January 3 - 10, 2010

Monday, January 11, 2010
First week in San Francisco went by too fast. Jeff is in Tanzania until this coming Friday, which means that I am home alone in San Francisco. Not that big of a deal because I have been walking around a lot and exploring the city, but it will be nice when Jeff comes back home. This week, I feel like I must have walked about 100 miles! I walked so much! Which I am very happy about as walking was one of the many things I was looking forward to. The first few days, when Jeff was at work, I walked down to Union Square to use the gift cards I was given (thank you to all, my apartment would not look the same without those things!) at Crate and Barrell and Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Needless to say, I have no more gift cards and then some! But, my apartment is perfect! I think that right now, it does not need anything else, luckily! I am seeing that prices here in San Francisco are just about double, if not triple, what things cost in Salt Lake - which I was expecting; but it still isn't a pretty sight for the wallet. From Union Square, I walked down to the Ferry Building (where they have an AMAZING Farmer's Market on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays) and then from there, walked all along the Embarcadero to Fisherman's Wharf. When I would come to visit Jeff, I would always try to head down to the Wharf because it is such a neat little area. From the Wharf, attempting to make my way home, I stumbled upon a Trader Joe's. Now if you are not familiar with Trader Joe's, I think they are mainly west coast/California, but they are a supermarket - nay, an AMAZING supermarket. They have everything that you need from a supermarket, but it costs about half as much. Naturally, being my father's daughter and all, I had to go and explore a new supermarket. I am so happy I did! Their own brand is very good and it sells relatively cheap (cheap compared to other supermarkets). Ahh grocery shopping, what could be better? Walking up the hill(s) to get home. Ahh yes, I live at the top of Nob Hill. Meaning, when I am down on the Wharf and look up and see these huge hills, I need to conquer those hills to get home. On the bright side, even though I live at the top of Nob Hill, I live on one of the flattest streets at the top of Nob Hill. Somewhat of a consolation, but not really because I still have to make it all the way up the hill. So, I buckled down and walked up the hill with my heavy grocery bags. I made it, no worries there, but was happy to come home and have a nice and refreshing margarita. Jeff left on Friday, and he left me his bus pass which I am making full use out of. On Saturday, I walked down to the Ferry building and walked through the farmer's market and bought some delicious oranges, then headed to Trader Joe's for some grocery shopping. This time though, with bus pass in hand, I cheated and took the cable car to the top of the hill and then walked the 2 (flat) blocks home. Pure bliss. On Sunday, I headed down to Chinatown to explore. God bless Chinatown and their prices! I was able to find two (gorgeous) silk-ish pillowcases for the living room for only (drumroll please...) $2 a piece! I was in heaven. I wish I could say I bought more, but I really didn't need anything else so decided to go see Up in the Air (which I loved) and then came back home. Other things I did this past week: got a library card (free movies!), signed up for Netflix ($9/month for unlimited movies, really you can't afford NOT to sign up), did laundry at the laundromat (an experience in and of itself), made homemade pesto and meat sauce (both extremely tasty), and signed up for internet (this was on Monday). Now, this week, I am hoping to do yoga every day (at home with a DVD, can't spend too frivolously), make fried rice, study for my last AHLA test, and do laundry again. Nothing that exciting, but I think it's a good plan. The job search is progressing slowly, two interviews last week both led to jobs that I was not interested in, so now I am thinking I will write a book. About what, you may ask? I am not really sure at this point, just an idea I have. Dreaming big, I know, but in the meantime I am continuing to apply to jobs in hotels, travel agencies, and schools in hopes that someone will hire me (and I won't really have to write a book). Pictures below from this past week, enjoy and I will update you all as the week continues (probably next week/this weekend). Have a wonderful week!

La prima settimana in San Francisco è andata molto a la svelta. Jeff è in Tanzania fino a questo venerdì, che significa che sono a casa sola in San Francisco. Questa settimana, penso di aver caminato circa 100 miglia! Ho camminato da per tutto! I primi giorni, quando Jeff era al lavoro, ho camminato giù a Union Square per usare le gift card che i iei amici mi hanno regalato per Crate and Barrel e Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Il mio appartamento è perfetto! Ho notato che i prezzi qui in San Francisco sono dal doppio, se no il triplo, che le cose costano a Salt Lake- che mi aspettavo; ma non è una bella vista per il portafoglio. Da Union Square, ho camminato giù al Ferry Building (dove hanno un Mercato favoloso al martedì, giovedì, e sabato) e poi ho camminato lì lungo l'Embarcadero fino a Fishermna's Wharf. Da li, facendo via di casa, ho trovato un Trader Jpe's, che e' un supermercato bellissimo! La loro marcha è molto buona e vende abbastanza economico (economico paragonato agli altri supermercati). Il bello di fare spesa, che potrebbe essere migliore? Camminare sulla collina (le colline) di tornare a casa. Eh sì, vivo in cima alla Nob Hill. Il significato, quando sono giù sul Wharf e guardo su e vedo queste colline enormi, devo conquistare quelle colline per tornare a casa. Sul lato luminoso, anche se vivo in cima alla Nob Hill, vivo su uno delle strade le più piatte in cima. Jeff e' partito venerdì, e mi ha lasciato il suo abonamento del autobus che mi e' molto utile. Sabato, ho camminato giù al Ferry Building per passare dal mercato e mi sono comprata alcune arance deliziose, poi sono andata da Trader Joe's per fare la spesa. Questa volta pero', col passo di autobus nella mano, ho ingannato e ho portato il tram alla cima della collina e ho camminato poi il 2 (piatti) i blocchi a casa. Domenica, ho diretto giù al quartiere cinese per esplorare. Dio benedice quartiere cinese ed i loro prezzi bassi! Ho trovato due (magnifici) federe di seta (quasi) per la sala (il rullo del tamburo per favore. ..) $2 un pezzo! Ero nel cielo. Le altre cose questo ho fatto questa settimana passata: ho preso una carta di biblioteca, ci siamo iscritti a Netflix, ho fatto il bucato alla lavanderia automatica (un'esperienza in e di sé), mi sono fatta il pesto e il ragu (tutti due fatti in casa, molto buoni!), ed ci siamo iscritti all'internet (questo era lunedì). Ora, questa settimana, spero di fare lo yoga ogni giorno (alla casa con un DVD), un risotto con le verdure, devo studiare per un esame, e tornero' a fare il bucato di nuovo. La ricerca di lavoro va molto lentamente, due interviste la settimana scorsa pero' erano lavori che non ero interessata, dunque ora penso che scriverò un libro. Di cosa, non sono realmente sicura a questo punto, pero' velo faro' sappere. Sognare grande, lo so, ma nel frattempo continuo a applicare ai lavori negli hotel, alle agenzia di viaggi, e alle scuole nelle speranze che qualcuno mi assumerà (e non dovrò scrivere realmente un libro). Le immagini di sotto da questo la settimana passata, Spero che avete una settimana meraviglosa!

Ferry Building - Saturday Farmer's Market..................




Fisherman's Wharf

Trader Joe's!

Flowers I bought

Chinatown

View from the bedroom
(C) Giulia Longo 2013. Powered by Blogger.
All pictures and content are my own unless stated otherwise. Please do not use my pictures without my prior approval. Thank you!
Back to Top