A date with beautiful San Francisco

The second leg of my US Trip earlier this year in Feb/March involved a one night and one day stop at San Francisco before flying east to spend for four days in New York City.

As I said in my last post, visiting the United States for the first time, my perspective of SF & NYC was based on their depiction in popular culture.  For a cinephile like me, a trip to these cities extended beyond just sight-seeing. It felt like being on a film set, reminiscing on an iconic scene or a song which had been filmed there.

As I landed at SFO and was proceeding to the arrival terminal, the grandeur of this airport struck me. This city was not going to play second fiddle to the larger and more famous Californian city of LA. Everything about San Francisco seemed grander, more organized and efficient than LA. My hotel was in the heart of the city at Powell Street. The best bet to get there from the airport was the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit). At $17 for a round trip, comfortable seats and plenty of space to store your luggage, the BART is a big boon to people coming into this city. After a half an hour journey, I reached Powell St from where my hotel was at a walk-able distance. After checking in, I had some time to explore the city in the night as I went to Burger King for a quick bite. Barely 2 hours into the city and the beauty of SF had started to charm me. I was determined to make my only day in SF worth every minute.

The advantage of being in SF is that unlike LA and NYC, it is a much smaller city. Therefore, as a tourist you can cover almost all the major attractions in a day. The trick is to pick the best guided tour. Thanks to TripAdvisor, I was able to identify the best tour in San Francisco – Dylan’s Tour which is run by a San Franciscan.

Dylan’s mini bus picked us up from Union Square next morning. Small group size and a very knowledgeable tour guide on board made this tour totally worth it. The tour was very well planned and in around 5 hours, pretty much covered almost all major city attractions with adequate number of stops for taking pictures and stop by at a famous eatery for lunch. Our tour guide, Jack, a friendly SF native had excellent and in-depth information about the social, historical, cultural, economic and architectural aspects of the city which were presented to us in an interesting way.

Over the next five hours, we got to see the best SF has to offer – Painted Ladies, Mission District, Castro District, Haight – Ashbury, Pacific Heights, Billionaire’s row, Marina District, Fisherman's Wharf, Twin Peaks, City Hall & the Golden Gate Bridge. Additionally, Dylan’s is the only tour which takes you to Marin county which is in the North San Francisco Bay Area. We crossed the Golden Gate Bridge and went to Sausalito and Muir Woods – home to the oldest living trees of the world.

There’s a famous quote by Rudyard Kipling on SF “San Francisco has only one drawback - it is hard to leave.” One can’t help but be mesmerized by the beauty of San Francisco – the Victorian houses, the cable car piercing through the sloped streets of SF, the breathtaking houses in Pacific Heights, the hustle and bustle of Union Square, Chinatown (the largest concentration of Chinese Americans in the US), the haunting Alcatraz  and of course the Golden Gate Bridge.

The beauty of SF lends itself wonderfully to celluloid. This is the city where cult films like Hitchcock’s ‘Vertigo’ (SF and Muir Woods), Will Smith’s ‘Pursuit of Happyness’ and Clint Eastwood’s ‘Dirty Harry’ series have been filmed. Hindi Cinema on its part has done exceedingly well to introduce this beautiful city to Indians through ‘Love Aaj Kal’ and ‘My Name is Khan’.

In addition to its grandeur and beauty, San Francisco comes across as a very liberal and free spirited city. This city was the birthplace of the Gay Rights Movement in the United States, best captured in the 2008 film ‘Milk’ which won Sean Penn an Academy Award for Best Actor. The Hippie Movement is attributed to the Haight-Ashbury district of SF.

The biggest highlight of SF for me was getting to see the Golden Gate Bridge. I am too young to be talking about a Bucket List, but seeing the Golden Gate Bridge was definitely one of the top 10 items on it. The best way to see the bridge is from Marin Headlands where the SF skyline makes for a glorious backdrop to the bridge. With crystal clear blue skies and the blue water beneath, I was extremely lucky to be there on a day when the bridge wasn't enveloped by fog. The cliche ‘words are not enough’ holds true when you want to describe the beauty of the Golden Gate. One has to be there to comprehend its true beauty.

My only day in SF was very memorable. The beauty (I keep repeating that word) of this city has stayed with me ever since. The great song by Scott McKenzie “If you’re going to SanFrancisco” perfectly captures the charm of this city.

SFO

At Powell St. / Union Square

Union Square

City Hall - Where Harvey Milk gave his famous speech

SF Street Art

Ironic to see this in the US

Castro District

Houses along sloped streets of SF

Magnificent view of SF from Twin Peaks

The Painted Ladies and the SF skyline: Perhaps my favorite picture from the trip.

Home of the hippies: Haight-Ashbury

Breathtaking view from Pacific Heights

Danielle Steel's house: The most expensive house in SF

Beautiful!

Alcatraz, the Bay Bridge and the SF skyline as seen from Sausalito

Muir Woods: North of Golden Gate. Home to the 1000 years old Redwood trees.

At Muir Woods

Muir Woods: Hitchcock shot the famous scene from 'Vertigo' featuring James Stewart and Kim Novak here

The Golden Gate Bridge!

Chinatown, SF: Largest concentration of Chinese Americans in the US

Back to Union Square in the evening

SF Cable Car

SF at night

Bay Area Rapid Transit

The Oscars & the City of Angels

It all started last year when I was declared the Grand Prize Winner of the 'Oscars Predict & Win' contest conducted by the Star Movies Channel. More info here . The prize was a 2 nights & 3 days all expense paid trip to Los Angeles for me and a partner of my choice to attend the 85th Academy Awards on February 24th, 2013. For a cinephile like me, this was the ultimate dream coming true as I waited with bated breath for the big day. During this time I was able to plan and firm up my travel plan in the US which included Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York City. There was of course the vital and stressful process of getting a US tourist visa which thankfully went all right! Recommendation letter from the leading Television network in India and an invitation by the Academy was more than enough to ensure that there was no hiccup in the visa process. In fact, the US consular officer while granting the visa jokingly said "Have fun and wave for me at the Oscars!". 

With regards to my partner for the trip, it was a toss up between my Mom and Dad. It was a difficult choice as Dad is a great connoisseur of world cinema and would love being at the Oscars. On the other hand, this would be Mom's first trip to the US. Thankfully, my non existent love life ensured that there were no additional candidates in the running. Eventually, the three of us agreed that it would be Mom who would accompany me to the trip.

The big day came on February 23rd when we packed our bags and left for Los Angeles on a comfortable but long Emirates flight clocking a total flying time of 21 hours. Flying west, we reached LA on the same day and our excitement got the better off any jet lag we were supposed to have.

Transit at Dubai International Airport

Emirates totally lives up to all the hype. Friendly and efficient crew, a decent food &
drinks menu to choose from and great in-flight entertainment options set you for
your journey.

Descent to LA

Mr. Obama will smile and welcome you at LAX provided the guys at Homeland Security think you aren't a terrorist. ;-)

The weather in LA at 16'c / 5 'c was pleasant and similar to Delhi's weather in late Jan/early February.  The cold winds from the Pacific made it a little chilly during the evenings. We left for our Hotel, The Hilton in Universal City which is around 45 kms from LAX. The day's agenda was to rest and plan for the big day and the highlight of the trip - The 85th Academy Awards! After a highly overpriced and average buffet dinner at the Hilton we went to sleep.

Hilton in Universal City Walk near the Universal Studio

View from our room.

24th February, 2013: The 85th Annual Academy Awards

We left Hilton early morning for the Dolby Theatre and reached the Hollywood & Vine Station from where we walked down the Hollywood Walk of Fame to reach the venue. The Academy had a dedicated team to look after the fans attending the red carpet. Overall, around 500 lucky fans from around the world had got a lifetime opportunity to attend the bleachers or the 'Oscar Fan Experience' as it is officially called. Here's the deal - one cannot buy these tickets as they're only given out through sweepstakes & contests. It's a money can't buy experience. The day was well planned out with the Academy making provision for breakfast, lunch and drinks to keep us comfortable as we waited for the stars to turn up at the Red Carpet.

The accreditation Card for the event.

 

The hoarding at Hollywood Boulevard. 'Ready Seth Go' a reference to this year's host - Seth Macfarlane

Reaching Dolby Theatre

Mom & I entering the venue

The arch welcoming us to the event

Fan area outside the Dolby Theatre

The El Capitan Theatre across the street

..and the stars would walk on the Red Carpet soon.

Jennifer Lawrence who picked up the award for the Best Actress for her role in 'Silver Linings Playbook'

Bradley Cooper nominated for 'Silver Linings Playbook' acknowledging the fans.

Charlize Theron walking the Red Carpet

Christopher Plummer who won the Best Supporting Actor last year making him the oldest actor to do so

Tommy Lee Jones: Nominated as Best Supporting Actor for his role in Lincoln

Halle Berry walking the Red Carpet

Christopher Waltz - A well deserved win for him for his incredible performance in 'Django Unchained'

Anne Hathaway nominated for her role in Les Miserables

Bryan Cranston : My favorite actor on television. He makes 'Breaking Bad' the best show on TV.

The talented Amy Adams.

Jennifer Garner

Jennifer Anniston walking the Red Carpet

A super performance by Adele later on.

Q. Wallis - at age 9, the youngest nominee for Best Actress for her role in 'Beasts of a Southern Wild'

The ladies went crazy when he came this close.

The legendary Ang Lee who won Best Director for 'Life of Pi'

Doesn't get better than this: Dustin Hoffman. The moment of the
day was when I yelled "Dustin , Dustin" and the great man
looked at me and waved!

Daniel Day Lewis aka Abraham Lincoln!

Richard Gere

Hugh Jackman

Ben Affleck -  Gave an amazing speech when 'Argo' was announced as Best Film.

Quentin Tarantino who would later pick up an Oscar for Best Screenplay

Jessica Chastain - Best Actress nominee for her role in 'Zero Dark Thirty'. Really wanted her to win.

Posing with the Oscar statue after the event.

The above pictures do only little justice to the experience that was the 85th Academy Awards. I was in awe of the legends who walked on Red Carpet one after the other. Not photographed but also seen at the Red Carpet were Steven Spielberg, Catherine Zeta Jones, Michael Douglas and the legendary Robert De Niro among others.

In the last 6 years, I have never missed watching the Academy Awards live on television, getting up early on a Monday morning and reporting late to college / office that day. Before the awards, the aim is to see maximum number of nominated films and back my favorite films and performances. But this day was different. I was seated right along the red carpet  and saw all the legends walk in flesh & blood from a couple of meters away. As the Oscars ended and I made my way back to the Hotel, I knew that I had knocked off the ultimate item on my bucket list! 

Los Angeles: The City of Angels

Los Angeles is the mecca of showbiz. As I walked the streets of LA, I could feel the glitz & glamour the city is known for. Touring the US for the first time, my perspective of the cities was based on their depiction in the movies. The spirit and beauty of Los Angeles is well captured in films like Double Indemnity, Sunset Boulevard, Pulp Fiction and LA Confidential and I could see various scenes from these films playing in the reel of my mind.

I had two days to explore LA. We shifted our base to a Hotel in Sunset Boulevard near Hollywood Walk of Fame as it got us closer to the hustle and bustle. We took the guided 'A Day in LA' tour which covers the length and breadth of LA. Major city attractions covered by the tour include Santa Monica & Venice Beaches, the best of Hollywood star homes, Hollywood Sign, Griffith park, Hollywood Walk of Fame, Rodeo Drive and Beverly Hills.

Santa Monica Beach

At Venice Beach

Venice Beach Graffiti

Hollywood Hills: Home of the Stars

Tom Hanks' House

Hillary Swank's House

Ocean Drive

Barbara Streisand's House

Where the stars shop: Rodeo Drive

Beverly Hills

Outside the CBS Studios

The Hollywood Sign

Hollywood Boulevard

Shop shutter art at Hollywood Boulevard

Here's looking at you kid.

Shop shutter art at Hollywood Boulevard

The last day in LA involved choices. Which studio tour to take? Should I go to downtown LA? Eventually, I decided to go to the world renowned Universal Studios. Notwithstanding the paucity of time on the last day, the trip to the Universal Studios was worth it. The Guided Movie Tour and the rides - Mummy Returns, Transformers and Jurassic Park were superb. It was like going back to the carefree days of childhood. All sorts of characters in the park made for some great photo-ops.

Universal Studio Entrance

With Megatron ;-)

I bid adieu to the city of Angels very content. I had seen the major parts of the city and done all the touristy things. Had I had more time on my hands, I would have preferred to unwind at the Venice Beach and visit some of the raved about restaurants. But then there's always a next time...

San Francisco and New York City were calling over the next 6 days. My excitement levels had not dipped one bit. More about my visit to these two cities in the next post.