Tourist

Today I thought I'd post a few photos of some of the fun stuff that we did when Sal and Mike came out to visit. This actually only covers a few of the highlights, which makes me realize just how much we packed into a few days!

First up, we visited Mission Dolores and its beautiful graveyard, which is the resting place of many prominent people from the early days of San Francisco.

As I mentioned before, we spent an afternoon downtown with LPC, and along the way we stopped to check out an interesting art installation called Manifest Destiny.

We attended BarBot 2012, where we drank cocktails made by robot bartenders.

We interacted with the wildlife in Sausalito...

...and went for a walk in the redwood forest at Muir Woods.

We enjoyed the great view of downtown from Dolores Park, followed by some shopping in nearby Noe Valley.

We also headed over to Treasure Island where the beautiful Bliss Dance, which was first displayed at Burning Man 2010, now has a permanent (or at least semi-permanent) home. I couldn't imagine a more fitting spot for her to end up.

Having out of town friends come and visit gives me a chance to play tourist in my own city, which is always such a treat.

Happy Saturday

Here's what's making me happy today:

Sunbathing Dogs

Gorgeous Weather

Spring Flowers

Hummingbirds at the Feeder

And fado, my current musical obsession

Carminho's voice makes me want to get on a plane and fly to Lisbon NOW. 

It's hard to believe she's only in her early 20's; she has such amazing passion.

With her signature long flowing skirts and closely cropped hair, Mariza is as beautiful to look at 

as she is to listen to.

Though more a mixture of flamenco and jazz than fado, Buika's music sits nicely alongside these 

other talented ladies. Her smooth, husky voice voice sends chills down my spine. 

A great song for a relaxed weekend. Enjoy!

Walking to Work

I thought today I'd share some of the sights I take in on my walks to work. Depending on the route I take, I can see all sorts of beautiful things, which makes the trip go by quickly for as long as it is.

A view of Japantown (known as J-town by locals)

St. Mary's Cathedral, aka the giant washing machine agitator and the site of the 

famous (or perhaps infamous) "two o'clock titty"

 Colorful paper lanterns in Chinatown. Normally I try to avoid Chinatown, 

but it's wonderfully peaceful in the morning before the tourists come out.

 The art deco-styled Pacific Stock Exchange downtown

The awesome Transamerica building, which looms over 

much of the area around where I work

The best views, not surprisingly, tend to come along with a fair amount of hill climbing, so if I'm in a hurry or am lacking energy (read: hungover) I can go through the considerably less scenic (though not without their charms) Little Saigon and Tenderloin  neighborhoods. I can also cut through a "new" neighborhood (which is really just the realtors' way of repackaging an old neighborhood to make it sound more appealing) called the TenderNob, but I refuse to acknowledge that this neighborhood actually exists. I mean think about it. As if the name Tenderloin wasn't bad enough already.

 A pretty park I often cut through where I can watch dogs playing 

and people doing their morning exercise. That's City Hall in the distance.

 An urban garden tucked in between some buildings in the Western Addition area.

A "parklet" on Powell Street near Union Square. 

Who needs parking spaces, anyway?

 Coit Tower atop Telegraph Hill. 

This is also visible from the windows of my office.

 Lotta's Fountain on Market Street. This was the meeting place 

for survivors after the 1909 earthquake.

 The Ferry Building isn't on my commute route, but it's where my coworkers and I often go for lunch. 

That's one of the "F" line streetcars out front. Not to be confused with cable cars, 

these are classic streetcars from all over the world that have been restored 

and which go up and down Market Street from the Castro to the Embarcadero. 

And take a really fucking long time doing it. 

Not a good transportation option if you're pressed for time.

The view from the Ferry Building isn't half bad, eh? 

This is easily my favorite lunch spot when the weather is good.

 If I'm in the mood for some steep hill climbing (and by "steep" I mean some of the streets have 

staircases instead of sidewalks) I can check out beautiful Grace Cathedral at the top of Nob Hill 

on my walk to or from work. If I'm lucky I might also spot the Brown Twins while I'm 

in the neighborhood; I've seen them twice already on my walks.

 The views from Nob Hill aren't too shabby either

 Looking into downtown from Nob Hill. Note the cable car; the tracks that they run on 

make a lot of noise because the cables run on a continuous loop underneath them. 

It's a little disconcerting if you don't know what it is.

 A different view into downtown from the north side of Nob Hill, 

with the Bay Bridge off in the distance.

I've actually taken to carrying my camera with me at all times because I see so many great things in my travels. I'll undoubtedly have more to share with you another time, but I hope you've enjoyed this mini-tour of San Francisco, or at least a 3-mile slice of it. I'll leave you with one more great view:

They look like angels when they're sleeping, don't they?

San Francisco Travel Guide, Part 1: Shopping

As should be obvious by now, I ADORE my home city of San Francisco. I feel incredibly lucky to live here, as a result of both my own observations and experiences here, as well as comments I've heard from others while traveling abroad. Whenever I tell someone where I'm from, I inevitably get one of two responses: "San Francisco is the best place I've ever been!" or, "I've always dreamed of going to San Francisco!" And comments like that really help a person not to take their city for granted. I've been to a lot of wonderful places, but in the end none of them really feels like home the way San Francisco does for me.

So, having gotten a few requests from readers for a post about what to see and do while visiting  San Francisco, I present to you this mini travel guide to my own beloved home town. This will be a series in several parts, spread out over a couple of weeks. For the first installment I figured I'd focus on the topic foremost in many of our minds: shopping. I won't claim that this will be a comprehensive guide; it's just a collection of some of my favorite spots in town.

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Haight Street

Before I even get started talking about Haight Street, let me just make one thing clear: while the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood was once the mecca of hippies, and while a handful of stores in that area are still trying to capitalize on that history, San Francisco is NOT a hippie far-out peace-and-love granola-eating town where everyone is high all the time and there are vegan restaurants on every corner. I HATE that fucking image! Why can no one do a show about San Francisco and not mention hippies and tie dye and bongs? THE SIXTIES ARE OVER. I wish everyone could just let them go. 

That said, if you really want to see the dregs of what's left of hippie culture, I suppose the Upper Haight is the place to do it. Sigh. Despite that though, there really is some fantastic shopping in that area; I'd recommend going during the week if possible or before noon on the weekends of you want to avoid the crowds. If you want to get the full spectrum of Haight Street shopping in one day, start in the Upper Haight, and when the streets start to fill up with tourists and hipsters (or are those homeless people? It can be hard to tell.), make your way to Lower Haight to finish there (for more descriptions of Upper and Lower Haight, see this post). 

Some of my favorite shops in the Upper Haight: Ambiance (huge variety of designers and price points), Held Over (vintage clothing), Shoe Biz, John Fluevog, Goodwill, Decades of Fashion (high end vintage), Ruby (carries many local designers), Ceiba Records (steampunk/Burning Man styles), and Skunkfunk. As you go from Upper to Lower Haight, take a short detour down Divisadero Street to Swankety Swank (local designers), Prairie Collective, and Backspace. In Lower Haight proper there's a great import store called P-Kok, Lower Haters (locally-made art, clothing, and accessories), and new shops that seem to keep cropping up all the time.

The Mission District

The Mission District, once a largely Latino neighborhood, has morphed into Hipster Central in recent years. That doesn't mean it isn't worth checking out though; the hipsters rightfully love it because it's got cool bars, the best weather in the city (you'd be amazed how the weather can vary neighborhood to neighborhood in a city of only 7x7 miles), a wide variety of high quality restaurants, and you guessed it: great shopping. It also has one of the prettiest parks in town (Dolores Park), the old mission (which was one of the locations in Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo), and lots of beautiful murals that adorn the walls around the neighborhood. I'll cover eating, drinking, and sights in other posts, but for now let's talk shopping.

Along the Valencia corridor between 15th and 17th Streets is the heart of the Mission's shopping area. Between Guererro and Valencia on 16th Street you'll find two of my favorites, Sunhee Moon and Candystore Collective; round the corner onto Valencia Street and you'll find Five and Diamond, which has the best variety of steampunk clothing in the city. Further along are MultiKulti, Weston Wear, and Therapy. In the other direction down Valencia (towards 15th) is a clothing-by-the-pound store, and ADS Hats. If you wander outside the 15th to 17th Street center, you'll find additional shops in the 21st to 24th Street area.

image source

Hayes Valley

Tiny Patricia's Green park, which interrupts Octavia Street where it meets Fell Street, is at the center of the Hayes Valley shopping district. Once a neglected corner of the city that decayed beneath a freeway off-ramp, the neighborhood had new life breathed into it when the ramp was damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and the city opted to tear the structure down rather than rebuild. Since then, Hayes Valley has undergone a complete transformation, and is now one of the most sought-after neighborhoods in town. Here you'll find high end shops mixed with neighborhood drinking establishments, excellent restaurants, some of the city's finest coffee served out of an old auto shop, and an innovative ice cream shop created from a ship's cargo container. Patricia's Green also features temporary art installations that made their debuts at Burning Man; the installation above is called "Ecstasy."

Along Hayes Street between Laguna and Gough are a bunch of great shops: Bulo (shoes), Lava 9, Duke et Duchesse, and several others. Just around the corner on Octavia Street, local designers Lemon Twist have a charming little shop. A few blocks away on Gough  (pronounced "Goff") Street, you'll find the best place to buy a San Francisco souvenir: Gangs of San Francisco. Forget about those dumb sweatshirts they sell down at Fisherman's Wharf; GOSF creates clothing that memorializes forgotten institutions of San Francisco's past, such as the Sutro Speedsters speed skating team, and the Bear Flag Rebels. Along the edge of the Patricia's Green is a tiny alley called Linden, where you can shop for the finest custom corsets in town at Dark Garden, and perhaps see some of my own hat creations as well.

Read more about the SF phenomenon known as the parklet here.

Noe Valley

Among locals, Noe Valley is known for its suburban feel; it's a little further away from the bustle of the city center, and it feels cleaner and quieter than other parts of town. People who can afford to stay in San Francisco after they have kids generally end up either here or in the Marina District. As much as I like to poke fun at people who live there, it really is a charming part of town, and one that's pretty well off the tourist path. It also boasts one of the finest restaurants in town; like I said I'll cover food in another post, but it bears repeating that Incanto is not to be missed. Make a reservation far in advance, spend an afternoon shopping in Noe Valley, and end the day enjoying one of the most phenomenal dinners you'll ever eat.

Along 24th Street between Castro and Church Streets is where you'll find most of Noe Valley's shops. There's another Ambiance store there, a number of other small clothing boutiques, as well as some cute antique shops, used book stores, and interesting handmade jewelry at Qoio.

Thrift Shopping in San Francisco

Some great thrift shopping can be done in San Francisco, but in general, expect to pay more than you're used to elsewhere. My favorites are the Goodwill flagship store on Mission Street, Clothes Contact (the aforementioned clothing-by-the-pound store), the Goodwill on Haight Street, and Out of the Closet at Church and Duboce. There's also Thrift Town on 16th and Mission Streets, but in my experience it takes a little more patience to find any real treasures there. The first two, as well as Thrift Town, can be wrapped into a Mission District shopping day (though the flagship store is a few blocks' walk away from all the rest); the Haight Street Goodwill is in the Upper Haight and Out of the Closet is a couple blocks away from the Lower Haight.

Another option would be one of several local flea markets. Every Sunday there's the Alemany Flea Market, which is free. On the third Sunday of each month is the massive Candlestick Park Antiques and Collectibles Faire, which is well worth the trip if your visit happens to coincide. There's a $5-10 admission to get in, but the selection is amazing and the prices are surprisingly good. Many vendors sell vintage clothing as well as other antiques. Finally, across the bay on the first Sunday of each month is the Alameda Point Antiques Faire, which is one of the largest flea markets around.

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Well, I think that ought to keep you busy; if you need more after all that, you're a far more dedicated shopper than I am. One final thought: I didn't cover the obvious shopping mecca that is Union Square, where you'll find all the big department stores, chains such as All Saints, Desigual, Urban Outfitters, and H&M, and high end designers such as Prada and Louis Vuitton. But my feeling is that you can get that same shopping experience in any big city; if you don't have those stores back home then it's worth a visit, but if it's a uniquely San Francisco experience you're after, you need to get away from downtown and head into the neighborhoods.