walkable san francisco

san francisco is no doubt one of the most walkable cities i've ever been to, and just about now i read a news article on yahoo saying that san francisco is the most walkable city in the US according to walkscore.com, garnering a score of 86 out of 100. new york city got second place with 83.

amazing. and they are both two of my most favorite cities in the world, right next to manila. =)

for my take on walking the streets of san francisco, click here. =)

I Walk the Streets of San Francisco...

finally, I get to post this long-delayed entry. what with having the film developed here and then wonderfully scanned and cropped. ^^

I never expected to go to San Francisco as I originally intended to fly to Los Angeles from Manila. But since I'm a chance passenger and I chose the very convenient time of flying at the start of summer vacation, I got bumped off the flight to LA (twice). It turned out to be my best mistake so far. Hehehe. San Francisco was actually the better bet of chance passengers since it's not as overbooked as the LA flights. And so when all hopes of flying to LA became nil, I was off to the check-in counter for SFO and from there, I was off to San Francisco. Away from the blistering heat and on towards the biting cold. (It may be summer in the Philippines in April but spring has just started in the US.)

I have been to San Francisco many times before but this is the first time that I traveled by myself. And this in itself made it even more memorable. A few days after I arrived, my friend Myka graciously offered to come with me to the city as it was her day-off from work at the time. It's amazing to be in San Francisco once more as the last time I've been there was five years ago. Nothing much has changed from what I can remember; the city is much more laid-back and less polluted than LA. And furthermore, it's more fun to walk there. :-)

The Ferry Building at the Port of San Francisco. Myka and I rode the ferry from Vallejo, and this is where we docked. The fare was actually very outrageously pricey (11USD one way) and we staggered at the cost. But what the heck, this is my first time to ride a ferry there and I am a tourist, after all. The ride was worth it--calm, blue waters, nice scenery, and the prospect of seeing a whale as we passed the Golden Gate Bridge which we didn't see anyway. ^^ And don't you think the sky is perfect?

Waiting by the traffic light to cross Mission Street. The Hyatt is shown on the left side. Take a look at the clean, clean sidewalk too.

Emporio Armani on Grant Street. Grant Street is like the Fifth Avenue of NYC, with lots of designer stores such as Banana Republic, Versace and Juicy Couture.

Random building and streetcar. Obviously the sun hasn't reached this part yet so it's quite dark.

Gateway to Chinatown on Grant Street

Chinatown. Isn't this street so clean? I could walk barefoot here. This is just one of the many steep streets in San Francisco that gives instant exercise to people.

The TransAmerica Pyramid, which is probably the most recognizable structure in San Francisco because of its unique shape.

Another thing that I like about San Francisco is that there weren't that many people walking on the streets at that time, given that it was a Monday. It's almost like Ortigas Center. hehehe. Oh well. I may be back in Manila now, but San Francisco will always be close to my heart. Oh, not really, coz I already left my heart there. :-)

go, miss cheesy!

I just love San Francisco and I can't wait to go back there.

Just Breezing Through...

i'm really glad my cousin here in the states has internet, though i can't use it for as long as i did back at work... (and it's dial-up...)

anyhow, i was supposed to leave for the states (LA) last wednesday but since i'm a chance passenger, i wasn't able to ride until i got a seat on a plane bound for san francisco. and the chance passenger that i am, i had to be conent with a crew seat, which means i have to sit (and try to sleep) on the jump seat where the crew sits during taxi, take-off and landing (but i won'e sit there until after dinner). but still, i'm already used to that so i just talked to another co-chance passenger who's traveling for the first time on a jump seat.

the weather in san francisco is cold... too cold for someone who came from a tropical country. it's like i'm in a freezer. actually, i stayed with my tito and tita who lives in vallejo, a 45-minute drive from sanfo, and it's colder there. at night, i wrapped myself in a warm blanket and my sarong. my feet were cold so i wore socks. my hands were also cold so i just wrapped them along in my sarong. my nose was also cold, so...

had a fun time with my friend when we went to the city. from vallejo we rode a ferry going to the port of san francisco. guess where i went? chinatown! hahaha! i actually wanted to go to japantown but my friend doesn't know where it is in san francisco. we ate in a japanese restaurant where i ordered my usual tonkatsu bento. oh yeah, we also went to metreon, this futuristic type of electronics mall with loews cinemas on the top floor and an arcade on the second floor. the second floor also has this "walk of game" similar to hollywood's walk of fame, only it's dedicated to super mario, starcraft, legend of zelda, and other bastions of the video gaming world.

on wednesday i took the train (amtrak) to go to LA. actually the train is just up until bakersfield, then i had to transfer to a train going to LA union station. it was pretty uneventful--just changing landscapes, from rolling hills, to flat meadowlands, farms, orchards, and finally, the desert.

sorry for the incomplete rambles as i'm just using my cousin's computer with dial-up internet. but still, better with something than none! anyway, pictures will be posted soon!

till my next rambling. hopefully more informative. i miss manila!