The first time I visited San Francisco I was bowled over. This was the centre of the '60s counter culture, flower power and anti-war demonstrations. Then there were the TV series and the enthralling movies set in Frisco: the Streets of San Francisco with Michael Douglas, Dirty Harry with Clint Eastwood, Hitchcock's Vertigo, and McQueen's legendary car chase through the city in Bullet. I first visited with three Irish friends, Mary and Aidan who had lived in the Bay area for several years and had a good working knowledge of the city, and Carmel. We travelled from Fremont on the Bart. I always remember standing on the escalator as we moved towards the underground exit at Market Street in downtown San Francisco, and being assailed by towering skyscrapers in every shape and style. What a dramatic introduction to one of the most famous cities in the world!
That first afternoon was action-packed. We took a cable car to Pacific Heights, and gazed out over the city and ocean below. Of course there was the shadow of the Golden Gate looming over my imagination, and I just had to take a boat trip, to glide under this queen of bridges, and then skirt the infamous island of Alcatraz. We had lunch at Fisherman's Wharf, a huge conglomeration of gift stores and cafes. Just across from here is Ghirardelli Square, named after the famous chocolatier who arrived in San Francisco in the great gold-rush era of the 1850s. It is now an exclusive shopping district. More in our league was Chinatown, the largest Chinese neighbourhood outside of Asia. The streets were alive with amazing stores selling all kinds of herbs, food, jewellery and colourful banners with intricate Chinese calligraphy, and beautifully decorated gift items.
Later when I returned to California I spent a day just getting familiar with some of the streets in downtown San Francisco. It was a real treat to sip coffee in Starbucks in Market Street early on Friday morning, and just gaze out the window as hoards of people hurried to work. San Francisco is a major financial center and many banks and businesses have their headquarters here. There are also many computer firms located here, so it's quite a bustling city. It would be great to work here for a while to experience the buzz of being part of this lively cosmopolitan city. The nearest I've got so far is working on a contract in South San Francisco, but that was miles from the real action downtown.
I once walked about four miles on a rather warm day from Market Street to the Haight-Ashbury area. This area was the centre of counter culture in the '60s, where students, artists, musicians and nonconformists moved in to old Victorian houses, ushering in the hippie phase. Groups like The Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane hung out here, and played at the famous Fillmore concert venue just around the corner. The era of rock music and pot, incense and pop art, eastern meditation and anti-Vietnam demonstrations was short lived. Today Haight-Ashbury is a paradise for collectors of old memorabilia. The stores are stacked with tie-dyed dresses, posters, jewellery and CDs, all reminiscent of that colourful decade. It's also a great place to get a wonderful sandwich, any amount or variety of vegetarian fare, and lots of good tasting coffee.
Probably the best vegetarian restaurant I've ever eaten in is Greens, at Fort Mason, overlooking the Bay, where all the food is organically grown. One cold rainy February evening Bob brought me there for a birthday treat. The hot, spicy soup was wonderful; the plates of gorgonzola cream, walnut and basil pasta, and curried vegetables were divine. Then coffee, followed by a chocolate hazelnut mouse dessert. Dinner was expensive, but the flavour and quality of the food, the glittering view of the Golden Gate, and the general ambience of the place, was well worth it.
My friend, Mary, once took me on a day's outing to some interesting spots on the outskirts of the city. In the morning we went for a hike in Muir Woods, home of some magnificent redwoods. Then we drove to Golden Gate Park where we had a magnificent view of the famous bridge. It was foggy as it often is in San Francisco. We drove to the Cliff House for lunch, which is at the Northwest corner of San Francisco and offers some fantastic views of the coast. A restaurant has been located on this spot since 1863, and the present establishment is full of décor and memorabilia from Victorian times.
There's nothing I love more than to browse around downtown, admiring the diverse architecture that gives San Francisco a richness and colour that few cities can match. After the giant earthquake in 1906 the city was largely rebuilt in the ornate art nouveau style. Then there are the decorative art deco buildings built from the 1930s. The real charm of the city is a blend of many styles and eras, from modern marvels, like the Transamerica building, to old surviving Victorian houses dating back to the late 1800s. One of my favourite buildings is City Hall, with its glorious doom, located at Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place. I also love the Legion of Honor art gallery, with its great Rodin collection, that sits overlooking Golden Gate Park.
When my nephew, Michael, visited in the autumn I brought him to Equinox, the revolving restaurant on top of the Hyatt Hotel in Market Street. From this vantage point there are some great views of the city and bay, particularly Bay Bridge. Here you can survey the skyscrapers and look down upon the busy streets while sitting in the lap of luxury, sipping coffee and eating chocolate fudge ice cream.
This is certainly a marvellous city. I always love the buzz of exploring its unique streets, admiring its assortment of buildings, and browsing in its stylish stores. Supposedly San Francisco is the most visited city in the US. It is well worth visiting many times over.
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