Let the adventure begin!

So on December 28 I once again found myself leaving my friends and family for the great unknown of freedom and adventure or to be more accurate to be a nanny in Australian bush. Many of you may or may not know that though I travel a bit I always panic when it comes time to start a new adventure. The first summer I went to work at summer camp in MA I about had a panic attack on the way to the airport, the day I said good bye to my family for Benin I cried on my Grammy's lap, lol. I guess it's a sign that I'm growing up and have more confidence in myself that this time around there was none of that. Yes, I was sad to leave my family and a bit worried about what might happen to them while I was gone. However, overall I was ready to strike out on my latest undertaking.



I didn't want to suffer a 20 some hour plane ride from Chicago to Brisbane, so instead I decided to break up the trip a bit as well as have some fun along the way. When Patrick and I did our Middle East adventure we traveled with some really cool people, one of which was a girl named Lu. Lu was from San Francisco and traveling with her cousin Xenia. California, as you can imagine, is the US gateway to Australia with most of the flights going out of LA. With this in mind I decided to spend two days in SF with Lu on my way to Brisbane.




Here is a Lu and I waiting to go on one of the SF trolleys.




Two days was not near enough time to spend in San Francisco. Day one was spent with Lu and her cousin Amy and Amy's boyfriend Pierre. Lu, a Berkley graduate, had us go up and tour the campus for the day. This worked out great because Weihow, my Peace Corps post-mate lives in Berkley now and we were able to meet up and hang out together.

Random shot of Berkeley campus.

Lu and I on campusJust moments before taking this picture, that furry squirrel was climbing up Pierre's pant leg. Talk about domesticated.

For lunch we went to the Chinese Ghetto which is basically a courtyard like area that has about 10 Asian restaurants. Pierre and I had to go to the bathroom. There is one bathroom in this area that all the restaurants share. You have to get a key for this grated door and walk down a bit of a corridor, which I took a picture of. Looks all nice and clean doesn't it, especially considering how many people share this area. The smell is enough to knock you on your butt.

After lunch and a walk around town we stopped for some gelato. Yum! Best part is that they allow you to test as many flavors as you want. Who needs to buy anything, lol. I think I ended up getting a scoop of pistachio and one of cranberry.

It was time for Weihow and I to part ways. :(

Day two started off meeting some of Lu's old work colleagues. We met for dim sum, which is kinda like Chinese finger foods. Very yummy. After wards we went to this park area where I was able to see the Golden Gate Bridge.

Having an interest in the 1960's since high school I remembered that Haight/Ashbury street was a mecca at one time for hippies. Lu and I made our way over to this part of town mostly because I was interested in what it had become of it since the days of flower power.

Random street.

Can't go to SF and not ride a trolley.

Ghirardeli is chocolate that you most likely have seen in your grocery store. In SF it is also a restaurant that makes among other things hot fudge sundaes. Lu and and I swung in and split a sundae on our way out of the city. It was fantastic but so rich that we couldn't finish it all. Kind of a shame too considering the amount of time we waited for it. Never have I been in a restaurant that is so packed with people and running on sheer chaos.