San Francisco (day 2)

Raphael and I were awake early, he was on a mission. Monsieur Bones was due to make an appearance at Raphael’s office and Raph needed to chauffeur. Who is Monsieur Bones? He is a plastic skeleton dressed in all the Frankish trappings of Raphael’s Parisian childhood. He wears a marinière on his chest, a beret on his head, and a moustache on his face. In his right hand, the tricolour. In his left hand, a cigarette. It was vital that we get to his office early to make sure that he could be installed in a desk without arousing suspicion.

The peak of male physique and myself

On his way to work he dropped me at the local Caltrain station and I made my way to San Mateo on a mission to sell some bicycle parts. Some months ago I had been doored on my beloved Moulton Mk I and parted the bien out. Through a close knit network of enthusiasts, I connected with Louis who lives in the area and shipped him pieces of the machine. He contacted me later to follow up on some smaller bits which I was more than happy to bring as I was going to be in the area anyway. Our family histories have some unusual parallels. I’ll direct the curious to pick up a copy of Rosie’s War which reads like the autobiography my grandmother never wrote. 

My next quest item was to head to SF for a shoulder strap. My duffel came with one but I accidentally put it in storage while packing my apartment. Once I snagged that it was time for tea with my friend Marie. She managed to find a spot on Haight that could get us a pot to share. Cafe International is one of those old guard SF spots that all logic says should have shut down by now. Somehow, the tireless and unforgiving pace of gentrification has managed to pass over this kooky cafe. Please go and buy something while you still can. 

After Marie went back to work I parked myself in a park to read while I waited for my friend Berkelly to come by. We spent the afternoon aimlessly wandering Hayes Valley, Chinatown, The Embarcadero, and SOMA. Lots of catching up on life and talking about The City. 

Shanghai’d in North Beach

My final stop for the day was a drink with my former coworkers Aaron and Alex (or am I their former coworker?). Everything is a the same at the office so we caught up on life and shared old war stories from work. Lots to share. Lots to catch up on.