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Last Updated: Aug 17th, 2009 - 19:02:51 |
San Francisco may well be just a first-class flight away, but the comedian Russell Brand is determined to get to the Californian city the hard way - by driving across the USA in homage to the Beat writer Jack Kerouac.
To coincide with the 50th anniversary of the publication of On The Road, Brand will retrace the authors tracks starting in New York City before meandering across the country with his Radio 2 co-host Matt Morgan, stopping off at Denver, Chicago and, if the pair don't get tired of each other's company, Mexico City.
"We'll go to places of significance, take long car journeys and, you know, just hang out," Brand said.
Though the atmosphere of free-thinking, jazz and poetry chronicled by Kerouac may be a thing of the past, the road trip across America remains one of life's ultimate journeys and the city of San Francisco, the heart of the 50s Beat movement remains a fascinating city to visit at any time of the year.
Along with the New York skyline, the layout of the Californian city is instantly recognisable, with its inclined streets running down to the Pacific Ocean and the mist rolling over the iconic Golden Gate Bridge.
Despite being a thriving modern metropolis, the spirit of the past lives on in the area off Colombus Avenue.
Lawrence Ferlinghetti's City Lights Bookstore, once frequented by Kerouac, Ginsberg and Bob Dylan, is still in business, fending off the advances of mass tourism, while the nearby Tosca Café and Café Trieste offer tired tourists the chance to drink coffee and write their own poetry after a day riding the trams and visiting the former prison island of Alcatraz.
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