Farmers' Markets and Liberty Ships - another week in California

Hey all - sorry it's taken me longer than I expected to get onto this post - been busy busy busy this last week.

So, picking up where I left off last time - last Saturday had been planned as a trip to SF to go and visit Alcatraz - I've been once before, and it's incredible - you can get a great sense of the history of the place by just wandering through the ruined and disused buildings which represent all the different uses the island has had over its long history. Even from afar, you can get a sense of the isolation of this island in the middle of one of America's biggest cities.

Unfortunately, this particular Saturday, Alcatraz was not to be - as it was a sunny and pleasant weekend, there were literally thousands of tourists (such as myself, it must be said) out and about, and all of the alcatraz tickets for the day were already taken. Anyway, I decided I wouldn't let such a thing stop me from heading out for the day, so I made my way into San Francisco.

One thing worth knowing about this town is that it's right at the forefront of all sorts of eco-friendly and sustainable measures and practices. A good example of this is the weekly farmer's market, which I came across outside the Ferry Terminal in downtown San Franscisco. Every Saturday, there's a whole bunch of stalls set up on the sidewalk for visitors to browse through. But these aren't your ordinary fruit stalls - instead, it's a proper foodies' market - all organic, and with a huge range of different and unusual species and varieties. Below, for example, you can see a few of the different types of tomatoes - this stall alone had at least a dozen different kinds of tomato - like I said, a real connoisseur's selection.

The next stop on my trip was the famous tourist spot pier 39 - however, getting there turned out to be somewhat more difficult than I imagined it would - because there were so many people around, I waited at the streetcar stop for almost half an hour while tram after tram went past, packed to the gills. Luckily, I had taken some reading material with me, so no great loss.

When I got to Pier 39, I poked around for a little bit at the knick-knack and tourist shops, before stopping for a highly recommended SF eating experience - clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl - I wish I had a picture, but I was too busy enjoying my lunch to break out the camera.

Last stop for the day was a visit to a WWII era Liberty Ship, built to transfer vital supplies across the Atlantic Ocean - there were over 1100 of these 400 foot long ships built in just a few years, but there are only 2 which still work. This particular ship is thrown open to the public when it's not steaming around the bay for fundraising. I really enjoyed poking around the place, which is made possible by the fact that essentially the entire ship, from the bridge to the decks to the engine room are opened up, and you are free to explore at your own pace.

The rest of this week has been largely confined to preparing for classes - some more orientations (I'm feeling somewhat over-oriented at the moment), another trip into SF to pick up some bits and pieces, and a bunch of stationary shopping etc etc.

Today, however, was my first day of classes, and I'm glad to report that everything went well - my classes seem to be super interesting, and it looks like I'm likely to get into the field-trip class I've been so keen on.

Anyway, that's about all for today - if you wanna catch up with the rest of the photos (including a whole bunch from the amazing liberty ship), then check out the newest Flickr set.

'til next time,

Jono