love, Big Sur.

Part of the Big Sur coast.

This morning Mark & I woke up to the sound of raindrops and wondered if our trip south to Big Sur and The Henry Miller Library would be worth it. What an adventure! And completely worthwhile it was...now I truly feel as though we are on holiday.

We set out in the pelting rain, and in Mark's words: "It was bucketing down - interesting drive along the coast when you can't see a foot in front of you, you're driving on the wrong side of the road, & the drop to the right is a few hundred feet." I was just glad that I was not at the wheel...



The Henry Miller Library.

In the cloud and torrential rain the view really looked no different to the Sydney coastline. But upon arriving at the library we were welcomed by the sight of a little wooden lodge? cabin? and once we were safely inside we were surrounded by books, posters, memorabilia, a few guys on macs happily typing away on the free wi-fi. Everything was sort of cosy and interesting - not to mention meeting a very friendly pussycat who was hopping from lap to lap saying hello!

Inside The Henry Miller Library.

Fortified, we stepped back out to the car and on to the famous Big Sur Bakery for lunch. I gasped appreciatively at the sight of a real coffee machine, and we feasted on turkey noodle soup and peach pastries. This was the closest I have eaten to Sydney food and I say that in an entirely complimentary way, especially after trying Dennys for the first time yesterday! After finishing lunch, the sun came out, and we thoroughly enjoyed our drive back to Monterey, this part of the world is gorgeous in a pretty special way!

So, what's so special about Big Sur? I can't exactly say. There is very little information available on what it is exactly, but it is basically one road that runs between the forest and the ocean for about 30 miles? - and it offers the best of both worlds. There are a handful of very expensive resorts but other than that there are a few campgrounds and not very much in the way of tourist attractions. Which leads me to the very reason that people go - to experience the natural environment in the first person, I guess! I really hope one day Mark and I can return and hike around, and without sounding too trite, to simply enjoy nature, and maybe enjoy one of the famous concerts held on the grass outside The Henry Miller Library, such as those given recently buy The Arcade Fire and Thurston Moore!


Schoolhouse at Big Sur.

Monterey.

Monterey's famed 'Cannery Row.' Sort of sad they fished out the entire place in 20 years and everything had to shut down. (Whoops, sorry to start sounding negative!)

Yesterday we bid goodbye to San Francisco and started our trip down Highway 1 to LA. We are giving ourselves 5 days to do it which has turned out to be an excellent idea, we have slowed ourselves down considerably and we have more time to put our feet up and enjoy the moments between bursts of activity. The slower end-of-summer pace here certainly soothes the nerves and the coastal landscape actually looks quite similar (so far) to that between Stanwell Park - Wollongong in Sydney, not sure what I was expecting, but sort of surprised about that!

Monterey.

The most unexpected thing I thought I'd say at this point is our Youth Hostel is outstanding! After the shock of a bunkbed sleeping arrangement in San Francisco we are actually now in a room that is mostly UNDERGOUND! So at first... this was not that pleasing but it was certainly not enough to ruin our mood or our day or anything. But the service here has been just so friendly - free home cooked pancakes and waffles for beakfast, where they tell you to sit down while THEY COOK, big comfy lounges with footrests (sort of like a business class airline seat!), shared food etc. all in the 'YHA spirit,' now this place has got soul and I'm really glad we are staying here. We are just a block or two from Cannery row, and the tourist advice here from the front desk has been spot on every time, even re-selling us an aquarium ticket used by another family earlier in the day for half price - now that's service!

So, why Monterey? Well, from what Mark and I can gather this is a pretty pristine 'tourist town' between San Francisco and LA. It seems pretty wealthy and set up for visitors to enjoy, with a few tourist trap restaurants and attractions along the way (but nothing too tacky). It's sort of like a 'Bowral by the sea' - somewhere where people come to get married or wealthy retirees come to enjoy a weekend. There are sea birds and fresh air, and at certain times of the year, whales and seals (I'm sad they're not here at the moment though!)

The John Steinbeck Center.

The Steinbeck House.

Today we went to the National Steinbeck Center & House in a little town called Salinas (which we are told, is a fairly 'typical' Californian town). We visited the John Steinbeck exhibit (of course) and I guess I'll be re-reading some of his texts in the coming months. It's great that these things exist, and there is an audience to support it!

Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Jellyfish at the aquarium.

We finished up today at the Monterey Bay Aquarium which has been awesome, awesome. We watched sea otters, a great white shark, seahorses, jellyfish, you name it! If I were a local I'd return again and again. Such a lovely way to spend the afternoon, there is no way you could pass this by if you were to visit Monterey!

On the way home we had to stop to buy some bananas (24c each!) at of all places... Target! It was in one of those huge industrial estates where they just seem to sell EVERYTHING, it was novel, that's for sure! Of course I also looked at the Missoni for Target range and there were only 3-4 remnants left overall, and a big sign saying 'this is all that is currently available.' Oh well, just a week or two late I guess!

Tomorrow we continue our literary path with a visit to the Henry Miller Library, and maybe we will squeeze in a bike ride if there is time... there are lovely bike tracks here and everything seems relatively flat!

Fort Mason, Golden Gate Park, Alcatraz, Friends and Anniversaries!

Skyline of San Francisco from the Alcatraz Ferry.

So Sunday was our first Wedding Anniversary, and we woke up with big plans... to walk the Golden Gate bridge! I'm not sure what happened (maybe it was the bunkbed sleeping situation) but we were sort of over-optimistic about how far we could walk after some pretty heavy walking the two days previous.

Mark takes a break on our bunk at the Downtown YHA.

Fort Mason Park.

We didn't EXACTLY head out in the wrong direction but it became clear pretty early we weren't going to make the distance in good spirits. We did instead, however take a rather lovely walk along Fort Mason and through the very well kept neighbourhood of Pacific Heights, which ended up being quite enjoyable in itself. Oh, and if I ever have money drop on me from the sky I'd like an apartment at 3665 Scott Street please, you can look that up on google maps if you feel curious :)

Palace of Fine Arts.

The De Young Museum.

We visited the rather extraordinary and monolithic Palace of Fine Arts (once used to house telephone books!) and then caught a cab over to Golden Gate Park to visit the De Young Museum. First, there is no way I could do justice to just how good the viewing platform is in this museum. Second, Golden Gate Park is just so vibrant and beautiful, and if I ever return I'd be attempting to do and see more there. In the short time we were passing through we saw rock 'n roll dancing, a big brass band and segway tours, we didn't have the time to properly take much of it in at all. So many people were sunning themselves on the grass with friends or riding around on a bike, I just got the feeling that this might as well be a place for me if I return.

Happy first wedding Anniversary to us!


We finished the day with a pretty special anniversary dinner at a restaurant called Aziza, recommended to us by our San Franciscan friend Deb. Well, I could get more used to dinners like this! We had meatballs and grilled grapes on skewers, de-boned chicken wings and the most wonderful grilled flatbreads with home made spreads. Not as expensive as Sydney, I even enjoyed a few glasses of wine and we came in under $150, not bad at all for something attempting to be a little more special. We even managed to hold prolonged conversation after hanging out for four days straight, so a gold star for both Mark and myself!

Alcatraz.

Today we hopped on the ferry to take the quintessential tour of Alcatraz. Sort of dragging our feet at the idea of doing something overly 'touristy,' this was all rather well-organised and efficient, it ended up being informative and enjoyable! We boarded the ferry and took the 10min ride to the island, where we took an excellent audio tour of the buildings and learned about the history in some more detail. It ended up being one of the highlights of my San Francisco stay, so by all means do it if you visit.

We finished off our day visiting our San Franciscan (is that how you put it?) friend Deb, who we met in our Sydney yoga class earlier this year (she was visiting Sydney for work and was disciplined enough to find a local yoga class!) She kindly invited us to one of her 'weekly barbeques' that she holds at her house in Mountain View. It was raining, so about 7 of us ended up around the kitchen table eating home made apple pie made from the tree in her backyard! Funnily enough, this has ended my visit to San Francisco perfectly. Even though attractions, fancy food and shopping can be dazzling, good conversation and friendship is what makes these experiences truly satisfying. Quite a few people at the table had either been to/are going to Australia and gobbled up the Tim Tams I brought along. I also knew once and for all I was in Silicon Valley, sitting at a table with 2 x googlers, an aeronautical engineer, a robotics engineer, a network security specialist and a drama teacher (ha! San Francisco!)

We leave San Francisco in the morning for Monterey, giving our tired feet and stretched wallets a bit of a rest as we hit the road for a few days of driving. It has been a little rainy and San Francisco city is now full of corporate visitors for a Java/Oracle conference, so it definitely feels like our time has come to leave.

I hope to be able to pass on some more news from the road!

Farmers Market, Shopping, The Mission (sort of)

Hey, glad you enjoyed my first San Francisco blog post! Tonight I type to you from our nook in the Downtown YHA, there is no TV here so computer time rules. I need to confess now I made a pretty terrible mistake today... we cheerfully checked out of our rather lovely hotel to slum it for a few days, and we weren't too concerned because I had managed to book a private room and all... and then we turned up to check in... and it IS a private bedroom... just with a BUNKBED! Not to mention it's our first wedding anniversary tomorrow, so umm, it's not exactly the most romantic situation you could find yourself in! At the moment Mark is wedged in opposite me between the wall and the bunkbed ladder... not quite what we were imagining, but we will just have to make the best of it for a few days! Sort of hilarious really, and nostalgic for Mark, apparently he has stayed at this very hostel in his younger years :)

San Francisco Farmers Market.

Mark at the Farmers Market.

This morning we woke up and headed down to the famous San Francisco Farmers Market in the Ferry Building, as this is apparently what local people do on Saturdays. I'd like to say it would be a very enjoyable thing for somebody who enjoys waiting in lines, I actually found very little pleasure in the whole experience and would prefer a trip to Bangalow anytime, now that's a relaxing and memorable Farmers Market experience!

First I need to point out that despite hearing to the contrary, good coffee is still a major problem in the USA, this unfortunately includes San Francisco. Even more disappointing is that tea here as we know it is virtually non existent! So there is this one brand of coffee called Bluebottle that everyone goes crazy about. I have been holding off for days because I have heard the lines are frustrating, and is only served in a handful of cafes in San Fran, but today I could no longer wait. I joined the queue down at the Farmers Market and it took me 25 minutes to get my first decent (but not the best I've tasted) USA coffee. I'm sort of confused that this is happening and if I ever have to do anything entrepreneurial in the USA I would be setting up a damn coffee cart every two blocks, it's obvious this place is more than ready for it!

The produce itself at the Farmers Market looked wonderful and if I were a local person I'd surely come down for a weekly fill, we bought a nice tourist photo off an artist and had a good walk around on the pier. All of the produce was very cheap compared to Australia ($1.50 for 3 bananas!), its just a shame we currently have no use for fresh food. So after taking in the sights we walked back up the hill past an anti-corporate demonstration stopping for lunch at La Boulange. Although the USA is full of food to eat I do recommend this place if you're at least making some effort at eating healthy, the salad is actually fresh and crisp and there is a fairly wide range to choose from. Let's face it, America is carbohydrate central, it seems lunch basically translates as 'a trip to the bakery.' But La Boulange, although a bakery, offers some other satisfying stuff as well.

La Boulange.

Anti-corporate demonstration.

After heading back to discover our new 'bunkhouse style' living situation we headed back to the shops for some retail therapy. Wont bore you too much other to say I bought a year's worth of Victoria's Secret bras for about A$120 (unheard of) and Mark bought a new lime green swatch watch :) I pretty much bought a bag full from my (almost) favourite store Anthropologie and will probably make another hack at the credit card in their LA premises. For the Sydney ladies I'll also let you know I saw stock in Zara that is currently sitting on the racks in their Sydney store so they are staying true to their word about distributing their current range widely.

Mexican is Mark's favourite so we headed back into town for dinner at a 'nice' Mexican restaurant called 'Tropisueno' ($8 margheritas!) where i can't seem to get enough of the enchiladas. After that we decided to take the BART to 'The Mission' for some ice cream at the famous Humphry Slocombe ice cream parlour. This is a must do trip! If I were younger, I may like to say, frequent a few of the bars in the area! And the food smells yummy and authentic, murals painted all over the street, everything a little edgy, I'd go as far as saying this is a 'must do' in San Francisco. I had pumpkin 5-spice ice cream (Halloween is coming!) and Mark had milk chocolate malt, YUM!

Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream.

So what about the little day to day differences in San Francisco? What do I see here?
- You definitely need to stand to the right on escalators, and just in general. There are however, many people that just take up the whole escalator :)
- When you hear funny whistles in the street (sort of like a recorder) it's just a hotel concierge trying to call out for a cab.
- If you are riding a bike and would like to take it on a bus, there is a bike rack on the FRONT of the bus where you can store it! The whole bus has to wait for you to get it up there and locked in, I could just never imagine that going down in Sydney.
- Women here love wearing makeup, it seems everyone has a full face on!
- Ladies love to wear the skirt and boot combo, I feel like I am in a mid 1990s video clip, floral skirts (even CULOTTES!) with boots BOOTS!

Store your bike on the front of the bus!

And before I go, some fashion forecasts for the ladies! (All Winter stock is coming in here now...)
- Cardigans Cardigans, knit only, waterfall style or open at the front. These are EVERYWHERE and it's tiring to see!
- Cropped navy military style jackets with brass buttons, cute, I wouldn't mind one of these
- 'Shrunken' knits (sometimes cabled and consisting of a few different colours) which are sort of fun but I'll have to hit the gym hard to feel completely comfy in this one
- Wedge boots, more of a 'lace up at the front' style in a beige or light grey, suede
- Leggings (still) but they are looking increasingly less appropriate and more suburban, I wouldnt say the legging has much further to go
- Jeans are getting wider, or are staying skinny but are getting colourful (yay, something new!)
- Heavy rim glasses (well I dont have bad eyes so I have nothing to say about this!)

So that's my day in San Francisco, my bunkmate is saying he wants to switch off the light shortly so I'd better do the right thing! Tomorrow we are off to walk the Golden Gate Bridge to celebrate our first wedding anniversary, so special!! x

Heart in San Francisco

Hello from San Francisco!

I've been here 2 days already and the time has just flown, mainly due to the mixture of familiarity, discovery and jet lag! The flight was long, and changing planes in the last 2 hours in LA left me almost delirious.. the jet lag has bitten me pretty hard this time and I was awake for a good part of last night, as well as 'napping' today during the Australian night time.

So... what is San Francisco like? What is going on here?
Hotel Rex

Mark and I are staying at the Hotel Rex which is just a block and a half walk from Union Square (the equivalent of Pitt Street Mall.) It's just enough to be in the heart of things, but also a little away from it all. Hotels here are surprisingly expensive... and also pretty rickety and old. So we are staying here for 3 nights, then we are heading tomorrow for the Downtown YHA (a bargain private room) for another 3 days to save a few dollars. I would honestly recommend The Rex to anybody thinking about coming to San Francisco, the whole hotel has a 'book theme' and I'm currently drinking my free daily glass of red wine from their library bar. It's lovely coming back each afternoon to a freshly made up room and the staff here are warm and friendly.

So far, I sort of feel like I'm sort of in Sydney and sort of in Brisbane! Driving in from the airport it felt like Brisbane... but it's obviously not! San Fran certainly lacks the intensity (and self importance) of Sydney and is much more laid back and less self conscious. Clothing is very casual and people are generally more chatty (hard for someone like me who is used to generally ignoring anybody's attempt at eye contact after 4 years in the Eastern suburbs!)

Of course San Fran is a shopping mecca for Australians and Aussie accents can be heard everywhere. It's nice shopping in a Zara store that doesn't look like it's been completely ransacked and customer service, like in New York a few years back, is excellent. I wouldn't say San Fran is entirely as efficient as New York in this sense but it certainly is easier work having help in changerooms and at registers, it makes it all easier spending my hard earned dollars!

Maiden Lane.

I would recommend a walk down Maiden Lane once you are jaded by Westfield and big brand surrounds, sure alot of it is very expensive, but it certainly has a nice feel and is a bit outside of the ordinary. I'm thinking about buying some ballet flats from London Sole in the next few days because they are virtually half the price as they are in Australia.

The Bourbon and Branch.

Food? Well I'm pretty difficult to please because we are lucky to have best of the best in our part of Sydney. We have eaten some good food, sure, but nothing completely stand out. I attempted to get Mark drinking last night at The Bourbon and Branch without much success, but I'd definitely recommend this bar to anyone attempting to impress. It's basically themed around a speak easy and you can't get in without a booking and 'password' at the door. It's dark and rather seductive inside, and the quality of cocktails is second to none, and apparently 'expensive' at $11 (HELLO Sydney prices!) so I had a rather lovely time drinking my cocktail and most of Marks before hitting the pavement again at 7pm.

We are going to the famous Farmer's Market tomorrow and also a 'recommended restaurant' on Sunday so I'll see how we go with the food... one thing for sure is the Mexican is a standout and I can't wait to enjoy more of it!

The Haight - famous for it's 'painted lady' houses.

The row of houses from TV Show 'Full House' - Where's Uncle Joey & Uncle Jesse?

Today we went for a massive walk through The Haight and Golden Gate Park. We were gone for most of the day and had lovely weather to walk around in. We ate breakfast in Kate's Kitchen and I have to say this was the most 'normal' tasting meal I've had so far, even though they served fries with breakfast. My stomach was very thankful about that!

We walked up Haight Street (which is pretty much a hybrid of King Street Newtown and Byron Bay) and Mark took me to the Grateful Dead House. It was a nice walk with lots of colourful things along the way (sometimes a little tense feeling around Fillmore St) and it's something I'd certainly recommend doing.

Japanese Tea Garden.

We ended up in Golden Gate Park, which is basically a bigger and greener version of Sydney's Centennial Park, I could certainly imagine being a regular here if I lived nearby. We visited the Japanese Tea Garden where we found an excellent tea house which was tranquil and calm with a few squirrels hopping about, at least until I had my sunglasses stolen! Despite this frustration, I'd definitely recommend it to any visitor, besides, my lenses were very scratched so their karma has already come back upon them as far as I'm concerned!

So overall, we are really pleased to be in San Francisco. It also makes me feel very fortunate to be living in Sydney, where there are far fewer homeless people, and things are generally newer, cleaner and hip, I guess. Sydney HAS arrived. Don't worry I'm not going to take out my flag and start waving it around yet, but we certainly have it good!

Hello Honeymoon Bali!

After a wedding day that flew right by, we flew out to Bali as husband and wife for what was supposed to be a 'mini honeymoon,' except I'm not sure that mini is exactly the right way to describe it so far!

With months of planning behind us I was almost reluctant to set out on this trip - I wasn't sure if Mark would like Bali, I didn't know if we would get good value for money, or if the weather would be any good. As it turns out, we have have come at an excellent time (just outside of the high season), it has been sunny and thirty degrees every day and our villa has been well, beyond luxurious belief.

Arriving at Denpasar airport was a bit of a shock to the system, but provides excellent material for a film set. People herd themselves every which way beneath hopeless ceiling fans slicing thick air, families sweat in long queues and argue over money exchange and 'being ripped off.' A gamelan (a sort of Indonesian xylophone) plucks away in the background, grating and jangling tired and uncertain nerves.

All of the 'new airport security equipment' (eye and fingerprint devices) were on display but were not being used, and our immigration official bopped away to music coming from his mobile phone while he moved at a snails pace processing passports. Mark diligently attempted to declare goods at customs but the line was so long and disorganised that people were just being waved through in any which line by security; my suitcase went through an x-ray machine that was seemingly being watched by nobody. But then we were through and our honeymoon could begin!

Our driver was waiting to take us to 'Villa Air,' where we had booked a one-bedroom villa for three nights. We had our own private pool and gardens, a 4 poster bed with chiffon curtains, a spa bath, double basins and a waterfall in our (outdoor) bathroom as well as an outdoor kitchen and lounge, all covered by a big bali hut. I tell you, it's going to hurt leaving! (Which we are doing, today.) Every day we have had a 90 minute spa treatment, as well as afternoon tea and breakfast served to us in our villa. Spoiled!

Our villa living area (yes, that's our pool in the background!)

Our bedroom (with outdoor bathroom through the doors.)

Our beautiful outdoor bathroom (oh how I hope to have double basins in real life one day!)

The next day we went on a 6 hour tour with a driver and unfortunately I was pretty carsick for a lot of the time. We went to a monkey park where they climbed all over us and we got photos, a beautiful temple (still dont really understand temples) and a big rice paddy field - the Tegallalang Rice Terrace? (which was absolutely gorgeous but I was pretty much vomiting by this stage so couldn't really enjoy it). Then we visited the Agro Wisata Coffee Farm where I got to try the famous 'luwak?' coffee (you know, the one where the beans pass through the animal first.) Needless to say, Mark was disgusted.

Part of me really wanted to 'get into town' to see everything however I'm glad we let our driver take us to these different places because once we did go into the shopping district I was pretty confronted and disappointed.

That night we ate at 'Sarong' restaurant, apparently one of the best in Bali, and I laughed once I read the chef is ex-Jimmy Liks and Longrain in Sydney. So yes, it tasted very familiar to us and the food was great, for say a 30% cheaper price than Sydney. I particularly enjoyed eating one of my favourite dishes, 'murtabak,' which I have not been able to find in Sydney, and have not eaten since about 2005! So yes, I was very excited about that.

The beautiful Sarong Restaurant.

I have been thinking about the shopping thing alot; yesterday we walked down the main street of Seminyak where there are a whole row of shops selling all sorts of 'trendy' fashion but it wasn't nearly as sophisticated as I was expecting (oops, snob me.) Sure, items were cheaper and I think that this is perhaps the main reason why people go shopping crazy in Bali. I'm pleased to say I don't really need much right now, and once I really thought about it I realised I didn't need to buy anything! That said, if I was decorating a large house and had a huge suitcase (or shipping container) I wouldn't hesitate in combing over the shops.

I suppose I would need more time (and probably a good shopping mate) to enjoy the shopping a little more. Mark and I walked around but did I really need another flowing jersey top or beaded pair of sandals? It was very hot so we though we should at least take a walk down by the beach, but we had much trouble finding access as we bravely walked around the gangs (backstreets) of Legian looking for a spot to walk down the beach.

So we found the beach, and the beach was... ugly. I closed my eyes and thanked the stars that I hadn't dragged poor Mark to one of these 'resorts' that line the beach. It would be good for some, but represented everything we are not. People drinking down on the beach, piles of rubbish, dirty looking water and the sun beating down. People were touting for anything and everything, and there was also a few beggars about (lucky I have lots of practice doing the 'Eastern Suburbs stare, where I can look straight past people) and loud, pasty, overweight Australian families lying on rows and rows of sunlounges.

So we ate some satay and a burger and quickly jumped back into a cab to head back to our own little piece of paradise - our villa. And I think this is what makes the ideal Bali Holiday - getting some books and reading material together, packing a bag with next to nothing, and enjoying the comfort, relaxation and hospitality of a villa. Last night we had our own 'celebration dinner' in a little hut, 4 courses all included in our villa price. 80s power love-ballads played and candles were lit, it was just so lovely relaxing together and thinking about the future, without the madness and traffic of the town.

Our little dining area.

Some things you might need to know about visiting Bali:
- Don't pack anything too fancy - it's simply too hot. You barely need more than a swimming costume and a few cotton dresses. That said, the Balinese prefer a little modesty (i.e. sleeves) and it's been awful seeing some of the Aussies move about town in next to nothing.
- Same goes for makeup - just forget it.

- Tipping isn't expected which is refreshing, but people are paid so poorly it doesn't hurt to give a tip here and there (we gave our driver a $20 tip for a 6 hour tour and we are now seemingly friends for life.)

- It is cheap here. Apparently not as cheap as in the past, but Mark and I have barely spent $500 in 4 days, and this includes alcohol and eating in fancy restaurants. It has been terrible watching people haggle over such little prices (I saw an English teenager rudely haggle over a $12 pair of sandals, ugly) and I think it's nice to show some restraint here. People are constantly talking about money and what things cost, when at the end of the day...

- I think the ideal Bali trip would be to travel around Bali without doing Kuta / Legian etc. at all. It seems to bring out the worst in people and left me cringeing and wondering what the hell Australia has done to Bali and its culture. The loud drunk Bogan thing was definitely going on and I think it's fair to say that I would stay away from these people at home so I am best staying away from them on holiday!

Today we head to our next destination - 4 nights in Ubud. I'll let you know how it goes!

Resolutions

Who likes that word, resolution?

Remo sent me an email yesterday, and I very much enjoyed this poem they attached.
Happy New Year!