Day 8 - San Fransisco sightseeing

Luckily the weather today was much better - no rain and it was even warm. A huge improvement over the melting snow in Albany! I started off walking with Diana around her neighborhood (the Mission district). We talked a lot about the gentrification going on and her perspective as someone who's lived in the neighborhood through 'thick and thin.' She talked about enjoying that it was safer and more 'desirable' but wasn't so happy about her neighbors, many who have lived near her family for years and are also Mexican, being priced out of their homes. She also said it felt weird to have tour groups walk through her neighborhood, especially when they come into a bodega to have 'an authentic Mexican food experience' while she's just trying to pick up some tortillas.

We walked down an alley that is nearly covered in murals. They were all beautiful and most had a story. Some were about the civil wars in Central and South America, some were about gentrification, and others were about Hispanic folklore. They were all painted in different styles and with such an impressive attention to detail . It was really cool.

 

 

My favorite one (below) was a double garage. On the left was a scene from the 'old Mission' and on the right was a scene from the Mission as it is now. Surrounding the doors was political and social context. 

 

  

Then, just as we were at the end of the ally, a tour group came through behind us. Go figure.


We got brunch at a pretty cool Jewish place and walked around a bit stopping in some thrift stores, hat stores, book stores, stores with metallic clothes...  lots of eclectic places.

After walking by the Mission neighborhood's namesake we got some ice cream from a place that was super popular but not all that impressive. Then Diana and I parted ways, her to go about her life and me to sight-see. 

I saw a number of beautiful old homes and walked up and down (and up and down) some of SF's famous hills.

I took a load off in front of the 'painted ladies,' aka the Full House house, before making my way to the very-touristy bay area. 

By this time it was near dinner hour and I was exhausted from all the walking. I had planned to meet back up with Diana, but my phone was dead (too many pictures) and I was totally lost - I didn't know how to get back to her place! I panicked a bit and thought it out in the extremely crowded (and 100% overrated) Ghirardelli restaurant. With chocolate, of course. Luckily I was able to eek out one more text before my phone totally died to get her address. The waitress said I had no hope of catching a cab but, thanks to another stroke of luck, I got one almost instantly.

Once back at Diana's place I had some homemade dinner (a rare treat) and now I'm off to bed. Tomorrow is a big day - I'm going to Alcatraz! 

Day 7 - San Fransisco part deux

I arrived in SF in the afternoon and went straight to the airport to ditch my rental car. Diana (another GSV alum) graciously picked me up and took me to her family home in the Mission District and then played tour guide extraordinaire - in the rain, no less!

We started by taking the bus to Haight-Ashbury to walk around. There weren't too many people around because it was cold and drizzly but there was some interesting stuff. And check it out - the buses run on electric lines. Crazy! I was also surprised by how frequently the buses were running - very cool.

We walked through the Golden Gate Park (which was beautiful) and then tucked into the art museum, even though it was closing in about 15 minutes, just to warm up a bit. We walked through a few exhibits (for free!) before taking another bus to the actual bridge. I'll admit, I wish I had looked at a map of the city before arriving - I was so disoriented.

real red woods! ah!

 Even in the crappy weather (I hear this is common there?) the bridge was really an amazing sight. It was so huge, the scale in pictures is misleading. The bright orange against the drizzle was also really striking. The national park at the base of the bridge was pretty interesting, highlighting the bridge's history and engineering, and there were lots of interactive displays for the kids at heart like me. Diana said it was all pretty new.

surfers!

We were getting hungry so we met up with Diana's boy to get some dinner in Japan town. I had never even heard of a Japan town before, and it looks just like how I imagine Japan to look. The street signs were in Japanese and everything.

After eating we went to a pirate themed bar. Luckily the rain was over because we had to wait outside for a while just to get in. It was crowded but not that crazy, but it was nice that they kept it from getting overfull. I was told that there's always a line, no matter what day or time it is. Every square inch of the place was decorated. It's known for its fancy cocktails - mine was delicious and had a flower in it, so you already know I was happy.

Feelin' good, we walked downtown for a few minutes to see city hall lit up and to go to an observation deck/bar at a hotel. Unfortunately there was no where to sit and we felt weird lingering so close to people eating, so we just took a few pictures of the panorama and ditched. My pictures didn't come out, really, but here you have them:

Now I'm pooped so we're calling it a night. Not a bad start, San Fran!