Las Vegas (Day 5)

corina — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 07:02:00 GMT

I left the curtains partially open and daylight woke me up before 9am. I jumped out of bed, got dressed and zoomed off to the swimming pool. I was not going to miss another opportunity of swimming; I would gladly go to Las Vegas again only to spend the days and nights in the pool instead of on the carpeted casino floor with no natural light. A master at catching the correct lift after the night before (a debacle finding the right lift to reach level 16, even though you can get off at level 2 you cannot get back into the lift at level 2 and you can only get on at level 1 which required the use of a service lift to go from level 2 to 1 and walk around the corner to the correct set of lifts).

The swimming pool, or should I say "pools", with blue refreshing water was another delight. I would have been happy to skip breakfast, lunch, dinner to spend the day there if possible. Only had an hour and a half, after which I headed back up to the room and got ready to go out again to visit the casino's missed on the day before; Venetian and Paris Las Vegas (there was not any time to visit the remaining ones).

I forgot to mention that at restaurants or some shops here (Phoenix and Las Vegas) have these tubes for the outdoor areas, located at the top of ceilings (shocking description I must say, but it is midnight and I have been at these posts for a while) which spray out water which refreshes you if you are dining there or walking past.

Las Vegas (Day 4)

corina — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 06:27:00 GMT

Early wake up at 4.15am to depart for Las Vegas. This resulted in me sleeping in the car on and off from car stop to car stop (petrol station, Joshua forest, Hoover Dam). Hoover Dam, impressive, aqua waters, 40 pound fish (as claimed by two men looking down at the silhouette of a fish) and I like how there are two tower like structures one with a clock for Nevada time and another for Arizona time (Nevada has daylight saving/dis-saving and Arizona does not).

Las Vegas, an oasis in the desert, beautiful by day and even more beautiful by night. The residency for that night was at Luxor Casino - it is the pyramid for those that do not know the Luxor (room was on level 16 of the pyramid). Checked into the hotel and went upstairs to see the room and 5 minutes into the room investigation there was a knock at the door. It was the repair man and he was called to repair one of the curtains (2 minutes before I attempted to open the curtains and the bar used to push the left curtain fell and stuck my head.. the management knew about this, unfortunately we arrived before they had time to repair it). Funny lad he was too and he kidded about taking care in the lift when coming back up to the room if intoxicated because the lift moves diagonally. I thought, funny ha ha, but on the way down I realised that he was right and the lift did move both horizontally and vertically. Imagine the structure of a pyramid and how four pillars join at the top; the pillars were four lifts leading to different levels.

Another place to add to my list of known places, I now know Las Vegas too (the gambling strip only). Spent 8 hours walking from casino to casino; Excalibur, New York - New York, Bellagio, Mirage, Monte Carlo, Caesars Palace, Treasure Island, Wynn.. in all that time I spent less than 5 dollars gambling.

At night watched the show in front of Treasure Island and then the water show in front of the Bellagio, by the time I got back to Luxor (by foot) it was 9pm and unfortunately the casino / hotel pool closed at 8pm. On the way to the Luxor saw an Aussie, one of the dancers from Thunder from Down Under.

Another early night.. if only Nic, Andi, Ann, Matt, Jase, Rich, and Josh were there.. Don't worry guys; I am already planning a trip for us to visit Las Vegas. To make matters even easier the airport is very close to the Vegas strip.

Phoenix (Day 3)

corina — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 06:24:00 GMT

This was a day of rest, sleeping until 11am and then lounging in the swimming pool after the delicious lunch (with mohito in hand). I absolutely love water, got a little pink from getting sunshine but that should turn to brown in a day or two.

San Francisco (Day 2)

corina — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 05:52:00 GMT

Morning came, ate too much at the continental breakfast (eggs, bacon, some sort of hash brown that I didn't like and left behind, pancakes, porridge, bread and jam, fruit salad, corn flakes with milk from cows that did not contain any growth hormone). A city and bay tour took up most of the morning and early afternoon - and the city tour included sights of China Town , Union Square, Golden Gate Park (walked in an entrance to the park right at the East Australian section!), Golden Gate Bridge, and many other streets. The bay tour was fun but cold, switched to my winter jacket as we were getting closer and closer to the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge, I still can't believe that I needed to wear my winter clothes in the middle of summer!

That morning I read in the paper about the new rules of now allowing liquids in carryon bags on the plane, even toothpaste was ruled out. Lucky that I read that and was able to move all liquids (perfume, moisturises, toothpaste) from the hand luggage to the suitcase. There were no issues at checking in the luggage that evening, with the exception that one of the suitcases was over 50 pounds, strange as they allowed that much weight at Sydney airport and it was the same airline. Caught the more stringent rules when trying to go through the metal detector; at Sydney airport I had to take off my belt, at San Francisco airport I had to take off my sandals and jacket. When they asked for my jacket I hoped that that was all because I was only left wearing my t-shirt and jeans!

Interesting items that reached my ears. Fact or fiction, you decide:

Fortune Cookies - creator of fortune cookies (people know that I am crazy about these) was a Japanese business man living in San Francisco. He was fired by the mayor and was given small jobs by his friends until the next mayor re-hired him. He then made cookies and added thank you notes and gave them to all his friends in thanks and that is how they came about. There is even a fortune cookie factory there that I must visit next time.
The Stinking Rose - a restaurant that serves garlic dishes including garlic ice cream.
The Golden Gate Bridge - named before it was constructed, the actual colour is international orange, think that the toll you pay is based on the number of axles that a car has, it is a suicide spot and they have even installed counselling phones on the bridge (the next step would be to construct a fence to prevent people from jumping).
Currency - US coins are made in Philadelphia or Denver (the coins that are made in Denver have a small D on the coin).