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DAY TWO Saturday 07/05/2011

!!WARNING IT WAS A BIG DAY, THUS A BIG BLOG ENTRY!!

In summary;

-Moving Hostels

-Haight and Ashbury

-The Castro

-Noe Valley

-826 Valencia

-The Mission District

We woke up to the two German girls packing and quietly leaving. It was two hours earlier than we planned to awaken but... I was ready anyways. After downing some bagels and coffee (and bagging ourselves two bagels for the road... yeww budget traveling!) we checked out and headed 5 blocks down the road to our next hostel.

Once again, we were too early for check in but we already knew what to do. We left our bags in baggage claim and asked the woman behind the counter how to get to Haight and Ashbury. Oh yeah... by the way... This new hostel was about... 68 times better than the last. The entrance was gorgeous and...there was orange juice in the kitchen!!! The only flaw it seemed to have was that Ellis street, where it was located, was a popular hang out place for homeless people. They never come in the building but are spread out all along the street.

Being a snobby little Mosman girl I have to admit that I have never seen so many homeless and crazy people in this short time. They are physically dirty, carry a huge number of bags and mumble things under their breath about you. Either that or they are yelling, declaring that someone is screwing them over or (and this is the best I've heard) that they "went into a bar and was hanging out with Dennis Hopper when some f***ing crazy b**** came in and asked for his autograph...I told her to get the f*** outta there".

Anyway, this is the ONLY aspect of the city that I don't like. I hate to say it but, they make me feel uncomfortable and there is very little I can do about it...actually nothing.

The Ellis street hostel is the much nicer one of the two. It is in right dead smack in the middle of the homeless community (as I've already said) but we've been learning how to get there without passing them too often.

Getting to Haight and Ashbury consisted of jumping onboard a Muni- like a bus attached to cables- and going up ridiculously angled hills. Looking out the window I realised a distinct transformation, not only in the stores, the style of the place, but also the people. They were actually smiling. The Haight was filled with so many little Tibetan stores billowing incense, huge smoke stores filled to the brim with all kinds of pipes, bongs and Haight and Ashbury shot glasses for us tourists. But some of the most interesting places were the genuine vintage stores which had truly beautiful dresses from as far back as the 20's. I found the most gorgeous material one piece which was bright green that I was so tempted to buy. If it had been $30 less I would have walked out a happy girl with a useless piece of swimwear. Another notable store was very hipster indeed. It had intertwined taxidermy, jewelry and art to create one of the creepiest design stores I've been in.

Besides the complete relaxing atmosphere of the place Sam and I fell in love with the terrace houses. These gorgeously decorated and well maintained homes really portrayed the love in the air and how much people in the area actually cared about their homes.

Think Surry Hills or Woolhara, but brightly coloured and copious in it's various styles.

We strolled downwards, thinking we may just casually check out the neighbourhood and all it had to offer, non tourist style. "Let's check out The Castro" Sam stated and we headed in the direction of what seemed to correct.

We've learnt over the past few days the secret and best way not to stick out as tourists, even if you're lost. The San Francisco Muni rail map also effectively serves as a street map. It saves us from pulling out the ol' guide that the hostel people had given us and basically screaming "We're lost, foreign and helpless if you decide to take our money!!"

It was so liberating to see all the rainbow flags strewn along the roads, all the little rainbow flags in the shop windows and especially all the happy smiling men holding hands. Just knowing that the place I was walking along was so rich with history and human accomplishment gave me delight and a slight sense of hope for the rest of the world. I hate to sound like the cynical pessimist that most of you know me as but t was being in a place like this that helped me re-confirm to myself that sometimes dreams can come true. That with enough effort and enough persistence we are able to change the world.

We encountered the steepest and longest hill I have ever met with and was somehow able to climb it and grasp a better view of the days of Milk and what everyone did to transform The Castro into what it is now recognized for. ***

This side of San Francisco is most definitively different to the area we are living in. Sam and I both came to the conclusion that we definitely would not mind living there.

We had not known that we would be finding ourselves in one of the most gorgeous little Valleys in San Francsico. The houses kept making us more and more envious. Noe Valley is indeed 'Yes Valley', the perfect place to have a little coffee break.

Though it was only a small stop off before we headed to 826 Valencia Street we knew we would be back there soon. As we kept walking the sunshine began to fade and sounds became louder. Without even noticing what had happened we'd found Valencia street. ***826 Valencia street is a pirate store disguised as a learning centre for under-privileged children from the 'Mission District' just a block away. But all I saw was a pirates supply store so, obviously, Sams' idol, Dave Eggers, had let her down. There were no signs of any children and when Sam was looking at a row of what appeared to be book the store lady pulled a rope which released a bucket of rope on her head, in effect distracting her from the purpose they supposedly promote... reading. But in all seriousness, everything they do is amazing.

The Mission District was a huge epiphanal moment for me. There was a significant difference in two streets. First of all there was double the ethnicity, quarter caucasian and the rest African american and Latino. I enjoyed the liveliness and buzz, music drifting across the market stalls into my welcome ears. There was an overall brightness and intensity to the neighbourhood. But, and I hate to say that word, when I looked closer no one was enjoying it. As opposed to the homeless people near the hostel these people were yelling, not at all attempting to withhold any of their ramblings. I felt that we should probably leave. The Mission District was alive, intense and loud but yes, a little too much out of our comfort zone.

Back to Valencia, it seems that it is the Newtown of San Francisco with the Mission District being Redfern. Though they aren't similar at all they are incredible parallels. Hipsterville to the 'T'.

Embraced by the warmth and diversity of flags of the hostel we stumbled into our room to discover that... we had our own bathroom!! But ALAS! no power points... But it's okay, apparently that was what the loungeroom was for. And it was probably time for us to be a little more social...especially with so many cute French boys around ;)

We packed out, updated on Facebook and promptly fell asleep.