Category: San Francisco

Chinatowns are Chinatowns the whole world over….they are crammed and packed full of….Chinese.  The junk shops, the eateries, the herbalists, mah jong players, lanterns and old people playing squeaky instruments.  This Chinatown is the most densely populated suburb in the States out of Manhattan, it covers 22 blocks and houses a community that was established in 1849 for the gold rush and the building of the railways.  Most people that live here earn under $10,000 per year….. 

The rules were established; The Operator had full steering, brake control and navigation responsibility…Rosie followed along for the ride and pedaled when needed or instructed, Rosie also made the call for photo stops and rest breaks……of which there were many…..but hey, we are on holiday and it wasn’t a race.

Back on a jammed packed bus we then caught a tram to Alamo Square in the Haight area.  It was like being in another world, a white middle class one where we didn’t stand out at all and everything was nicely white bread.  Oh, yes that sounds bad…but if you had to pick a side….redneck Rosie all the way.

We asked at half a dozen places if they had room for two on the parade route…most said no they were fully booked, one lady told us that the tables are booked straight away for next year!  We didn’t give up, Rosie was determined to join the party and the Operator was hanging out for a Vino!  We finally found a table, were tacked onto the end….and had a ball for the next 4 hours!

So we went out in the rain and headed to Macy’s for the Columbus Day Sale, people were queuing at the door to get in and everything had at least 30% off…the home ware department was awesome!  A whole floor was dedicated to Christmas. 

The ironic note of the day…Al Capone’s niece was on the island today, selling a book she wrote on the family…the only book, she says, that is written by someone that new Al, he did after all teach her how to ride a bike and how to swim….she claimed in her wee speech that the whole family was misunderstood, her Uncle was only charged with tax evasion…..he should not have been incarcerated in a maximum security prison for tax evasion….we were a good family…..the loud laughter and comments of ‘what ever’ were a little embarrassing and cringe worthy….