Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Travelogue: Fare-Thee-Well, San Francisco

Before leaving, I though it might be helpful to take some pictures of San Francisco. The underlying idea of this trip, I suppose, is one of strangeness, that I am looking for the things that are far different from what I know.

I like quirky Americana, of course, and I expect to see a fair bit of it on this trip. But it's not really the point to see only Halls of Fame and other attractions meant for tourists like me. I sometimes wonder how many people stop at the "World's Biggest" anything simply because it's kitschy, because anyone can be ironic about seeing the World's Largest Ball of String or the World's Largest Fruit Cocktail Can or what have you.

Familiarity

Rather than describe positively what I am looking for, I thought that I might show here some pictures of what I know. They are, I admit, partly for me when I get homesick for California.



Pictures from my rooftop

Bernal Hill

Valencia Street


A few more pictures of the city...

Coming down Mission Street


The wide-open feel of SOMA


Through the Tenderloin


Without the department stores of Union Square, where would tourists get cold in the fog and have to buy overpriced sweatshirts?


...into the ever-rousing Financial District...


And a staircase on the sidewalk in North Beach.


Finally: Sunset

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