California Dream

I love travelling, but can’t stand being a tourist.

To me there is something fundamentally wrong with the image of a red city bus filled with Chinese tourists, only experiencing the place through the lenses of their camera.

When I travel, I like to pretend I am a local…
have a coffee in the quiet coffee shop,
observe people,
wonder where they are going to,
who is waiting for them …
take in the smells,
sounds,
and colours of the place.

I also believe that the best things happen unplanned, and anyways, why make plans if you are in only for the thrill of surprise?

I ran into my own San Francisco surprise walking across Fisherman’s Wharf on a sunny October afternoon.

Kenneth is no ordinary photographer.

He’s made nude photos of women he loved throughout his life,
and photographed his favorite places in the world,
mostly black and white…
Berlin,
San Francisco,
Mexico,
Cuba…

It was the Cuba photos that caught my eye…
My smile turned into his curiosity,
his curiosity into a conversation,
conversation into a discussion of 20^th century American literature
and then a (politely turned down) invitation
to dinner and a photo session…

Upon his advice I went to the bars
where famous American writers
used to hang out,
picked up bargain books
in San Francisco’s most famous bookstore…
passed by the church where
Merilyn Monroe and Joe Dimaggio took a wedding photo,
(even though they were not allowed to get married in the catholic church)…
and then stopped at café Triesta
for what is probably the
best coffee in
San Francisco..

Then the day’s treat:

bike trip over the golden gate bridge..
Breathtaking view of the Pacific ocean,
baby whale under the bridge,
sunlit cliffs to the right,
behind my back the evening San Francisco,
basking in the last rays
of the warm October sun,
and
sunset that will
blow
you
away….

and then a thought:
I have to come back some day,
Kenneth will have photos of exciting new places
waiting for me...