Another World: Oakland

First thing tuesday morning we had a tour in the new Exploratorium on Pier 15. It's much more attractive now than before in the old Pan-Pacific Exhibition building in the Presidio district, and, also, it's conveniently located on the waterfront. Besides all the usual kids' hands-on stuff they have an interesting bay observatory gallery, indoors and outdoors.

Walked along the waterfront – the promenade is expanded now all the way from the Golden Gate Bridge to the baseball stadium – to the Ferry Building and had fresh baking goods and coffee for a late breakfast there before we took the ferry over to Oakland. In the past, we always took the subway (BART), but the boat trip underneith the bridge and with the SF Skyline and Alameda's and Oakland's harbor is much more spectacular.

Oakland has enormously changed since our last, long ago visit. Jack London's cabin and Heinold's Last Chance Saloon are still there, but now surrounded by modern highrises.

In the new visitor center at the ferry harbor we talked to a very frently gent. He confirmed our observations: in SF rent and property are so expensive (prices are even higher than in NYC!) that people who can't afford it, move out, e.g. to Oakland. On the other hand the regular blue collar people and the high percentage of Afroamericans in Oakland are pushed further outside.

Oakland isn't a tourists' town. Not at all. Nevertheless it's worth an excursion. We took the free B Bus to the new, spectacular catholic cathedral and walked south from there: to uptown with its two historic theaters, the Fox and the Paramount, and great renovated historic architecture, on to old town and chinatown, then to city center/downtown. Very clean and "polished" now, and, also a sign of the changing population, there are many new fancy restaurants and shops.

We took BART to Rockridge, though nominally part of Oakland a very different neighborhood, a mix of SoMa and Haight Ashbury. Went to Bourbon & Beef for dinner - central american food - and it was well worth the ride over. Perhaps best pork belly we've ever had, plus chiles rellenos and steak and dessert . The "small-plates-to-share" principle seems to become more and more popular nowadays. And, cocktails have become an art of its own.

Left at 6:30pm to attend the Golden State Warriors basketball game (NBA) in Oakland's Oracle Stadium. It took us a bit to find the media entrance, but we made it in good time. Just had to struggle not to fall asleep during the game, and later on BART and the bus back to our hotel. Arrived there at 11 pm - it's been a looong day...