The flight from Rio to Miami then to San Francisco was not nearly as bad as we were expecting. We landed back in the US around midday, after flying 8.30hrs to Miami, stopping for a couple of hours then flying 6 or so hours across the states. Such a huge country.
We got to our hotel around 1ish, the Hotel des Arts on Bush St in the French Quarter of downtown. It's right near the entry gates to Chinatown and a few blocks from Union Square - such a great location. The rooms are great too - they're each individually designed by an artist and the common hallways and lobby are filled with artworks - it's like staying in a gallery. Really cool!
In the afternoon we wandered the streets for a few hours, sussing out the town. Was a chilly sunny winters day in the City by the Bay. Nice though. Sim and I looked so out of place amongst the city peeps with their jumpers, jackets and scarfs - I was wearing shorts and thongs while sim had her pink pins!
The streets here are really cool - the city is very ornate and decorative. I kinda like how this part of town with it's triangular-shaped grid has its streets form wedges. Makes for some interesting triangle building corners and plaza spaces.
We wandered more, sussing out a cool paper/card store for Sim called Avant Card as well as some cool alleys and laneways decked out with chairs and bars. These were pretty cool / perhaps we can eat there tomorrow. We also discovered a frank Lloyd wright building right in the middle of town in Maidens Lane. Was pretty inconspicuous at first glance, however the thin bricks and mortar joints tweaked our attention. The inside was pretty cool too, with a Guggenheimesque spiral ramp and skylight. The building is now a gallery space.
We stopped in for a Thai lunch, as well as a really good coffee and cookie for afternoon tea, before heading back to the apartment fir a nap.
We woke up about 7:30, our bodies were still used to South American schedules, however the time zone changes meant we were exhausted. Simi dragged me up and out into town (I was struggling). We wandered up through China town. Was a really cool district, didn't seem kitch or contrived, rather it fitted into the fabric of the city quite well. The layers of colour and lights over the streets were really something, with lanterns, wires, and Chinese ornaments filling the streets. We were still looking for something to eat, before the tiredness got the better of me. We turned around after 20mins or so and went back home to bed. As you might imagine, I was pretty tired, I mean I even refused to do dinner!!!
Anyway - Looking forward to tomorrow!
- Blog from iMat
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