Wednesday, October 20, 2010

San Francisco: The Sights

Because I'm a crazy person, this is a very picture-heavy post, so I'm going to keep the words to a minimum. Just know that San Francisco is a beautiful city, with some of the most gorgeous parks and free, public spaces I've ever seen.


You can cross the bridge, which is about a mile and a half, but we just walked halfway out and came back.

The area around the bridge is called the Presidio, and curves along the shoreline. This was a dog beach we passed on our walk.

Close to the Presidio is the Palace of Fine Arts. It's a leftover from an expo at the turn of the century and is the only remaining building that was constructed out of permanent materials. It is breathtakingly gorgeous, and currently under repairs.


On our walk to Dynamo Donut, we traveled through the Latin part of town. I tried to convince Sean to buy a Mexican wrestling mask, but he ignored me.

Gates at the City College of San Francisco's Mission branch.

Index card portraits outside Dog-Eared Books on Valencia Street in the Mission.

The outside of 826 Valencia, Dave Eggers' now-national nonprofit devoted to teaching kids how to write. Each branch has a themed storefront to generate funds; this one has a pirate supply store. Next door is Paxton Gate, an amazing store that sells everything you would need to make your home look like a museum of natural history or a mad scientist's lab.

A hipsterized Seurat knock-off in the Mission.

The view from the top of Mission Dolores Park.

The rainbow flags in the Castro, called "the gayest corner in the world."

Posing with the "Full House" houses just off Alamo Square.

They're called Painted Ladies, and boy are they gorgeous.


We rode the trolley on our last full day there; they were celebrating the Giants advancement to the finals (is that right? what do i know?).



Me with the sea lions that hang out at Pier 39 on Fisherman's Wharf.

View of the bridge from a Bay cruise.


Alcatraz Island, home of the most hardened criminals of the 20th century prior to its closure in the 60s.


Awesome shot of the vintage streetcars used in the Wharf.

Coit Tower, built with funds from a rich widow who loved the city and loved its firemen.

Murals inside the tower were painted by students of Diego Rivera.


City Lights Bookstore, owned by famous literary patron Lawrence Ferlinghetti, who published Allen Ginsberg's "Howl."


Hope you enjoyed your little picture tour of San Francisco!

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