World Series Parade.

This past weekend the San Francisco Giants won the baseball World Series, which is huge! (in American sporting terms, anyway.)

They defeated the Detroit Tigers 4-0 in a series of seven games - which meant the chant for the series  was 'CLEAN SWEEP,  CLEAN SWEEP, CLEEEEAN SWEEEEEEEP'!

In celebration, there was a parade through the streets of the city.

The parade began at the Embarcadero and travelled the two miles along Market Street, ending at Civic Center.
Though we didn't get to see much of the actual parade, we were able to get a good spot right outside City Hall to see the presentation of the trophy.

People everywhere!

 

City Hall.

 

My Giant (get it?!) buddies Edwin and Andy.

A huge podium had been set up, and all of the players were introduced, including my favourites Buster Posey and Pablo Sandoval (ie. the only two I know the names of).
It was quite amazing to see the entire city turned black and orange, and not just because of Halloween!
Go Giants!

Victorian San Francisco.

I got the idea of free walking tours run by cityguides from a lovely Canadian lady who I sat next to on my flight home from Chicago; we spent a lot of time talking about San Francisco, and she said they were one of her favourite things to do in the city.

 

I can't believe I'd never thought to do one before! As a student (read: broke), I'm always looking for free ways to get to know the city better.

 

Me and my lovely roommates chose to do Victorian San Francisco tour, which took place in the Pacific Heights area - it's right in the middle of the city, around Lafayette Park Square, but is an area I haven't visited before.

 

Most of the city was destroyed in the 1906 fire which followed the earthquake, but the flames didn't reach as far as the 'Western Addition'.

Because of this, the neighbourhood has some of the oldest and most beautiful architecture in the city. Also some of the most expensive - the houses go for about $3 million!

 

 

 

San Francisco is a truly Victorian city - founded in 1849 with the Gold Rush. I thought it was interesting that the period was referred to as 'Victorian' - in my mind, the Victorian era was thoroughly British! But as the guide told us, during the 19th Century Britain was still the leading world power, meaning a lot of our culture continued to have an impact in America even after the Revolution.

 

Most of the houses in the neighbourhood are Italianate-style, which are really ornate and beautiful. Most of them also have false fronts (like the one below) to make them seem even more impressive!

 

 

 

 

 

Although the Italianate style is more visible in Pacific Heights, some of the houses are also designed in the Queen-Anne style, which means they often have turrets. Apparently the house below is haunted!

 

 

On a similar note, it's Halloween in a few days -  so it was nice to see some of the houses in the neighbourhood getting into the spirit!

 

 

 

It's also a good thing the Victorians of San Francisco invented the cable cars - have you seen the size of some of the hills?!

 

 

 

Two Door Cinema Club.

A while ago I saw that the Irish band Two Door Cinema Club were playing at the Fox in Oakland - I'd heard great things about their live shows from my friends, so I was very excited when the gig finally rolled around!

The Fox is a great old theatre in Downtown Oakland, just across the Bay Bridge. 

The inside is really ornate, and these Buddhas guard each side of the stage!

I went with my roommate Becky and her friend Sydney - I was a lot more excited than I look in the photo!

And so the show begins! We were standing, which is always a bit annoying for me - I spent a lot of time craning my neck to see what was going on!

But the band were great! They played a mixture of songs, some from their old stuff and some from their new album - my favourites were Next Year and Sun, and of course Something Good Can Work and the encore, What You Know.

They're so good live, and they're playing in the UK in January!

UIOWA.

I was so intrigued to visit Hannah's 'college', the University of Iowa in Iowa City - I mostly wanted to see how it compared to my very own SF State!

After a much-needed lie-in, Hannah took me on a little tour of Iowa City.

We walked from her accommodation through the streets to the university - it definitely has a small-town feel!

 

 

One of the most striking things was the prominence of the upcoming Presidential elections. San Francisco is guaranteed to remain Democratic, even if California is a bit more split. As Iowa is a swing state, both sides are battling it out heavily - Hannah was lucky enough to see President Obama speak in person at her university a few weeks ago (and I've never been more jealous!).

 

People had placards in their front lawns, which is something you'd never see in England - these two were right next door to each other!

 

 

One of the other things which is really noticeable is just how much school spirit everyone has - particularly surrounding the college football (American football, of course) team, the Iowa Hawkeyes. It's all anyone can talk about, and every other person you see wears an 'Iowa' shirt. SF State doesn't even have a football team!

 

 

I know - wow.

 

After a lovely brunch of Eggs Florentine...

 

 

 

 

 

...we wandered through the streets in downtown - so strange to see a proper downtown! The main downtown area is located around College Street, a pedestrian-friendly area, which has all of these cool painted benches.

 

 

They also have pianos out in the street for people to play! This kid was pretty good actually.

 

We also saw the Capitol Building - Iowa City is the state capital of Iowa!

 

 

Hannah showed me around some of the university campus, which is very quaint. Another difference is that they actually have fraternity and sorority houses! At SF State, these don't exist as it's more of a commuter school.

 

 

After all that walking, we took a little break and had a cupcake from Molly's Cupcakes outside the Capitol Building - Han had Cookie Monster, and I had to try the Peanut Butter Nutella (two dietary staples of America, funnily enough).

 

 

 

 

 

 

We spent most of the late afternoon at Hannah's apartment before heading out for dinner at Basta, a lovely Italian restaurant downtown, with her friend from Hull, Sarah.

 

 

 

Squash Ravioli - very festive!
 

I really didn't want to make the very long journey home - but this trip made me excited for my future travel plans.

 

It was truly a perfect weekend, filled with food, fun and friends!