San Francisco is the least American, most charming city in the US. Not as big as NY, not as crowded as Chicago, small enough to get around on feet. Its greatest appeal is actually the lack of must-sees. The Golden Gate and Alcatraz are alive in your memory, to an extent that feels déjà vu even when faced for the first time. However, SF’s real soul materializes as the background evolves across areas.
The Golden Gate Bridge
Skyline from COIT Tower, top of Telegraph Hill
Alcatraz
San Francisco is colorful, all the way from rainbow decorated Victorian houses – centric to the dominating lovely low-profile; to the Haight’s hippies and GLBT acceptance that reigns in the Castro district and worships famous gay politician Harvey Milk.
The Haight-Ashbury corner
Random hippie hangout
Psychedelic address
The coolest house in town
Something for us all… Smile!
Shoe store!
Hippie plantation in Alamo Square
Castro
The rainbow neighborhood
San Francisco is open and welcomes anyone, from Latinos who filled the Mission with murals, to the Asians in the World’s Biggest Chinatown, just a block away from the once controversial Japantown.
Pavement in the Mission
The pink house
Mural project, Clarion Alley
Mural detail, Clarion Alley
Illustrative lantern in Japantown
Real homemade Japan-style
Where food lived up to its legend.
The biggest Chinatown in the non-Chinese world.
San Francisco is green. The Golden Gate park is, besides 20% bigger than Central park, the crown of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Surrounded by Coastal Trails, one can walk to the Lands End, probably named by one of the Spanish founders after Finisterre – the cape where the world was once supposed to have its western end.
Japanese Tea Garden, Golden Gate Park
Snow Lake, Golden Gate Park
Green Art, around the lake of the Palace of Fine Arts
The city, seen from Crissy Field
The Coastal Trail along the west side of the bay.
San Francisco is steep, spread over hills and communicated by green transport. Cable Cars were installed in 1850, pulled up by a cable running at 9mph. Drivers joke all the way and riding in the outside is actually, a lot of fun.
Cable Car turnaround in Market Street
Cable Car, top of Russian Hill
Fisherman’s Wharf as seen from the Powell-Mason cable car
Zip is the car version of citybikes – rent, drive, park and forget about that!
San Francisco moves, loves its nature, eats its near-fished crabs and enjoys the locally produced wines and greens, a joyful existence with the lowest BMI in the US.
San Francisco loves its yummy crabs
Community garden,residential area that surrounds the old Fort Mason
Water is not wasted in the community garden
Early morning light, illuminates the community garden
Golf Court, surrounding the Legion of Honour
Quality living in Marina
Green grocers
Locally-grown delicacies
Hard choice! How to fill your Hot Clam Chowder? Available at Fisherman’s Wharf)
San Francisco reads, buys more books per-capita than any other city in the US and hoards three-times the national average of library books.
Green Apple Books
Manga, sold by the tones in Kinokuniya
San Francisco is lucky and got away from any tsunami derived from the 8.9-earthquake that hit Japan on March 11th. That day, while the beaches were closed, some crazy surfers wowed and got wet in the extra swell. Like others, I jumped over the “closed” signs, to take a stroll along Baker Beach, a scenic mile-long stretch of sand with spectacular views and calm. My small homage. Even when facing the strong Pacific wind that sunny day, it was hard to understand how it feels, when you hopelessly wait for a wave to come… And rub your world away.
Surfing the tragedy
Baker Beach & Lands End in the Pacific side of the Bay.
This is a post by David Report contributor Claudia Muniz Garcia.
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