| Page Views: 3,047 Last Visit to San Francisco: - | San Francisco - Cold Hands, Warm Heart by Rixie - last update: Nov 30, 2008 |
Fog City | Fog coming in, San Francisco |
Fog
by Carl Sandburg
The fog comes
on little cat feet.
It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.
The photo above was taken in the Potrero Hill district of San Francisco, looking toward Sutro Tower. You can see the fog creeping over the hill.
San Francisco is my favorite city. There are things I love about every city I've ever visited, but of all of them, San Francisco is the only one that makes my heart skip a beat every time I see it. If you've ever seen the Golden Gate Bridge and the cityscape burst into view through the Waldo Tunnel, absorbed the sounds and smells of a Chinatown market, or watched a bank of fog enfold the city, you understand what I mean.
The Convention & Visitors Bureau used to say that in San Francisco you can eat in 8 different languages. I would go a step further and say that in San Francisco you can eat your way around the world without ever leaving the city. There are Irish taverns and English pubs, American diners and seafood stands, and restaurants featuring cuisine from China, Japan, India, Thailand, Mexico, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Morocco, and many other countries.
There are always things to do in The City. You can ride a cable car, take a tour of the former federal prison on Alcatraz Island, shop in Union Square, attend Mass in Chinese at Old St. Mary's Church, go clubbing in the South of Market. In Golden Gate Park you can rent a pedal boat, see bison, visit the aquarium.
When you come to San Francisco, remember that the tourist areas make up a very small part of the city. Break out of the usual vacation pattern and go to see the neighborhoods where the people live. Photograph the onion-domed Orthodox church on outer Geary, stroll through the campus at San Francisco State University, watch a movie at the Castro Theater, eat at a noodle shop in Japantown, have a drink with the after-work crowds on Chestnut Street. Look for the real San Francisco! |
|  | Ethnic Neighborhoods San Francisco is a compact city, easy to cover on foot. It's a series of small, colorful neighborhoods, many of them ethnic (Chinese, Latino, Japanese, Italian, Russian), that flow seamlessly from one to the other.
This is a portion of an amazing building in the Mission District, Edificio de Mujeres. For more photographs and information, see my San Francisco travelogue: Marvelous Mujeres |
This gate marks the beginning of Grant Avenue, the main thoroughfare of San Francisco's Chinatown. It's the largest Chinese community outside of China and an exciting and vibrant place to visit. | | |
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| Pros: | "Colorful, cosmopolitan, exciting" | | Cons: | "Foggy and cold in the summer" | | In A Nutshell: | "Beautiful City by the Bay" |
Rixie's San Francisco Travel Tips
 Rixie's San Francisco Travelogues | | | |
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 Comments for Rixie about San Francisco | | | | |
oneruthlesspta Sun Jun 28, 2009 14:25 UTC
Hey RIXIE! Read all your comments and felt your love of the city coming thru. Excited about our trip over the upcoming 4th of July. Thanks for all your input. | Tom_In_Madison Thu May 28, 2009 13:32 UTC
I'm coming to SF!!! August!!! Can't wait...its been 13 years. | volopolo Sat Nov 29, 2008 00:51 UTC
I have hear that San Francisco is the most beautiful city in USA. Is it truth? | betska Mon Nov 24, 2008 00:50 UTC
Thanks for the link to Mark Bittner's website. Some lovely photos & background info that I wasn't aware of. |
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