Treasure Island Flea.

On yet another beautiful day (unheard of!) in San Fran, I headed out to Treasure Island with my friend Josh to check out the flea market.

It still amazes me that you can get the Muni from SF State to downtown...

 

...across the Bay Bridge...

...and over to Treasure Island...

 



 

for two dollars! Bargain.

 

 

 

 

Checking out the records:

 

 

and all of the other oddities!

 

 

As tempted as I was, I didn't buy anything (although a pair of tan cowboy boots in my size were calling me), apart from a Taiwanese sandwich from a truck famed in San Francisco, The Chairman.

 

I chose miso tofu on a baked bun, and it was delicious. Maybe the best tofu I've ever had!

Midnight in Washington Square Park.

It was Saturday night, so we braved the city, armed with popcorn and blankets, and went to a film event called 'Film in The Park' which runs on summer weekends (somehow, we only found out about it now, in the last week - boo) in Washington Square Park, North Beach.

Everyone sits on the grass and they project a film onto the big screen -  the showing was 'Midnight in Paris'. It was a good thing I've seen this before - when we got there, it had already started, our view was obscured by the masses of people in front of us and we were too far away to be able to hear it properly! Still, it was a fun little evening out.

 

 

Unfortunately my iPhone flash decided to make some of the photos blurry, but you get the idea.

I'm just glad I decided to wear five layers - evenings in San Francisco can be pretty chilly!

Angel Island.

My very outdoorsy friend Andy wanted to to check out Angel Island in the San Francisco Bay, so I jumped at the chance to go with him!

You can catch the ferry from the Ferry Building...

 

 

...but unfortunately we missed it, so we rushed all the way down the Embarcadero to catch up to it at the next stop on Pier 41. Luckily we made it! It takes about half an hour to get from San Francisco to Angel Island, and the scenery is great!

 

View of downtown!



 

Here the view is slightly obscured by our heads.

 

Angel Island is so pretty. The busiest area is where the ferry docks, but it's still very idyllic.

 

 

We grabbed a quick bite from the snack bar...

 

 

Mine's a Cabo Wrap, A's is a dog.

 

...and tried to plan our route...

 

...then we were off!

 

 

Views over the bay to Sausilito and Tiburon.

 

Hangin' around.

 

We were able to get really close to this deer! I think they're probably pretty tame though.

 

 

It's great to be able to be on to a beach and have the Golden Gate Bridge in the background!

 

Old military barracks stand on Angel Island, which are really spooky. Not surprisingly,  I wasn't brave enough to go in!

 

 

We walked all the way around the island, which is about 5 miles. I came away with a piece of quartz, the worst sunburn of my life and this great shot of the Golden Gate!

 

Reminding me of Home.

So far, luckily I haven't felt much homesickness since I've arrived - sometimes though, it's nice to be reminded of home and all of my loved ones!

 

This week, some cards and packages arrived from my family and grandparents - they made my day!
After all what's better than Whitby, cute Terriers and Galaxy?!

 

I also got a cute little package from my bestie and old housemate Emily, she knows me too well! Can't wait to read this.

Love you all  xx

We Shall Go To The Ballgame.

After a minor mishap with the tickets (yes, it was my fault - turns out I booked it a week ahead of our original plan), we eventually made it to a San Francisco Giants game! My first baseball game! They were playing the Colorado Rockies. And that is pretty much all I managed to pick up.
Not really! Well, sort of.

It was so much fun though. We had the worst seats in the house, on the very top row in the 'nosebleed section' but at least you get a great view of the bay from up there!

I have literally no idea of any of the statistics or rules surrounding the game - to me, it was like watching a very complicated version of rounders. I got the gist that if a player managed to hit the ball and get all the way around the field, that's one score for the team. There are 9 innings usually, which is when each team gets their turn to bat, so both teams bat 9 times. Impressed with my knowledge?!


Mostly I was too busy concentrating on being cold (I will forever underestimate the temperature in this city) and eating my fair share of overpriced nachos.

 

Luckily Alex didn't have to worry about the cold in her super cool hat!

There was a lot of cheering, singing along and it was just a generally fun atmosphere - I felt like a real San Franciscan!
And the final score was:

Colorado Rockies 3-6 San Francisco Giants

Go Giants!

 

Off The Grid at Fort Mason.

Off The Grid is a bit of an under-the-radar phenomenon in San Francisco. It's basically just a food truck party, but these aren't just your average street vendors - the food is often adventurous and great quality, but I'd expect as much in this foodie city that is San Francisco!

 

The IEEC (International Education Exchange Council, the group which all international students are part of) organised this event - they're great for taking us to cool places to eat and hang out in the city, it's just a shame I miss out on a few of them (under 21, boo).

 

So it was on Friday night at Fort Mason, which is on the Marina.

 

Lovely sunset over the Marin headlands.

 

Basically all the trucks form a big circle, and you walk around choosing what takes your fancy, from tacos to cupcakes to curry!

 

Me and Morgan, my token American friend...

 

...and some of the international girls!

 

I decided to go for some vegetarian dumplings, 3 for $3 - I think they were mushroom and kale, with sweet chili sauce.

 

Pretty tasty!

 

I also took a quick snap of my crepe, which was orange-blossom flavoured and filled with Nutella and strawberries, and of course finished with squirty cream! Mmmm.