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SAN FRANCISCO
Stuart Dunlop has been busy with the Travel Channel for 7 years now, he’s had the dream job of Producing and Directing on location filming for The Travel Bug. Having worked in over 20 destinations worldwide including Australia, Canada, Sri Lanka and even Majorca he’s giving his weary sea-legs a well earned rest and currently puts his vivid imagination to work making the programme trailers and teasers. His specialist subjects are crooning in international karaoke bars and attempting the local dances.
I touched down in the autumnal sunshine of San Francisco, my brain resonating with the only line I know from Scott McKenzie's hippy anthem "San Francisco, be sure you wear flowers in your hair" (admit it, you only know one line too!) and taxied the rollercoaster streets, past the high rise business district, and into the area no local would dispute is this city's heart, the roughish district of Haight-Ashbury.
The Upper Haight, as pedantic bus drivers know it, sits in the West overlooking most of The City. It became the scene for the original "hippy" movement back in 1967 when it hosted gigs by Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin and The Grateful Dead, all banging out their bohemian hits; that's the year that gave us the original Summer of Love.
 If history, subversive culture, and avant-garde nick-nack shopping butter your muffin, then this area takes some beating (and the Haight does actually look as if it's taken a few beatings!) the streets are quirky but have a cartoonish charm. Only the damaged ATMs sitting in graffiti-covered iron-fenced shop fronts, and the peeling patches of day-glo paint suggest the need for a touch up here and there, but something about the vibe in this hippy magnet left me very much at ease.
The big worry is just how long can The Haight hold off the tide of commercialism washing at its borders? The Gap's found a gap, and Ben and his mate Jerry have muscled in, flogging their ice creams. Surely it's only a matter of time before your view of the Golden Gate is obscured by a view of the "Golden Arches".
I wasn't alone. I was travelling with a group of friends from London, and there were two main reasons for our visit to The Upper Haight; number one was to have a vantage point where we could observe San Francisco's Halloween knees-up at its most intense, number two was to experience our first stay at a Peace Hotel!
The Red Vic Hotel featured in Globetrekker San Francisco (currently showing on the Travel Channel) and I was intrigued to say the least. OK, this wouldn't have been my first option a few years back, but after 2 years of travelling with work, I'm suffering from the "Lost in Translation" syndrome (symptoms include seeing all hotels as bland, soulless, expensive places).
I wanted to lay my head down in somewhere with a bit of character. As the taxi pulled up alongside the bright red fire escape-fronted building, I knew I was in for some sort of treat - or trick.
It was breakfast and an enthusiastic discussion was in full flow around a big table, orchestrated with gusto by the hotel's elegant owner Sami Sunchild, Sam, an artist and entrepreneur who's enjoying life in her 80's, is more than happy to fill guests in on her struggle to single-handedly bring The Red Vic into being.
Every morning her guests put the world to rights over a croissant and coffee. I turned to see the shocked expressions on my travelling companions' faces. "Talking in the morning to strangers....but we're Londoners!". If you love to munch on bacon whilst chewing the fat, you'll have to slip off to the greasy spoon café up the road; The Red Vic serves up strictly vegan and vegetarian dishes.
All the bedrooms are themed; they include The Summer of Love Room and The Redwood Forest Room but I went for enlightenment in The Japanese Tea Garden Room. It was nicely kept, the bed was comfortable, and despite the lack of view, there was a little light-up garden complete with an ornamental temple..
Due to the building's vintage plumbing system you won't find en-suite bathrooms, but there are two on each floor and yes, even those are themed. The Red Vic is the only place where I've heard the phrase "Quick, The Aquarium restroom's sprung a leak!"
My taxi driver informed me my life would change that night. It was October 31st and the Halloween buzz was definitely in the air. It's a monstrous deal to Americans so like all good boy scouts I'd prepared my Edward Scissorhands costume well in advance.
 We left the peace and quiet of The Red Vic and followed a stream of fellow revellers up Buena Vista hill towards the sound of sirens. Suddenly, we were forced to jump back onto the sidewalk as a very old bloke in a motorised wheelchair dressed as Death, and brandishing a sickle whizzed past. I can now say I have literally laughed in the face of death!
Thousand and thousands of ghouls, goblins, grinches, and geishas congregated at the crossroads of the Castro. There was a police barricade on each corner - they were checking for weapons. Plastic or real, it didn't matter. Our poor Zorro had his sword swiped leaving him a Cerano De Bergarac without the huge nose. Behind the police were a barrage of news crews reporting live for their "And finally " sections. DJ's pumped out music on every street, the atmosphere was electric and the turn out phenomenal.
 I'd read that the discerning locals frowned on shop-bought costumes so I lapped up the appreciation when I received my own hollers of "Yo Edward, nice getup".
Trying to get a drink was thirsty work (not helped by my big cardboard scissors). And queuing for the portaloos slowed the night down, but it didn't dampen any "spirits" as it enabled us to stand and take in the strange and fabulous parade floating past. The taxi driver was right. My life did change! For a night I WAS Edward Scissorhands, hanging out with a Storm Trooper while THE Alien walked past with Bert from Sesame Street. What a swell party!
Compared to the rest of America San Francisco is a culinary connoisseur. The mix of European and Asian really cooks up the flavours. Ignore the less than flattering name and try out The Stinking Rose, an establishment dedicated solely to garlic. It's garlic, garlic, and garlic in every dish from the crab to the ice cream. Good for keeping vampires at bay around Halloween, equally good at keeping everyone else at arm's length. Be sure to travel with fellow clove lovers.
 For a different holiday experience I headed to the Monster Park stadium to watch the San Francisco 49ers take on The Tampa Bay Buccaneers in All American Football. Who cares about rules when there's foot-long hotdogs, beer, cheerleaders, fireworks, and even half time prizes awarded to the best barbeque party happening in the car park? English football venues take note!
Head to San Francisco anytime of the year, though I'd advise taking friends along for a fantastic Halloween treat. It's a destination with so much to get your fangs into. A quick word on the weather; pack clothes for every climate as the fog rolls in and the wind doth blow, but when the Californian sun shines it'll leave you smiling like a hippy from the 60's!
Red Victorian Bed, Breakfast & Art
www.redvic.com
Alcatraz Island
www.blueandgoldfleet.com
The Stinking Rose Restaurant
www.thestinkingrose.com
To find out more about San Francisco visit 
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January 2006 |