San Francisco spirit.
Yes, I woke up early. We walked to Fisherman's Wharf at Pier 39 (me with my boots, and I'd already been walking in them all of yesterday) - Lokesh, Nandita, Sanjay and I. I was starving by the time we got there, and I kept insisting on food first :P Typical, I know. So we ate some good, filling California breakfast at and once I was full and happy, I started chattering more. We walked around the place and looked at all the cool stores there. Very souvenir-ish stores, but one that caught my eye. It was called the 'Lefty's store' or something like that, with things designed for left-handed folk, and I thought of Anishaa and walked in there. It was a big disappointment, everything was pink to begin with, and the store itself just had stuff that could be used by "right-handed people" packed in reverse. Pooh. Anyway.
We walked on, and I saw gulls flying around and screaming, which made me think of the "Mine, Mine, Mine" gulls in Finding Nemo :) And then there was a very different sound. A shrill grunt, is how I can think of describing it, although that might me hard to imagine. And we came upon sea lions. Massive ones, lying on the dock, occasionally raising their heads to make that indescribable sound. Funny creatures. Took lots of pictures - of them scratching, moving their heads, flopped down on the dock as if they're the laziest creatures on earth (no match for some boys though) :P and well, not so entertaining after a while... so we walked on.
We took a cab because we thought it might be too long a walk back to Saikat's apartment (I think it was about 1.5 miles) and I didn't want to walk in my boots plus Sanjay had to get back somewhere quickly. A cab it was.
The cab guy was entertaining (?) in a way. As soon as we got in he started telling us about how he'd got into this fight, and pointing at what possibly were bruises on his face, and boasting about kicking the other guy's arse and saying he didn't start the fight, and saying that he was pissed off when the guy he fought with made a move at some chick, and then he went on to say how much he hates San Francisco, and how the parade is just an excuse to do whatever the hell you want, and here people get away with murder. We really wanted him to shut up, as you can imagine. :D
He dropped Lokesh off at Union Square, and then dropped us off at a corner saying he can't go further because of the parade. He was so right.
Lots of noise greeted us when we got out of the cab. Cheering, screaming, absolute high enthusiasm and lots of energy. Market street was ALIVE with people. It was an enthralling experience. I've never seen anything like it in my life! We walked along the road trying to cross it, but it was so packed that we couldn't... so we (after a lot of efforts trying to cross the road with me clicking away to glory) stayed put in one spot. And man, that road was FILLED with people dressed in bright, colours, dressed very oddly, dressed super skimpily... and get this... not dressed at all. Frankly, the first thing I thought of was - "ohhh man! This is how California must have been in the 60s and 70s" and I was so thrilled by that fact! :) I was taking a lot of pictures and drinking in the sights and sounds... part of it in soul and in physical presence but not really part of it literally. Painted bodies, bright feathers, rainbow colours, lots of cheering, laughing and.... my gosh, so many emotions rolled into that one crowd. I missed some people terribly, and ...deeply. I knew they'd have loved being there and experiencing that.
Gapa joined us there, at the tail end of the parade, and then the parade was over. And we were hungry. So we walked to the Cheesecake factory, where we ate really GREAT food, and then Ashlene and I shopped for a little bit until Nandita and Saikat got their stuff from Saikat's corp apartment. I bought a few things, although not a pair of regular open-toed slippers that I had intended to buy to feel more at ease, and my feet were screaming at me :| Silly me! Then we went to the Caltrain station and hopped on the train back home.
Turns out the Caltrain station in Santa Clara is 8 miles from my house, so I called for a cab to take me back home. I got off at Rivermark, and bought some sushi to eat for dinner. I went back and fed Mr. Flambe, and then ate in my room because I didn't want to eat in front of him (that would've just been wrong even if he may have killed another fish that got in his bowl with him).
Amir came back from Seattle too, just then, so we chatted a bit over peppermint tea, and since he's going to be leaving this weekend (sad face) we decided to cook together tomorrow, and call a couple of people over. I'll make Indian food and he'll make Israeli food. Wheeeee! :)
Aaaaaaaaand after a long, tiring, but ultra cool weekend, mesleeps! :)
Yes, I woke up early. We walked to Fisherman's Wharf at Pier 39 (me with my boots, and I'd already been walking in them all of yesterday) - Lokesh, Nandita, Sanjay and I. I was starving by the time we got there, and I kept insisting on food first :P Typical, I know. So we ate some good, filling California breakfast at and once I was full and happy, I started chattering more. We walked around the place and looked at all the cool stores there. Very souvenir-ish stores, but one that caught my eye. It was called the 'Lefty's store' or something like that, with things designed for left-handed folk, and I thought of Anishaa and walked in there. It was a big disappointment, everything was pink to begin with, and the store itself just had stuff that could be used by "right-handed people" packed in reverse. Pooh. Anyway.
We walked on, and I saw gulls flying around and screaming, which made me think of the "Mine, Mine, Mine" gulls in Finding Nemo :) And then there was a very different sound. A shrill grunt, is how I can think of describing it, although that might me hard to imagine. And we came upon sea lions. Massive ones, lying on the dock, occasionally raising their heads to make that indescribable sound. Funny creatures. Took lots of pictures - of them scratching, moving their heads, flopped down on the dock as if they're the laziest creatures on earth (no match for some boys though) :P and well, not so entertaining after a while... so we walked on.
We took a cab because we thought it might be too long a walk back to Saikat's apartment (I think it was about 1.5 miles) and I didn't want to walk in my boots plus Sanjay had to get back somewhere quickly. A cab it was.
The cab guy was entertaining (?) in a way. As soon as we got in he started telling us about how he'd got into this fight, and pointing at what possibly were bruises on his face, and boasting about kicking the other guy's arse and saying he didn't start the fight, and saying that he was pissed off when the guy he fought with made a move at some chick, and then he went on to say how much he hates San Francisco, and how the parade is just an excuse to do whatever the hell you want, and here people get away with murder. We really wanted him to shut up, as you can imagine. :D
He dropped Lokesh off at Union Square, and then dropped us off at a corner saying he can't go further because of the parade. He was so right.
Lots of noise greeted us when we got out of the cab. Cheering, screaming, absolute high enthusiasm and lots of energy. Market street was ALIVE with people. It was an enthralling experience. I've never seen anything like it in my life! We walked along the road trying to cross it, but it was so packed that we couldn't... so we (after a lot of efforts trying to cross the road with me clicking away to glory) stayed put in one spot. And man, that road was FILLED with people dressed in bright, colours, dressed very oddly, dressed super skimpily... and get this... not dressed at all. Frankly, the first thing I thought of was - "ohhh man! This is how California must have been in the 60s and 70s" and I was so thrilled by that fact! :) I was taking a lot of pictures and drinking in the sights and sounds... part of it in soul and in physical presence but not really part of it literally. Painted bodies, bright feathers, rainbow colours, lots of cheering, laughing and.... my gosh, so many emotions rolled into that one crowd. I missed some people terribly, and ...deeply. I knew they'd have loved being there and experiencing that.
Gapa joined us there, at the tail end of the parade, and then the parade was over. And we were hungry. So we walked to the Cheesecake factory, where we ate really GREAT food, and then Ashlene and I shopped for a little bit until Nandita and Saikat got their stuff from Saikat's corp apartment. I bought a few things, although not a pair of regular open-toed slippers that I had intended to buy to feel more at ease, and my feet were screaming at me :| Silly me! Then we went to the Caltrain station and hopped on the train back home.
Turns out the Caltrain station in Santa Clara is 8 miles from my house, so I called for a cab to take me back home. I got off at Rivermark, and bought some sushi to eat for dinner. I went back and fed Mr. Flambe, and then ate in my room because I didn't want to eat in front of him (that would've just been wrong even if he may have killed another fish that got in his bowl with him).
Amir came back from Seattle too, just then, so we chatted a bit over peppermint tea, and since he's going to be leaving this weekend (sad face) we decided to cook together tomorrow, and call a couple of people over. I'll make Indian food and he'll make Israeli food. Wheeeee! :)
Aaaaaaaaand after a long, tiring, but ultra cool weekend, mesleeps! :)
No comments:
Post a Comment