Japantown

It was Japanese Day in the Webster house on Monday when we decided to take a walk down Steiner into Japantown. I went with the girls last week and we had had such a lovely day that Owen wanted to see it for himself.

Rose and Isla eating sushi under the Peace Pagoda

Japantown seems to be spread out over about 6 blocks from Filmore through to Laguna and Sutter down to Geary. The centre is dominated by a huge five tiered pagoda in the Peace Plaza, surrounded by fountains and cherry trees and on either side stretches the 3 square blocks of The Japan Centre, filled with shops, restaurants, teashops, and peaceful seating areas (although not when we arrived!).

All the restaurants have plastic sushi and noodle window displays with little tags labeling what they are. The lucky cat waves from every shop doorway and there are many places that we looked at selling miniature notebooks and pencils in fabulously kitsch colours and patterns.

One of the larger Lucky Cats we saw

We visited the famous Kinikuniya Bookstore where I got myself my first Japanese cook book and the girls sat and read fairy stories in Japanese.


We wondered around soaking up the atmosphere and getting a feel for life in Japan. Japantown is steeped in history from when the Japanese first came to the area after the 1906 earthquake and then the evacuation of all Japanese into camps during the war. There is a beautiful memorial and historical reminder in the Peace Plaza.

Owen wanted to buy some chop sticks so we headed to the hardware store (that a mother at school had recommended) and found a huge selection with special plastic holders for the children to get used to holding them. We also headed to the Japanese supermarket and loaded our basket with rice, miso paste, tofu, noodles and seaweed. It had been decided that we were so inspired by our visit, we would have a japanese meal that evening!

Hand made sushi by Owen Rose and Isla

We came home and made our own sushi, teriaki chicken and ramen noodles with edamme beans and ate it with our new chop sticks.

A chop stick pro

We will be revisiting Japantown on a regular basis for the supermarket, restaurants and particularly the Cherry Blossom Festival in April.

Another adventurous weekend - Part 2

Sunday brought more travels, this time across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito. We had 2 destinations, a picnic lunch and a newly acquired gps. I was driving!

Watching the pups from the viewing platform

After a beautiful drive in the sunshine (something we haven't seen for a while here) we arrived at the Marine Mammal Centre. Here the volunteers and vets look after sick and injured marine mammals. On the day of our visit they had 24 elephant seal pups in their care. March is seal pupping season along the coast of California however the mother seals only stay with their young for a month and then leave them on the beach to fend for themselves. Many on the pups haven't learnt how to hunt and feed themselves and are therefore malnourished and severely under weight when they are found and brought to the centre. A baby elephant seal should put on about 10 lb a day but some of the pups in the centre were 4-6 weeks old and only weighing 40-50 lb. They are fed on a diet of fish shakes and carefully monitored in this amazing environment. Because this is an animal hospital and not a zoo, visitors have to stay quiet (not easy for Isla) and can only view the mammals from a viewing platform. There were however, some very knowledgable staff on hand to answer questions and an education room packed with information.

Isla was very keen on the seal pups but spent most of her time with the "real" seals.....

 We took this especially for our Theo - fighter of sharks! 

After an hour of so we left the centre and headed off on our journey again, this time to the Bay Area Discovery Museum. This has been especially designed for children up to the age of 8 so it was perfect for us. I had read some good reviews and it had also been recommended by our landlady. The museum encouraged children to explore through play, building, painting, feeling and listening.

Cleaning

Painting

Rose and Isla spent a long time in the art room painting then cleaning a perspex wall. They came home and wanted to do the same thing in the shower but I think I will omit the paint for that one.

All in all we had another fabulous day. Owen spent most of his time on the outdoor play equipment and experimenting with wind, waves and boats, while Rose enjoyed the art room and printing space.

Best bits of the day: For me, our windy (very english) picnic overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge and seeing a pelican.

For Owen, building the biggest boat. 

For Isla, painting and cleaning and getting paint all over her including her hair.

For Rose, everything - in the entire world!

For Dave, listening to Owen charming the american girls (with his toilet humour).

All done and home in time for tea....

Love Jo x

Another adventurous weekend - Part 1.

We stayed around the Bay this weekend but had lots of adventures never the less.

I found out that if I joined the SF library then once a week we could get a family city pass for free. This entitles us to a free visit to one of 18 attractions throughout the city.This week we chose the Walt Disney Museum in the Presidio, normally coming in at about $45 dollars for the family!! A great deal from the library, thank you.

I was a little apprehensive about this excursion because
1. I hadn't read brilliant things about it and the museum isnt mentioned in the fabulous new book that I just bought - San Fran and Kids or in the San Fran rough guide.
2. It was a Disney museum
.... I was hoping that the best thing about the museum wasn't the very plush toilets but I was very pleasantly surprised. It wasn't 'Disneyfied' at all. Beautifully curated and packed full of history; social, economical and artistic, the museum had got it just right.

We were all captivated by the visual displays from the early Alice comedies, through the birth of Mickey Mouse - Steam Boat Willie and through the addition of colour and feature film animation. Each room used different aspects of technology in its curation to keep us and the children interested, from touch screens to head phones, video screens and moving scale models. We had a go at adding soundtracks to an early black and white Mickey animation using head phones a video screen and musical instruments. In the early years of Disney the entire soundtrack had to be put down at the same time - the voices, sound effects and orchestral score. This meant that everyone involved had to be in the studio at once and were conducted by a metronome so that everyone was in time.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the first feature length animation made by Walt Disney. The museum has a whole exhibit dedicated to the drawing and making of the film with beautifully detailed original drawings.
The world première was at the Carthay Circle Theatre, Hollywood on December 21st 1937.

Owen was delighted to see a few references to Davy Crockett - one of his favourites after we got him the DVD a while back ( Dave used to have a Davy Crockett t-shirt as a child!).  Seems that it was quite a hit in it's day.

The section on Disneyland was quite an eye opener too - it's easy to forget now quite what a big deal this was all those years ago.  There's no doubt about it Walt Disney didn't lack in ambition.  You could say much the same thing about California (and probably the whole of the States).

Love Jo

Building work

Right next to my office, they're starting work on a new office block. It's going to be the tallest building South of Market. It seems that building here is quite an adventure. To start with, the entire financial district of San Francisco is built on a landfill site. For years and years, people used to just dump their rubbish in the bay or the marsh land that surrounded it. If you look at really old maps, the peninsula used to be much smaller than it is now, before they started dumping rubbish. Take the Marina district for example - when they get an earthquake, the buildings down there wobble around like they're built on jelly. They pretty much are - they're built on a swamp filled with rubbish.

Not surprisingly, the officials thought that building high rise structure on jelly was not a great idea so they created regulations to ensure that all new building were anchored to the rock which is often below sea level. So all big building projects here involve digging down 30 feet to find the a nice big lump of rock to build on.

Life gets a little more complicated when the builders stumble upon something of real interested when digging their nice big hole. In one story I've been told, an old wreck from the gold rush days was discovered. It was from the time of the gold rush, the ship was anchored in the bay and the crew headed into the hills to look for gold. They never returned and the ship sunk and ended up in the marshes. Over time, as the dumping of rubbish began filling in the gaps, it became part of the land. That was until some developers wanted to build a new office block. On discovery, the building work was halted for two years while archeological teams worked their way through the remains thousands of ancient artifacts.

Maybe the story is true, maybe it isn't. Maybe it's a little bit true. I like it all the same.

Monterey

As you'll have read from Rosie's post, we went to Monterey at the weekend.  We went originally on our Honeymoon (many years ago).  We had one scheduled trip and made time to return later in the holiday because we enjoyed it so much. It has a wonderful feeling apart from the very touristy Cannery Row.  The aquarium was the real big draw for us this time as we knew the children would love it.  They all spent ages watching the really big kelp forest tank.  This was a good two stories high and really felt like part of the ocean.  It contained sharks (cue screaming from the girls), star fish, a school of anchovies and the highlight, a wolf eel which Owen recognised from Deadly 60!  Twice a day, visitors are invited to watch feeding time which is done, of course, by SCUBA diver....

Her name is Anne!

The diver wears a full face mask and is miked up to enable her to talk us through what she's doing and what fish are in the tank.  Owen and Rose sat right at the front and were fascinated throughout.

Isla wanted to get up close to the tropical fish. Nemo was her favorite.

As well as all of the wildlife in the aquarium, there is plenty going on outside.  From a deck around the aquarium you can watch wild sea otters in the bay, catching crabs and using rocks to break open the shells to get to the unfortunate crabs. Owen has put a few photos on his blog entry. He was the first to spot the sea otters and said " I could sit here all day watching them". He also enjoyed the sea otter exhibit inside the aquarium where the staff talked about training, exercise and diet.

Taking advantage of a short break in the weather, we rented a five man bike...

We were amazingly lucky to see a passing school / pod of dolphins swimming along the coast, jumping out of the sea as they went along. People were rushing to the waters edge just to get a glimps and there were a few surfers out on the waves with them. Awesome as they say here.

We also saw a typical Californian sight of sea lions sunning themselves on the beach.  The best bit was when a larger than usual wave came in and dragged a few of the closer ones out to sea. I remember this sight from when we came a good few years ago. I love that it is so hard to tell the sea lions and rock apart.

Can you spot them?

We had a wonderful weekend and are now confident to continue our weekend exploring all sharing one motel room!

Love Jo and Dave too

I'll explain everything to the geeks

Driving through the hills on the way to Monterey I was reminded that High Violet by The National is a great "soundtrack" album to accompany beautiful scenery. I then became a little sad to realise that I'd be missing them headlining Latitude this year. Then Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks came on and I was transported back to Brixton Academy late last year when The National performed this as their final song of the night, A cappella with the entire audience singing along. If they do the same at Latitude it will be the greatest Latitude moment in the festival's history. Beg, borrow or steal a ticket and go and see them - I promise you won't regret it! Learn the words to Vanderlyle and you can be part of something beautiful.

Now if I can just find an excuse to come back for the weekend.....

Gym Club

Today Rose and Isla went to gym club. They were both very excited. We had a packed lunch ready, and apart from getting a little bit lost on the way we were raring to go.

Outside ready and waiting

Inside and getting ready for class

Isla's class was first and I had to stay with her. Rose came too although she just had to encourage rather than participate. Isla's favorite bits were the trampoline and the slide. There were quite alot of children in the group ranging from 18 to 36 months. She did some fantastic climbing, jumping, balancing and swinging.

The main gym area

I have never seen Rose so excited before. She hasn't stopped talking about gym club since the moment I mentioned it and she thoroughly enjoyed herself. She has asked me to put in all the photos and tell you about her session in detail, so here goes:

Her favorite bits: All f it! Running on the mats, trapeze, trampoline, rope swine, parellel bar, forward rolls and balance beam.

Her teachers name is Coach Daniel (Coach Daniel is really Cool Mummy) and there are 3 other children in her class so it makes the session very intense.

Rose with her group in the main gym

Practicing with Coach Daniel

Hanging around up side down

Holding herself up with her arms and counting to 4

On the rope swing

We have signed up for the rest o the term so Rose is looking forward to being able to do handstands and cartwheels by the time she comes home. There is even an under 5's summer camp that she is already showing interest in.

Love Jo (and the girls) x

My Trip to Monterey - by Rose

We went to Monterey at the weekend.  I loved the dolphins and I loved the sea otters.  The dolphins were out in the sea.  They were doing diving and splashing.  We went on a bike ride in a special big bike for all five of us.  We saw the dolphins from the aquarium and from the bike ride.

Here is a picture of my brother with a huge sea horse:

and here is a picture of me looking at a real sea horse:

Love Rose.

Dave's found a great bar

Although Dave's bar on 3rd Street ought to have been a hit it was just "OK".  Last night however we headed out to Bourbon and Branch which is on the site of an original speakeasy from the days of the prohibition.  The entrance is just a door with a buzzer (makes Soho House look like a regular pub entrance).  You press the buzzer and the door opens a crack and you're asked for the password.  Assuming you pass this test and have ID (I failed that one but passed the "tie-breaker" question to gain entry), you are escorted through a few dark rooms and, in our case, to the library at the back of the building.  It's floor to ceiling books as you'd expect with a bar at one end.  The barman was an absolute pro, an artist in fact.  They do about half a dozen "house" cocktails but he said he could make anything you liked but he was out of egg whites (no big loss in my opinion).  So I tried a couple of the house cocktails which were nice enough but then I caved and got down to the serious business of the Highland Park 18 (sorry Keith!) and a wonderful Ardbeg Uigeadail.  The barman seemed to like the way I was motoring my way through the tab and we got chatting about bourbon versus whiskey.  We discussed the whiskeys I enjoy and he proceeded to line up half a dozen glasses on the bar and started collecting various bottles from the massive array behind him.  Well, one thing lead to another and I now know that:

1. Right now, I prefer whiskey to bourbon.

2. I need to practice a little more to move beyond the vanilla and butterscotch.

3. If I practice too much, they all taste nice and it's hard to be really objective.

4. My current favourite is Black Hill Maple although the Buffalo Trace was also good.

5. You don't want to head South or West when you exit the bar.

So maybe not as cultured or as interesting as Jo and Owen's entries but you can't go far wrong with a tip for a good bar.

Only in America!!

Rose, Isla and I were out for a walk the other day while Owen was at school. We wanted to find out what shops were around our neighborhood and how steep the hills were and we came across this.....

We laughed and laughed. Only on Russian Hill would you find such a classy poodle parlour.

Rose wanted to see what was inside and why poodles had to have their 'nails done'.  I didn't feel like I could take photos of the interior but if you check out the website www.russianhilldoggrooming.com it will give you an insight into what we saw. When we looked in the window there were a stack of business cards so I had to have one for the scrap book.

I just wanted to share one or two of the things that make America, particularly California so special and why I love Southwold and my friends who keep me sane.

Love Jo x

My new school

Dear Followers!

I started my new school on Wednesday. It is a montessori school and very different from St Felix.

We start school at 8.40am and finish at 2.40pm. My teacher is called Miss Honna and her helper is called Don. First we put our lunch bags away and hang coats up then we we have a class meeting. This is were we do sharing of things that we have brought in from home like toys or books. After this we go to our desk and the teacher sets stuff up for us. Its not like work sheets its more like games. Today, for example, we played a subtraction game where you have skittles and beads for 1000's, 100's ,10's and units. They are different colours. The 1000's are green, the 100's are red, the 10's are blue and the units are also green but in a different coloured box. There are 4 teams all with beads and then you take it in turns to 'go'. It was so fun.
We had a St Patrick's Day party today where we all brought in green food. I took in grapes. Others bought in green beans, celery, seaweed and green pepper cut in shamrock shapes. Lots of people wore green to school including the parents and teachers. We got given a hat to take home.

We haven't got a playground yet so we go to the park or the butterfly house. The butterfly house has loads of toys and no butterflys.

We are going on a field trip tomorrow to see a man perform with his made up instruments.

See you soon
from Owen

On the Move again

We left the lovely Hilton on Saturday morning after a heavenly breakfast of everything you can imagine. Isla started with CAKE followed by strawberries and pineapple, grapes and yogurt, cereal and a fruit shot!! You can only imagine what Owen managed to put away. We'd been there nearly two weeks and were becoming part of the furniture. It is mainly used for conferences so when there are three children running around we seemed to make quite an impression. So much so that our breakfast waitress Robyn bought them each a leaving present and a packed lunch to take away.

So this is us ready to leave.
Isla and I waited with the luggage and Dave went to get the hire car with the other two. He successfully negotiated the downtown streets of San Francisco and picked us up. With all aboard and the guitar strapped to the roof we drove away to our new home in Pacific Heights.
The apartment is beautiful. First floor of a lovely looking victorian property directly opposite Alta Plaza Park in Pacific Heights. Its fully furnished so we were able to just move straight in. Oh, apart from a bed for Owen. Dave and Owen braved the Bay Bridge in the afternoon on a mammoth trip to Ikea of all places!

Owen is completely settled surrounded by Lego and girls are pretty in pink, if you can spot them in such a huge bed!

And the girls are pretty in pink, if you can spot them in such a huge bed!! Bonus points for upsidaisy.

And now we start the rest of our journey. Can't wait to share some more.

Love Jo x

Cable Cars

Cable cars are an iconic symbol of San Francisco. We have already had quite a few journeys up and down the hills of Powell Street and Hyde.

It cost $5 for a single journey but it's much cheaper, as with most things, to get a weekly travel card.






At the bottom of Powell and over by Fisherman's Wharf the cable cars queue up waiting to turn around and head back up the hill. The driver and the ticket collector push the cable car by hand onto the round about, turn it around and the push it off onto the reverse line.



We will be visiting the cable car museum in the next few days so that we have a clearer understanding of how it all works under the road.

Owen has taken some fabulous photos and video from the back of the cable car.

Not for me thanks

I bought icecreams today from Ghirardelli's. The most famous chocolate makers in the Bay. Strawberry for Isla, mint choc chip for Owen and chocolate for Rose. They were huge! "Am I in heaven?" says Rose as she takes a big lick and smears it all over her face.

We sat and ate them looking out over Aquatic Park at the Golden Gate Bridge covered in a light mist. In the enclosed harbour (a balmy 53 degrees) there is a scattering of orange swimming hats. Men from the Dolphin swimming club out for their daily exercise.