A view of Japantown (known as J-town by locals)
St. Mary's Cathedral, aka the giant washing machine agitator and the site of the
famous (or perhaps infamous) "two o'clock titty"
Colorful paper lanterns in Chinatown. Normally I try to avoid Chinatown,
but it's wonderfully peaceful in the morning before the tourists come out.
The art deco-styled Pacific Stock Exchange downtown
The awesome Transamerica building, which looms over
much of the area around where I work
The best views, not surprisingly, tend to come along with a fair amount of hill climbing, so if I'm in a hurry or am lacking energy (read: hungover) I can go through the considerably less scenic (though not without their charms) Little Saigon and Tenderloin neighborhoods. I can also cut through a "new" neighborhood (which is really just the realtors' way of repackaging an old neighborhood to make it sound more appealing) called the TenderNob, but I refuse to acknowledge that this neighborhood actually exists. I mean think about it. As if the name Tenderloin wasn't bad enough already.
A pretty park I often cut through where I can watch dogs playing
and people doing their morning exercise. That's City Hall in the distance.
An urban garden tucked in between some buildings in the Western Addition area.
A "parklet" on Powell Street near Union Square.
Who needs parking spaces, anyway?
Coit Tower atop Telegraph Hill.
This is also visible from the windows of my office.
Lotta's Fountain on Market Street. This was the meeting place
for survivors after the 1909 earthquake.
The Ferry Building isn't on my commute route, but it's where my coworkers and I often go for lunch.
That's one of the "F" line streetcars out front. Not to be confused with cable cars,
these are classic streetcars from all over the world that have been restored
and which go up and down Market Street from the Castro to the Embarcadero.
And take a really fucking long time doing it.
Not a good transportation option if you're pressed for time.
The view from the Ferry Building isn't half bad, eh?
This is easily my favorite lunch spot when the weather is good.
If I'm in the mood for some steep hill climbing (and by "steep" I mean some of the streets have
staircases instead of sidewalks) I can check out beautiful Grace Cathedral at the top of Nob Hill
on my walk to or from work. If I'm lucky I might also spot the Brown Twins while I'm
in the neighborhood; I've seen them twice already on my walks.
The views from Nob Hill aren't too shabby either
Looking into downtown from Nob Hill. Note the cable car; the tracks that they run on
make a lot of noise because the cables run on a continuous loop underneath them.
It's a little disconcerting if you don't know what it is.
A different view into downtown from the north side of Nob Hill,
with the Bay Bridge off in the distance.
I've actually taken to carrying my camera with me at all times because I see so many great things in my travels. I'll undoubtedly have more to share with you another time, but I hope you've enjoyed this mini-tour of San Francisco, or at least a 3-mile slice of it. I'll leave you with one more great view:
They look like angels when they're sleeping, don't they?