Cats and Cable Cars

Thursday 12th April 2012

We woke up early today. And when I say early, I mean that I woke at 5.30am and Claire told me she'd already been awake for two hours. We haven't quite adjusted to the time zone yet. So we were first down for breakfast, which was served in The Parlour. The Parlour is quite small, and I'm sure if all the guests turned up for breakfast at the same time, there would be nowhere near enough space for everyone. Fortunately, not everyone had been up at the crack of dawn so there wasn't a problem.

Breakfast was far more sociable than your average B&B. There are only a few tables, and they are set for 4 or 5. So we had the company of a German (?) man and a couple from southern California, who turned out to be the owners of The White Dog (Oscar). The Californian lady claimed to know where Stoke on Trent is, although gave the game away when she commented on what a pretty little village it is. They gave us a few tips on places to visit on our trip, but I can't really remember what they were. Hopefully Claire can.

After breakfast we set out on foot to explore the city. We went through Chinatown, which had some of the most impressive tat shops we have ever seen. They were selling the sort of stuff that if someone gave it you as an unwanted present, there's no way you could hide it discreetly in a corner behind a plant, as it's just too big. Some of it was so big that it wouldn't even fit in our house at all (not that we'd want to try). We didn't stay long, for fear of breaking something and blowing the holiday budget all in one day.

After visiting the sea lions in the harbour and having some lunch, we decided we wanted to go up something called Telegraph Hill. Partly because it said in the guidebook that there were wild parrots up there, and partly because there was a monument up there and we thought there might be a good view. It was a bit of a trek up quite a steep hill, and we had to stop for a breather a couple of times. During one of the stops, I spotted something strange flying round the rooftops that I thought was a dragonfly at first. After watching it for a few minutes, we came to the conclusion that the only thing it could possibly be was a hummingbird! Neither of have ever seen one before, and the last place we expected to see one was in the middle of a city. When we made it up to the top of Telegraph Hill, there were even more of them whizzing around the trees there. Everyone else seemed completely oblivious to them, and we've since found out that they're pretty common over here. We did see 3 wild parrots on the way down, but after the hummingbirds they were a bit of an anticlimax. And they were noisy.

We decided to have a ride on one of San Francisco's world famous cable cars this afternoon. They are not what I would call a cable car at all, although I assume there must be a cable involved somewhere. They look more like old fashioned trams. I was quite surprised by the lack of health and safety procedures on them, especially in this country renowned for its lawsuits. The cable cars share the roads with all the other traffic in the city. Passengers are encouraged to pile on, and when there are no seats left or standing room inside, they are encouraged to stand on the footboard/step on the outside of the carriage, and hold on to some poles. The driver has to shout out periodically to remind people to hold on and lean in to avoid being hit by people on carriages going the other way, and on one occasion, a bus. Before The Mothers start panicking, I'd just like to point out that we were at the front of the queue and therefore got a seat.

We're back at the hotel at the moment, having returned to make the most of the complimentary afternoon tea on offer. Pip was waiting by the front door when we got back, and we managed to coax him upstairs to our room by making cat noises. Only for him to immediately leave via the window onto the fire escape. He returned after a while, had a good look round and then left in rather a hurry, as if he had somewhere else to be.

We went down for afternoon tea a short while later and all became clear. Pip is in charge of supervising the guests and he was obviously worried about being late. Having said that, he was fast asleep in the middle of the Parlour when we arrived, and didn't even move when I stepped over him. In fact, I don't think he moved until Oscar the white dog turned up, and then he moved like a bolt of lightning.

We're going out for dinner shortly. Both of us are feeling a bit tired, and I'd really like a power nap. But after last night's experience, I don't think it's a good idea.

OK, it's now several hours later. We did have a power nap, but we have had dinner too. When we woke up it was pouring with rain outside. There was lightning, and thunder crashing around. There's certainly no water shortage here. We decided to go to a traditional American diner we'd spotted earlier for dinner. Partly because a diner is one of the places we wanted to go on the trip, and partly because it was nearby. We were still soaked by the time we got there though. We had the nicest burgers we'd had in a long time and then made a dash back to the hotel.

Claire's busy planning the route for tomorrow, because we're picking the hire car up and starting out on the road! We're both a bit apprehensive about driving, especially in the city, and me more so than Claire because she says she's only driving on deserted straight roads in the middle of nowhere. Or something like that.


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Location:San Francisco