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My Visit To
San Francisco
California
U.S.A.
2024

Date:	Destination:	Lunch Host:	Comment:	Logo:
24th Jan.	AirBnB Hunter's Pt.	-	Disembarkation Day
25th Jan.	City Centre	-	Sightseeing
26th Jan.	City Centre	Andrew Whalley	Botanic Garden Rooftop Garden
27th Jan.	Mountain View	Stewart Tansley	FaceBook & Apple HQs
28th Jan.	Golden Gate Park	-	Lindy Hop Dance Class
29th Jan.	Univ. of Cal. Berkeley	-	Campanile & Botanic Garden
30th Jan.	Stanford University	Sue Bennett	Allied Arts Guild & Campus Tour
31st Jan.	San Fran. Int. Airport	-	Red Eye Flight Home
Date:	Destination:	Lunch Host:	Comment:	Logo:

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Disembarkation Day
San Francisco, California, USA
Wednesday the 24th of January 2024

   I awoke two minutes before my alarm at 6:30 ready for my final full English breakfast in La Verandah. I vacated my suite at eight o'clock. Sitting in the Observation lounge, my blue tag was called forward at 8:30. At the gangway I said goodbye to the lovely social hostess Claire Fear.

   I walked from the old cruise terminal passed the new cruise terminal. I bore right into Battery Street and then right again into Washington Street. Unfortunately the Rose Pak Metro station in Chinatown was closed because of a power failure. I spent two dollars on the alternative trolley bus, which took me to the CalTrain depot, which was actually the mainline railway terminus in San Francisco. Here they told me to buy a MUNI(cipal) Metro seven day pass for $44 from the Walgreens supermarket next door. This covers the cable cars as well as the light rail Metro trams, which would normally be eight dollars a ride. What I didn't know was that I should have asked for a seniors' Clipper card, not an adult one.

   I caught the T line tram going all the way south to Sunnydale. I then doubled back to Williams Avenue, where my AirBnB is located (£318.62 = £45 per day). Here I had a cheeseburger in McDonalds for lunch and used their free wi-fi to find out that my room was now ready. Here I slept for one hour, before walking out to the nearby bayside.

   Back at the Williams Avenue tram stop, I caught the next one going back north to the city centre. I alighted at Union Square, before catching a vintage cable car going up over the steep hills. At the Fishermen's Wharf, I had to stand in line and wait a bit for another car going back. I then retraced my ride on the T line back to Williams Avenue. Here I bought a frozen macaroni cheese ready meal ($4.29) to microwave in my AirBnB. I spent the evening working on my laptop and watching TV. During the day I had done fifteen thousand steps equal to six miles of walking.

San Francisco, California, USA
Thursday the 25th of January 2024

   I had a three dollar sausage burrito in the local McDonalds for breakfast, before catching the T line light rail tram northwards. At Powell street station I transferred on to the vintage cable car to go to Fishermen's Wharf. I then walked west to the Art Deco Maritime Museum, which had free admission. I noticed that the cafeteria at one end of the building was serving lunch from 11:30 to 12:30. I continued via the Fort Mason park to the yacht marina, where I turned around, before doubling back.

   Back at the museum, I had the two dollar Seniors' lunch of chilli sin carne, rice, diced sweet potato and salad to eat. I had a small carton of orange juice and one of milk to drink. I then caught the veteran cable car just half way, to alight at the Cable Car museum, which had free admission. This was a fascinating place, but very noisy. I then walked a few blocks to see Grace Cathedral on Nob Hill, but declined to pay to go in.

   From here I caught the California Street cable car eastbound to the Embarkation Ferry Terminal (Embarcadero). I then walked south along the promenade to view the magnificent multi-spanned Bay bridge. This has two decks of highway, but no footway or cycle track.

   I then went passed the Oracle Park baseball stadium to get to the CalTrain Depot, which isn't a depot, but is San Francisco's only mainline railway station. From here I caught the T line tram south to the Williams Avenue stop near where I was staying. In the Walgreens supermarket here, I bought a one US gallon flask of semi-skimmed milk for $4.79 (£3.78), which lasted me all week. (The US gallon is smaller than the Imperial gallon, as they have sixteen fluid ounces to their pint, whereas we have twenty to our pint!) During the day I had done over twenty seven thousand steps equal to nearly eleven miles of walking.

San Francisco, California, USA
Friday the 26th of January 2024

   I caught the T line tram going north and then the N line one going west to Ocean Beach. Unfortunately as we came out of the west portal of the old tunnel under Buena Vista park it broke down. We were let off and I walked to the south east corner of the huge Golden Gate Park, which is not near the Golden Gate Bridge. I managed to reach the fabulous Botanical Garden, before the nine o'clock introduction of admission charges.

   Back on the N line tram, I travelled east to the city centre. Here I explored the enormous Salesforce Transit Centre bus station, the size of four and a half American football pitches, which was nearly devoid of buses. On the top floor was an impressive free garden with various sections reflecting the six Mediterranean climate areas of the world and some sub-tropical ones too. I had to take the elevator back down to the ground floor (US first floor), to catch the free one way aerial tram gondola back up to the top deck garden, as it is one way up only.

   At noon I went to the Google building opposite the ferry terminal for lunch with one of my former students, Andrew Whalley ex Cranfield University originally from Belfast. He works on the security of the Google Chrome web browser, but I use FireFox instead! I had two pieces of the deep pan pizza, a filled roll and some salad to eat in their cafeteria. I had one can of root beer to drink. The Google work force was very young! Andrew took pictures of me sat in their Back to the Future de Lorean sports car, which was originally built in Belfast. He had to attend a meeting at 1:15 so we said our goodbyes.

   Outside the Google building, I caught the California Street cable car going west and then a MUNI(cipal) bus going south to Valencia street, near where Andrew has an apartment. I then walked to Dolores Park for panoramic views of the city centre's skyscrapers. I declined to go in the old Mission Dolores church and continued walking to the Castro LGBTQ+ district. Here I went in the public library which had a display on the life of Harvey Milk, the gay mayor of Castro street who was assassinated. I then caught the MUNI(cipal) metro trams back to Williams Avenue. Here I bought a square pizza for $5.29 to microwave back in my digs for dinner. During the day I had done twenty five thousand steps, equal to ten miles of walking.

Mountain View, Silicon Valley, California, USA
Saturday the 27th of January 2024

   I took the T line tram north to get to the CalTrain station, but the machine didn't print my ticket. I called the supervisor over and we tried again whereupon TWO tickets were ejected. She said I would have to phone somewhere to get a refund. On the train the conductor said he could issue me with a refund, but I said I would forego the eight dollars (£6.51).

   I alighted at Mountain View station to explore Castro street, the main drag. I went in the large Cultural Centre and the local Library. At noon I met up with another one of my former students, Dr Stewart Tansley ex Leicester University, who arrived in his red Tesla eletric car. He drove me to the nearby Computer History museum where, as a member, he got us in for free. Here I had a pepperoni flatbread and he had a tuna salad to eat and I had a cappucino to drink. There were lots of interesting exhibits taking me back to my punched cards days. The best bits were the stories about the Silicon Valley pioneers like Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs with their earliest creations.

   Stewart then took me on a drive around the plate glass computer company headquarters including FaceBoook and Apple. The latter was the huge circular building designed by English architect Norman Foster. We skirted San Jose, before returning to the Mountain View station, where I took the CalTrain back to San Fran. I had another square pizza to microwave back in my digs for dinner. During the day I had done twelve thousand steps, equal to five miles of walking.

San Francisco, California, USA
Sunday the 28th of January 2024

Martin P. Lee at the Ocean Beach, San Francisco, California, USA

   As previously I caught the T line and the N line trams, this time getting all the way to Ocean Beach on the Pacific Ocean. I walked north along the promenade to get to the south west corner of the huge Golden Gate Park, which is not near the Golden Gate Bridge. I photographed the two Dutch windmills in the two seaward corners of the park, but gave the vintage car parade on the prom a miss. The park's visitor centre was unmanned, but I had bought the long map at the Botanical Gardens previously. I photographed the American Bison (Buffaloes) as I walked almost the entire length of the extensive park.

   At the de Young museum I declined to pay to go into the art gallery, but did ascend the free observation tower. This had fabulous views in all directions, but the Golden Gate bridge was hidden by the Presidio hill. Outside at noon I attended the free Lindy Hop dance class on the pavement. A couple taught a side-by-side Charleston step with kicks on beats 3, 5 and 7. Then they taught opening out with the leader's arms alternating around the follower's waist. The followers were moved on every few minutes.

   After twenty five minutes the class finished and I relaxed in a deck chair, whilst the dancing in the warm sunshine continued. Across the square I bought a large, soft pretzel with cheese dip (£3.55), but foolishly had the extra salt crystals, which made me thirsty. I got as far as the flower conservatory, before catching the free shuttle bus back along the park. Unfortunately this only went half way, so I had to walk south to find the N line tramway to get home.

   Back at the AirBnB, I had my afternoon coffee, before heading back out a few stops north to the Subway sandwich bar. Here I had a foot long Beast submarine roll with ham, beef, turkey, salami and pepperoni slices, together with all the salads, bar the jalapeno chillies. This monster cost $16 (£12.62) , so I ate half in the bar and took half back to my digs. During the day I had done nearly twenty four thousand steps, nearly equal to ten miles of walking.

Berkeley, California, USA
Monday the 29th of January 2024

   I had the $3 sausage McMuffin for breakfast, before taking the T and N trams into town. At the Embarkation station (Embarcadero) I loaded five dollars on to my Clipper card to pay for the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) ride under the bay. On the other side at West Oakland I had to change trains for the Richmond branch to get to Berkeley.

   At the University of California (a public college) campus, an administrator took me into his building to use the toilets (rest room). I paid $4 (£3.16) to ascend the tall campanile bell tower modelled on St Mark's in Venice. Here there were fabulous views, but there was heat haze over the bay, so that San Francisco and the Golden Gate bridge were very faint.

   Curiously the visitor centre was at the top end of the campus and they were unsure about the whereabouts of the botanical garden. I walked up the so-called canyon behind the huge football stadium, but it was getting awfully hot, so I started hitch hiking. The second car to pass stopped to give me a lift about one mile up the valley. I paid $12 to go in the beautiful botanical gardens, which covered all six Mediterranean climate areas of the globe, plus some semi-arid regions. I caught the campus shuttle bus back down the valley, which the visitor centre should have told me about beforehand. In the life sciences building, I photographed the famous T Rex and Triceratop dinosaurs.

   Back in downtown Berkeley, I caught the BART back to the Embarkation station. I rode on one of the vintage trolley buses for the first and only time to get back to Fishermen's Wharf. Here I paid $16.28 (£12.86) for the New England clam chowder thick soup served in a sourdough loaf at the Codmother stall. I had to queue for the second time for the vintage cable car back to Union Square and the new T line tram back home. During the day I had done twenty one thousand steps, equal to over eight miles of walking.

Stanford, California, USA
Tuesday the 29th of January 2024

   I took the T line tram as usual to the CalTrain station ('The Depot') and managed to catch the fast train south (£2.96). I got to Menlo Park at ten o'clock and explored the main drag. Burgess Park was pretty with several civic buildings, but the library didn't open until noon.

   Sue Bennett, who I had met on a Crystal cruise up the Amazon back in 2018, drove up in her grey Mercedes SUV. She took me to the delightful Allied Arts Guild which was a complex of craft workshops, gardens and Spanish style buildings. We had a look in various workshops, before sitting at a table by the lawn for lunch. I had two eggs Benedict, my favourite, with crab meat, bacon, avocado and diced sweet potato. She had the chicken salad with a doggie box and not a doggie bag to take home. I had a double cappucino to finish. Sue insisted on paying for the lovely al fresco meal.

   After lunch we visited the Arizona cactus garden north of the Stanford University campus, which she had not seen before. Next came the Rodin sculpture park including the famous Gates of Hell with the Thinker at the top. The most famous Burghers of Calais (Les Bourgeoises de Calais) was not here, but we saw it later elsewhere. They had split up the six merchants, who were offering their lives to the English to save their town, so that the Stanford students could study each figure in the round. The original tight grouping is of course in Calais and the famous copy is in Westminster Gardens by the river Thames in London.

   Next came the Papua New Guinea sculpture park with various totem-like poles and animals. The centre piece of the Stanford campus, which is a private university, was the impressive Memorial church, with a magnificent organ and brilliant stained glass windows, flooded with the bright sunlight. In front of the central church was the main quad, surrounded by Spanish style arcades, like a Plaza Major. Sue dropped me back at Menlo Park station and I didn't have to wait long for the CalTrain back to San Fran (£2.97). During the day I had done nearly sixteen thousand steps, equal to over six miles of walking.

Wednesday the 31st of January 2024
San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
to London HeathRow (LHR)

   I got up just after seven o'clock ready for my mug of coffee from the capsule machine. I said goodbye to AirBnB co-host Christopher, who was already cleaning up in the communal kitchen, at eight o'clock. At McDonalds I had my usual sausage and cheese McMuffin breakfast for three dollars (£2.37).

   I then caught the T line light rail tram going north, but my seven day Clipper card had expired. Having bought it at 10:30 on the previous Wednesday, I assumed it would be good until 10:30 that morrning. I alighted at Union Square station and used the passageway to reach the Powell street station. Here I had to load eleven dollars (£8.70) onto the nearly empty Clipper card.

   I then took the elevator down to the BART platform on the lower level. Here there was just one entry gate and it was in pieces. The technician let me through, but without me being able to tap on.

   I had to wait just four minutes for the next train to San Francisco International Airport (SFO). The moving map on the train showed us going straight through to Millbrae terminus, but that wasn't the case as we called at SFO BART station first. Here I was unable to get through the gates as I hadn't tapped on to the system at Powell street station. The supervisor let me through, but wasn't able to cash my Clipper card in.

   The British Airways desk was not due to open until 12:45, so I found some power sockets to charge my smart phone and update this blog. When check-in opened I only had to wait two minutes to be processed. The assistant said that I was on the top deck of an A380 double decker with three seats to myself! I bought a large portion of chips from Wendy's restaurant (£4.40) and drank my Brita filtered water from the AirBnB.

   I then went joy riding on the airtrain to the off site parking lots. There was a good view of the runway, but it was raining heavily. Emigration and security took ten minutes and then I was able to walk out to gate A11 at the far end of the International terminal. Here at 2:15 the BA A380 was just arriving, so it was looking good for departing later that afternoon. I finally found a not totally reliable power outlet for my laptop and smart phone.

   Boarding was painless, as the aircraft was less than one third full, as was the later one from SFO to LHR that evening. This explains why it only cost RSSC $372 going home, whereas it had cost $524 coming out. I was on the lower deck, but surrounded by empty seats. I am glad I am not a shareholder of British Airways! We pulled back on time, but had to queue on the taxiway.

   We took off at five o'clock, half an hour late. At the first passage of the drinks trolley, I got TWO bottles of the white wine and a glass of the sparkling water. When the meal trolley arrived at six o'clock, I had the tasty Tandoori chicken with rice in preference to the vegetarian offering. I enjoyed the the fresh bread roll for a change with the Cheddar cheese. I finished with the blueberry cheesecake.

   At the final drinks round, I got a decaff coffee. After the meal, I worked on this blog until my laptop was running out of juice and I felt sleepy. I slept over three seats for half an hour, but it was uncomfortable. I started watching the Love Actually movie, but I had trouble with the sound and following the various plots. I then noticed four empty seats in a central row, so I was able to stretch out and sleep for another hour. I was awoken as the lights were switched back on ready to serve a hot English breakfast. I had two cups of tea to drink.

   We landed a few minutes early, after a ten hour flight, at the T5C satellite. I caught the transit train to T5A and whizzed through immigration. However the bags took a while to appear. I took the Piccadilly line train one stop to the central terminals, where I bought a National Express coach ticket (£34.50). I boarded at 12:45 and got to BoMoH just before three and home by taxi soon after.

   Dr Stewart Tansley wrote:

"It was my pleasure today to show one of my Leicester professors, Martin Peter Lee, some local big tech sights (Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, Adobe), and the Computer History Museum at Mountain View. Martin is the person that first showed me a Mac, back at Leicester. Thank you for visiting today, Martin!"

   I had had a fabulous week in wonderful San Francisco, especially meeting my three generous lunch hosts!