One of my former students from China is visiting for the next three days. I worked a half-day and then we hit San Francisco. we saw most of the stuff worth seeing -- including a lot of stuff I hadn't seen in quite awhile. We rode the cable cars, Chinatown, Little Italy, North Beach, City Lights bookstore, Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39, Union Square and Grace Cathedral. Tomorrow is the bridge and SFMOMA.
I felt like a real tourist. I ate clam chowder, rode the cablecars and got scared by the "bush guy." I like when people visit, because it's a reminder -- I sometimes forget -- that we live near such a cool city with so much to see. I'm thinking I need to get a guidebook to see how much I'm missing.
I felt like a real tourist. I ate clam chowder, rode the cablecars and got scared by the "bush guy." I like when people visit, because it's a reminder -- I sometimes forget -- that we live near such a cool city with so much to see. I'm thinking I need to get a guidebook to see how much I'm missing.
Giant Christmas Tree in Union Square
Grace Cathedral
Jessie riding the cable car
Looking towards Fisherman's Wharf from the cable car
Lombard St.
Christmas Tree and Macy's in Union Square
China TownI think Jessie really enjoyed Chinatown, though I had to laugh for a minute. In China, we often had the experience where we'd struggle to talk to somebody in Chinese for a few minutes, then that person would respond in perfect English. Today she was looking for a Chinese language bookstore and approached a guy running a store. Jessie asks in Chinese where the nearest bookstore is. Dude stares at her for a second and in what I heard as a Midwestern accent says, "Look, I don't speak Mandarin. The store is around the corner." Her jaw dropped. I just laughed.
Mural in Chinatown with the "B" taken out by graffiti.
I recently finished reading 'On the Road' by Jack Kerouac, which takes place in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood. The neighborhood was the birthplace of the Beat writers, (Kerouac, Ginsberg, etc.) It's an old building, with plenty of character. The alley around back is named for Kerouac, and inside the building the walls are adorned with pictures of Kerouac and the other beat poets and musicians. On one wall, is a picture of Bob Dylan standing right where the photo is hanging. I started thinking how weird that would be if people visited a building or street just because you once visited or lived there. I think California Circle is safe.City Lights Info
This stairway is self-explanatory. Up the stairs you'll find a pretty impressive collection of beat poetry -- likely sold where it was written.
The outside of City Lights, looking downtown.
1 comments:
dude! i know that girl...i forget how...but i do haha!
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