vino!

'Bout to get our wine tasting on in NAPA, bitches. I wish people could just bring us wine in our hotel room because it is a heavenly oasis (especially compared to hostel life).

Rest of San Fran was sweet (but I never got any Rice-A-Roni; SUPER SAD). We went to a free comedy show at The Purple Onion, which, if memory serves me correctly, is the club featured in the DVD of the Zach Galifianakis Comedy Hour. If I'm right, I'm totally awesome because I watched that DVD while I was rather intoxicated (thanks for being a good influence, older brother who supplied me with said intoxicants).

We drove up yesterday through Muir Woods (fucking huge Redwoods all up ons) and took the Shoreline Highway, also known as California One. If you love The Decemberists, like I do, you will know that they have a song about that (from the album Castaways and Cutouts, I believe). My brilliant plan was to listen to it as we drove, but the iPod connector in the car was complete shit. (Damn you Zipcar!!! ... just kidding, I love you. You complete me.) I had to settle for FM radio in the middle of nowhere. Hellooooo country music.

Anyway, the drive was gorgeous but a little scary because the road is really curvy and it basically drops off to a sheer cliff like a foot off the side of the road. Steph navigated it with caution and care, however, and we survived.

I hate to leave you all but I just have to go taste a lot of delicious wine. Life is so hard.

rainbows, sunshine and foreign friends

Sorry I haven't posted in a while (okay, I bet no one cares), the internet at our SF hostel is being stupid and I didn't want to blog from a shared computer. Yes, I'm ashamed of you. You're like my bastard child.

Anyway, San Francisco is cool. I was disappointed that no one offered me Rice-A-Roni as soon as we set foot in the city. What can you do? I kind of want to buy some and make it in the hostel, but I haven't had it since I was like 12 and I can't remember if I actually like it. I probably do, it's just kind of rice with other shit. End Rice-A-Roni talk.

So this hostel is way different than the last one. If the last one felt like staying in someone's house, this one feels like staying in a friend of a friend's college dorm. I can't tell who actually works there and it's just generally not run as well (in my opinion). That being said, it's still totally fine and I'm enjoying myself.

We've done a bunch of exploring: Fisherman's Wharf, North Beach (where my I-talian people live), the touristy piers, the Mission, the Castro, Lombard Street (ridiculously designed "crookedest street") and probably other things I'm forgetting. We're still here a while so we're going to do the Golden Gate Bridge and other key SF things. Castro was super gay, of course, which was neat. Huge rainbow flags everywhere and lots of other homos hanging about. We passed by the store front where Harvey Milk based all his stuff out of, so that was neat.

The weather here has been the most consistently good/sunshine-y of our trip which is super duper. We've just walked around a ton and I love it. Steph, being too Irish, got a nasty sunburn already. Then she got a sunburn on top of her sunburn: now that is talent. Speaking of Irish, I've gotten really into the Celtics. This stems more from my hatred of the Lakers (and Kobe/Artest/Gasol), which seems to have trumped my hatred of Boston sports. For now.

Anyway, we watched the game last night with some new friends (British chick and two Swiss guys) and that was fun. The British chick LOVED my British accent (suck it, Steph). Highlight of night: Steph got the hiccups and the two Swiss dudes picked her up, flipped her upside-down and shook her on the sidewalk. Unconventional, yes, but it did cure her hiccups so I call it a win.

Last thing: dude in my room was snoring so loud last night that the management actually made him go to a private room. I slept through it. YES EAR PLUGS.