Day 1 3/4: Walking San Francisco & Night at La Victoriana

What does one do after finishing a sumptuous meal in Chinatown?

Walk the rest of it. Chinatown, that is. I’ve seen a handful of North American & European Chinatowns, but not a one can touch Frisco’s. Walk through the gates, and in that short minute you have entered another world: silk flowers, Fu dogs, and Dim Sum restaurants behind every second door. Red shingled rooftops, kites on the lamp posts, and the ongoing battle of Tacky vs. Chic that is the apparent destiny of most Chinatowns: buy a $130 handmade silk and cashmere scarf in one classy place, or opt for a dashboard hula girl across the street, at the biggest dollar store you’ll ever see.

Sandy and I walked. We talked, we looked; we went in and out of shops without much purpose of buying anything at all, but soaked up the atmosphere of our eclectic surroundings. We saw the sights and smelled the smells, and agreed that if you were to take a black & white photo of Chinatown with no cars in it, you’d swear it was a picture from the 70’s.

The road through Chinatown leads to the heart of the city, and isn’t far off from Union Square. This journey is littered with tourists, panache, and fabulous shopping. And I mean, mega fabulous shopping. Sandy and I talked some more, we walked some more, and then we went to Macy's and bought Turkish cotton towels on super sale. We may be sharing facilities at La Victoriana, but that doesn't mean we have to wipe our butts clean with tired, gnarly old towels.

There was plenty more of the city to be had, but we were yawning after the long, crazy day full of mishap and mayhem. Taxi back to La Victoriana and up the old fashioned elevator, where we collapse on the bed to glorify in our love.

Nah. We fell asleep with all our clothes on, exhausted, unshowered, and still waiting for our bags. At least the nice thing about being stinky is you both smell great when you're stinky together.

At 1am the buzzing of Sandy's cell phone woke us up; our luggage had finally arrived and with it, our passports to sanity and personal hygiene. Yes, there it all was: my clothes, my shoes, my TOILETRIES. Never underestimate the power of soap and clean undies, not ever.

I swear, I could feel the dirt being washed off. We showered, got squeaky clean, and spent the night wrapped around one another, in contented bliss.

Lesson for the day: your situation may be stinky, but you definitely don’t have to be.