On my way to Oregon, I had a layover in San Francisco. Realizing that I had a full day to spend in the city, my officemate who lives in San Jose/Santa Cruz offered to show me around the city. So, he and his wife kindly picked me up from the airport and whisked me away through the city for the day. You can see the photos on the Creative Meanderings site. (I hope the pictures are working!)
After stopping off for a quick cup of coffee at Peet’s Coffee& Tea, which brought back memories of my time in LA, we were off to see the city a bit. With a drive through downtown along the waterfront, I saw the Bay Bridge, Pier and port of San Francisco. As we drove up the main center area, I saw the cool triangular looking building though I still am not sure what the building was, but it was near the financial district. I also got a glimpse of the colored houses (no photo due to speedy car ride) as we headed towards the Fisherman’s Wharf area.
In hopes of seeing the fog lift, we walked around the wharf area where I got to see the outside of the Ghiaradelli chocolate factory, Pier 39 and had lunch by the harbor. Unfortunately, the fog never lifted…so seeing the Golden Gate bridge was not in the cards! So sad.
We went on the cable car, which has been a long time thing I have wanted to do and I had the tune of the Rice-a-roni advertisement running through my head at parts. Still, it was amazing to go up and down the hills in the cable car.
With some shopping downtown, we taxied it back to the car to head to North Beach to see a free jazz festival. My officemate’s good friend and former band members were playing, amongst whom was Eddie Gale. I know nothing about jazz, but apparently he’s a big name in the genre. The music was good and it was great to people watch! Finally, due to extreme coldness, we headed for dinner in the Italian area and enjoyed a delicious meal at Caffe Delucchi nearby.
Finally, we headed to the hotel where I repacked and relaxed before an early flight home to Oregon.
Overall, my impression of San Francisco was as a combination of Portland and New York. It is, of course, much bigger and sprawled out than Portland, but the buildings are more quaint like Portland. Also, the Pearl District reforms of Portland had a similar feel. The hilliness of the city, though, was much like driving and getting around Seattle. When we were walking around we heard a number of different languages and all kinds of people. While there may have been a higher density of hippy-like people, it was similar to a walk through the streets of New York. The weather was a big cool and cloudy, which is supposedly common during the summer months, but milder during the rest of the year. So, I am not sure that I would want to live there due to the climate, but the city life felt great! Even though I was only there for a day, I definitely think I would want to visit again for a few more days to see the surrounding areas in the Bay Area!
Thanks so much K & SB!!! I had a great time!!!
So, that was my layover in San Fran.
Until nex time…
-T
