Come on Rory

Enough said. Strange being at this side of the world. Usually you are sitting up late to get the Masters results. Here it is early in the day. Love it. Here’s to Young Rory finishing it off.

It was lashing today first thing. But it did not stop us in our plan to tick off a few touristy things. Do the Cable Cars, visit Ghirardelli’s, visit Union Square, walk Lombard Street, find a chemist. The usual.

So off we trotted, wrapped up against the rain to where the cable car is turned around at its terminus near the Wharf. Like a local now you see. We had been warned there may be queues but that the street entertainers and the Doomsday Preachers would keep you entertained. Not one of those buggers turned up. The entertainers I can understand but the Apocalypse mongers was a surprise. I was looking forward to a little Life of Brian, “And all wretched sinners just like you,” type of thing. No. Too wet for those boys. But as if in cosmic reply to my scoffing of their commitment to Armageddon it was announced that the cable car that I had just photographed being turned was now broken down and it would take 30 minutes to have it removed. Bollocks. The rain renewed its interest in soaking us. Well, after half an hour this big ass tow truck arrived and towed the busted ass cable car away while it was still running in its tracks. Some sight.

On we boarded the replacement service. They are lovely looking creations but as noisy as hell. It is traditional to hang off the side like a maniac but I rose above it it all and stayed in the dry. We alighted at Union Square where it was still raining. And Mrs Verno eyes immediately settled on the big shop across the street. Into Macy’s we went.

I followed Mrs Verno for a while, like the grumpiest stalker in the world. I eventually found a refuge with seats where I could pretend I was happy. The staff were obviously accustomed to this emotional dissonance and actually came past every two minutes making noise to ensure that we did not simply expire through the absence of any will to go on. But I jest. Mrs Verno had discovered 40% off Levi jeans and tried on quite a few before settling on two pairs. In her own words she will be relying on a right dose of food poisoning when we get home to fit into them. Not my words.

A coffee and a bit of cake revived me and we set off for the next phase of having fun. The key to the toilet in the coffee shop was tethered to a pasta spoon. We crossed Union Square to board the cable car north back the way we came. Along the way you can see the random Yoda on a Heart thing. With “Do do or not,” as an inspirational quote. Random.

We boarded the cable car but got off at Lombard Street to see the world’s bendiest street. It was. And highlighted how hilly San Francisco is.

We were lucky to catch another cable car once finished with Lombard Street. The rain was off and opportunity arose time and I succumbed to the temptation to hang off the side. Quite the thrill I must say as it was not easy what with the rickety nature of the ride and the slant of the streets but I manfully overcame these obstacles as you can see.

We decide to visit Ghirardelli’s. Famous for chocolate and a senseless shopping mall themed on crap and chocolate. We were drawn to a dog apparel store called YAP. But that was it. We lasted less than 10 minutes.

Next came the highlight of our trip as we traversed uncharted territory to find the nearest Wallgreens. It was closer than we thought. What was remarkable here was that the level of security was beyond our experience. A buzzer was positioned near high value items and it seems everything was of high value because of the price of things. The buzzer then called staff to that area to unlock the many cabinets that housed goods. A sleep was needed after all this excitement and I had need of washing my depleting store of kecks. Remember those beautiful piles of ironed kecks. Well the bath was filled, some laundry sheets were chucked in and after a good steep and a little agitation we are now into the drying phase.

The evening ended with a lovely crab cake, some enormous ribs and Chicken Milanese. Lovely. We retired to the hotel bar where Mrs Verno deliberated for a while before settling on a Whiskey Sour. Another good day was had. Oh and once again, come on Rory.