San Francisco and then home...

We arrived in San Francisco straight into the "Black Friday" (post-Thanksgiving) shopping frenzy - apparently the biggest shopping day of the year with all the shops doing sales. Also happening was the lighting of the massive Xmas tree in Union Square outside our hotel, and a very vocal Occupy San Francisco protest outside Macy's. There were hundreds of police on foot, bike, motorbike and horseback.
 It took us an hour to drive around the block to get to the hotel. The Ford Fusion was telling us we were running out of petrol (sorry, gas in US).  We were very happy to unload, and drop the car back to the car rental. So all go.

That night was very rowdy.  The sales are huge. There have shootings, fights and trampling around the country. The occupy group are a bit of colour and fun.  They had a full band playing, lots of dress-ups, sit-downs in the street with joints being passed around, masses of police on foot, mountain bikes, motor bikes, cars and horses. The SFPD seem to have a hierarchy, with the guys on foot, then on mountain bikes, then horses, then Suzuki trail bikes, then Harley Davidson’s, then Black and White cars, then plain cars. All armed with batons, Tazers and Glocks. They certainly out-numbered the Occupy people, No troubles arose, and it was all happy and peaceful.  There was the festive atmosphere with the Christmas lights and ice skating in Union Square.

We did a bit of bargain-hunting in the sales, before being complete tourists on Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge.  We biked across the bridge to Sausalito and caught the ferry back to Market Street SF.

On our last morning we had coffee with Rob Rowlands, who has lived here for 22 years. He introduced us to the Francesca Woodman photographic exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art. Some weird stuff, very introverted and a little depressing, but fascinating.

After 3 months, we are pleased to be on our way home.  We won’t miss the crowds, the armed police, the tipping, and the extra little taxes on everything you buy. We’ll appreciate more our smog-free views, our closeness to work, our holidays and our freedom.

The festive season is coming up and we are looking forward to some summer weather and catching up with family and friends.  Hopefully we’ll also get time to get fit, enjoy the outdoors, and prepare for 2012.

Thanks to all of you for reading the blog. If you have got this far you have stamina!  Thanks especially to those who you who have had us to stay, as seeing how and where our friends from overseas live has been a highlight of our trip.

We shouldn’t take NZ for granted; there is no better place to live.

Nick and Dara

Click here to see photos of San Francisco