San Francisco, Monterey and Carmel ,California

Early on Friday morning July 6th. I did arrive to San Francisco. I was lucky to get my room already around 8.30am, and could take a nap of few hours, even I also did sleep quite many hours in the bus. In the afternoon then I started to walk around
to look after places , where I did have so good times more than 30 years ago. It was not easy and the results were very poor. However I found The Buena Vista, the birth place of Irish Coffee.Seemingly the bar had a new ownership,the name was not anymore
La Buena Vista, the interior was completely different and not better, the old funny atmosphere of young students was gone, and even the story how Irish Coffee was invented, had changed. After one tab irish I left to study Fisherman's Wharf more exactly .Everything was new for me, and once again I was disapointed because all was too touristic without any feelings. I continued to Columbus Avenue with many Italian
ristorantes. The Italians are champions to create very cozy places with nice and warm atmospheres, not depending in which part of the world you happen to be. So in San Francisco too. Of many possibilities, maybe because of the trattoria's nostalgic name Volare I chose this " a taste of Sicily " according their advertisement.There I was happy with good food and wine, and especially with warm, fascinating,Italian born waitress Irene 26. Next day, saturday found me in an Irish bar after some shopping, a new Digi camera and some spare parts for my Ipod. There I met Scott McNally,from Canada but working and living now in California. After a while we sat in an Belgian bar because I wanted to introduce him my favorit Red Chimay beer. Scott immediately liked the taste of Chimay. Then we soon were in China town, drinking in a Chinese bar Gold Dust now Tsingtao beer, Scott soon sighed two pretty young ladies, and invited them to sit with us. They gladly came to us, but instead accepting us to buy them drinks, they insisted to buy their own drinks but ours too (three rounds ! ).Then Scott got a home call, and I had to tell him how to find his car. We had very gay and pleasant times with you, Becky Kempf 29 and Missi Waitz 28, both from Chicago. Thank you! I know you'll be reading this back home.
Nothing very special did happen in the following days .I enjoyed the nice weather, having long walks allover, visited several galleries, took a ferry to Sausalito trying to find traces of my old days there. Then after five nights I decided continue my trip via Salinas to Monterey and Carmel. It was a most hilarious bus ride ever. The bus driver lost his way first time after five minutes. Already in Oakland his delay was a half an hour. The worst happened in Santa Cruz ,when he passed the same corner four times. In most places like in Salinas he needed passenger's help to find the bus station. Instead of four hours this sightseeing trip took almost seven hours, but we saw a lot and my co-passengers as me too, were just laughing. It was so unreal and macaber. I then finally got, after changing twice with local busses,to my hotel. I ate something at nearby Grannma's Kitchen, where soon came a young lady without any invitation to my table, and started to sell me any car I wanted. Very soon Lynette understood that I really do not need a car. She then very nicely gave me her visit card, and said call me if you need anything, anything at all I can help you.
Next day in Carmel after a long walk in the city and at the beach area , I had light lunch and four or five coronas, on a hot day in Porto Bello an Italian taverna ,of course.The owner was Hungarian born,and teased me saying that I must come from Tampere.There I met Kevin & Myrle O'Neill with their Bison Friche dog, same race as I have at home, and we naturally talked mostly about this fantastic dog race.They then left, and I had an other long conversation with Doug & Amy Wolf from Pennsylvania with their two tiny girls Chloe and Olivia. I evetually got back to Monterey, where I heard beautiful music coming from a bar. There was an excellent blues singer Lisa Lehua Taylor, to whom I personally told my opinion about her singing. She did thank me very chearfully.