I'm going to San Fransisco today! Alas, I did not wear flowers in my hair --for those of you who remember that song... No? :-( OK, moving on. I will be staying at Micheal's place during my 6 days/5 nights here; Micheal is one of many pilgrims with whom I walked the Camino in Spain last August.
My arrival in San Fransisco is immediately marked by the crossing of the enormous Golden Gate Bridge. Almost 2 miles long, boasting six lanes of traffic plus a pedestrian/cycling lane. Micheal lives in the Marina District adjacent to the bridge; this photo was taken down the street from his place. Prime real estate, I'm guessing.
Both steel towers rise 746 feet (227m) above water. When ''the bridge that could never be built'' finally opened in 1937, it was under budget and on time -- and was also the longest and tallest suspension structure in the world. On the morning of its birthday, 18,000 people waited at the barriers to cross the bridge on foot; it was opened to motor traffic the following day. It was very cool to see and walk/drive across, honestly.
Marina Green Park, at the end of Fillmore Street, where I'm staying for the week.
... and the other end goes straight to the water. Here's a shot of Alcatraz from Marina Green Park at the end of the street. Did you know that 'Alcatraz' is Spanish for pelicans (alcatraces)? I very much regretted not booking a tour ahead of time; the next available tickets were for August. Meuh. ;-(
Taken from Hawk Hill in Marin County
Day 2 brought me to various districts of San Fran, none more funky or colorful than the Haight-Ashbury area. Although Haight rhymes with 'hate,' 75,000 hippies from all over the world famously congregated here in the Summer of Love of 1967. By that point, the Haight had already become a hotspot for psychedelic drugs, for confrontations with police over marijuana use, loitering and other 'petty' crimes and for pro-civil rights / anti-war demonstrations. It had also become overrun with rats, STDs and garbage. I couldn't guess what changes this district has seen over the years, but I myself did not see a single rat.
Now middle-class yet unconventional (even by San Fransiscan standards), drugs and homelessness hang out at every other street corner. I've never been offered marijuana more often in my life. Still, since it's a heavily-touristed area, its edginess is softened by cool vintage clothing stores, record and book shops and off-beat coffee joints.
At Cha Cha Cha's, I ate deep-fried bananas with black bean sauce and sour cream. It was amazing, truly one of the most delicious new things I tried on my travels abroad this year. Thanks to Micheal for insisting that I order a plate despite the weirdness of it all.
Not sure what a petroleum company like Chevron is promoting with this poster in the Haight-Ashbury district. Getting high off their gas fumes?
Great motto
Haight-Ashbury was a fun place to window-shop and people-watch, and the historical aspect appealed to me. I returned once more to this district and bought my purple Doc Martens at a fun shop off Haight St. *sigh* Us women really do have a special relationship with shoes.
The Red Victorian Bed Breakfast and Art, built in 1904. Over the years, this place has been in the forefront of the Ecology Movement of 1962, the Social Justice Movement of 1963, and the Peace Movement of 1964. It is now run by an adorable little lady named Sami Sunchild and its 18 bedrooms all commemorate the Summer of Love, with --no doubt-- interesting decor and psychedelic paraphernalia.
An impressive City Hall, seen from Alamo Square. Built in 1905 just in time for the Expo and modeled after St. Peter's in Rome/Vatican.
Another thing to admire from Alamo Square -- the row of Victorian houses nicknamed The Painted Ladies, also known as Postcard Row. They were built in the 1880s and up until a few years ago, were painted quite a bit more colorfully. San Fran is filled with many Victorians that are much more beautiful (and better maintained), but the city's skyline in the backdrop made these 7 ones very famous.
Quick drive through Chinatown, by far the cleanest and prettiest Chinatown I've ever visited...
In 1906, the city was hit with an earthquake of 8.25, which traveled at 7,000 mph (11,265 kph). Flames erupted from burst gas pipes and caused a huge 3-day fire that killed 3,000 people and left 250,000 homeless. In total, more than 6 sq miles (15 sq kms) were instantly reduced to rubble by the quake, and the fire destroyed property valued at $400 million (an astounding 8.2 billion today -- holy crap). The city was quickly rebuilt since most of its buildings were insured. In fact, the city actually prospered during the Great Depression; many of its iconic buildings were built at that time.
Next District: The Embarcadero, with the Ferry building being the focal point for lunch today. At Hog Island, I munched on steamed garlic mussels while Micheal dined on raw oysters (which I wouldn't try -- they looked like giant, uncooked boogers). I did expect the seafood to be good in San Fransisco and I wasn't disappointed.
Ferry building. A plaque proudly declares it the city's most famous landmark (They apparently haven't glanced next door at the Golden Gate Bridge or at Alcatraz...) It is a nice-looking building though, looking just like it did when it was built in 1898.
The Bay Bridge (or the San Fransisco-Oakland Bridge) stretches for 4.46 miles over the bay. The world's widest bridge, according to the Guiness Book of World Records. Midway through the drive across, the lanes dip into tunnels on Yerba Buena Island (pictured). The bridge then continues on to Berkeley, Oakland, etc. Over 250,000 people use this double-decked bridge every day.
An artistic show of lights turns the Bay Bridge into a phenomenal sight.
Not sure of the significance of either the sunken bow and arrow, or the Sabre-Toothed Tiger skull.....
The waterfront looks great, rebuilt after the 1989 earthquake that collapsed a freeway overpass that ran right in this spot. The city took advantage of the horrendous situation to revamp its waterfront district. Nice job.
This was fun. Micheal and I met up with a fellow pilgrim from the Camino, Bridget. This woman is so funky and interesting, and I was very grateful when she cancelled plans to meet us in Berkeley and reminisce over a few bottles of wine. It was so nice to catch up -- we two girls met up again the following day for some shopping and lunch. Salud!
Lombard Street, ''The Crookedest Street in the World''. One block, 7 switchbacks, 27 degree incline. It was deemed too steep for cars, hence the seven 'Z' turns.
The Mission District, a bit rough and tumble. Known for its wall murals. Here are a few of my favorites.
My favorite.
A FEW RANDOM GLIMPSES OF SAN FRANSISCO...
I didn't get to step on The Rock, but I can relay a few cool things I learned about Alcatraz.... Shut down in 1963 due to enormous costs, with prisoner brutality denounced by Robert Kennedy... Since everything had to be shipped including the soil for the prisoners' gardens, it would have reportedly been cheaper to house each inmate in the Waldorf-Astoria with room service.... Average of 264 criminals at a time, maximum-security.... Inmates notoriously well-fed to prevent riots... Al Capone spent most of his time in isolation and left mentally unbalanced.... 36 prisoners made 14 escape attempts, two men trying twice; 23 were caught, 6 were shot/killed during escape, 2 drowned, and 5 are listed as "missing and presumed drowned". No one knows if those 5 men successfully escaped.
San Fransisco boomed in the Victorian age (1837-1901), hence the panoply of gorgeous Victorian homes everywhere.
If I needed to get a better feel for my car's clutch (after a year of not driving), I don't anymore! I had no problems at all, but WHOA those inclines!!! San Fransisco was so much fun to cruise around in, but I'm glad I didn't learn to drive stick (or parallel park!) here.
Not a lot of wiggle room in San Fransisco. After New York, San Fran is the most densely-crowded city in America (825,000 people in 47 sq miles / 122 sq kms).
Yes, I'd love to be dancing. But since I'm traveling solo, I'll just shake my rump a bit while standing here...
There is a herd of wild bison in Golden Gate Park, but they were nowhere to be seen today. Why would San Fran keep a bunch of one-ton bison roaming within city limits?!? Well -- in 1891, when the species was almost extinct, the first one was brought to this park for protection and the tradition sorta.... stuck.
Golden Gate Park ends at Ocean Beach (What a great name!). Way too cold and treacherous for swimming, but we watched expert surfers tackle the waves for a bit.
Remains of Sutro Baths at Seal Rock. In 1896, this was the world's largest indoor swimming facility. The baths had struggled for years due to sky-high maintenance costs, and burned down in 1966, shortly after closing its doors for good. Not sure why that's interesting....
Sausalito
Well, that's it friends.... The remainder of my time here was spent eating in fun restaurants, cheering for the LA Kings with Micheal and a bottle of wine during the Stanley Cup final, and hanging around in coffee shops watching all kinds of people go by. I would have loved to witness the Gay Pride Parade and I would have loved to tour Alcatraz. Frankly, I could have stayed here another 6 weeks and not seen/tasted a quarter of what this city has to offer. Can't do it all.
You know, San Fransisco is an incredible foodie city..... Vegans, raw, Slow Food, organic-only, vegetarians, local-only, pescatarians, gluten-free, etc. would all love it here. The only place on my travels so far where fresh, real food will trump any fast-food joint. Cheers to that!
love you all, xx
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