San Francisco - Day 3

Weather is one of thoes mysterious things in this world. In one place it is so predictable and in another you think you know what the weather will be like and it turns out to be the complete opposite. Day 3 was one of thoes days. Day 1 and Day 2 saw high temperatures of 90's and maybe 100's. Day 3 say temperatures of 50's..... Is that not odd or what.

We woke up refreshed and hit China Town. I thought China Town was culturally enriching, but I don't think my fellow travelers would agree with me. The Chinnese lead very different lives compared to Americans. Their standards and ways of living is very unappealing to us. They pack their stores with tons of stuff, their restaurants would probably pose as health hazards, and their markets would send any American running the other way. The extreme cultural difference makes us think that they are unclean and don't care or what not, but in a sense I don't think that is true at all. They probably don't know any different so why should they live up to our standards. Why should we not live to theirs?

I think what I loved about China Town the most was the market. The center of every way of life centers around food becuase you can't have life without it. One walk through their market is enough for us to go running to the nearest Albertson's and up on arrival throw ourselves upon the ground thanking the lord that civilization still existed. There is nothing like walking down the sidewalk and seeing fish heads in a box, fish swimming in buckets, and chickens complete with their heads hanging in the window. It's and enlightening experience.

(Chicken just waiting for the pickin')

(Fish head soup anyone?)

(Crowds around the markets. It was unbelieveable!)

After spending the morning in China Town we scaddled over to the most visible landmark in the city. Now your probably thinking it's the Golden Gate Bridge, but I have to say that it was probably the least visible landmark in the city. What I'm talkig 'bout is Coit Towner. This collosal mass of a tower stands tall on Telegraph Hill. If you dare to look through the tons of photos I took you can get a great view of Coit Tower at ever angle. The information in the book said that the tower was built in honor of firefighters and is suppose to look like a fire hose. Personally, I didn't see it AT all.

We went for the lost look after Coit Towner. We began to wonder around the area just north of Cow Hollow. I'm not sure what the original attraction was to this area but we ended up seeing Daniel Steel's mansion and a few other nice houses inaddition to postcard row.

(Daniel Steel's Mansion)

Postcard Row was wonderful. By then we were dog tired. Our feet were hurting and we had no desire to go anywhere if it included walking up a hill. Postcard Row is a row of victory houses called the Painted Ladies. Each house has a unique style and eara of painting. To me they all looked victorian but I suppose one was more gothic then the other and so on. The striking difference between the victorians and the city is wonderful. There is a park infront of the houses called Alamo Square. It was a great park but you had to walk up a hill to see the houses with the city in the background. My travel buddies ditched me so I got to walk up the hill to get the great photos while they sat down on a bench. Once walking up this hill I waited for the Chinese tourist to snap their photos then I snapped mine.

We wound down at a Catalan restaurant called B 44. Normally allies are places to avoid, but this restaruant was well worth the venture. The add in one of the tourist books boasted B 44 as a place "Where the locals go for Catalan cuisine in a modern atmosphere, specilaixing in paella and other Spanish dishes." Boy where they right. Each of us tried a different paella dish along with great tapas and dessert. We even had a little fun with our leftovers on the table.

I highly encourage playing with your food. Its fun!