A "hella cutty" spot in 'Frisco...

Word-up homies,

This is the last post from my travels in the States. And boy, it has been immense!

Last week I went to Washington DC with my my mum and sister; my sister was attending an oncology conference so kindly booked us flights and rooms so we could check out the city whilst she was there. The hotel itself was actually in Maryland, a different state altogether, and was about 10 miles north-west of central DC. However, it was literally a few minutes from the nearest metro station, so we were able to travel to and from DC with ease. To to honest, I wasn't blown away by the city, but did enjoy seeing all the grand buildings making up the corridors of power. Whilst there I was able to see: The White House, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Capitol building, Supreme Court, Library of Congress, Botanic Gardens, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and Museum of African Art. Perhaps because I am not an American, and have never really taken a massive interest in American history, the historical significance of the city did not resonate with me as much as it probably would for American nationals. Nonetheless, DC is a beautiful city, with a nice, liberal feel and a fantastic metro system that frankly puts the tube to shame. The other salient features of the trip include my surprise at how humid and hot the climate was out there, and quite how fantastic the crab cakes were. They are supposed to be a real delicacy in the region, and did not fail to impress! Over the four days we were in DC we were fortunate enough to eat at some very nice restaurants including an excellent Thai, where we had some rather lovely Flounder, and Legal Sea Foods, which is a very well regarded sea food chain exclusively on the East Coast.

So, having returned from DC, I had a flight scheduled to San Francisco the next day. This was something that I was really looking forward to. I had managed to find a couch surfing host called Andy who I ended up getting on with really well. Would like to say that we are now pals, and will definitely be looking him up next time I am in the city.

So on to my assessment of 'Frisco: stunning, laid-back, liberal, bohemian, great weather, friendly people, amazing public transportation system, washed-out acid hippies, hipsters, homos, weed, mushrooms, technology and just generally cool as fuck. On landing in SF International Airport, I promptly made my way to Haight-Ashbury, which is the area Andy lives in, and is a short walk from Golden Gate Park. It is full of beautiful, historic Victorian houses, is very hilly, and has a road called The Haight which runs through it and seems to be the lifeblood of the area. It also has a lovely mix of liberal intelligentsia, hipsters and families too. Granted, The Mission district probably has a greater concentration of young hipsters (probably like Shoreditch/Hoxton) but I preferred the feel of Haight-Ashbury, and would perhaps liken it to an area like Stoke Newington in London. Though much cooler and hip.

It was actually Father's Day on the day I arrived so Andy was out with this pa playing golf. His Swedish girlfriend, Josie, kindly let me in, gave me a key, and then promptly left as she had things to do. So, on Andy's suggestion, I headed to Golden Gate Park with ice cream in hand, and promptly discovered hippie hill. Granted, I had heard about the historical significance of this place, particularly the gatherings that happened here back in the acid-soaked 60s, and to this day, it still feels quite special. Having found the circle of drummers and all the acid heads, I promptly parked myself on the hill, soaked up the atmosphere, watched the freaks and enjoyed passively inhaling the pungent weed fumes that were drifting past me from every angle. However, it wasn't long before I decided to chat to some dudes who turned out to be mostly Israeli hippies, and on reflection was a good decision! One of them just handed me a large mushroom which I promptly munched, and then I smoked some of the their spliffs. In return I went on a beer mission, so we sat there chatting shit for a couple of hours. Didn't think that the mushroom had done much, but then found myself to be mildy tripping and high which was nice; not too intense, no paranoia, and a feeling of warmth and easiness which was perfect for my mental state at the time. Ended up going back to these guys' house and smoked a bong, had some more beers and listened to tunes. Random, but cool. The best thing though, was the fact that they lived about 10 minutes away from Andy so managed to walk to his fine, even in my intoxicated state!

Got to Andy's and we immediately got on well - was open about the fact I had been drinking and smoking, and taking shrooms, which I think he was actually quite impressed by! We promptly smoked more, had some more beers, and listened to some wicked tunes. It was obvious we were going to get on well.

The next day we managed to cover lots of ground. Andy took me downtown for a bit which was cool. Then we went to Golden Gate Park, and probably managed to roam a third of it, including taking in some awesome "cutty" spots with some giant redwoods and lovely rose gardens. Andy taught me that in SF speak, a cutty spot is a good place to basically chill, with "hella" meaning very much, or I guess, hell of. So that explains the meaning to the title of the post. We smoked some more, and he took some cool photos as he is pretty into his digital art and photography. Not only that, but he is into producing electronic music, and played me a couple of his tracks, live. A real creative. He would undoubtebly get on with my crew back in England, particularly my mate Benjy. However, his whole being really reminded me of my friend Simon. Everything from his physique, mannerisms, personality and interests. Just goes to show that there really are very definite personality types out there. And that's not to take away from the obviously quirky and individual characters that all my friends really are.

Anyway, after much chilling in GGP, we headed to The Mission, which is obviously where the Spanish conquistadores must have originally set up base, and is evident by the European-influenced architecture of the buildings, and the large presence of Mexicans (as well as Hipsters) in the area. We ended up going to this cool Taqueria, where I had my first proper experience of authentic enchilladas. And boy, were they delicious! We then went onto Dolores Park, which is the Hipster hangout in the area, and really reminds me of Hoxton Square. Had a smoke and chill, and then managed to catch the end of this spoken-word night at a place called "Brain Wash" downtown which was cool. Then ended going on to a party (on a Monday night!) at an amazing Victorian house in a different part of the city, where I briefly met some cool, interesting and friendly people who all digged my English accent (and humour, of course).

In between, Andy I managed to chat philosophy, religion, politics and music. Cheesy as this may sound, I totally fell in love with the city, met some really cool people, and definitely made a new friend, albeit over just two (intense) days. So big props to Andy for hosting me, I had a hella good time! You are more than welcome to visit me in London any time! I am already thinking about my next trip to the States, which will no doubt involve re-visiting Frisco, and spending more time with Andy and checking out all the hot spots.

Flying back to London in a few days; have had some great chill and some amazing times. Have completely revised my position on Americans and the United States. Yes, the country's foreign policy sucks, yes, there are some obviously ugly facets about the country, namely its arrogance, excessive consumption, wastefulness and extreme capitalist model, but it is also a country of enduring optimism, warmth, spirit, and that wonderful feeling that anything is possible. For that, I salute you America, you have been a great host....

Peace,

F.