Day 78

After a rather relaxed day we started the celebration of New Years Eve with a dinner at our favorite Thai restaurant. I had a chicken noodle soup and something delicious with a difficult name :-)

Our idea was to watch the fireworks at midnight. Since nobody could tell us where it was going to happen and even the internet was not helpful on that we just guessed where to go. So after a warmup drink at the hotel party room we went there.The streets were very crowded, so we had to hurry to make it on time.
It turned out that we had chosen the perfect spot. The fireworks was fired right in front of us from a boat next to Bay Bridge.

The fireworks were beautiful with many colors and forms including even a smiley. Everybody was impressed.


I took some more pictures on the way back. After arriving at the hotel we joined the party there again. I talked to many interesting people from allover the world there and when I went to bed it was already day outside :-)

Day 77

I have many photos in today's post because it's maybe the last post of the year. I'm not sure if I can find time to write a post tomorrow evening...
It was an exiting day again. After a nice breakfast in an Italian cafe we went to Fishermen's Wharf to rent a bicycle. Our plan was to ride across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito and the return by a ferry.
By the way, parking is interesting in San Francisco. Because many streets are not level you have to turn the front wheels against the curb to prevent the car from accidently rolling downhill. The car on the photo is parked upwards.
Then I came across this interesting sign. I don't know what it means!?
And then, of course, we saw the news of the day everywhere.
After renting a bicycle and riding along the Marina we reached THE bridge. It was as exciting as always :-)
I'm not sure how tall the pylons are above road level, but I guess at least 200 meters. For me it's hard to look up along them, it's a strange feeling.
Just as we took some pictures on the bridge a container ship passed beneath. The crew waived to us...

This picture gives an impression how high the bridge is.
Right after crossing the brigde we entered Sausalito. It's a small town with come beautiful houses and many tourists like us :-) Since the town is spread over the steep side of the hill the houses have probably an amazing view over the Bay. I heard that many celebrities live here like the actor Robin Williams (not sure if it's true).
Because cycling makes hungry we looked out for a lunch. And we found the best burger restaurant I know so far. A real fresh made and flame-grilled burger...delicious!!

Because of the hillside Sausalito was already in the shadow in the early afternoon.
Then we came across this piece of art which used to be a car.
On top of it there was an uncountable number of small figures, very cute.
Sausalito is known for it's houseboats, but we only saw a few of them.


When we took the ferry back to San Francisco the sun was about to set. Alltogether it was a great day in California again.

Day 76

Besides the more touristic Chinatown in San Francisco there is a street which looks like real China. There are more food than art shops and more Asians than tourists. It's maybe the best place in S.F. to buy fresh and cheap food. Although most of the food looked unfamiliar to me.




After passing Chinatown we entered North Beach which is the Italian neighborhood inb S.F. But there isn't much Italian in it. However, it's a nice district.



Today I have to mention my favorite S.F. newspaper. It's The Onion. Well, not every article tells the truth but I really like the kind of humor :-) And there are very good movie reviews as well...

Day 75

Finally, after some grey and cold days the sun returned to San Francisco. So I spent the lunch break on Union Square again. Short sleeved :-)A typical sight in S.F. are signs of the Academy of Art. They are virtually everywhere. In my opinion S.F. is a very good place to study art. Maybe in my next life...

Day 74

It was the last day of American Football for us, this time College Football. We went to see the Emerald Bowl in the AT&T Park which usually is a Baseball stadium and the home of the S.F. Giants. The teams were from the Florida State University (FSU) and from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). We decided to support the californian team from the UCLA.
One thing College Football is famous for are the marching bands. The UCLA band was about to entering the stadium when we spotted them. There was a variety of food to buy like hotdogs, garlic fries (which were good :-) and very huge drinks, though it was expensive.
The AT&T Park is probably the most comfortable stadium in the Bay Area. It's new, spacious and has a beautiful view over the Bay.
The game started as always with some very nice plays of our favorite team UCLA...
....and it ended as always with a win of the opponent :-(
(picture: he made the touchdown with two defenders in tow!)


Nevertheless it was a great and remarkable evening!!