November 6, California!

The long descent from the Sierra Nevada takes hours and I'm sitting in my cabin feeling sleepy. As we gradually reach the coast, the fog turns into a fine mist; I can't wait to step off the train and go for a walk. I can already smell the ocean.

The train station in San Francisco is about a half an hour outside the city at Emeryville, CA, but there is an Amtrak bus waiting for the passengers that wish to go into San Francisco. From the moment I step on the bus, I know I will love San Francisco: the driver is friendly and the blasting music from his radio seams to put everybody in a good mood right away. We are all asked about our destinations, for me is the Fisherman's Wharf although I don't have a hotel yet. The driver doesn't seam too pleased: "Can't leave a nice lady, just like that, under the rain", he says. I look out and I don't see any rain, just a fine mist in the pink evening light. Just before the last stop, I spot the Travelodge Hotel and so I get off and get myself a room for 2 nights for 181$. I drop my stuff at the hotel and go out for a walk in the balmy air: it could be May in either Toronto or Oslo! Lovely.

It takes me an evening to discover the Fisherman's Wharf: I walk and watch. The streets are crowded, but it's a cheerful crowd: people tasting wine at a winery or buying crabs from the many streets' vendors. Others are taking their kids for rides on the merry-go-round or simply stop to watch the process of bread making through the huge window at Boudin. Then I follow the sound of "barking dogs" not remembering that when in San Francisco one should go and watch the sea lions at the pier. There must be hundreds of them balancing their huge bodies on the crowded rafts and "barking" at the moon. After watching them for a while, I decide to go look for the cable car and go for a ride up and down the hills of San Francisco. The last thing I see that night before I go to sleep is a sign that says: Bike The Bridge. In order to be able to bike over the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco on a mild Sunday in November, I need a good night sleep!