San Francisco

San Francisco, California ( 06 - 11 Feb 2007)

I was in San Francisco 2 weeks ago for the American Stroke Association’s Annual Stroke Conference and it was my first time there. Unfortunately, I didn’t really have a lot of time to sightsee as our days were very packed with sessions and symposium. On top of that we had dinner meetings too. Saturday was a packed day cause it was the only day for sightseeing. Peterson (my co-worker) and I went to Alcatraz, even though that was his third time going he still kept me company. It was an interesting experience. It wasn’t very creepy cause there were so many tourists in there. It kinda reminded me of Mauthausen, a concentration camp we visited in Austria cause everyone was quiet and just talking it all in in their own way.

After the trip to Alcatraz, Peterson and I went to Fisherman’s Wharf and had crab for lunch. Walking by stalls after stalls of lobsters, crabs and shrimps kinda made us hungry. It was fun though! Standing by the stall, picking on the warm juicy crab! NUMMY!! I’ll definitely do that again.

After that we just walked around the wharf and the pier and headed towards the Ghirardelli Ice Cream Shop. I had their brownie sundae and man that was some smooth, creamy ice cream and chocolate. I definitely recommend this place to anyone who is visiting San Francisco. Even if you are watching your calories, one ice cream from Ghirardelli is worth screwing your calorie count for. Well, that’s my opinion anyway.

I should mention though that while we were sightseeing it was raining in San Francisco. It was raining the whole time we were there, alternating from light to heavy rain. Then on the day we were leaving, it was damn bright and sunny. It’s gotta be me travelling. I can never catch a good weather.  Oh and to top it all off, our flight was delayed leaving San Francisco because the approach sensors on the airplane weren’t functioning. Goodness!! I couldn’t believe my luck! Here I was in the same position I was in 2 weeks prior. Needless to say, the last 3 times I’ve flown in a span of 6 weeks, I’ve had problems with my flights. The most problematic was my flight back from Toronto when it was delayed at the airport for 2 hours because the cargo door wouldn’t close. Finally they got that closed and we were off. Then in mid-flight they discovered that the problem was a bit more extensive than the cargo doors. One of the main hydraulic engines weren’t functioning well and wouldn’t do well with Vancouver’s turbulent weather. So we had to make an emergency stop at Calgary, got off the plane and waited an hour for another plane from Vancouver to bring us back to Vancouver. It was a disaster! I was supposed to arrive in Vancouver at 8 pm and didn’t actually get there till 3 am. I was not impressed! This was what I was worried about when they told us in San Francisco that they were having problems with the approach sensors. Granted California wasn’t that far and the flight wouldn’t take that long but it was the fact that I was on another plane with another malfunction. Well, hopefully I won’t have this same experience next time I fly which won’t be for a little while.

Anyway, San Francisco was really nice. I got to walk around Downtown a little bit on Sunday morning before my flight. Those hills are deadly! Well, I didn’t try walking it anyway. Why should I when there’s a perfectly functioning cable car that would get me to where I want to go? Maybe another time. It would be a good exercise though if you walk or jog that hill everyday, but that’s for the people who live there.

I’ve posted some photos in my blog album. Check em out!

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