I drove into San Francisco on I280 and I didn't know what hit me. I ended up right downtown, only blocks from my hotel - but it took me a good half hour to get there. Traffic was at a standstill, until there was an opening, and then two cars would shoot through the same hole. The lanes confused me too. The right lane was reserved for buses and taxis. But what if you want to turn right? Do you turn across that restricted lane, or do you actually get in it just to make your turn? And the second right lane - where I'm supposed to drive, has tracks for street cars and trolleys. I eventually got the hang of it, but boy did I get some culture shock. My friend Leigh flew out to San Francisco and put up with me for three days. Leigh is pictured above. If you look closely at that picture, you will notice that the man who I accidentally caught in the background looks A LOT like that one character from the movie Office Space - the guy with the red stapler. Leigh and I stayed at The Palace Hotel - an opulent hotel by my standards. Prior to the Palace, the last hotel I stayed in left the light on for me, but they forgot to clean out the tub. San Francisco quickly grew on me. First, the food was awesome. Every meal we had was fantastic. Probably my favorite was tacos in the Mission District at Taqueria Vallarta. This little open air taco shop with pigeons wandering in and out gave you a lot of flavor for $5.00. Maybe the best value in San Francisco. The Mission District was my favorite part of San Francisco. One of the main reasons I wanted to come to San Francisco was to see the murals in this neighborhood. They did not disappoint. Taking in the sights and the sounds of the neighborhood (most of the sounds were in Spanish), it occurred to me that while some of the barrio's residents are probably not American citizens, many of them are probably more American than I am. It also occurred to me that their America and my America have sort of a different feel. I have no doubt that if I lived in San Francisco, I would live in this section of town. Another area that had a lot going on and really impressed me was Chinatown. We had a great lunch at The Pearl, and then found this little park with Pagodas. In the park were probably a hundred elderly Chinese people, hanging out, playing cards and checkers, and shooting the breeze. Every town in America should have a little neighborhood park where all of the older people can feel safe to come and hang out with their friends for the afternoon. Later that night we saw a very impressive eight piece band made up of older Chinese street musicians playing on the corner between North Beach and Chinatown. They were great. I always enjoy watching someone perform on the street. The best was Jordan Peck. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4zwyjOFLr4 I could not get the link to work, but he's worth seeing. There was another guy who held some cuttings from bushes in his hands and he sat hidden behind them, and would occasionally pop out and scare people. If they laughed, he asked them for money. It was clever and it was fun watching him get people. Later that night, I decided to go out and try to earn some coffee money with my banjo. I didn't do so well. Maybe it was too late, or I was in the wrong part of town, or something. We took a bus tour of the city and learned that they have a Big Wheel Race going down Lombard Street on Easter Sunday. Leigh wants to get a team together for that. Talk to her if you're interested. I would love to go back to San Francisco. There is soooo much that I did not have time to do. I almost stayed longer, but I chose to move on. Then, I almost had to stay longer because when I went to pay my $60 parking garage fee (3 days), I discovered that my battery was dead. AAA to the rescue. When he arrived, the AAA guy asked where I was from. "Raleigh, North Carolina." He replied, "Oh, I almost moved there." When I asked him why, he said, "They have the best schools in the nation." I got my battery in and made it to the kennel in Pacifica one minute before closing time. If I didn't make it to pick up my dog, I would have stayed longer in San Francisco. But I got her and then headed up the coast to check out some houseboats.
I drove into San Francisco on I280 and I didn't know what hit me. I ended up right downtown, only blocks from my hotel - but it took me a good half hour to get there. Traffic was at a standstill, until there was an opening, and then two cars would shoot through the same hole. The lanes confused me too. The right lane was reserved for buses and taxis. But what if you want to turn right? Do you turn across that restricted lane, or do you actually get in it just to make your turn? And the second right lane - where I'm supposed to drive, has tracks for street cars and trolleys. I eventually got the hang of it, but boy did I get some culture shock. My friend Leigh flew out to San Francisco and put up with me for three days. Leigh is pictured above. If you look closely at that picture, you will notice that the man who I accidentally caught in the background looks A LOT like that one character from the movie Office Space - the guy with the red stapler. Leigh and I stayed at The Palace Hotel - an opulent hotel by my standards. Prior to the Palace, the last hotel I stayed in left the light on for me, but they forgot to clean out the tub. San Francisco quickly grew on me. First, the food was awesome. Every meal we had was fantastic. Probably my favorite was tacos in the Mission District at Taqueria Vallarta. This little open air taco shop with pigeons wandering in and out gave you a lot of flavor for $5.00. Maybe the best value in San Francisco. The Mission District was my favorite part of San Francisco. One of the main reasons I wanted to come to San Francisco was to see the murals in this neighborhood. They did not disappoint. Taking in the sights and the sounds of the neighborhood (most of the sounds were in Spanish), it occurred to me that while some of the barrio's residents are probably not American citizens, many of them are probably more American than I am. It also occurred to me that their America and my America have sort of a different feel. I have no doubt that if I lived in San Francisco, I would live in this section of town. Another area that had a lot going on and really impressed me was Chinatown. We had a great lunch at The Pearl, and then found this little park with Pagodas. In the park were probably a hundred elderly Chinese people, hanging out, playing cards and checkers, and shooting the breeze. Every town in America should have a little neighborhood park where all of the older people can feel safe to come and hang out with their friends for the afternoon. Later that night we saw a very impressive eight piece band made up of older Chinese street musicians playing on the corner between North Beach and Chinatown. They were great. I always enjoy watching someone perform on the street. The best was Jordan Peck. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4zwyjOFLr4 I could not get the link to work, but he's worth seeing. There was another guy who held some cuttings from bushes in his hands and he sat hidden behind them, and would occasionally pop out and scare people. If they laughed, he asked them for money. It was clever and it was fun watching him get people. Later that night, I decided to go out and try to earn some coffee money with my banjo. I didn't do so well. Maybe it was too late, or I was in the wrong part of town, or something. We took a bus tour of the city and learned that they have a Big Wheel Race going down Lombard Street on Easter Sunday. Leigh wants to get a team together for that. Talk to her if you're interested. I would love to go back to San Francisco. There is soooo much that I did not have time to do. I almost stayed longer, but I chose to move on. Then, I almost had to stay longer because when I went to pay my $60 parking garage fee (3 days), I discovered that my battery was dead. AAA to the rescue. When he arrived, the AAA guy asked where I was from. "Raleigh, North Carolina." He replied, "Oh, I almost moved there." When I asked him why, he said, "They have the best schools in the nation." I got my battery in and made it to the kennel in Pacifica one minute before closing time. If I didn't make it to pick up my dog, I would have stayed longer in San Francisco. But I got her and then headed up the coast to check out some houseboats.
Sorry I missed ya when you were out this way. We had family in town until Monday. Looks like you hit up the spots I would have listed anyway. We looked into living in the mission when we first moved out this way but were priced out (esp with our then two doggies). I love Dolores Park on a sunny day. BTW--have you seen the movie "La Mission"?? Bet you'd dig it.
ReplyDeleteYeah--it took me a long time to figure out driving in San Fran. I got into my one and only traffic accident on Fell near Haight St and the entrance to the GG Park. I was just totally confused with where I was supposed to stop at the light.
Did you make it to the Fortune Cookie factory in Chinatown? It's pretty cool--one of the few places where they still make fortune cookies by hand. R U driving back this way?
--mitzi
Hey Mitzi. I will have to see that movie. I did not go to the fortune cokie factory. Next time. I was thinking maybe the Mission might be the one area I could afford. Maybe not? I also kindo f got the impression that 19th Street heading toward the bridge would be cheaper because of all of the traffic. I saw a lot of cars in San Francisco that had been crushated at some point. I cringe at the thought.
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