We didn't go directly to Miami, but to San Bruno, just outside San Francisco, where my new employer's parents lived.I am not aloud the real names, so I will call my new employers Brenda and Vassilis, and the little boy will be Mano. I knew from the start that I would not be as happy with this lot as with Yannis and Dorah. Vassilis actually only came to Miami once every six weeks, as he had a bussiness in Greece, so he wasn't with us on the flights. Brenda, a model, was not a bad sort, but to her of course looks was rated number one on her priority list, and she had a hellish phobia about getting fat! The result was that the poor child, who was really small for his age, was not aloud any sugar, apart from what he got from fruit, and he was aloud a thin layer of peanut butter on his bread! And as she rarely bought fruit, he never really got any sugar into his system, so I bought him a banana now and then. I soon found that I could bribe him with one single jelly bean to eat up all the bland and tasteless food that I was forced to give him, and as he had no appetite, and already looked so pale and sickly, I didn't feel bad at all. I was extremely bored, as the busstop to get to the train that would take me to San Francisco was bally miles away, and there was absolutely nothing to see, no shops, no nothing. And when, on my first day off I tried walking to the bus, and this road running through a deseted kind of industrial site, I think I was seen as an easy woman, as quite a few men tried to pick me up, so I went back.
But then, just as I was feeling like expiring from boredom, Vassilis came, and he took Manos and me to the Fisherman's Wharf, where we had a beautiful meal of sourdough bread and clam chowder. It is amazing, they bake like a cilyndrical smallish bread, then they take the inside out, and filled the crust with clam chowder. How they get the inside out so neatly, was a miracle to me! As Brenda did not want to come along, Vassilis bought us each, Manos included, a big ice cream, which he licked with so much relish that my heart bled for him! We strolled along the wharf, and although it was very commercialised, it had the most wonderful atmosphere! Then we came upon a number of floats in the harbour, and on this reposed the fattest, most lovable Sea Lions. It was so strange, and Vassilis told me that the small yachts and boats had a lot of trouble with the Sea-Lions who thought the vessels the ideal sun tanning spots, and caused a lot of damage, so after a lot of thought and I suppose trials and errors, it was decided to try the floats, which worked perfectly! It was wonderful with Vassilis there, as we went out a lot to nice restaurants where he wanted to scout out the newest trends in food. I told Brenda's mum about not being able to get to San Francisco, as I just Had to have a ride on the trams, so she kindly took me to the train, and collected me later. The tram going up the steep road was fine, but hurtling down at quite a speed was a bit nervewracking, but I enjoyed it a lot!