Day 5 - San Francisco

Today I spent the day in the city again. So I started off with a lovely ferry ride from Alameda to the Ferry Building.

I had to go on the famous cable cars so I took a ride from downtown up the very steep hill past China town and over Nob Hill. 

My next port of call was the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA). I wandered around the streets for quite a while soaking up the sights and sounds, stopping for a burrito on the way (which I only ate half of - they are huge! and spicy!), until I finally came across the museum.

 I was very lucky as the museum was only open for another four days and then it would be closing down for refurbishment until 2016! I took my time to soak up the Jackson Pollock, Andy Warhol, Henri Matisse, Frida Kahlo ... and then to my excitement I came across ...

A photograph by Henri Cartier-Bresson. I have read so much about his work and finally I was standing in front of an original piece of work. A magic moment.

So with the day ending, I climbed aboard my ferry home. San Francisco is quite a nice city to wander around.

Day 4 - San Francisco

Well today was a bit of a geeky day. I have been listening to the podcast This Week in Tech since about 2006. It is my go to listening for when I go for a run. It is also the way I keep up to date with all the 'geek gossip' and news. I found out before coming to SF that the podcast is recorded in Petaluma which is an hour's drive out of SF so we decided to go for a road trip and listen to the recording.

We went on a tour around the studio and then I stayed for the recording of TWIG - this week in Google. Unfortunately I had to leave before the end, but it was great to see how they put the shows together.

Day 3 - San Francisco

Day 2 sort of disappeared with travel and jetlag, so here is day 3.

I had a fabulous day. I started with trip to Rene's school and had a look around in an American elementary year 1 classroom, it was pretty cool. They were doing the daily 5 cafe like a lot of my NZ teacher friends are doing at the moment. The students started the day coming together as a whole school community, pledging allegiance, and then having a talk about a 'life skill' very similar to our key competencies.

Next we went to a farmers market where I tried out a tamale which I quite like. So that is one food I can tick off my list.

I then caught the ferry from Alameda to San Francisco and went on a hop on hop off tour of the city. It was a fabulous way to get a feeling for the place. I got off at Union Square and went to the Apple store (off course) and Macys. My next stop was Haight Ashbury to check out Amoeba music and the alternative stores. I then got off at China town for a walk through. I was a little disappointed as it seemed to be just a street full of tourist shops and I thought it would have a more authentic feel. Golden Gate Bridge revealed itself in all its glory, the fog cleared just for me.

And to end the day I tried a pretzel. Not at all what I imagined. It is basically just a bread bun with rock salt on top. A lovely ride home on the ferry rounded off the trip.

Day 1: Auckland

Today I start my big overseas adventure. I had a lovely start with a day in Auckland. Christina met me at the airport and we went out to the Villa Maria winery for lunch. It was a lovely way to try and shake work out of my head and start getting excited about the adventures to come.

Next stop ... San Francisco.

Top of the mountain

We went to the top of the mountain up the Queenstown gondola.

Peregrine Winery

We went to the Peregrine Winery on the way home from Queenstown to Dunedin.

Chinese Gardens framed

On a recent visit to the Dunedin Chinese gardens with my friend Deb, we spotted these wonderful framed portals out into the outside world. I loved the contrast of the old buildings with the ornate frame.