If it's one thing that I root for, it's always the underdog. My perverse nature understandably got its dander up every time I heard from fellow travelers and people from abroad proclaiming that out of all the cities in America, San Francisco was their favourite. This would be one city that I would be scrutinizing especially. My like-o-meter would be set at dislike from the outset. Imagine my disappointment when I realized that those people were right.
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| 826 Valencia |
San Francisco is like an old antique shop that is filled to the brim with bric-a-brac and crowded crooked aisles. Each neighbourhood is ornate and wrought with so much history and design, litte enclaves of retail shops that have put in a lot of heart and thought into their stock – well curated and well loved. The geography is varied and of course, contrasting. There are oddities to stop and wonder, then wander on and pause and wander some more up and up the hilly streets and inclines and districts that are so varied in nature and character.
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| Clarion Alley is street art at its best. |
The graffiti murals of Clarion Alley, and the restaurants of Mission District, the oddity shops of Haight-Ashbury. Of course, the more touristy harbor and the Golden gate bridge and the cycle friendly veins that line the neighbourhoods. You have that feeling that you can explore for days – San Francisco is many cities within a city. It crooks and beckons for you to explore. So go ahead.
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| San Francisco's Chinatown, just a few blocks from our hotel, The Chancellor |
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