san francisco.

a city full of a rich past and cultural heritage, color and vibrancy, landmarks and steep, house-lined streets, san francisco has no shortage of interesting sites, smells, tastes and sounds. i have gotten to spend the past few days, wandering the streets and exploring with city with eyes wide open for new and unfamiliar discoveries. my thirst for adventure was quenched the moment i pulled off the 101 and ascended Fell Street, the pavement ribboned with victorian houses colored shades of pink, yellow, blue and green. i found myself giddy over the thrill of driving my jetta up and down the classic streets of san francisco. i arrived at the westmont urban house and was welcomed my friend steve and many other familiar and loved faces. i was excited for the adventures to come.

on sunday night, steve and emily took me downtown to visit Pier 39. we stopped in to the local aquarium and learned of the bay area aquatic life. and of course we were tickled pink over discovering mind blowing creatures. i quite enjoyed myself. post-aquarium, we strolled the planks of Pier 39, dined on clam chowder and sourdough, and aspired to climb to the heights of what steve calls the "citadel". we knew not how to get there or what it was called until i googled it on my trusty iPhone. coit tower is this landmark' s official namesake. steve still calls it the citadel. haha. so we set out to discover a route up the hill. somehow we stumbled upon a random staircase the led us to the top, between perfect san franciscan houses and around twisted roads. it was a sort of staircase to heaven moment for our adventurous trio. we finally arrived at our goal, only to be teased and taunted by thoughts and dreams of actually getting to climb up the towers spiral staircase. we had a overwhelming sense of dissatisfaction. we had come so close and while the views were still spectacular, we knew it was far better up there. someday...

monday morning i slept in and piddled around the house for a bit and then ventured to a yummy organic cafe with my friend adrienne. it was a treat to spend some quality time with her and hear tales of her stint in the big city. afterwards we made apple crisp and then i went for a stroll through golden gate park. i was in a texture mood if you will. so i was on the prowl for some interesting textures to photography. the exterior of the de Young proved to be most interesting. after i returned back to the house, steve, flavia and eye ventures to north beach for a some classic italian fare and wonderful conversation. flavia drove us down, so i got to see some fun parts of the city en route. we made it back just in time for steve and flavia's house event "nacho night" and i met up with Micah and Claragrace for some Sangria.

this morning i awoke ready for another solo photo adventure and visit to the de Young art museum. so i grabbed my scarf and coat and hopped on the bus. what fun sf buses are. haha. quite an experience. on one leg of my journey i had the classic forrest gump moment when the bus is full and you have nowhere to sit. true story. i reserved myself to the idea of standing when a old russian man motioned for my to take a seat next to him. we chatted as we made our way from stop to stop. he moved to san francisco in 1988 from russia and fell in love with the city. he asked me if i was a local and thought i was french for some reason. i simply chuckled and informed him of my california roots. i was bummed when i had to get off to catch the next bus, but i bid him farewell and set out to find stow lake. and then, off to the golden gate bridge i went. apparently somewhere along the way, i picked the wrong bus and ended up being the only one on board. i noticed my alone-ness and chuckled. the bus driver then inquired as to my destination. i admitted i was such a tourist and was on the prowl for GG Bridge. "Youz on the wrong bus man. Youz got to get on the otha one. I will drop you off at the next stop where you can pick the 29 up." so i disembarked the empty bus and perched myself on the other side of the street waiting for the 29. soon enough the bus came tearing around the corner like a bat out of hell only to nearly pass me all together. the bus driver finally spotted me and slammed on the brakes and briskly opened the door and chuckled when i climbed up the steps. "I almost missed you son. haha. I was so relaxed here on the straight away, i didn't even see you." i was quite amused. so eventually, i made it to the Golden Gate Bridge and was all sorts of giddy over it. that thang is bitchin'. i snapped my share of photos and then wandered around the park there for a while before i huffed it over to the Palace of Fine Arts. wow. what cool landmarks this city has. i had a blast. my iPhone guided then me back home. what a day.

i then finished the day with a "family dinner" with all the urban house peeps. so, so fun. thanks for such a great day san francisco.