Airport Madness

I got back yesterday at 7:30a.m. I hardly slept on the flight (yes, even the two glasses of red didn't work) and got a complimentary back prodder/sneezer (yes, I now have cold) and a cup of coffee on my lap.

On entering the immigration (the queue was so big you could hardly see the doorway) I waited for luggage that did not come (it did not make the connection and is now making its way to me today) and I watched the luggage pile up and spill over into the floors (the owners must have been in the immigration queue) with the zips undone and material ripped.....welcome to jolly old Heathrow..one of the largest but not greatest airports in the world...Singpore airport (infact any other airport I have used) would put Heathrow to shame....we just can't seem to do efficiency and rather than excite you about arriving home it reminds you why you went away in the first place.

Later that day I approached my mail like a rebellious teenager...how dull is the electricity bill and meter reading?

I'm going to start planning and book the next trip by Christmas...there has to be hope beyond all of this. As much as I love parts of England, its culture, its people, perhaps I'm just bored of it too...

Today I have renewed vigour and will carry out all the plans I pondered while plodding the globe...its hard though..the anticlimax is immense.

I aim to get some sleep as my body has finally surrendered to the all the time zones I have crossed.

A Farewell Mexican

I have just spent a great early evening with Julie and her friend, Rochelle. We looked around the the vintage sections of Kensington Market and browsed through unusual trinket shops in Chinatown. The smells brought me back to Hong Kong and Malaysia....

We went to this great Mexican restuarant called 'Sneaky Peets'. It reminded me of my student life...a dark bar with graffiti covered walls and yet the food was stunning!

After many years of fertility treatment, Rochelle is pregnant...with twins! I think I was very fortunate to spend my last evening in great company.

I took the street car and subway home, trying to take in as much of the city I could...this has been an amazing adventure and far more than memories will result in these almost 8 wonderful weeks!

I'm not leaving for the airport until noon so I intend to take full advantage of the beautiful pool, sauna and spa after a well deserved late start!

I'm going to load the contents of MP3 onto a CD (a mixture of old and new wih lots of Razorlight and New Order for good measure) so I also have some of the sounds that accompanied some very long car, bus and boat journeys.....Songs have a funny way of marking significant points of your life...I'm pleased to say I will be able to play them all again and recall some great times.

I intend to add photos to this blog when I return to throw some additional light on the the many stories told and the days that have unfolded far too quickly.

From a Sleeping Bag to Egyptian Cotton

It seems like ages I last made an entry into my blog..I've been SO busy!

I spent the weekend at Algonquin National Park Canoeing and Camping. This was not your pump up bed and running water variety..oh no...this was no toiletries except a toothbrush and paste required, no showers, a thin ground sheet, sleeping in your clothes to keep warm variety! Despite the lack of luxuries, the people and the sheer beauty of the area made for a memorable experience.

Autumn was already beginning to emerge and the leaves were turning magnificent shades of copper and mustard. The canoeing consisted of a short lesson and then they became our only mode of transport (except for the hiking) we used. Our guides were two young men in their early twenties...their knowledge of the area and camping overwhelmed me and they kept everyone going with their good humour, great meals and campfires.

There were only seven of us on the trip, two couples and three women...a variety of nationalities and lots of stories to tell long into the night.

The two couples interested me the most. They were perfect examples of relationships at different points of your life. One young, Dutch/Canadian couple had only been together 6 weeks and knew they wanted to stay together for the rest of their lives. The other couple were celebrating 23 years of marriage at camp....it was their second marriage...they knew the pitfalls, regrets and the mistakes of youth..they were growing old together and enjoying every moment. The morning of their anniversary, they got up, went into their canoes and paddled to a quiet island to go skinny dipping! I think that's great!

A strange thing has happened...I used to take time to get to know strangers but in a situation where you are on your own and your only conversations will be with strangers, you become the talkative person, you become the person that brings others together and dare I say it, you become the one that seems to do most of the talking...I never noticed this until I met these 6 strangers and left with 6 emails and memories of our conversations and the landscape, water and early mists of the morning before the sun had any chance of removing it.

When I returned, I was booked in for my final three nights at a stunning five star hotel. The contrast with my camping conditions was very strange indeed.
Last night I saw Samuel L Jackson in my hotel. He is a few floors above me...according to hotel sources!

Yesterday I went to Niagara Falls. Despite the town itself being in praise of tourism of the tackiest sense, the falls itself (and there is more than one) is a sight to be seen. It is beautiful...you find yourself staring at them for a good twenty minutes...amazed by the power of nature.

I met a great French/Lebanese woman called Michelle from Australia...we went onto the famous 'Maid of the Mist' boat together (the boat takes you right into the falls). Even wearing the protective and rather fetching, protective blue capes, no one can prepare you for the shower you will get...but to really see Niagara is to experience the sheer power and scale of it and this boat ride certainly allows you to do that.

Today I had a late start (I'm exhausted) and saw my final festival film 'The Pleasure of your Company', a very funny and alternative comedy with the star of American Pie fame, Jason Biggs. It was an amusing and intelligent look at whether it is possible to meet 'the one' with one glance or a few meetings.........

I'm off in a few minutes to meet Julie again to go to Kensington Market and have dinner.

I like Toronto but beyond that it doesn't really do anything to me like some of the other places did. For beauty, Yosemite has to be the most amazing place to visit with Langkawi as a close second..I will certainly go back to these places as well as Hong Kong and San Francisco.

I had a few days where I was ready to come home and in a sense, I still am but I'm also realising time is now rapidly running out and all of this will be coming to an end...Will I do this again? YES!! I'm going to start saving when I return...I want to go to Thailand and Vietnam....travelling alone is the most wonderful and liberating experience I have ever had and the only questions to myself would be, why didn't you do this earlier? What were you so scared of? Fear is the key...fear holds us back and those that ignore it get to experience all of the wonders of what it feels like to go beyond it and realise there is no fear, just perceptions with no reality.

The media presents us with the most awful examples of individuals and yet I have met people that just restore my faith in the goodness of humankind and the selflessness of the human spirit.

Everything is possible now..there is no barriers and anyone just wondering for a moment whether they should do this...whether it is right for you, my advice is, do it..it will be the best time of your life and provide a glorious platform into the life you continue with when you return.

I have deferred my entry into my PhD for a year and rather than just talk about trying to get a 'life/work' balance like everyone does after a holiday I am going to actually do it. I am a perfectionist, I can't change that, but what I can change is not making work such a focus for my life...that's just sad..we are all replaceable, let's not kid ourselves about that........a career is important but so are people and time to spend with them, so are hobbies and time to do them and I realise now, in order to be really happy (and I don't think I was before I left...because I now know what happiness really is) I must fill my life with hobbies and friends as well as work. I used to be involved in a creative writing class and now I intend to go back and reignite my involvement in Drama....only I can make that change and we all have responsibility for our own happiness.

I've realised now, in the future, I may not ever have a grand house or lots of material things but I want to be well travelled and have friends all over the world I can visit...This journey may have been expensive but it has been priceless for what it has done to my mind.

The Wonders of Cinema

I have just seen the most amazing film of my life! So filled with the joys of cinema I was practically running to this internet centre to get everything down before I went to bed.

I was also lucky enough to get talking to this great young woman from New York, Martha. She works for an internet entertainment site and is in Toronto to review 25 of the films for the site. I really liked her..she was funny, observant and intelligent. We liked many of the same films and talked for ages about travelling. Martha was on her own too so we grabbed a seat together in the theatre they had transformed into a cinema for the gala night.

The film was called 'The Lives of Others'. It is a German film directed by Florian Henkel Von Donnersmarck. The director and one of the lead actors gave a short talk at the beginning of the film. He talked about the joys of seeing a low budget film and being given enough funding for it to evolve and travel the world with its message.

The film is a blistering indictment of the former East Germany's Cold War regime. The life of a playwright and his actress girlfriend are under the watchful eyes of GDR. His room is wired and every conversation recorded. However, one GDR member plunges into the emotion and humanity of the lives these two people lead and records half truths to rescue them from punishment.

It was humourous to the point of discomfort and emotional to the point where the lump in my throat just kept enlarging as each minute passed. Exceptionally acted and sheer beauty!

After the film, there was silence, tears and endless applause..when the director and his lead stepped back on stage they had a 5 minute standing ovation. I have never seen such love for a film, those involved or the creators... I urge you to see this film... I shall go on eating, sleeping and drinking this film for at least a few days..

I love those films that find a way into your life and linger on into the moments of the everyday and inane.

And now, BED!

The Lazy Days of Summer...

I think I have reached saturation point at the moment with 'seeing things'. It has to come to all travellers who travel anywhere for more than 6 weeks..

I have not really had any 'lazy days of summer' and all the action and excitement has now exhausted me. I think that is why I was so grateful to Ken's friend, Julie today.

Julie lives just on the edge of the downtown area...I suppose it is very similar to an area like Highgate... a little greener and quieter than the city but only a few stops on the train away from the centre.

The houses in the area are huge! Three storeys, a basement, a patio and lots of character.

Julie is a wonderful person. She is very calm, particularly with her two excitable girls, Taya and Zen. After a girl and a boy, Julie adopted Zen from China. She is a beautiful little girl and a wonderful addition to their family.

For the first time, I did have that lazy day of summer. I was not concerned I was not rushing round like a headless chicken to see all the sights of Toronto...I will do that on my return on Sunday and if I don't see it all, well so be it!

We had coffee and lunch, a walk in the park and picked her daughter up from nursery...it was a very laid back day...bliss!

A block away from Julie, we went to watch some filming going on for a remake of 'Hairspray'. They had changed the shop fronts to reflect the 50s and the actors and vehicles all reflected the era...it was really exciting to watch.

I am meeting Julie again on Tuesday to explore Chinatown and Kensington...it's great to have her company.

Tonight I am going to see one of the Film Festivals 362 films. It is very exciting on the streets of Toronto..there are cameras and news readers awaiting the arrival of stars such as Brad Pitt.

Warhol and Cinema

Today I took to the streets and walked around the downtown area. On Friday morning I am going away to camp in one of the national parks, swim in lakes and get a few canoe lessons....so I had lots of preparation to do...things to buy, laundry to do..etc.

I also got in a queue to buy tickets for the film festival that runs for 10 days. They had only gone on sale this morning and almost half of them were sold out. I got two out of three of my choices (one tomorrow evening and one on my last day at lunchtime). I was lucky because when I later walked past the building, only 6 of the films had tickets left!

I have found Toronto to be an extremely cultured place so far... I've had some really interesting conversations with students (there are many universities in the nearby area), browsed through some great bookshops, bought two tickets for their film festival and tonight saw a wonderful Andy Warhol exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario.

I have seen Andy Warhol exhibitions in London and New York but I have never really felt the exhibitors had any heart for his work or really understood it and consequently, I didn't either...this was completely different. The gallery was open until 9p.m. so I spent the last two hours of its opening there. It was a joy to see how full it was...I always go to galleries during the day...this was much more fun and gave the appropriate mood to view the pieces.

The audio tour was not a series of narration but also interviews with people like Dennis Hopper (he regularly visited 'The Factory' and became involved in some of the work). I never knew this rather shy man from Pittsburgh was actually called Andy Wharhola (he removed the 'a' after moving to New York).

The exhibition was called 'Supernova - Stars, Deaths and Disasters, 1962-64'. The use of 'Supernova' was appropriate because as a supernova has a short life-span, explodes and dies so does tragic events in history and 'celebrity'.
His worked showed how celebrity could bring disaster and mortality and mortality could bring about fame...but only for a fleeting moment. The use of the silk screen prints he is known so well for are significant to this...the deepening and fading of paint is used symbolise the degree of fame, danger or concern.

I found some of the works quite moving and of all the 19 pieces, there was not one Campbells soup tin in sight! The electric chair diptych in red was very alarming and the screen tests of Dennis Hopper, Allen Ginsberg and Bob Dylan a real eye opener. Warhol just told them to do what they wanted in front of the camera for 3 minutes and for some 'actors' this was too much..

I also found it quite amusing the spiky, short hairstyle Warhol became famous for was a result of an accident. He was posing for a piece of art wearing a wig but he refused to remove the wig he always wore, the white, bob wig...so the stylist put it on top of his own wig and cut around any pieces of hair sticking out.

When the time came to remove the wig, his own hair now looked ridiculous... The hair stylist happened to have styled the hair of Rod Stewert so she gave him one of those and viola...Andy Warhol was born!

I may not have time to blog again until my return from camp...the weather forecast is thunder!!! However, today it was in the 80s and it felt wonderful to be in a warm environment once more!

Toronto Awaits

After a big Soya Latte I'm ready to start the day... I am starting to feel exhausted now and I hope that will not affect my judgement of Toronto or my ability to do all the things I want.

The Toronto Film Festival starts tomorrow and there will be a host of Hollywood stars treading the red carpet to the previews of their new films. I am going to go to the box office after writing this blog and dealing with my laundry (yawn).

It was beautiful to drive in on the bus last night into Toronto. I did not imagine it would be as built up as San Francisco...so many skyscrapers but many more places to sit and enjoy the greener parts of the city (it is also warmer than San Francisco!)

Canadians seem to be so different from the Americans I met in San Francisco...they are almost like some of the people in the UK...uptight and serious!

I am meeting some people I was introduced to through my Australian friend, Ken tomorrow. They don't live too far from my hotel....I'm looking forward to a local perspective and some company.

Yesterday I gave up my flight seat number on my ticket...a young girl wanted to sit with her mother-in-law (it was only a 4 hour flight...who cares where you sit?). Only it suddenly made a difference when I discovered the woman next to me would spend the next four hours eating....(she was noisy and had her mouth open almost the whole time). She had this bottomless bag she kept producing food from and had these ridiculous requests she kept giving the poor stewards...the exact number of ice cubes she wanted in the drink...the position she wanted them to put the drink... Clearly someone up above was annoyed with her antics and the steward dropped a teardrop of drink onto her purse and that was it...anyone would think we were all going to die.... The moral of this story is, never change seats with another passenger (unless he is gorgeous).

Golden Gate Exhaustion

Today was my last day in this great city. I just had to walk across Golden Gate Bridge but clearly I did not realise how much walking this would involve.

I have been keeping up my 5-mile runs 3-4 times a week but the 10+ mile walk today has left me exhausted! I started with a cable car ride to Mason Street and then a long walk to the harbour. Once you get to the harbour you are greeted with large numbers of joggers and cyclists and now I realise why... It is one of the flattest parts of San Francisco! It is about 3.5 miles to the start of the bridge and 1.7 miles across the bridge to Sausalito. I made the return journey with a small picnic one the way back.

I preferred this part of the coast compared to yesterday at Fisherman's Wharf. The houses were some of the most beautiful victorian examples I had seen. There was also 'Crissy Field', a mixture of sand, mosses and heather on your path towards the magnificent structure of Golden Gate Bridge.

Walking the bridge is an amzing feeling. You feel every vibration of crossing traffic and the view is outstanding...I could see all of the city and Alcatraz island before me.

There are a huge number of dog owners in San Francisco. A dog is both a fashion item and an excuse to talk to other dog owners. There are many shops selling pet food, collars and coats! Many of these poor creatures get their lead tied to their owners running belt and set off to run the 10 miles with them. Some of the dogs looked more exhausted than the owners. There were also lots of skateboarders and people on roller skates.

I have been doing a lot of 'people watching' recently and find some of the characters in San Francisco of real interest. One of the roller skaters was a woman in her late forties, skin tight black leotard and singing at the top of her voice to a favourite track as she attempted to skate and boogie to the music. I found it amusing but I was also pleased she could feel free to do what she wanted without too many opinionated people around.

In conclusion, I feel parts of San Francisco are comparable to NY, if not better.... San Francisco has the diversity in landscape and people and 'laid back' approach and charm that attracts and entices any visitor... NY is definately bigger and therefore, it takes longer to explore.. NY has a romance epitomised in Woody Allen's 'Manhatten' but San Francisco does not take itself as seriously and I would not say there is any romance but there is definately humour and great heaps of character for good measure.

I would definately return.....but for now, I am ready for my flight to Toronto tomorrow.

North Beach, Lombard Street and Alcatraz

Today I walked down Columbus Street towards the North Beach District. It was a fascinating place. There was some interesting murals on the walls and the famous bookstore, 'City Lights Bookstore' owned by the Beat poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti. I spent ages browsing around the bookstore and all its little side turns. It reminded me of the 'Shakespeare Bookstore' in Paris. I bought a strange book of short stories by a Californian writer. I like the fact I have had so much time to read and appreciate books like I used to do...this is something I plan to continue..there's always time for a book. America embraces its great writers like Steinbeck and Miller.

I then walked down to the very famous, crooked street known as Lombard Street. Drivers have a hard time negociating the steep twists and turns of the road and it is a steep climb for any pedestrian. All the walking was worth the stunning view below onto the city.

I then went to the opposite end of Columbus Street where I found Telegraph Hill and Coit Tower. Again I had a steep climb but the views into the city were stunning.

I then made my way down to the piers at Fisherman's Wharf as I had prebooked (2 weeks in advance infact. I was told they were sold out for the last 4 days)tickets to go to Alcatraz. The Fisherman's Wharf area was the only part I have disliked with a passion. It was like Margate and Southend....tourism in large amounts, colourful, crude and tacky.

In contrast, Alcatraz, although a number one tourist attraction, was nothing like this...I really thought the $16.50 I had paid for my ticket was worth every penny. You got the boat ride over to the island, ranger tours, an audio tour and there was so much to see. I really enjoyed the audio tour because it contained interviews with prisoners and wardens. It was very atmospheric. There is a limit to the number of tourist they can 'ship' over in one go and this adds to the atmosphere because at times you may find yourself alone in one of those cells but it is impossible to imagine how it must have felt to have your 8-9 years (the average sentence) there.

Alcatraz, dubbed 'The Rock' housed up to 264 of the most incorrigible criminals...the threat of a stint in the isolation cells and a loss of priviledges made this a cruel punishment. Only one man managed to escape and swim the icy cold waters over to Golden Gate Bridge (about 3 miles)....most who tried, died.
Alcatraz had some famous inmates...Al Capone, Robert Stroud (The birdman of Alcatraz) and George Kelly (Machine Gun Kelly). The whole island had an atmosphere I can't quite describe.. It is as if its history had never really left the buildings and you could feel its presence when you entered each door and looked into each cell.

Alcatraz was more than a prison...earlier in its history, it was also a fort and a home to the native American Indians.

I left Fisherman's Wharf soon after to walk to the many parts of the city I did enjoy, glimpsing at the seals at Pier 39 before I did. I found it strange that compared to Monterey, it seemed to have no problem getting tourists to stay and part with their well earned dollars...but Monterey had far more character and had not opted for the 'tacky' approach.

Back to the City!

The last 120 miles was easy..it felt good to be back in the city!

By the time I got to my hotel, I had already got a number of someone prepared to show me around the city!

I felt tired so I used the afternoon to explore Union Square (where I am based)... It is holiday weekend, 'Labor Day' so there is a really good atmosphere here and, of course, it is very busy.. They also have 'Shakespeare in the Park' for free so I'm off to watch 'The Tempest' on Sunday afternoon..

Today I spent the morning buying lunch at a fantastic organic farmers market and joining Janie on her friend's boat and waterski..I only stayed a few hours..there is so much of the city to see but it was good to meet up with her again and the water woke me up!

I have just come back from an afternoon in the heart of the 60s in San Francisco...Haight Ashbury..but I did not wear flowers in my hair..just a big grin..it had a great atmosphere and some wonderful second-hand clothes shops..infact I have reignited my passion for vintage fashion and it is so cheap!

I explored the back streets of the Haight and Mission area with great views onto the city.. San Francisco is not a place to wear heels of any description..on the down slopes I doubt any would survive!

The houses in this area are beautiful...colourful victorian structures.

I then walked down Castro Street..the heart of San Francisco's gay community...aids affected this area very badly in the 80s....the 'NAMES Project' was created to remember those who died. Castro is Soho on a very large and much more open scale....it is a liberating breath of fresh air, cheeky and amusing all at the same time!

On the way back I went through Market Street (a street I had walked before). Market street is very unusual because it is one of the few streets that changes so dramatically as you walk through it. Initially I had only explored the uptown and prosperous part of it but as you walk on to reach Haight Street, it gets increasingly grubbier, seedier and many of the homeless population seemed to have gathered here.

The glimpses of homelessness I have seen so far are far more disturbing and upsetting than anything I had encountered when I used to go out on soups runs with a friend in London. Although they seem to have the same drug and alcohol problems, there is also a lot of mental problems..there are a lot of people having conversations with themselves, starting arguments from a simple glance and shouting to any random person. Many walk around with their possessions in a shopping trolley..I'm not sure what San Francisco's policy on the homeless situation is, but surely something could be done for these people?

I have had a wonderful day..I have fallen in love with this city...I think I like it more than New York and I thought I'd never say that..but I think I've explored its heart and I intend to continue with two more fabulous days...

Media Frenzy and Spend, Spend, Spend..

I limit the amount of US T.V I watch...anything more than half an hour and I start to get angry..

The American media have had a free for all with Benet-Ramsey...their reporting of the case is as ugly as the crime itself.

America has a chat show host called 'Glenn Beck'. Glenn is probably in his 40s and has far too many opinions and far too little intelligence to be put on the American public. I find his 'this is what I know..' dangerous and it epitomises what Michael Moore was trying to illustrate in his documentaries..fear keeps the American public voting and fear controls.. Glenn proudly announced 9 out of 10 Americans think anyone who looks like they may be be from Iraq should be searched at the airport!

Apart from cities like NY or San Francisco, I do find some of the American attitudes to terrorism and immigration very disturbing indeed.

I think the level of consumerism is OVERWHELMING and the pressure of the American dream illustrated in Arthur Millar's 'Death of a Salesman', still apparent in many family units....Overheard the other day.. "What, you haven't got a pool?"

It is the only place where individuals have questioned my travels as a lone woman but equally promotes the independent, strong woman..??

Finally, there is clearly a great divide between city attitudes and middle America..Jim told me it was those same attitudes that drove him out of his hometown into the great wide world....

Carmel and Monterey

I am very behind in my blogging... This is partly because America (with the exception of San Francisco) have been difficult to access the internet without my own laptop.

I forgot to mention in my Yosemite blog a great man I met on top of the dome, watching the sun go down. His name was Ira...he knew Jim and did a similar job. Ira was a fascinating man, He seemed to know so much about almost everything. He used to work for NASA on their space programme but gave it all ip because he was frustrated with how much America was spending on space exploration when it could not even feed some of its population.

After a great drive from Yosemite, I arrived in Carmel.
It was such an easy place to navigate, so I put my satellite navigation to rest for a few days (I was getting tired of the electronic voice anyway...particularly the way he would pronounce 'route' as 'rout').

Carmel was a beautiful, clean and prosperous area of California. There was a quaint 'cottage' style of living with small general stores and a few theatres, MANY art galleries and the coast....complete with crashing waves of milky white on a scale I had not seen.

The following day I took the 17-mile drive (a route you pay for of private roads and points of interest..golf courses, coastline, etc..

It was a foggy morning but I think this added to the atmosphere when visiting the coastline..the lone cypress tree and my favourite 'The Ghost Tree'(a lone tree with pale bark and no leaves growing from a large rock. I think parts of the route had the same haunting quality of many of the lakes in the lake district early in the morning.

I then explored Monterey (trying not to hum the Sinatra classic, 'It Happened in Monterey..')

It certainly had character and I quite liked it. I walked along Fisherman's Wharf, saw the seal swimming in the sea, ate crab, went to a museum, Cannery Row and finished off in downtown Monterey.

I spoke to a few people..first, a chinese girl from Toronto (also travelling on her own) and then, the owner of the crab restaurant. She informed me of how the tourist season is coming to a close and tourist numbers are decreasing each year..