SAN FRANCISCO - ( PART 2 )

9th - 12th April 2011

Ancient San Francisco cable car

Continuing the 'Frisco frolic...I bet not many people know, as we on one of the buses now know, that up on Pacific Heights, above Fisherman's Wharf, where all the city's movers and shakers abide, is a very large mansion ( $35m value ) where, at the beginning of the 20th century, lived an extremely wealthy sugar magnate called Adolph Spreckels. He created a furore when he married a girl, Alma, who was 26 years his junior. It is where the term 'Sugar Daddy' comes from. Honestly!
Talking of nobs living on heights, another famous 'Frisco personality was Lilly Toit. She was wealthy, a real 'playgirl' and a great friend of the San Francisco Fire Department ( lucky she wasn't French or her name might have caused her embarrassment ). She died in 1935 and donated loads of money to the city. They built a large erection in her honour, known as the Toit Tower, on the top of Telegraph Hill. It is supposed to be in the shape of the end of a fireman's hose. No, don't laugh! Anyway, you can go up it and get some great views which, of course, I did.




Left: Toit Tower. The end of a fireman's hose. The statue beneath, looking suitably embarrassed, is of Christopher Columbus. It was a bloody long uphill walk to the top of Telegraph Hill on which it was erected. There were 'lovely' gardens surrounding it.















Right: View north-west over Fisherman's Wharf towards Alcatraz, Angel Island and Sausalito.













Left: View north-east towards the ferry buildings with the Bay Bridge in the background.

Right: View south over 'downtown' city centre. The Green Tortoise is just this side of the tall pointy building ( known as the Pyramid building ).

I found a most civilised watering hole 100yds from the GT called Cafe Zeotrope. It is owned and often frequented by the film director Francis Ford Cuppola. See, I have gone 'native' and started to quote 'celebrities'! I did not meet him there. The barman was, curiously, a Tottenham Hotspurs supporter.

The old street cable cars were quite interesting. They are between 80 and 110 years old and were going to be scrapped as ancient and uneconomic decades ago but, due to popular demand ( something not paid much attention to in totalitarian UK ), they have been kept going. They are crammed full with some passengers happily hanging off the outside rails. The old steam powered system was replaced by a powerful electric engine system in the 1960s, but the original cable and pulley layout and design was maintained.
They have a 'driver' and 'brakeman' ( sounds like a two-man bob ) and great strength is required to operate the enormous 'gripping' and 'brake' levers.




Left: The cable car driver operating his huge levers, sadly hidden. Strong guys.











Right: The public are allowed to go into the 'engine room' which incorporates a museum, and also view the vast driving pulley system through a glass window below ground. I think there are 4X550hp electric engines. It is a complex system which operates on several streets and around many corners. I couldn't fathom it out.

Left: The inside of one of these ancient vehicles.

















Right: This notice was nailed above the cable car ticket office. Sorry Kiwi! You'll have to walk,












There is a baffling public transport system in the city which incorporates, as well as the cable cars, trolley buses, normal buses, electric trams ( again ancient ) and an underground ( the BART ). I never got the hang of it.

Of course I had to visit the Napa and Sonoma vineyards which are about an hour's drive north. It was a good day out with lots of free 'tasting' and some you had to pay $5 for. I can't remember how many we visited. We stopped for a lunch break in Sonoma town. I really haven't a clue about wine; it all tastes much the same to me, especially after your eighth glass. It was sunny and very pleasant countryside with acre upon acre of vines.



Left: A charming couple, Sady and Alexandro, from Guadalajara, Mexico, who were on their honeymoon. They seemed to know quite a lot about wine.









 Right: I think we were being given a lecture on wine growing. The details escape me.

Left: Being told all about the wine making 'process' and what was put into which type of barrel and for how long etc. etc.











Right: Sonoma town hall. The lunch stop. As you can imagine there was much wine on offer here too. It was a very pretty town, and not a drunk in sight!










Left: This is the Jacuzzi winery. Messrs Jacuzzi immigrated from Italy at the beginning of the 20th century and made their fortune by designing the first laminated aeroplane propeller ( it was produced for the US army in WW1 ). They then went into the airline business. Somewhere along the way they invented the eponymous bubbly bathing facility. Then vineyards! Their wine club membership is called 'The Propeller Club'. Is that interesting?



Nearly finished! I went on a trip to Muir Woods. This is a preserved area of enormous redwood trees in the mountains to the north-west of the city. It was founded by a conservationist ( Mr Muir ) at the turn of the 20th century. It is quite impressive. Beautifully made wooden walkways have been laid, for miles, to allow tourists to view these monster trees, some over a thousand years old, without trampling the area.




Right: Not easy, with my poor photographic skills, to capture the majesty of these great trees in their serene and undisturbed mountain hideaway.......










........it was a totally quiet environment. We were warned to switch off our mobile phones and "enjoy the dignity of this magic and atmospheric forest". People talked in whispers. There were signposted picturesque trackways leading off miles into the distance, up and down steep hillsides. All beautifully and tastefully organised by the devoted National Parks Service and a place which is revered as a sanctuary for these ancient and noble growths.............

.......it crossed my mind that it would be great fun to hide a recording of a chain-saw and watch the ensuing panic!

















I think that's about all from San Francisco. I left on a continuation ( a mere 17 hours ) of the Amtrak Coast Starlight southwards via Los Angeles ( I chose not to stop there ) and on to San Diego. I had booked a 'posh' berth this time, more for the facilities and the culinary perks than the sleeping arrangements. We had been due to pass down the spectacular west coast of California but, due to 'engineering works' we were routed inland. Typical.
Sadly no more Green Tortoises ahead of me..............and more to follow.