A week in San Francisco - 6 Nov - 13th Nov 07

I never used to pay heed when John used to tell me that Southern California and Northern California are like too different states. I would go one further and state that its like being in two different countries.. in the South, people are more focused on silicone investing than investing in Silicon Valley. The common outfit for going out is a Juicy Couture velvety looking tracksuit, worn by young and old, with the word “Juicy” embroidered on the back seat of the trousers.. a lovely sight..























(photo taken by strange man walking by)

It was really refreshing to fly up to San Francisco for work and then get to spend a weekend out there.. John arrived on the Friday and we did a bit of touring – more like a trip down memory lane.. Its such a beautiful city – gives Cape Town a run for its money.. and I got my own back, by reminding John that the two cities look just so similar.














Firstly, as you know when I first arrived in America (the land of the free), we had the landslide, then it was the fires, thereafter in early November, San Francisco was hit by an earthquake. On the day I arrived in SF, a major oil spill occurred in the Bay, where more than 56 000 gallons (approx. 125 000 litres) of crude oil spilled into the Bay… Talk about natural disasters.. and its merely coincidental that all of this started upon my arrival… maybe its time to head back to Europe.. you can see a bit of the oil slick on the last photo.

We spent a lot of the weekend catching up with some of John’s friends and most of it great restaurants with his dad.. The best Korean in SF is at "Brothers" in Richmond.. People queue for up to 30 minutes for a table. Its one of the few places that uses coals (very environmentally friendly – not) for its grill.. So worth the visit sooner than later, as with the emphasis on climate change, it may not be around in its current form for long.

The best Chinese – I would say Taiwanese food is at a restaurant aptly named “Taiwan”. We eat a ton here (3of us) all for a mere $35. Not bad at all.

On a Saturday evening, we caught up with Allan Ngwata (a friend of mine from London) who just happened to be in SF for work. So we picked up one night and joined up with some old friends of John to go to a restaurant called “Spork”, where food is served with a utensil (that combines a fork with a spoon = spork – only in America). Not the best food I have ever eaten but good American fare..