If you’ve been with me for Parts One and Two, you will know that this was a trip on a whim, John Vanderslice became the reason to calendar the trip, we travel on the cheap, are not afraid to try new things and love to observe everything around us. Part Three will give the highlights of what we saw on our walking trip around the city. My personal opinion is that if you really want to experience the “place,” you must walk it. Books, travel guides, etc. can give you ideas of what is there and what you might be interested in, but we are all different, we enjoy different experiences and to fully absorb the essence of wherever you are you must put your feet on the ground, open your eyes, ears and nose, and get your senses involved. That is how you experience a place.
After making sure our car was as we left it in the hotel parking lot (yes, it’s fenced and gated, but still, we were in the Tenderloin), we took off walking. If you mapped our tracks it would be a counterclockwise, roughly circular trek: Tenderloin to Union Square, north through the financial district to Chinatown, cross over into North Beach and Little Italy, over to Telegraph Hill, Pioneer Park, Coit Tower, down Filbert Street (of course it was down! Filbert is the steepest street in the U.S.!), over to and down Lombard, up to Fisherman’s Wharf then straight south back to the Tenderloin and Civic Center. A full day of walking and the distance was multiplied by the ups and downs of San Francisco’s lovely hills.
So, now you know the route. I’m going to let my pictures tell the story although I must offer this disclaimer: I’m not a professional or even a good amateur photographer, I just take pictures. With that said, here is the day:
We saw a beautiful white church in Little Italy, and always interested in seeing churches and other places of sacred space, we went inside. Turns out it is the National Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi.
Here is where a lovely photo of the Golden Gate Bridge should appear, but it was hiding from us. Every time we got a glimpse of the bridge it was just a bit here or there, poking out of the fog. Even so, it was lovely. We did not take the time to go to the bridge this time. It is on the list for next time, however.
Just so you know, the wild parrots really are on Telegraph Hill. If you haven’t seen the documentary Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill, you should; it’s wonderful. The parrots really are there, we saw them although I couldn’t get a good photo.
We noticed that in the Russian Hill neighborhoods there were laundromats everywhere! It seemed that there were more of them there than anywhere else but I guess moving washers and dryers into these homes must be pretty challenging! I kept thinking as we walked past these homes that must have stairs, stairs and more stairs that it would be advantageous to rent or buy an already furnished home/apartment rather than have to move furniture in or out!
A notable exclusion from photos of the day was Fisherman’s Wharf. No pics. After having wandered much of the day through this very lovely and picturesque city, we made our way to the Wharf. Jonathan and Tiff, my two adult children with whom I came on this trip, having never been to San Francisco before, both looked around at the crammed souvenir shops, overcrowded restaurants and flash and wondered why we had come. It looks very much like other touristy spots we have been before, Niagara Falls for example, with the tourist destination franchises such as Ripley’s, Tropical Rainforest Cafe, and Hard Rock Cafe looking just like they do everywhere else. San Francisco is a bit different in that it has the view of Alcatraz, the converging cablecars, Ghirardelli Square and chocolate factory and seafood restaurants and can be a lot of fun for folks who like that kind of experience. This is where you catch the ferries to Sausalito, Berkeley, etc. and there are boats everywhere (it is a wharf, after all)! The history though is wonderful and there is a San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park that is part of the national park system (and you thought they were in just wilderness areas!).
That’s the day, as I can tell it. I can’t give you the sounds, the smells, the seeing people just living that is all around. You’ll just have to go for yourself and your day will not be like my day — you will make it your own. San Francisco is a wonderful city!
Ahh, the memories…
Oh yes.