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Old 18 Jul 14, 08:40 AM  
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In the footsteps of Lewis & Clark - Day 9

DAY 9 – Oh! What a Gay day!

Sunday 29th June, 2014

Sunday morning. Chance of a lie in and a bit of news and weather on the telly. NO CHANCE!

Today is Gay Pride in San Francisco. Over a million people are expected. Now, seriously, when we arranged and booked this holiday we had no idea. I promise you. It was only when two weeks prior to leaving for this holiday that a friend said you do realise the 29th is Gay Pride – and so it is. The rainbow flags are everywhere even in the department stores. Macy's have particularly gone to town. The pink dollar generates quite a bit in shops and restaurants around the nation.

Up on one of the hills between Twin Peaks they have created a massive pink triangle and this features the following day in the newspapers:



We watch on TV as they prepare the floats and explain the route whilst we get shots taken from a helicopter of the triangle. The Pink Triangle was a badge used by Nazi Germany to identify homosexuals in the concentration camps just as Jewish people would be made to wear a yellow star. The massive one created on the hill is a sign of our past oppression by society and a kind of kick back too. OK, I promise not to get political.

The parade is due to start on Market Street at 10:30a.m. We have a quick breakfast and then head down two blocks and cross Market near the Nordstrom Mall (now owned by Westfield). This side of the street is in shade and with the sun burn we already have we don’t need any more UV. We find as pitch by a barrier and sit on the kerb to await the unfolding celebration. Thousands and thousands line the street – way more than you would ever get at London Pride. When it all starts we have a drumming band across the street near the cable car turnaround table. It proceeds with bikers – mainly lesbians and its like a Harley Davidson convention. Where do they find the money? It must last 20 minutes or so as they roar by.



This is followed by Gay bikers coalition, various politicians on the assembly, the Mayor of San Francisco himself, Edwin Lee, the first Chinese American ever to be elected to the post and who totally supports Gay rights.



Then come the Gay police and Firefighter Groups and they are supported by their straight colleagues - just totally amazing.
As Apple employees go by the crowd raise the roof. They hand out cards to the crowds good for free song downloads from the itune shop. The parade continues with many college and school support groups, family support, HIV organisations etc. etc.

The rainbow fllag colours are formed by individuals wearing long balloons a la Sonic the hedgehog and from the distance this is an astonishing sight.



One observation - they don't provide portaloos at this event so those in need head for the public toilets in Nordstrom. The lines are unbelievable even for the gents. The security were not to pleased but what else were we to do?

It is just such a great carnival atmosphere:



When I tell you we left our spot at 1 o’clock the parade was still passing by with more to come. It eventually finished around 3:30 p.m. – a five hour parade, the like Darrin and I have never witnessed before. We want to go shopping and also have lunch.

We head to Macy’s where their Burger Bar is up on the top floor. It has full length windows so Darrin doesn’t sit right next to them. From here you can get amazing photos of Union Square.



Just to the right of the 12 foot bronze of "Victory" atop of her 83 foot high column i sthe white fronted building with six windows. This is the Flagship store of Williams Sonoma, the cookshop people. Again, for us, it's another Mecca. We also have instructions to get tea towels for our Sister In law as she loved ours so much. Anyhow, back to lunch. Darrin has a "naked" burger - no bun - witha ton of onion rings:



I have a cheeseburger:



We share a dessert:



Union Square got its name because it was once used for rallies and support for the Union Army during the American Civil War, earning its designation as a California Historical Landmark. The area is said to be the 3rd largest shopiing area in all of the USA. Bring it on!

We now purchase some shirts and tops in Macy’s store and get 20% and 25% off items because they are in their 4th July sale mode. Way better than the tourist discount. Next call is Barney’s but with socks at $60 a pair we give it a miss.

Next on the list is the Disney Store. I go here because they do unique San Francisco stuff for that particular store only. I get T shirts (only $19.99 each) and a Vinylmation – SF themed of course.




We get chatting to Alli – the manager and Becky and Persefini.

Alli:



Lovely ladies and they laugh when I tell them my Disney alter ego is Maleficent.They get Darrin and I to take a Trivia challenge on the big screen they have upstairs:



Naturally we score 5 out of 5!They seem quite impressed with us. And the questions weren't exactly easy. What creatures follow the giraffes in the opening of The Lion King when they are singing the Circle of Life? No cheating now!

It's ants!

Time to move on. Williams Sonoma, who I mentioned above, is a chain selling kitchenware, dining furniture, cake mixes, appliances, syrup, jams………………………. This is a cook-shop on steroids! (Darrin's description.) This is their main branch in the USA.




We get the aforementioned tea towels but also get an apron to go with them. I’m also searching for japaleno cornbread mix but they no longer sell it. Boo Hoo – it was delicious. The afternoon is hot and that sun is still beating down and as our legs are tired from the standing for 3 hours on Market Street to the hoofing around the shops we head back to the hotel for a soak and a rest. It’s wine tasting again at 5p.m. in the lounge and we make it down there around 5:15.



We sit on a sofa quaffing the Chardonnay and get chatting to a delightful lady called Louise who is from Ohio. She is on a business trip she is the absolute double of Ellen Degeneres – even her voice. She remarks that she has been told that quite a few times. We stay nattering and quaffing for a good hour or so and exchange business cards.

Time to get ready for dinner. The restaurant at the hotel is closed this evening – they are working up to a complete refurb/ change of use. We ask the bell hop if there is anything he would recommend. San Francisco has way too many Italian restaurants and we’d like something a little different.

Beden Place has several eateries in what is a side road just off Market Street. Italian, Mexican etc but Plouf (it means Plonk in French) is our choice and a darn good choice too. The evening is reasonably balmy so we sit outside.



Darrin starts with a Carpaccio of beef (thinly sliced and raw) with grated lemon zest and horseradish.



He follows this with mussels in a coconut broth with lime and coriander:



I have Bouillabaisse which is a traditional Provençal fish stew which originated in Marseille. The broth is like hot passata with a complex spicy background.



For dessert, Darrin chooses profiteroles which are the size of small oranges:



I elect for Pear “Belle Helene”.



Out of focus - sorry.

Wines was Vouvray for me and Sauvignon Blanc for Dar.


Totally full, we stagger back five blocks to our Hotel for a good night’s sleep.

Car not used today.

trip report INDEX: http://DIBB.in/9823405

Edited at 09:54 AM.
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Old 19 Jul 14, 04:48 PM  
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To all who may have looked at above post today - apologies. One of our servers went down this morning (network fault) and so images were not available. It has taken Vodaphone most of the day to fix the problem !
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Old 19 Jul 14, 06:06 PM  
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That William Sonoma is massive...another good day. Love the Vinylmation.

My phone (Vodafone) never had any network yesterday.
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Old 19 Jul 14, 06:08 PM  
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Seems Vodaphone were affected by the storms. Back to normal now though.
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Old 20 Jul 14, 05:19 PM  
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Great day and lovely photos, the food all looks so good. Pussycat
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Old 22 Jul 14, 12:03 PM  
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Williams Sonoma was our favourite shop in NY! Great to know there is a big one in San Fran!
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Old 22 Jul 14, 12:25 PM  
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Originally Posted by abiknox View Post
Williams Sonoma was our favourite shop in NY! Great to know there is a big one in San Fran!
I love the way on every visit they say: We can ship to the UK!
Yes, of course they can but the shipping will be horrendous and then there will be Customs dues on top and the courier handling fee. Wouldn't it just be easier if they opened a branch in the UK?
I love their baking mixes - so inventive and way superior to the ones you get in supermarkets here.
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Old 29 Jul 14, 02:37 PM  
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That was some parade! Quite a long one too by the sound of it. The lunch looks nice (made me hungry now)! I love the fact that the San Fran Disney Store does specifically themed to San Fran! Brilliant!
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Old 1 Aug 14, 12:29 PM  
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I can't wait to do some serious shopping in Union Square!
Great day!
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Old 30 Aug 14, 03:22 PM  
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Loving all the food pics, even though I don't eat fish it all looks lovely My dd loves that vinylmation, will have to add it to our places to visit when we eventually take a trip to the west coast, just to pick one up
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