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| Golden Gate Bridge in the Fog |
I just returned from a medical conference in San Francisco. It was my first time attending the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC), hosted by the American Society for Microbiology (ASM), and showcasing the latest-breaking science from premier international researchers.
Unlike the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) annual conference I usually attend, this conference was heavily represented by foreign attendees. I rather enjoyed hearing the different perspectives on standards of care used in various countries. I also enjoyed putting the faces to many of the presenters, whose research I have read over the years.
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| Entrance to largest Chinatown in USA |
This was my second visit to San Francisco having chosen this destination as a present to myself in June 2005 to mark my survival of medical internship. It was also probably the first time that I had ventured to travel solo to a destination that I knew no-one. I spent a week then using the Go San Francisco card to guide my excursions. I braved Alcatraz, toured wineries in Napa, took a historic cable car ride making sure to hang off the side, visited the Wax Museum at Fisherman’s Wharf and the Exploratorium, walked out ever so briefly onto the Golden Gate Bridge, leisurely strolled and lunched in Sausalito, and took in the wonders of Yosemite. I stayed in a budget hotel on Lombard Street and made sure to explore the shops of Fisherman’s Wharf/Pier 39 including Ghirardelli Square. It was an awesome week.
So this time around, with the majority of time allotted to the conference, I didn’t do much tourist activity. But I still had fun! I don’t think I would want to live in San Francisco though, too cold for one thing, but I sure wouldn’t mind visiting it from time to time.
Food
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| Delicious crab |
I enjoyed lamb chops at Osha Thai Restaurant, a wonderfully garlicky half-crab appetizer at Swiss Louis Restaurant on Pier 39, and several lunches at Freshroll near the convention center.
Sights
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| “Forever 27” mural on Haight St |
I ventured out into the Haight-Ashbury district but didn’t last too long. It was funky, crazy, and seedy rolled up into one. I would give it a chance again, but with someone else at my side. Honestly, aside from the “hey beautiful”, and the “can you spare a dime” calls, I had probably walked just a few yards when a young (white?) man with long dreads came up behind me exclaiming that my hair is just like his, fell into pace with me for a block or so, and then I lost him after he exclaimed to no-one in particular how he likes tripping up unsuspecting people. Nope, did not need to become that closely acquainted with the pavement of Haight Street.
I took a bus tour of the city only because one of the stops was right outside my hotel and probably made 3 round trips. Seriously.
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