More photos

Mostly Seattle, this time:

Kerry Park:




Otter!!! So cute!


Mountains like this are all around Seattle. It's beautiful.


This is just outside my hostel:


Me and the Golden Gate Bridge. Believe me, it's back there under all that fog.


At Lombard St, San Francisco. It's crazy bendy.


More to come later!
-Lisha

Tell me...whatever happened to predictability?

We went on the Golden Gate tour yesterday afternoon.  Far out-the fog here is maniacal...it has a life of it's own!  Remember that time earlier this year when there was fog all in Sydney Harbour?  Well it's 10 times worse here, practically every day!
As we left on the bus (4pm) the sun was starting to peek out of the clouds and the clouds and fog were visibly moving-but by the time we got to the bridge it was completely under.  All you could see from a distance was...well practically nothing, except for a little bit of the towers.
The fog comes in over the mountains behind and just blankets the whole bay in pea soup mist and fog.  We drove into it and automatically the temperature dropped like 10 degrees and visibility was so bad you could hardly see the car in front of you!
We got some photos on the other side of the fog rolling over it and down to the water so it's interesting, it's just not 'postcard perfect' like we all would have wanted it to bever
But then instead of just driving back over the bridge and to the pick-up/drop-off point, they went into the snobby area on the city side of the bridge and went all around in the military base and stuff.  It was bloody foggy and COLD...plus there were eucalypt trees everywhere!  That's another weird thing about this city, they seem to have a love of Australian trees and plants because there are so many kicking around.  Wattles, bottlebrushes (which are all out in flower now), gum trees, those patersonia lillies (I think that's their name...)-all sorts!
Anyway we went into (S)Nob Hill and saw Danielle Steeles mansion (um....yay?) and went past some really nice Victorian homes.  I think this is where they 'set' Full House.

hhh Ahh Ahh Ahhh... Ahhhhhahhhh
What ever happened to predictability?
The milkman, the paperboy, evening TV?
How did I get delivered here?
Somebody tell me please
This old world's confusing me
Clouds as mean as you've ever seen
Ain't a bird who knows your tune.
Then a little voice inside you whispers
"Kid, Don't sell your dreams so soon"
Everywhere you look (Everywhere you look)
There's a heart (there's a heart)
A hand to hold onto
Everywhere you look (Everywhere you go)
There's a face
of somebody who needs you.
Everywhere you look
When you're lost out there and you're all alone
A light is waiting to carry you home
Everywhere you look
Everywhere you look.
Ahh Ahh Ahh Ahh
Chitty Chi bob botta.

Yeah...that's the stuff! (again, NOT my photo...still waiting!)





Today we leave at 3pm to get on a dirty dirty Greyhound bus to go to Seattle.  It's going to take almost 24hrs.  Ergh...it's currently about 2 degrees C in Seattle, so I think I might need to stop wearing my thongs and start wearing my shoes.
Need to go to the post office today badly as well, if I don't post this stuff back I won't have room to carry it.

San Francisco has been really fun, I could easily live here except the house prices are through the roof!  It's a really beautiful city with lots of culture and so far the people have all been really nice to me.  I haven't talked about the little gallery opening I stumbled across and was invited into yet, have I?  That was a laugh...

Anyway, time is running short and I have alot to do.
Take care everyone!
-Lisha

Haha

I think I 'met' my roomate last night around 11.30pm. Some little european girl opened the door, took one look at me then left again. To be fair (to me!) she had both a guy and a bottle of booze in tow so I'm assuming she didn't want the room to rest for the night.
I woke up around 7 this morning and as I was trying to get back to sleep over the noise out on the street below, her alarm kept going off. Fast asleep...in the window bed. Bitch.
:-P
Going to get me some free breakfast and check out the city tour today. Then buy a cellphone and some pepper spray. Awesome! Most probably looking at finding out about the three of four types of public transport they have here, too. The streets are a killer. I imagine if you lived around here and walked everywhere you would get thighs like a bulgarian weightlifter after going up and down all the hills here!
OK I'm off:
Take care
-Lisha

*edit*
I tried to upload some photos last night, as I had a small collection after going for a late night saunter about the neighbourhood but the USB connections on the computers here are blocked and the one computer that you can plug a USB cable into, is operating on some crazy system (Xfce or something?) and doesn't recognise the camera. Poo!

*extra edit*
Wandered into the bottle shop a few doors down and they have, among other things, premix Smirnoff and green tea! And their bottles of premix (think Ruski and Cruiser type drinks...except weirder) are $1.84!!! I bought three bottles of weird premix shit and paid less than what one pathetic Cruiser would cost back in Sydney (granted, at a bar, but still). Considering the fact that the bottle shop near a backpackers would no doubt be more expensive than one in the 'burbs, I can't believe how cheap food/drinks are here! I got a delicious bagel last night for 95c-shits all over Sydney bagels. Hard and chewy and like, $3.50. I shouldn't slag them off too much-after I get back it's all I'll have access to again.

A chapter in my life entitled...

Yeah you all know how the song goes...

Needless to say I am in San Francisco now. I had a picture attached originally,that I had taken on my phone but it messed up. Will have to wait until tomorrow for photos sorry!

Flying in, I was put in what had to be the worst seat. On the ailse of a bank of 3 seats next to the window. With the two seats closer to the window occupied. Most other banks of window seats had only one person on the whole row! Anyway I askedto be moved and they put me on the row just behind the emergency exit behind the wing. That means no wing obscuring the view and plenty of leg room. But it also meant the guy next to me hogged the armrest and snored but I stole the window seat flying into SFO :-P It wasbeautiful-lights EVERYWHERE, blanketing the whole bay area. We were extra lucky too because our side of the plane was the one that had the view of the land coming in. At customs after we were collecting our bags, there was an officer asking people who had just collected their baggage if they had any food on them. Most people said no (I would have said I just have lollies, but they don't count asreal food anyway) and then she would have to elaborate.
"Do you have any snacks? No nuts or seeds or fruit?" and forthe most part people said no. One guy had stacks of boxes and after he was quizzed he went to go and one of the boxes fell, making a crash. The officer rushed over to help pick them up and I look back and see containers full of peanuts strewn about on the ground. I'm pretty sure I had heard this guy say not even 5min ago that he didn't have any food on him!

The hostel is pretty cool. It's on a street full of strip clubs and adult shops. They aren't all hidden away upstairs out of view like the Sydney ones are-they are like supermarkets or regular stores with big glass windows and open doors so you are walking past and see what you think is a market or something then you look in and there are dildos and whips and porn everywhere!
The hostel building itself is like a massive labyrinthine dormitory. I'm only on the second floor up and I got lost a few times on myway to find my room! It feels so old school and hippy, too. Old crazy chandeliers and threadbare carpet-patched with gaffa in a few places. I'm not sure about the other rooms but my room has a 'window bed' where there is a bay style window (how fitting!) and the bed is like, inside it. You can hear the ladies outside yelling out stuff like 'come in and see-no cover charge!' at the strip joint across the road, because my room faces the street. I really should say 'our' room but I haven't met the other person who is staying in it yet. But she already has the window bed. Lucky bitch.

I went for a walk down the strip to the local Walgreens and picked up somemuch needed deoderant (man, I STINK!) and water for tomorrow, and plenty of stamps :-) I'm such an idiot-I went there to get a pre-paid mobile but of course I forget the one thing I go there for!
Tomorrow when Michael gets in I will take a walk down the strip and get photos of all the neon signs and the steep hills. There is a street just a block down that is so steep, it doesn't have a flat footpath-it's got steps on the sidewalk!
If I were more adventurous (or if I get hungrier) I will try and get down to the Mission andget a burrito or something.
But it's probablybest to just have a shower and get some sleep. It's 9.20pm here but only 4.30pm back in Sydney. I'll wait until it gets to maybe 7pm Sydney time then hit the sack.

Maybe I'll try and make some friends.


BWAHAHAHA! Who am I kidding?

I suppose that's about all for now. Not sure whether to write this journal independantly from my pen&paper journal or to write in that one predominantly and take out the best bits to put here. I'm kind of leaning towards option B because otherwise I will be repeating myself alot. But it means alot of writing. Meh.

Time to sign out for now!
-Lisha