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Presenter: Justine Shapiro
Justine Shapiro rides into San Francisco on board the
Greyhound bus, intent on spending a week discovering
the liberal culture of the metropolis by the bay.
For her first night in the city, Justine treats herself
to a rooftop penthouse cabin, where she awakes to panoramic
views of the cityscape. Cable cars prove to be a novel
yet practical way to get about town, and she hangs on
all the way to Chinatown where she meets the locals
and learns the lingo in Portsmouth Square.
In the 1920s the Italian quarter was the hangout of
the beat poets and Justine encounters one of their number,
Laurence Ferlinghetti, browsing the shelves in the bookstore
he now runs. That evening she hears a young local poet
giving a live reading at Vesuvio, a bar that was frequented
by the original beat generation.
The next day Justine takes a trip across
the water to the infamous Alcatraz,
America's most secure prison until 1963. She hears about
the harsh realities of prison life from former inmate
Leon 'Whitey' Thompson. Back in town, Justine exercises
her liberty by joining the Space Walk,
an underground art event staging guerrilla style art
attacks all around the city. She calls it a night, however,
when local police prove that San Francisco no longer
lives up to its liberal reputation and break up the
gathering.
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Do the Hippy Chic: Justine drops out in Haight
Ashbury
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Golden Gate Bridge
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A ride on the Green Tortoise Bus, which offers travellers
a comfortable communal ride across the continent, takes
Justine on a day trip north of the city limits, to Muir
Woods. The woods are home to the tallest living
things on earth: 1000 years old and 230 feet tall, the
Giant Redwoods are an awe inspiring sight and a National
Monument.
Justine joins the 'Cruising the Castor' tour around
the gay neighbourhood of Castro, which includes a poignant
visit to the Names Project, a memorial to the victims
of the AIDS epidemic which devastated the community
in the 1980s. Haight Ashbury was the centre of the flower-power
movement in the 1960s. Justine is fortunate to find
lodgings at the Red Victorian, a hotel run by a genuine
ageing hippie and Justine makes herself at home in the
Flower Child room.
The following day, its 'on yer bike' for Justine, s
she discovers the highs and lows of cycling in the city.
As rush hour draws nigh, Justine finds herself in the
midst of Critical Mass, the monthly cycling protest
designed to block the city's arteries and infuriate
motorists.
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In the Mission quarter Justine witnesses the
Day of the Dead, a festival in early November
when Mexicans connect with their ancestors, remember
the dead and parade the streets in ghoulish guise.
On her final day in town, Justine heads for Pacifica,
the beach for surfing beginners. The sun's not shining
and the water's freezing, but in just one afternoon
Justine masters the art of riding the waves.
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