New York to San Francisco

On Thursday night we went to the theatre once again, this time to see a play called A Bronx Tale. Set in the Bronx (that part of New York on the mainland) in the 1960s it was the tale of an Italian kid and a black girl whose communities wouldn’t let them get together. Throw in a mafia-type gang leader as a mentor to the young man and you have a pretty dark tale. It was a reminder of what New York used to be like.

On Friday we flew United Airlines to San Francisco. Our steward turned out to be a former QANTAS steward who now lives in Florida but who grew up in Sydney and Adelaide. Sue spent a lot of time sitting with him and chatting about home, and of course we got special service J.  He said we reminded him so much of his own parents…..quite a few people have made the same comment.  We were in an Irish pub for dinner the other night in New York and there were a few people sitting at tables.  We spoke to a younger couple briefly as we sat down.  It was the usual ‘where are you from’ etc and the Americans find it difficult to comprehend how far we travel, and for how long we are away.  As they were preparing to leave, the young lass asked Phil if was a romantic type, or more domineering in our relationship.  Of course the fact that we were holding hands as we waited for dinner should have been a dead giveaway!!!!  He told them that we were coming up to our 40^th wedding anniversary and they were like “oh wow!!”  and then left the pub hand in hand. These encounters with locals are always fun, and mostly they are so interested in Australia but think it is way too far to go.  It usually passes the time as you are going up or down in the lift.

Once again we used Uber to get to and from the airports. It has been well and truly worth it as Uber charges a flat fare for the trip regardless of the time it takes to get there. This is really good given the propensity of American drivers to cause serious accidents and stuff up traffic just when you want to catch a plane! Of course we learned our lesson some time ago and always get the car well in advance of the flight. Mind you, the Uber drivers are a mixed bunch. Always friendly and helpful, and good drivers, but you get the odd one who wants to talk about stuff like how great Donald Trump is or how there is a global conspiracy to start world war three so evil people can take over the world. Diplomatic skill can be very useful J.

We are settled in our hotel in San Fransisco, a short walk from Fisherman’s Wharf. Tonight we have planned to have dinner with a friend of Sue’s.  She and Yohie got to know each other through Cricket ACT.  He is over here working for a few months. After that, as this is our fourth time in San Francisco, we may or may not have a lot to post. So watch this space but not with eager expectation.