California 2005, Part III: San Francisco

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Well, San Francisco: I LOVE YOU!

Our first little stint in San Fran barely did it justice. Now that we've had time to walk around and take in the city... it is just so cool. I have never felt so in tune with a city than I have here in Frisco. I even love how harmonious the town is within itself. Even though there are a multitude of different, unique neighborhoods with their own culture and denizens, at first glance they all seemed to be fairly tolerant. Now, if I were to go to law school here and actually spend some real time here, I may find a different story; however, I think first impressions are pretty important and do mean something.

I think the best thing that I loved about San Francisco, or at least the most memorable thing, was the calamari. More so than the vibe of the city, more so than Lombard Street or Ghiradelli Square or Chinatown, more so than the seals bathing in the docks, more so than even the Golden Gate Bridge and our sunset cruise on the bay... I now have an obsession for greasy, deep friend, squid. Mmm... the funny thing is, when we were down at the Fisherman's Wharf, passing vendor after vendor with various delicacies from the sea in their carts and my dad got some calamari I had no idea what it was I was eating. And I'm a picky, picky eater. To think I like eating squid, but I can't stand something as simple as ketchup, is kind of funny to me. To each their own though!

That's not to say that the rest of the city was mediocre. Our ship ride around the San Francisco Bay at sunset was so enjoyable. We got swamped in fog as we got close to the Golden Gate and got to see the most beautiful blanket of fog cascading down the hills of Sausalito. As the sun set, the reflections off the water were a perfect compliment to the silhouetted hills and quaint towns imbedded in the then grey hills. By time we got back to San Francisco, the city was lit up and with the moon in a perfect crescent above the skyline I only wish we had enough battery power in our camera to have captured a slightly less blurry image. Oh well, I think it actually looks kind of cool as a blurry image of lights.

The one thing I didn't care for was our bus tour of the city. I don't get too much out of tours like that where you just ride by sights and have the bus driver tell you what you're seeing. I'd rather get lost in the city and have to find my way around in order to see the sights. Or at least take a trolley around and see what is to be seen. I mean, it's a quick and easy way of seeing places and a nice introduction to the face of San Fran, but I think I could have gotten just as much out of that tour as I could have reading a guide book. Oh well. We did get some nice views of San Francisco from the other end of the Golden Gate Bridge, as well as a neat view looking down on the city from a stop we took on a hill.

We did get kind of scammed with our visit to the "aquarium." My mom had bought some tickets on the internet to the aquarium on the Fisherman's Wharf thinking it was the famous Monterey Bay Aquarium. It isn't that. The aquarium on the Wharf is really just a glorified fish tank, petting zoo, and gift shop. It was kind of neat to pet sting rays, and the fish tank was this tunneled fish tank where you stood on a conveyor belt and zoomed around with fish swimming over head. But, all in all... it was such a tourist trap! And I loved it for that! When we walked through the gift shop after the conveyor belt, we were so confused. It took a few minutes to realize that what we "scammed." How memorable...

Most of the rest of our time was spent walking around the waterfront and Chinatown. We took a few trolleys around town which was real fun, and were also able to relax a bit, which is really what vacations are all about. But again, as with Napa Valley, I think I'll really be able to get into San Francisco when I'm a bit older and able to see more of the city, especially at night. I will definitely be coming back. Until then, not much more to say, except to say again: I LOVE SAN FRANCISCO!

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Photos

The base of the Golden Gate Bridge, in the eternal fog
On our sunset cruise

The wall of fog
It's amazing how defined the fog is... and how much of a difference it made in what we could see

Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge into SF
Pardon the fact that this was taken by my mom in the car...

Espresso/Gelato shop in Little Italy
On the bus tour