And then they played the Scissor Sisters.

Sam & Daisy have been packed off to Alcatraz and I am as nervous as if I were going on a blind date.  I have arranged to meet Daniel, the artist from We Were Here for coffee this morning, literally just at the end of the road in a beautiful little cafe, surrounded by flowers and trees and with a perfect view of the retro trolley buses as they go down the hill from Castro to the city.  The sun is shining again after some rain and it is both bright and breezy at the same time.  

I spent an hour in the company of a true gentle man, Daniel was charming, so charming and I obviously fell in love.  Talking to him was easy, he is so relaxed and chatted to me about SF, about coming to London in the 70's, life in New York, the changes in SF after Google and art. Lots of art. It was such a pleasure to spend time with him and to have the opportunity to express how much watching the documentary had meant to us as a family.  It was like having a coffee with a lovely friend and I invited him to come and see us when he and his husband come to England

I leave Daniel inspired, uplifted and with mixed emotions as I know we are coming to the end of our SF adventures.  I take timeout just to immerse myself in Castro... I treat myself to a haircut, which turns out to be the best haircut I have ever had.  For $16 Linda, in 10 minutes, totally understood what I wanted... And despite my fear as she picked up the clippers, she managed what most other hairdressers have failed to do!  I tipped her big, to her surprise and joy (she made me take her card, I didn't have  the heart to tell her we lived quite a way away) and then I wander up and down Castro.  Taking it all in, the shops selling bright coloured pants with extra friendly staff, the tiny dogs being carried, men holding hands with their partners, the red lights of the Theatre Castro. I love you.

Sam and Daisy have also had a ball at Alcatraz and their photos look brilliant, they come back with an ease in each others company that is just lovely. They are both really playful and want to tell me all about their trip...prisoners, sharks,the temperature of the water... And they have amazing photos.  E wind up into China town, but we all know we really want to get back, dump our new (zebra print) suitcase and get back out into Castro for our final evening.

We change and head on out, have a welcome cocktail in a bar and  meet e most friendly guy, Steven in the pants shop, who, taking a liking to Daisy tells us all about Long Beach, that we simply have to go to when we are in LA as it is full of 50's & rockabilly stuff that we sure must just go see. He even writes it all down for us and gives us the name of his friend to ask for! Damn they are all so friendly! 

I take Sam & Daisy back the bar I had met Daniel in that morning as it is just super cute and we have a carafe of Margarita (when in Castro...) and order, and then we meet another charming man that invites us to play the pub quiz, initially we politely decline, in our best English accents, but his enthusiasm wins us over and playing as 'Wills & Kate's Love Child'  we have simply the best night! Daisy is charming and animated, we laugh at every question we can't answer (which is most of them) and surprisingly we do not come last.  I think the quiz guy was feeling a little sorry for us personally, and then they played the Scissor Sisters.  It was just the perfect end to our time in Castro. i Love Castro.