“49 Square Miles Surrounded by Reality” ~ San Francisco

by Tsvete Popp
San Fracisco

Hello! Today I’ll continue with the first day of our visit in San Francisco. In the previous post I showed you some pics from San Francisco’s bay and today I’m back with the next stories. It was ca. 11 a.m. – at that time the temperatures in the city are becoming much pleasant. On that day we got about 27 ° – a perfect weather for some walk. The climate in San Francisco differs from that if other Californian cities – always a bit cooler and windier. Typical of the summer months is the fog as a common occurrence throughout the summer months. One of the best places to see the fog is the Golden Gate Bridge.

 

After having our morning walk along the coast, we headed to Downtown of San Francisco. The downtown is a colourful combination of different cultures, economical buildings, banks, bars, pubs and ethnic restaurants, countless music stores, cultural centres and historic buildings. The centre of San Francisco is located on some of the city’s hills, in the northern part of the city. Speaking of hills, there are mentioned to be about 43, but the main hills are seven. (Telegraph Hill, Nob Hill, Russian Hill, Rincon Hill, Twin Peaks, Mount Davidson and Lone Mountain or Mount Sutro).

Hip, Hip, Hippie! ~ San Francisco

However, on our way to downtown, we enjoy the famous cable cars which are part of the public transport since 1873. Unfortunately, the cable car system of San Francisco is the world’s last manually operated cable car system. Following the oldest tram rails in the city, we found ourselves in front of Gateway Arch – the entrance to Chinatown in San Francisco! With all its glamour, this landmark is the most visited parts of the city! This gate is the only authentic Chinatown Gate in North America that symbolizes the entrance to the largest Chinatown in the world located outside of China. Founded in 1848, the miraculous neighbourhood is a collection of absolutely everything which one can imagine while thinking of China! You can spend literally hours going through the various shops and restaurants … What I really liked, was the architecture and the street art uniqueness…

 

After visiting the Chinatown we went to Coit Tower – the most famous landmark of “Telegraph Hill”. Even though the Coit tower and the monument of Columbus are quite interesting things to see – the view is what makes this place so special!

On the way back, going upstairs was much easier: D … So we came across the oldest and most famous street festival in San Francisco, which is held only once a year – Haight Ashbury Street Fair! The history of this festival begins in hippie years of the 20th century when the music festivals became much popular than ever. And following the tradition, on the second Sunday of June, popular and not that popular bands and musicians are playing on different scenes around the city. Music, arts, beer and food are the mainstay of this event which celebrates the cultural diversity of San Francisco! You can find as well tasty things from all over the world, as well as numerous small shops, which offer an endless range of stuff with various qualities.

 

So after being part of this street festival, we headed to one of the most famous streets in the world, which I will share with you in the next post …

Enjoy the day


San Fracisco

San Francisco, Downtown

San Francisco, Downtown

San Francisco, Downtown

San Francisco, Downtown

San Francisco, Downtown

San Francisco, Downtown

San Francisco, Downtown

San Francisco, Downtown

San Francisco, Downtown

San Francisco, Downtown

San Francisco, Downtown

San Francisco, Downtown

San Francisco, Downtown

San Francisco, Downtown

San Francisco, Downtown

San Francisco, Downtown

San Francisco, China Town

San Francisco, Chinatown

San Francisco, China Town

San Francisco, Chinatown

San Francisco, Chinatown

Coit Tower, San Francisco

Coit Tower, San Francisco

Coit Tower, San Francisco

Coit Tower, San Francisco

Coit Tower, San Francisco

Coit Tower, San Francisco

San Francisco

San Francisco

San Francisco

San Francisco

San Francisco

San Francisco

San Francisco

San Francisco

San Francisco

San Francisco

San Fracisco

San Francisco

San Francisco

San Francisco

San Francisco

San Francisco