San Francisco blues and schmooze

Well hello there!

I know it has been a while since my last post however I have been gearing up for the showbiz event of the year. Oh yes,  the hotly anticipated International Trademark Conference no less which this year was held in San Francisco – city of blues, fog, cable cars, Mrs Doubtfire, a big red bridge and A LOT of crazy people still tripping from the copious amount of illegal substances consumed during the 70’s.

THE PLACE

San Francisco hits you straight in the face with a clash of culture from the biggest China town in North America to the smart and sophisticated business district to the slightly sketchy fairly impoverished downtown area. One thing that particularly struck me was the vast array of architecture that seemed to compliment this mixture of influences perfectly.

HIGHLIGHTS

The Westin St Francis is a must to visit; it has been situated right next to Union square since 1904 and is very elegant and beautiful from the inside out.  Make sure you take a ride up exterior glass elevator on the rear tower that delivers a spectacular panoramic view of the city as you rise up the side of the building……not so good if you suffer from vertigo however.

I also went to a party held in the California Academy of Sciences, which was an eventful party not least because I saw two lusty penguins mating furiously……they were at it for over half an hour and had about 100 people watching them – saucy! In all seriousness though the Academy is well worth a visit as it boasts an aquarium, a planetarium, a natural history museum and a four-storey rainforest all under one roof! The party was a hoot, I sipped my vodka tonic dancing to Lady Gaga and leant about how snakes track their prey while being entertained by half naked fawns on stilts, what more could you want.

Obviously there is also the classic Tram ride, Alcatraz (whilst pretending you’re Sean Connery in the Rock) and the Golden Gate Bridge which are worth seeing. Other things that I wanted to do but didn’t have time were visit the Beat Poet Museum and mosey round China town; apparently they have dumplings that rival Hong Kong!

THE ACCOMODATION

We stayed in this rather nice boutique hotel called Union Square hotel which is pretty perfectly located right in the heart of the city. The rooms were well designed, staff were super friendly and they even served complimentary wine in the lobby from 5-7pm – nice! My only complaint would be the amount of noise during the night however I think this is pretty common across the city, like Michael Jackson’s Thriller it seems the real crazies, hookers and pimps wait till dusk to come alive!

THE FOOD

The best thing about attending Law Firm receptions is the canapés ……..mmmm drool. I don’t know what it is about a canapé that is so utterly resistible however I seem to not be able to turn down one that I haven’t tried before even if I have already consumed my own body weight in these delicious compact servings of heaven. Smoked salmon  blini’s, rock oysters, mini burgers, strips of chicken with figs and mushrooms and mouth watering crab cakes complimented by a glass of champagne certainly amused my bouche no end.

Two restaurants that I would highly recommend while you are in the city are Louis Diner (Powell Street) and Waterbar (on the waterfront). Louis Diner is the epitome of your typical All American diner complete with life size horse and cow hanging from the ceiling and half a Cadillac attached to the wall that could have been part of the set of Back to the future. Portions are big and there is nothing healthy on the menu but it is predictably delicious. To my mind no one does breakfast better than the Yanks and they certainly didn’t disappoint here, feast on amazing pancakes, streaky bacon, homemade hash browns and eggs ‘sunny side’ up!

Waterbar is a slightly classier joint located on the Embacadero and has a great view of both the Bay and SFO Skyline as well as huge floor to ceiling circular aquariums filled with yummy fish. The food was fantastic if a little pricey. Be sure to check out the Oyster Menu which is what I opted for as an Entrée…..we childishly had a chuckle at the oyster named fanny bay but it turned out to be rather delicious. For my main course I had Salmon with black eyed peas, spring onions, broccoli rabe and a cornmeal fried oyster – delicious. I didn’t have room for dessert however one of my colleagues went for the ice cream cookie sandwich, only in America could this be considered appropriate in a fancy restaurant. And why not, I suffered from food envy for the rest of the meal.

THE NIGHTLIFE

As I mentioned SFO comes alive at night and there are plenty of cool bars and clubs to sample. Particular highlights were a sultry bar blues venue called the BOOM BOOM ROOM in the Fillmore district made famous most notably by John Lee Hooker who to this day still posthumously has a table reserved for him next to the stage. This smoky bar is small and intimate and attracts some of SF’s best musical talent playing a mixture of rock, soul, blues and jazz as well as a plethora of different kinds of people. They also have a beer called Dead Man Rogue on tap. Awesome.

I also took a quick trip to a very cool bar called the Bourbon and Branch on Jones Street which channels the current Boardwalk Empire phenomenon as a 1920’s themed bar. The venue is even a former speakeasy and hosts an extremely wide variety of whisky and bourbon, a password is needed for entry which can be found on their website. The book lined library bar certainly adds to the feel of the place however don’t come here if in a large group or looking to get a quick drink. This is a place that demands you take your time.

Embarrassingly I also ended up in a cheesy RnB/Dance club called the infusion lounge on Ellis Street complete with slutty go go dancers and sweaty dance floor. There’s not much room to strut your stuff but the DJ was great playing  a mixture of old and new – he even pumped out the soundtrack to ‘Fresh Prince’ to which everyone joined in…’yo, homes smell you later’ Jazzy fresh!

TIPS

1.       Despite being in the state of California SFO is remarkably chilly. Take a jumper, coat and scarf. Even if it looks sunny, the sun will only be playing tricks on you.

2.       If you are a lady always carry some flats in your bag when trying to get around the city as there are very few cabs to be had, especially in the rain.

3.       Be prepared for lots of tramps and crazy people talking to themselves, they seem to be on every street corner. Most are fairly harmless but we did get the odd aggressive one so watch out.  

4.       A great film set in San Francisco is called ‘What’s Up Doc’ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069495/ probably one of the funniest films ever made with an awesome car chase at the end that showcases the cities hills and character perfectly.

Curiously I liked San Francisco but I didn’t fall in love with it as I had expected. The city seems to contradict itself over and over again that once I thought I had got the feel of it I found something new, or was confronted with something I didn’t expect. Its energy and vivacity is juxtaposed with an eerie sadness that did leave me a little cold, Muddy Waters and Johnny Winter sum it up well http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFqB4ly4-64.  It’s a city I think that demands time to be loved and understood properly, something I am certainly ready to give again. And so I bid you farewell as the American’s say ‘Have a nice day’ or in San Francisco, (this is a direct quote from one of the tramps) ‘Watch out for the communist squirrels, they’re gonna take over the world’. Quite.

V xx