I'm leaving my heart in San Francisco

I have just been to a restaurant called 'The Stinking Rose' which has the tagline 'we serve our garlic with food' or something similar. It was ace. Except that I have eaten so many carbs now I worry about my ability to fit in a plane seat. I am also concerned because I have to spend 15 of the next 24 hours on a plane. My sympathy for anyone who sits next to me.

But all this is really leading up to the fact that I have just had one of the best experiences of my trip so far. Today I went to City Lights Bookstore which has been a dream of mine since the 12th grade when I discovered Lawrence Ferlinghetti via a Morphine/Ferlinghetti spoken word piece that a girl I went to boarding school was given on a mix tape from her internet penfriend in England who later turned out to be a spoilt rich kid stoner who visited her in Australia and spent most of his time on the couch complaingin about the weather.

Anyway, I've loved Coney Island of the Mind for years. It's my favourite poem. I love it more than Howl. And there I was. In this seminal Beat bookstore that looks a lot like every other bookstore except for the fact that you're allowed to just sit and read.

And they sold copies of Bitch magazine.

So today has been a wonderful day. It really has. I can't properly explain why it was so amazing to be in that bookstore. I am a hopeless romantic. I build small things into big things. I can't help it. But I love that I ended my trip in the USA with that store.

In less than 12 hours I will be on a plane to South America.

So here are the Stats:
Car: Pontiac G6, Green
Miles: 4, 100 (6,598km)
States Visited: DC, New York, Illinois, Missouri, Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Nevada, California and probably others that I can't think of offhand.
Big Gulp's Drunk: 1
Number of Emergency Toilet stops: 3
Times Zones Confused: 1
Accidents: 0
Days Inn Frequented: 3
Psychics Visited: 1
Money spent on cosmetics and clothes: undisclosed
Famous People Seen: Jimmy Kimmel, Benjamin Bratt, Huey Lewis (but only because we were part of the live studio audience for Jimmy Kimmel Live) and that guy from the Today show in Australia who was doing a story at the Statue of Liberty when we were there.
Number of people who thought we were English: Everyone. Even the psychic who therefore ultimately undermined herself from the outset.
Number of crushes on Elvis: One big one.
Most Expensive Fuel Paid for: $4.29 per gallon
Most Overrated City: Los Angeles
Place I would most Like to Live: San Fran, Chicago, New York and Austin if it wasn't surrounded on all sides by the rest of Texas

I was going to end this with a Ferlinghetti poem, but then realised that was a bit wanky and everyone would groan inwardly. Besides, I couldn't be bothered typing it out in the correct form, which would defeat the purpose and intent of the poem and my quotation.

Flowers In Your Hair

I loved San Fran before we even got here. Any city that requires you drive through a cloud to get to it was always going to inspire a degree of enthusiasm that other cities couldn't.

Yesterday we did a quick look around, some shopping and walked up a massive hill. Unfortunately my stay here has been consumed by my need to get my articles docs signed before I end up in South America trying to explain things in Non-Spanish.

This morning I found myself at the Australian consulate where the woman who told me she could witness my documents, actually couldn't and that the Australian Consul was on vacation. She helpfully suggested I take a commuter flight to LA to get it done there. OR when I got to South America to go to Bueanos Aires and the consulate there. Which is actually on the OPPOSITE side of the continent to Quito which is where I head at 6:10am on Friday morning.

So - then I went to a Public Notary that was chosen purely on the basis that it was the closest to my hotel. Which is how I found myself sitting in a hardware store with Haj, the Notary who kept calling me 'Miss Lady', talking about good karma and saying that I had lovely Irish eyes. Even though I had explained that I was, in fact, Australian. He was very sweet - but it is a bit surreal that this lovely, strange old man whose career is largely in cutting keys actually held the key to my future admittance.

I love the vibe of San Fran. It's casual, relaxed, cool. The city is beautiful.