The lungs of San Francisco are in Golden Gate Park. I found myself often gravitating towards it. It’s a huge park at the city’s centre. In the park, there is the de Young art museum, a botanical gardens, a Japanese garden, the California Academy of Sciences, a conservatory, buffalo (!), and two windmills (a gift … Continue reading / view photos Golden Gate Park
Angel Island
One of the day trips you can do from San Francisco is to Angel Island, a thirty minute boat ride that passes Alcatraz (the inescapable prison, now closed). Once there, I walked up Mount Livermore – a pleasant two hour circular climb, ascending about 240m. From the top, you get good views of the San … Continue reading / view photos Angel Island
A little taste of San Francisco art
The de Young museum in Golden Gate Park is a pleasant way to spend an afternoon. It had a Gauguin exhibition on and a permanent collection of modern and classical art. The Legion of Honor, another art museum, had a surprisingly large Rubens collection, including a large version of The Thinker sculpture. View photos A little taste of San Francisco art
“They hate our country”
The Republican husband of an adviser to President Trump describes in a few pointed words what others have taken pages to say: “No, I thought, President Trump was boorish, dim-witted, inarticulate, incoherent, narcissistic and insensitive. He’s a pathetic bully but an equal-opportunity bully – in his uniquely crass and crude manner, he’ll attack anyone he … Continue reading “They hate our country”
Dazzling San Francisco
Whether it’s Haight-Ashbury, The Painted Ladies, Pier 39 or another part of San Francisco, you’ll see plenty of colours in shop interiors, street art and architecture. View photos Dazzling San Francisco
The geeks shall inherit the earth
Great news: Alan Turing to be the face of new £50 note. Alan Turing was an extraordinary man whose life unjustly ended too soon. He helped lay the foundations of modern computing and artificial intelligence. To think what he might have achieved if, instead of being persecuted, he’d lived beyond his 41 years. https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/2019/july/50-pound-banknote-character-announcement
The many faces of the Golden Gate Bridge
Golden Gate Bridge seems just like another bridge. As you see it more and more, you begin to realise its elusive quality. Mornings in San Francisco seem to always start with a fog hanging in the air. As the morning progresses, the fog is burned away if the sun does its magic. The Golden Gate … Continue reading / view photos The many faces of the Golden Gate Bridge
San Francisco architecture
09 July 2019 23:06 One of the first things I noticed about the housing in San Francisco is how unique each house is. Initially I thought this was a characteristic of one street. The more streets I saw, however, the more I realised that this was true of much of San Francisco and, as I … Continue reading / view photos San Francisco architecture
The streets of San Francisco
In the 1970s there were a lot of police shows, each of which had a distinctive feature or two. Some of the shows that come to mind include: Columbo: raincoat, “Just one more thing” Kojak: lollipop McCloud: cowboy in the city CHiPs: highway patrol Starsky and Hutch: car Banacek: clever crimes Hawaii Five-O: exotic location, … Continue reading / view photos The streets of San Francisco
Tiger Woods stopped my bike ride
Monterey, our final stop before San Francisco, looks like quite an affluent coastal town. There’s a beach there but we mostly walked around Fisherman’s Wharf and Cannery Row (where John Steinbeck’s novel is set). On the second day in Monterey, some of the group did a bike ride, which was supposed to be about 20km. … Continue reading / view photos Tiger Woods stopped my bike ride