Derek & Chris visit San Francisco in Spring 2003
Saturday - Travelling
Over Greenland 9.45am (San Francisco Time)
Well!!!!
Got to the gate, they said "yes Mr Knight, your seats will be allocated by
my colleague – please go behind me to the desk there."
So we did. "Thank you Mr Knight, please take a seat, and we’ll call
you"
Couple of minutes later "Mr & Mrs Knight?" "Here we are Mr
Knight, you’re travelling in Business Class today"!!!!!!
So – very roomy seats, foot rests, – glass of champagne whilst the plebs get
their seats – choice of wines and printed menu to choose from – real china
plates – hmmm – maybe first class next time?
Have put my watch backwards to San Francisco time, watched "Return to
Collingwood", and they have now dimmed the cabin lights, but as it’s
early morning I don’t want to sleep now – in any case, another 7 hours, 26
minutes to go before we are expected to land.
Over Canada 3:15pm (San Francisco Time)
Just over 2 hours to go till we’re due to land. I had a short nap, as did
Chris. Have watched another 3 films (or bits of them). According to the map
we’re coming up towards Vancouver – Seattle is the next big town shown on
the map. Quite bored now – not surprising, I suppose. Lets see – stats are:
Ground speed 566mph
Height 36,000 feet
4,649 miles travelled
926 miles to go
Mostly a smooth flight, but occasional bits of bumps – the pilot has put the
seat belt sign on a couple of times. Oh! And I’ve been listening to the audio
channel "from the flight-deck" which is quite odd – but strangely
compelling.
Sunday - In San Francisco!!!!!!
8.25am
To catch up from last night – Landed on time (5.15pm) and got through
passport, customs and immigration, collected luggage, got a taxi, and arrived at
the Canterbury hotel at 6.30 – much quicker that I expected! Oh! and they had
beagle sniffer dogs at baggage collection – I knew that they had them in
Canada, but didn’t know they were in the States as well.
Canterbury Hotel is fine – they had a wedding reception in their function room
on the ground floor when we arrived. They have a fitness room, but haven’t
been there yet, and a good looking restaurant & bar – we will have
breakfast here today to see how it looks. Our room is on the 9th (of 10) floor
– views overlooking the Financial District, and the Trans America pyramid look
just like in the guide books!!!
Last night after we unpacked, we went for a walk – and saw our first Cable
Car!!! – We went down Sutter Street till we came to the China Town Gateway.
Went through that on up through China Town, and back over Nob Hill to Union
Square, where we stopped for a coffee. Quite a lot of beggars around the Union
Square area – aggressive/amusing/lively/chatty depending on your mood. Then
back to the hotel for an "early" night at 9.30pm – and best not to
think that this was 5.30am back in London.
Sunday 9.45pm – Canterbury Hotel Bar - Story of the day – Breakfast
in the hotel – the restaurant is in a sort conservatory – at any rate it has
a glass roof, with hanging baskets and palms. The waiting staff are mostly
Chinese, and are very efficient at keeping the coffee coming!
After Breakfast we were going to go to the San Francisco Visitor Information
centre to get our Muni Passports. I’d looked at the map & worked out we
needed to go along Sutter to Taylor, then down to Market, along a short way, and
there it was. Simple in principle – however, when we got to Taylor, I turned
left instead of right – we ended up going over Nob Hill A VERY STEEP CLIMB
INDEED!! Actually, worth it for the view over the city to the bay – but
MAN!!!! what a climb. We ended up over by Fisherman’s Wharf, and so got the
Cable Car back to Visitors Centre – had to pay $2 each for the trip, but it
was better than walking! SO we got the passports, and then got a streetcar back
to Pier 39.
Whilst we were waiting for the streetcar to arrive, a car pulled up and asked if
we knew the way to the zoo – us!!! – so they asked the next people in the
queue – but they were tourists too!! Got into conversation with them (2
ladies) – they were from Ohio, down for a long weekend. Then an older Chinese
lady joined in the conversation, and warned us against pickpockets on the
Streetcar – a sort of "it wasn’t like this in my day" sort of
conversation. Then another guy joined in with "it’s not as bad as New
York". Turned out he had been in San Francisco for 7 years – used the
Streetcars all the time – but he still managed to miss his stop because he was
talking to us!!
Pier 39 – very bright, brash place – lots of Tourist places to buy things
and to eat and drink. None the less, great views over the Bay, and the sea lions
are "interesting". You could hear them before seeing them – a very
noisy group who always seemed to be fighting over territory on the floating
decks they have colonised.
The Whole Fisherman’s Wharf/Pier 39 thing is very "entertaining" –
street artists, shops, restaurants – plus the boats – nowadays the vast
majority are used for pleasure trips and day fishing. A bit like a version of
Brighton in some ways – but both bigger and more compact – that is, Pier 39
has more outlets than Brighton Pier, but covers a smaller distance.
After walking round and getting some badges for the kids, we went to the cruise
line that does Alcatraz day trips. The sign said the earliest they had spaces
for was Monday, but that’s OK coz that’s when we wanted to go, so we booked
ourselves onto one leaving at 11:15. Although they did not have any tickets for
today, there were people along the street selling tickets for today’s trips
– hmmm – I wonder what price they would ask for them??
So we then went on for lunch and decided to eat at one of the restaurants on
Pier 39 - maybe a bit more expensive, but worth it for the views!!! Most of the
restaurants around here major on fish dishes – including one that says it
sells "traditional Olde English fish & chips" - the speciality is
locally caught Dungeness crab. (I understand that this is a type of crap – but
– Dungeness is also a place on the south coast with a nuclear power station on
it – not somewhere you’d want to catch crabs from I think!!!) In the end I
had cannelloni, and Chris had lasagne – not very adventurous, I have to admit!
It was now just after 3pm, and still hot & sunny, so we decided to go back
to the hotel (by Cable Car) get our books and go to sit in Union Square to read
and people watch. Queued for the Cable Car, got the second one, and managed to
get seats at the front, and took a continuous video of the journey from Bay over
the hills to Market Street. Where else would sane (one assumes) people hang on
to the side of a moving vehicle as it went up and down very steep hills, with
cars and lorries (and other Cable Cars) going past on both sides – pure
craziness!!!! BUT – a fun way of getting round town – if you don’t mind
queuing, and are not in a great hurry – in other words – if you look on the
journey as an end in itself.
By the time we got back to Market Street, it had clouded over, and there was a
cool breeze, so we went back and dozed, rather than going straight out – and
the rain come down:( . We went to Union Square later for a coffee, but didn’t
feel like eating – too much for breakfast and lunch!! So then we came back
here to the hotel bar for a drink, and are writing the cards to send back home.
Monday – Alcatraz day
Turned on the TV this morning (channel KTVU for the Bay area), to hear that the
weather today and tomorrow is forecast to be showers/thunder, warmer and sunnier
on Wednesday/Thursday. They also had a reporter speaking from Alcatraz Island,
where they are today filming an edition of "America’s Most Wanted"
about (someone) who escaped from Alcatraz, and has never been seen again.
After Breakfast in the hotel, we got the Cable Car down to Fisherman's wharf,
and, being a bit early, have a walk around Pier 39 again – and Chris finds a
cross-stitch shop!! Went in and got a couple of patterns – the Golden Gate
Bridge, and a Market & Powel/Bay Street Cable Car.
Got on the ferry over to Alcatraz – along with hundreds of others! – and was
going to stand outside to video – but it started to rain. This set the pattern
for the day – short showers of heavy rain, but mostly just overcast and dull.
As we approached the island the rain stopped, so went on the deck to video –
quite an amazing feeling to be approaching this rocky and forbidding isle –
even if you know nothing of its history. Also good views of the Golden Gate
Bridge, and also the Bay Bridge – not as classic lines as the Golden Gate
Bridge, but a very long bridge, and, I’d have thought, a great technical
achievement.
Anyway – landed at Alcatraz – now part of the Golden Gate National Park –
and a Park Ranger gave us an orientation talk. They have an audio guided tour,
with comments from some former inmates and wardens. Very interesting tour –
quite spooky, really – lots of people all walking round listening to their
earphones – if looked on from above, I’m sure it would look like a group of
automatons, all walking and turning at the same spots!! You obviously don’t
get a feel of it all, but the size of the cells, and the way it all worked was
quite chilling. One of the most memorable comments made was from on of the
former inmates, who explained how you got attached to your cell – not
surprising, I suppose, when you spend 18 to 23 hours a day there. Also – the
"treatment" cells – totally enclosed with no light – I walked into
one, and even with the door open it was quite scary. One inmate said he would
take a coin, throw it into the air, and scrabble round on the floor to find it.
The repeat this over and over, just to keep sane.
I also learned of the Indian occupation of the island after the prison was shut
down – from Nov 1969 to June 1971. And the "escaped" plants! –
huge "money plants" – one even in bloom – fuchsias and others
spilling out over the stonework of the prison – all from imported plants
brought over by the prison staff.
As we boarded the boat to came back to the main land, I noticed that the film
crew (from America’s Most Wanted) where just loading up the boat. We hung
around for a bit, and then the captain came on the speakers to apologise for the
delay – apparently the AMW people wanted to film our boat leaving – so we
all waved at the film crew, and filmed them, filming us? . As I said to Chris
– only 3 days in America, and already having a guest spot on a hit TV
show!!!!! It’s being broadcast on the 3rd May, so we won’t be able to catch
it – maybe on a re-run on a UK cable channel in a few years!!!
Back on land again, we went to Pier 39’s "College Shop" to get
Claire a Harvard sweat shirt to go with the ones she has from Uni’s on the
East coast. Also got Peter a tee shirt, and had got him an Alcatraz hat when on
the Island. Then we went to the Hard Rock Café for lunch (although it was 3pm
by then!). I got a "souvenir" Hard Rock Café glass – that is –
the one I got a beer in!
As we left the Hard Rock it started to rain again, so we went to an internet café,
and I sent an e-mail to my chat group about AMW – some of them may want to
watch it and see if they can spot me! . Also sent e-mails to Peter & Claire
– we sent them cards last night, but I don’t know when they might arrive.
Finally got a Street Car back to Union Square and on to the Hotel – phew!!!
– long day!!! Chris seems to have a bit of a cold – may be caused by getting
cold and wet at Alcatraz, and neither of us are hungry, so we’ll stay in the
Hotel tonight. Chris has taken a cold tablet, and I’ve been out t get some
crisps, sweets and drink – happy enough to just stay in our room for tonight.
Tuesday – Shopping Day
Well, sort of! As the forecast was for showers again, we thought we’d spend
today having a look round the Union Square area, the malls and the big name
shops.
First, we went into the "San Francisco Shopping Centre" on Market
& Fifth – 10 stories of shops, although the top 5 are one department store
– Nostrum. This appears to be an older building that has been redeveloped on
the inside – the shops face into a central circular area which has a hole down
the entire height of the building – and has curved escalators going round the
arc of the circle – never seen these before!! It was too hot for me really –
airless and stuffy, but I find I don’t like many of these closed in malls.
Then we went along Market looking at the stores there – went into Walgreen
Pharmacy – a huge store!!!! selling gifts and food, as well as the more
traditional pharmacy goods. I saw (and brought) some inserts I used in my shoes
– in the UK they are about £25, but here they were on sale for $8!! Also had
a look at some hand-held PCs (in a store called Computers USA – no doubt what
they sold!), but I’m not convinced yet that I really want one. Looked around
Maceys, and then sat in Union Square with a cold drink.
As we sat there, the group of 3 people near us was joined by more and more
teenagers – turned out it was a school trip. The teacher had set them into
groups to go to different shops around the square, and them come back and
present a report to the rest of the class. Hmmm – a field trip to do shopping
– every teenagers dream!!! Funny thing – one group of boys (and I’d guess
they were 16/18 year olds) had been to "Victoria’s Secret", which is
a high class lingerie store – talk about blushing!!!
After a rest, we carried on down Market to the Financial District proper. The
building here are interesting – mostly very tall, and of course the
Trans-America pyramid is well known, but one set of buildings was tall and very
wide – seemed to be a couple of blocks – but very thing – it appeared to
be about one office wide, buy 30 or so long – very odd!!
We eventually got to the end of California Street, and decided to get the
California Cable Car, which runs in a straight line alone California to Van
Ness. Interestingly on this line, a lots of Business people seemed to get on for
a few blocks only – hmmm costs $2, but probably cheaper than getting a cab.
The area around Van Ness station is more of a local community – including a
laundrette called the lost sock - so THAT'S where they all go! – and had the
feel of being more Italian. We walked back a bit alone California, and stopped
for lunch at a corner diner. This just had a few customers at the tables, but
seemed to be doing a roaring trade in take-away orders – interesting, as no
obvious offices in the immediate area, although it’s not too far from the
Financial District, I suppose.
After this we carried on up to the Grace Cathedral. This was built in 1964
(although there had been a Grace church on the site before that). It has some
nice stained glass, and has an internal and an external labyrinth! This is a
line curved in on itself, the idea being that you walk it and meditate – there
were two people doing it as when we visited. Then over the road to Hautington
Park – although "park" gives the wrong impression, it’s like a
London square – a nice quiet little oasis in the centre of all the noise of
the city. On one of the sides facing the park is one of San Francisco’s famous
Victorian wood fronted houses – on both sides of which are 60’s apartment
blocks 15/20 stories high – a real contrast!!!
Wednesday Golden Gate day
As promised, Wednesday broke sunny, with the promise of being warm:). Before
going out we booked over the phone a trip on Friday to see Muir woods and
Sausalito – Friday is forecast to be wet, so that would appear to be a good
day to be in a coach!
Went along to a "50’s diner" for breakfast – Chris said she had to
have pancakes for breakfast at least once! So that’s what she had – pancakes
with banana, which also came with cream and maple syrup. I had "cable car
Pancakes" – 2 large pancakes, 2 rashers of bacon, 2 link sausages, 2 eggs
– "over-easy", and there was so much! I had to leave some!
Following this we went down to the San Francisco visitor centre, to get advice
on how to use the Muni to the Golden Gate Bridge. It’s easy enough (just 2
buses as it turns out), but hard to work out which to get and where to change
unless you know! The guy there also suggested a different route back through the
Golden Gate Park.
Got the bus at around 9.45 – obviously a very busy time as the busses going
into China Town were really busy – bus rage occurred at our stop – Bus
Driver "move down or get off. Listen, Lady, you can’t stand there, move
down, or get off the bus. OK I’m taking the bus out of service unless this
lady gets off the bus"! Anyway, changed busses OK and got to the bridge
with no problems.
What can I say about walking the Golden Gate Bridge? It’s a warm day, but the
noise and the back draft from the cars was dramatic – on a windy day is must
be tremendous/frightening!! But the views!!!! Amazing views across the bay –
San Francisco shimmering in the sun, the islands in the Bay, the Bay itself –
really blue today – but you can still see that the currents were strong below
the surface. People on foot and bikers share the same footpath (sidewalk?) going
in both directions, so it’s quite busy here, as well as on the road!
It’s only when you walk it that you really appreciate the scale of the bridge
– the spans come down really close to the walkway in the centre. And I was
"interested" in seeing that there are phone boxes along the bridge for
the emergency services, and for counselling too!! But there is a strong
attraction form the water, so I can understand the latter. We walked all the way
over, and all the way back too(!!) – as we left, a group of about 30 school
kids arrived in a bus to walk the bridge – glad I wasn’t on the bridge at
the same time:)
After a rest - and a bottle of "Golden Gate water"!!!! - got the bus
round to the Golden Gate Park (odd that - the Golden Gate Bridge has a park
round it - but that isn't the Golden Gate Park!!!). Had a really nice walk
through the park - couple of lakes, an interesting botanical garden, and it's
also home to the Science Institute - quite odd to see this building in the
middle of the park. A very pretty park - and such a change from the rest of our
time in SF - almost felt close to nature for a while:) . Walked right through
the park, and then got a bus through the Height-Asbuy area - we had intended to
get off at 5th and walk up to Union Square - but decided to stay on to the ferry
terminal. This area gives you a great view of the Bay Bridge, and is still used
for ferries, but no way as busy as it would have been before the bridges of
course!
Stopped at the "New York Bagel Co" for coffee and - err - a bagel:) ,
then bussed it back up Sutter and back to the hotel. We came back for a rest and
a freshen up - and I'm amazed at how sun burned we've become today - must have
been walking over the bridge that did it!
10.30pm
Been out to a French inspired restaurant - Cesario's - but I think my starter -
roast garlic with brie and garlic bread - may have been a mistake - just as well
our hotel room has two "queen sized" beds!! We both ordered the lamb
shank for our main - but they only had one left, so I had the "veal
shank" instead. Well the meat was really nice - but huge!!!! Still, Chris
managed a raspberry sorbet (she didn't have a starter) while I just had a
coffee.
Interesting - they turned the board round to closed by 9.45, and turned away 2
couples while we were there - I know SF restaurants don't open late - but this
seems odd when there are people wanting to eat that late. Something happening at
the place across the road - the Metropolitan Club) - lots of smart cars being
double parked, and men in DJ's.
Thursday - May Day
Today we've been to the University of California Berkeley - and travelled on the
BART. I like to think this is named in honour of the Simpsons character, but
actually, it's Bay Area Rapid Transport - and we want them in London!!! It a
great transport system - fast, clean and reliable - and I was able to use up
most of my change in the ticket machines.
Anyway, got to Berkeley OK - full of students (Doh!) and some of them having a
May Day protest - among other things about increasing student tuition fees -
Chris signed the petition, but I thought it was too risky - the CIA might have
been watching (LOL). Berkeley is a large campus university - and lots of
buildings/wings, and statues funded by and named after ex-students. Not a lot to
say about the place really - although the small group of Hari-Chrishna's made us
smile.
Got the BART back to San Francisco (still a great system!!), had a quick lunch,
and then went up Telegraph Hill and the Colt Tower - so glad we got the bus up
there - really steep hills, and I don't think Chris would forgive me for another
steep climb!! The views from the top of the hill, and even more so from the
tower are just amazing - yet more video coverage!! Then we walked down to Pier
39 again - I know we kept going there, but it's such a convenient place to go,
and quite fun!! We did a bit of shopping, and then got a coffee. As we were
sitting on a bench drinking our coffee, when an "interesting"
conversation caught our attention form behind us. An American couple were
sitting on the bench behind, and a guy came up to them to talk - loudly - he
was, he said, from Denmark, although he spoke good English, apart from being
drunk! He was on the standard tour, and started by asking what sports people
liked in the USA, and in what order - I thought the American couple handled the
conversation well, better than I would have done in London!
Incidentally - I hear that Pier 39 is the USA's 3rd most popular attraction,
after Disney Land and Disney World - wow!!! I suppose it's because it's so
accessible and easy to go back to - can't imagine going back to Disney more than
once in a while, but you could to Pier 39 - well, we do, anyway!
Got the Cable Car back over the hill - there was a busker doing Beatles songs -
we gave him some change. We used the car properly, and got off at Sutter for our
Hotel - quite strange, really, getting off a vehicle in the middle of the road!!
This evening had a meal at "L'Ottavo Ristorante" - yep - an Italian
place. This was excellent!!
Friday - A walk in the woods
Got up ready for an 8.30 pick up for our trip to Muir Wood and Sausalito. The
way this works is that they send out their coaches for pick ups at various
hotels, and then take them to Pier 43 ½ (!!!), where you pay, get tickets, and
go, which could mean getting back on the same coach that brought you there.
The Driver/guide was good - Michael - seemed to know a lot and was good at
chatting. Drove over the Golden Gate Bridge - and I did some more videoing -
crossing the bridge as I had on Wednesday - only faster!!! Then on to the
"National Park" that is Muir Wood - this is the remains of a huge
Redwood forest. Very tight twisting roads to get there!!. The Redwood can live
up to 2000 years old, and averages about 600 years. As well as using their cones
to reproduce, each tree puts out suckers and a ring of smaller trees can grow
around the original one. The central tree can then die off, leaving just a ring
of redwoods - we saw quite a few of these rings - perhaps a vision of
immortality. Some of the bigger and older trees we saw had burn marks on them -
because of their size and tannin content, they can survive forest fires - they
just keep on growing!!
It had rained a bit on the way to the woods, and it started again as we were
walking along - not too much, and we had our umbrellas with us. After a stop at
the shop, back on the coach, and up some very steep mountain roads over woodland
areas - the driver pointed out to us some mail boxes by the side of the road -
the actual houses were deep in the woods out of site - and there didn't appear
to be much in the way of road access either.
On then to Sausalito - unfortunately in the pouring rain!! This town is on the
other side of the bay th San Francisco, and the marina is full of boats - and
the town itself is really expensive - it's very picturesque, and so close to San
Francisco, and the smallest houses go for $1.3million!!! We stopped for about an
hour - and it was a nice place to visit - and would probably have been nice to
stay in, if it had been dry!!! Found somewhere sheltered to stop, look over at
SF, and sing "sitting by the dock of the Bay……" LOL.
Back on the coach and some more scenic drives, and a quick stop on the way back
on the high hills overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge and the entrance to the Bay
- Wow!!!! What an amazing area, and what aa feat of engineering!!!
Back across the Golden Gate Bridge, and back to Fisherman's Wharf - where it is
now pouring with rain!! Had a look round the shops in the Cannery, then stopped
for lunch in a wharf restaurant - way too big portions!!! After my starter of
popcorn shrimp, I was already full, and had to leave about a third of my pizza.
Chris had a pile of calimari for starter, and monk fish for main - and didn't
finish either of them.
We had been planning to get the Cable Car up to the top of Lombard Street, and
walk down the twisty hill, but as it's raining so much we decided not to, but to
carry on to the hotel. We stopped off at Eddies Deli and got a couple of Latte's
and a bun to take back - it's sooooo wet, really pouring with rain, and the
streets are awash!
As I write we're watching Detroit v Orlando in the NBA play-offs (on television,
of course) with the rain and clouds being quite dramatic outside - cloud hiding
some of the Transamerica pyramid - but not the very top or the lower half - very
strange!
Saturday - the shortest day
Woke up this morning and checked on the weather - some high cloud hiding the
tops of the buildings, but doesn’t look wet - although the forecast is for a
70% chance of rain. Decided to do the Lombard Street bit this morning, then
check out of the hotel, leave our bags, and go for a final walk round the city.
So, down to Market station - in the rain - and there is already a long queue -
must be a nice thing for people to travel up to SF for the day/weekend - and get
a cable car over to fisherman's wharf - how is that!!!! Eventually get a Hyde
Cable Car - took about 5 cars before we could get on one, and it had stopped
raining by then. Got off at the top of Lombard Street - interesting, this part
of Nob Hill is really steep, and the residents of this part of Lombard Street -
just 1 block - were having trouble with vehicles not being able to stop - so -
they put in a series of bends to help with the traffic problem - only thing is -
now it's a tourist attraction, and people come miles just to drive down it!!!!
But it is worth seeing - kind of cute how the tourists drive real slowly down it
- although some do speed down too!!, and iit's very pretty with the planted
curbs. At the bottom of the block are some really great houses - with some
really nice planting around in their "gardens". As we got to the
bottom a big - and I mean BIG - stretch limo drew up - and loads of women got
out - a sightseeing stop to take pictures of Lombard Street. Chris was asked to
take their photo at the bottom of the hill, then they got back in the limo, and
on - well, it's the only way to travel!!
After taking photos, we walked back to Bay station and another Cable Car back to
Market - yep - we got good value from our Muni passports tickets! - and then
back to the hotel. All week we’d noticed some signs saying "no parking
Saturday/Sunday - construction" next to a vacant lot one block down form us
- well today they are working on it - puttting up a crane, by having a crane
parked in the street!!! No doubt next time we come here a new hotel or office
block will be there.
Checked out, left our cases, and went to Louis Diner for a simple lunch - I had
hot dogs (just coz I'd not had them!!) and Chris had a tuna melt - and then for
our last walk round our lovely city (SOB!). We got ourselves a musical Cable Car
- OK - a bit tacky - but it'll bring back great memories:) walked all along
Market, back up Sutter, then cab to the airport.
First odd thing at the airport - as we were watching, a United plane taxied out,
when suddenly a huge plume of black smoke came of the very end of the aircraft -
not the engines - the actual aircraft itself!!!
Second odd thing at the airport - men on bike, peddling around after the planes
- what's that all about????
Because of the different time zones, lost a whole evening - got on the plane at
6.50pm, put my watch to UK time - and it's 2.50am Sunday - not fair!!!!
Final Thoughts
The loveliness of London seems somehow sadly grey
The glory that was Chingford is of another day
I've been terribly alone and forgotten in Edinburgh
I'm going home to my city by the Bay
I left my heart in San Francisco
High on a hill, it calls to me
To be where little cable cars climb halfway to the stars
The morning fog may chill the air, I don't care
My love waits there in San Francisco
Above the blue and windy sea
When I come home to you, San Francisco
Your golden sun will shine for me
San Francisco - I love you!!!!!!!