City on the edge of the Western Hemisphere - romantic San Francisco

Union Square
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Let me describe the view from the Coit Tower

To the far right, across the wharves is the Oakland Bridge while straight ahead is an emormous bay with the hills and cliffs of Napa staring back at you. Straight ahead is the rugged island of Alcatraz and to the left are the hills of San Francisco with its Victorian buildings and the curve of the marina. But way way in the distance are the Marin headland protecting the entrance to the harbour and contrasting with the striking redness of the Golden Gate Bridge.

I liked Nob Hill, I even like the name Nob Hill - it reeks of resentment of 'old money' where those with dollars lived on the heights and looked down on those down on the Barbary Coast or North Beach

The Streets of San Francisco
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I mean wow! I've been on the road for seven months and in a few days time head for hom. San Francisco is my last real stop and it is fitting climax to my travels. Its a beautiful blend of geography and architecture. Theres something in the air here - theres a bubbling feeling of "everything is good in the world". But when you live in a city where every turning is a Victorian square or your public transport is a clanking cable-car. Can you blame them?

Things wernt quite so rosy this morning. For a start we got to see Grand Central hostel in daylight and it is a flophouse smack in the middle of the edgy Tenderloin. The hostel is on the second floor but the rest of the building seems to be inhabited by transients. But for $6 a night what can you say? It didnt help that it was pouring with rain this morning so we had to walk through the homeless of the Tenderloin along Market Street to get to Tourist information on Halladie Plaza.

Chinatown
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I saw San Fran today with dour Edinburgher Andy (Richard and Kate were off to go shopping) and we purchased our $10 MUNI pass. Union Square is nearby and this is also where you catch the cable-car up Powell Street. We decided to walk and drawing us in was a Chinese arch at the top of Grant Street and the start of Chinatown. We spent our time here dodging rainstorms and hiding in hardware shops showing very nasty Chinese hatchets. But it is pretty big, stretching for ten blocks, and probably the most seductive area in the city to grab a bite to eat. We roamed around taking mental notes of the restaurants to try out later.

Then we just walked north along Colombus Avenue towards Telegraph Hill. When they said San Francisco was built on hills - they wern't joking. Telegraph Hill is the city at its steepest and cars parked with their wheels at angles so they dont roll backwards. But as you look back at the city the wide streets spread out behind you head up to the next hill. The Coit Tower is at the top of the hill and is a phallic shaped effort with expansive views of San Francisco Bay. This city was the first of the worlds great harbour cities that I saw and I was bowled over by it. Rio de Janeiro, Sydney, Hong Kong and Cape Town were in the future.

While wandering up Union Street we actually managed to clamber on to a cable-car and it clanked up Nob Hill. I liked Nob Hill, I even like the name Nob Hill - it reeks of resentment of 'old money' where those with dollars lived on the heights and looked down on those down on the Barbary Coast or North Beach. It didnt disapoint and surrounding a green square were turn-of-the-century millionaire residents. Looming over the square is the pseudo-gothic Grace Cathedral - without doubt the best church I had seen since Montreal. This was where the uppre crust of San Fran came to worship in their crinolines. An organist was playing classical music which reverberated around the cavernous space.

We rested in a friendly neighbourhood straight bar and emerged at the end of the day at Van Ness Avenue with the magnificent City Hall - which looks European in its magnificence.

Spectacular geography, beautiful architecture, original public transport - damn, this city is good..