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Four months into our trip and our Latin American travels had come to an end. We had tasted Argentina's steaks, celebrated carnival in Brazil, walked over the salt flats in Boliva, trekked to Machu Picchu in Peru, swam in the Caribbean in Colombia and walked through Mayan ruins Mexico. The list goes on from the memories from all these fabulous and unique countries that have opened our eyes to cultures unlike our own. Perhaps I will write another blog soon on my overall experience in South America, what I learned, what challenged me, what I loved, what I didn't like, the things that will stay with me forever. A continent rich in many cultures and fascinating history where each country has its own heartbeat. We arrived there during the middle of January this year, and four months later we landed in San Francisco, California, where our journey moved into the next chapter in the northern end of the Americas.
Before arriving in San Francisco we were already faced with the challenge of finding somewhere to stay. Another big city to navigate and to find an area that was a good place to stay is not always easy, especially when there is a bed bug problem. Turns out San Francisco has had a bed bug problem for sometime with many bad reviews across the web from hostels and hotels. Perhaps I was being paranoid but sometimes it is better to play it safe rather than be sorry later on. There is even a bed bug report website listing all the reports across the city. We had just been back packing for all this time in South America and never encountered a bed bug, yet here we were in San Francisco with modern facilities facing the bug problem. So after a little more time spent researching, we came across the San Remo Hotel which had no bed bug reports, good reviews and was located in walking distance to downtown. Considering the prices of hotels in the city, this was actually reasonable and sometimes it is worth it just to pay a little bit more than what we normally would. It had a really neat interior similar to a Victorian home complete with massage chairs, bath tubs, heated towel rails, lots of artwork, cozy rooms and a lot of character. I would definitely recommend this place to anyone staying in San Francisco. I wouldn't normally write about the details of a hotel like this, but this place was really unique and made our visit more comfortable.
So moving on to more interesting stories I'm not quite sure where to start this time. Perhaps I could start with why we came here. Traveling through the America's and not visiting the United States would seem incomplete, and our conception of San Fran was full on wonder. The street art, the food, the Golden Gate bridge, the music, the sea side, the American way of life. What was all this about and how different would it be to Melbourne? Another reason to visit San Fran at this time was to be in the USA for Symbiosis music festival which was located in the state of Nevada, about a six hour drive east of the city. So our visit to San Fran was experienced over two weeks, with a side trip out of the city made to meet some people, camp, dance, enjoy the sunshine and be treated to an overwhelming lineup of incredible artists at Pyramid lake in the Nevada desert. It was during this time that we were also lucky enough to experience a solar eclipse.
So going back to day one, we wake up in our hotel room with no bed bug bites and head out for breakfast in North Beach. The hotel doesn't offer breakfast but gives us vouchers to a cafe near by. A range of American style breakfasts are listed on the menu accompanied by bottomless cups of brewed coffee. It seams to be more of a tradition here to have brewed coffee rather than lattes. One of the breakfast deals was two pancakes with maple syrup, bacon and eggs. We thought this was a strange combination but thought we would give it a try. It was actually really good and we ended up getting this for breakfast again and again. Something which we have made occasionally here in Vancouver. We learn the etiquette on tipping and pay for our meal and continue on with our day of exploring. Our first walk around the neighborhood and through the city brought us surprises about how hilly this city really was. At a high point on our street, we had great views down to the bay and over the city on the other side. We were in the Spring season and the temperature outside was a bit fresh, but the jacket kept coming on and off. Residential and commercial buildings were often built with wood and painted in nice colours, all of them with fire emergency stairs attached to the outside walls. The houses here are really pretty and full of character.
We had a couple of days to spend around town before we were to head out on our adventure to the music festival. We did the usual list of touristy things that one does including a visit to Pier 39. Just like Melbourne has her St Kilda, San Fran has her Fishermans Wharf where you will find pier 39 and a range of things to explore. We visited the aquarium where they had magnificent jelly fish and a tunnel you could walk through under the water. At the end of Pier 39 you can find so many seals lazying about on floating platforms. All of the shops are of course full of touristy bits and pieces, however there was one place where you could crack open an oyster and maybe there would be a pearl inside for you to keep. Our visit here was finished off with a boat ride out on the bay that takes you past Alcatraz and under the Golden Gate Bridge. The boat ride was so jumpy out on the deck that we really had to hold on tight and it made a funny photo.
Another day we spent our time wandering around the city and admiring the amazing street art that covers many of the walls. We ventured out into the bohemian district of Haight-Ashbury where there are many fabulous shops, cafes and bars, and is where the well known Amoeba music store can be found. Literally thousands and thousands of vinyl, CDs, and cassettes can be found here. Down the end of the street you can find the massive Golden Gate Park. We spent some time here wandering about and could have really benefited from a bike. The park is home to a gallery where we stopped by to see the Jean Paul Gaultier exhibition. One of the first things that welcomes you as you walk in are the mannequins that appeared life like. They had a video of a persons face projected onto the mannequins face so it looked like they were talking to you. It was so strange and made people laugh, while it felt like the mannequins were talking to us. The range of patterns, colours and textures was really incredible and we walked away with a little more inspiration to take home with us.
A day or so later it was time to hit the road and make our way out east to the Nevada desert. We hired a car and through the events website, we found another passenger to share the cost of the car rental with us. The three of us made it to the festival safe n sound as Dustin adjusted to driving on the opposite side of the road. Our new friend invited us to camp with his friends and within time we were all set up with our wal-mart tent and to let the fun begin. The first night of Symbiosis felt similar to festivals we have been to back home in Australia, but as the event grew over the next few days it became something else. This festival felt more interactive with so many live paintings happening, spaces for people to sit down and chat and sculptures for people to climb and swing around. There were large scaled sculptures so big that they really made an impression against the backdrop of the desert.
At night things took on a new perspective with the sun gone and the bright lights shining through, lighting up the installations and stages. We managed to get there just in time to see Bird of Prey play on the first night. We saw a few other artists who we have seen before in Melbourne such as Tipper, and discovered some new favorites including the Dub Kirtan All Stars and Beats Antique. Artists that would normal be a local to us where now internationals, and vice versa. There was a great mix of different genres of music, accompanied by a beautiful atmosphere and creative, friendly and imaginative people who inspire one another. So many creative minds in the one place create such a significant moment in time. I will never forget the amazing live painting inside one of the tents where a small group of artists collaborated on one piece over a few days. There was a lot of respect from everyone and people had just as much respect for the land. Pyramid lake is a spiritual place for the locals and they were kind to allow the event to happen here. The elders asked for everyone to respect the land, and so they did. Rubbish was hardly ever found on the ground and people take everything home that they bought there with them. They even had a recycle and wash station for the utensils used for food and drinks bought at the event. All of the food was really tasty and healthy but the lines were long and tiring being out in the harsh elements. To cool off we were able to take a dip in the lake, probably the coldest lake I have ever swam in. It was very shallow and by the time you walked out far enough to have the water at your waist, you had already cooled down and diving under was like swimming in iced water. By the time we walked back to camp, we were dry and boiling hot again.
A few days into the event it was nearly time for the solar eclipse to begin. We had collected our solar eclipse glasses from the info tent and were ready to witness the rare event. The type of eclipse we saw was an annular eclipse where the moon and sun are exactly in line creating a bright ring. If it were a total eclipse, the sun would be completely blocked out by the moon, a rare occurrence and something a few of our friends will be lucky enough to see back home in Australia this year. As we watched the eclipse start trough the lens of our special glasses, the corner of the sun became darker. Eventually the corner became bigger and bigger as the moon slowly centered itself in the middle of sun and we could see a ring of light. If you didn't have the glasses, you wouldn't even be aware that the eclipse was even happening. It was a very magical moment to experience in a very magical place. Symbiosis was an incredible festival and another highlight of the year for us both. We missed our friends back home, but made some new ones along the way and perhaps one day we can share an experience like this again.
After the event we had a few days left in San Fran before we made our way to Vancouver. Feeling a little tired, we washed the dust of our belongings and got our selves up and ventured out into the city again. There were still many more things we wanted to see and squeezed in what we could with the time we had left. In this time we went to Union Square, The Castro, The Mission and Japan Town where the most inspiring things for us was the outstanding street art. The scale of some pieces covered the entire walls of buildings and were painted with great detail. One little alley called Clarion Alley had a fantastic collection of pieces, all painted so brightly and with unique styles coming through. Some of them make a statement about love, politics or peace. Some are in memory of a loved one. All of them are works of art and have their own stories behind them. Either that or they just look amazing.
Coming to the end of our visit, we managed to see the world's most crooked street and stopped by a garlic restaurant for lunch. This is a restaurant where they say they season the garlic with food. Wow, after that we ate enough garlic to last a week at least. Later that night we wandered down to the shoreline to get a good view of the Golden Gate Bridge, for that night there were celebrations for her 75th birthday. Fireworks exploded over the bridge, the most impressive ones were the golden ones dripping off down the sides like a waterfall. This bought our San Fran visit to an end and the next day we would be on the move again. We had time to squeeze in a visit to the Museum of Modern Art before we caught the train to Seattle. The Museum was really amazing, but after everything we had already experience my senses were beginning to be overwhelmed and in a way we were looking forward to a long quiet train ride. San Fransisco is a fabulous city full of character and made our trip to the USA well worth it, along with our memorable side trip to Symbiosis. Within two weeks we had experienced so much and it was now time to say goodbye and carry our inspiration with us. Soon we would be settling down for a few months in Vancouver and for the first time in five months, we would have a place to call home until we hit the road again.
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