I took the Ferry from Larkspur into San Francisco to go explore with my friend Laura.
I got another great view of the San Quentin prison (I'm not sure why I find it so fascinating).
Golden Gate Bridge!
It rained while I was onboard but it all miraculously cleared up by the time we docked on the city and the rest of the day was absolutely beautiful.
Alcatraz:
This street drummer is apparently pretty well known and makes all his money through "hard work." He refuses welfare and says he would never beg or panhandle. He's got a pretty good groove going. Most amazing though was that he was playing when I arrived at noon time, and was still at it when I left the city at 7 pm.
At first, Laura and I took a walk through the Mission to have lunch at what she heard was the best burrito place in all of the Mission. This is no small feat since the Mission is perhaps the most Latin American (especially Mexican) populated area in the city and is positively riddled with taquerias and burrito places. The one we went to is located on Mission St. between 24th and 25th, and is simply called "La Taqueria." It's a tiny place but boasts a whole wall full of awards and a few Zagat plaques. The vegetarian Burritos we had truly were amazing although finding a seat and figuring out the ordering system did take a little bit of time. Walking through the Mission after our lunch really was like a little introduction into Latin American culture. I heard Spanish music flowing out of every store, saw only hispanic people and smelled only hispanic food. It was great!
We came across this alley way--Clarion Alley--that is known for its street art. All horizontal spaces (and even the ground in some parts) are covered with paint and apparently the works are constantly changing as artists are inspired by existing pieces and either add more things or cover up older ones to express themselves anew. Alongside simply aesthetically pleasing and colorful murals are political messages that cover a wide range from peace and the state of our environment, to anti-religion pleas.
"Now finish you program hun. You know children in other countries don't get sensory overload"
"The same wind that uproots trees makes the grasses shine"
The beautiful Women's Building: It houses a highly-involved NGO that fights for and celebrates womanhood.
Orange Cable car. It's really neat when you stand on top of a steep hill and you can hear the chains rattling under ground like a roller coaster.
The Castro--former home of Harvey Milk and many many gay people. It's a beautiful place where people are proud of their sexuality and have no shame in looking into gay porn windows. For a simple New Hampshire girl like me it was truly uplifting to see so many gay couples holding hands and rainbow flags hanging along the streets and being integrated into municipal trash barrels. Go gays!
A pier next to the ferry house
China Town the day after Chinese New Years.
On our tour through the city we walked through the comparatively beautiful China town. It really is much more colorful and a lot happier than the NYC and Boston ones. We walked into a small side alley that housed a fortune cookie factory...well, it really was just a tiny old room and three women sitting on small stools alongside an ancient steam-engine cookie machine, folding the still soft dough into fortune cookie shapes. They charged you $.50 to take pictures and sold flat round, not yet fortune cookies in large bags. It smelled delicious!
China Town sort of bleds into North Beach, another very culturally and historically rich neighborhood. Perhaps most known for the birthplace of the Beatnik movement, it was also filled with landmarks like Cafe Triest, where the Godfather was written, and the City Lights Bookstore where Allen Ginsberg's Howl and Other Poems was discovered and first independently published.
We came across this alley way--Clarion Alley--that is known for its street art. All horizontal spaces (and even the ground in some parts) are covered with paint and apparently the works are constantly changing as artists are inspired by existing pieces and either add more things or cover up older ones to express themselves anew. Alongside simply aesthetically pleasing and colorful murals are political messages that cover a wide range from peace and the state of our environment, to anti-religion pleas.
"Now finish you program hun. You know children in other countries don't get sensory overload"
"The same wind that uproots trees makes the grasses shine"
The beautiful Women's Building: It houses a highly-involved NGO that fights for and celebrates womanhood.
Orange Cable car. It's really neat when you stand on top of a steep hill and you can hear the chains rattling under ground like a roller coaster.
The Castro--former home of Harvey Milk and many many gay people. It's a beautiful place where people are proud of their sexuality and have no shame in looking into gay porn windows. For a simple New Hampshire girl like me it was truly uplifting to see so many gay couples holding hands and rainbow flags hanging along the streets and being integrated into municipal trash barrels. Go gays!
A pier next to the ferry house
China Town the day after Chinese New Years.
On our tour through the city we walked through the comparatively beautiful China town. It really is much more colorful and a lot happier than the NYC and Boston ones. We walked into a small side alley that housed a fortune cookie factory...well, it really was just a tiny old room and three women sitting on small stools alongside an ancient steam-engine cookie machine, folding the still soft dough into fortune cookie shapes. They charged you $.50 to take pictures and sold flat round, not yet fortune cookies in large bags. It smelled delicious!
China Town sort of bleds into North Beach, another very culturally and historically rich neighborhood. Perhaps most known for the birthplace of the Beatnik movement, it was also filled with landmarks like Cafe Triest, where the Godfather was written, and the City Lights Bookstore where Allen Ginsberg's Howl and Other Poems was discovered and first independently published. And of course there was this:
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