San Francisco

City Hall lit up at night and there seemed to be some festive celebrations going on inside with these toy soldiers greeting visitors.

The Palace of Legion of Honour is a smaller model of a building with the same name in Paris and hosts a display of European art including a large collection of Auguste Rodin sculptures which I love.

The most popular exhibition at the Palace of Legion of Honour is Irethorrou who's was an Egyptian priest who died over 2,500 years ago. A recent CT scan has provided researchers with some amazing information about this mummy who was found in a cemetery in Akhmim: he was 5'4, 35-45, perfect teeth, no broken bones, though most of his organs were removed and dried and returned to his body cavity in packets his heart was left in place for religious purposes. The cause of death is thought to be an infectious disease though this has not been confirmed. A model of both Irethorrou and his fathers faces based on these scans found a strong family resemblance.

Views over SF Bay from outside the museum.

My next stop was the De Young Museum which has a huge collection of art from different all over the world from African face tribal masks to modern glass art. The Cathedral made of bullets and gun parts by Al Farrow seemed to cause a bit of discussion!!

Sunset at Ocean Beach.

SF was a pretty city to wander around both during the day and in the evening when it lights up.

You u can watch the cakes and buns being made at Boudins Bakery.

Couldn't believe there were people swimming in the water at Fisherman's Wharf it was so cold!!

The historic boats at Fishermans Wharf.

Wonder if they sell Martini's shaken of course!!

Standing room only on this tram.

Some more street art.

Coit Tower on Telegraph hill gives impressive views over the city and inside the foyer is one huge mural by the Mexican artist Diego Rivera.

Lombard Street is another big tourist attraction - due to the steep hill this street runs along the planners put in 45degree hairpin turns. Now it is a place for tourists to drive down or if like me you don't have a car it is still worth going along to see what is thought to be the world's most crooked street!

The view back to Coit Tower from the top of Lombard Street.

Just in case you needed any encouragement!!

The SOMA district was another nice part of the city to have a wander around full of galleries and museums.

My very empty flight to Washington.

I got lucky with the weather again on my flgiht and had some beautiful views as I flew East. During my visits to the USA I have pretty much always stuck to cities as without your own transport it is hard to get anywhere else but the views from this flight just reinforced my desire to come back here sometime and do a roadtrip to the more remote wilderness areas.

If you hadn't guesses I loved San Francisco there is something here for everyone: museums, neighbourhoods full of character, alternative lifestyles, beautiful beaches & walks, the fun and quirky side of life - definetely somewhere I will be coming back to.

I have to thank Caroline & Gary, friends I met on holiday a few years ago, who kindly put me up for my stay in SF even though they were busy with work. It was nice to see them and get some inside info about the city and I also manage to catch up with a few other people I had met earlier on my travels.

I still have my last couple of stops to cover on my blog before I tell you about my homecoming so another update will follow soon.

Bye for now.

Jack xx