I had barely returned last week from my first diving trip in the Philippines when I was already off again, bound for San Francisco! Alas, I had only 4 days available, as I was accompanying my partner for work reasons, but they were enough to show him the main attractions. To be entirely honest, I’m not particularly fond of the United States, but San Francisco has that certain something that, even 15 years ago, left me enchanted.
Three days and so much to see: where to begin? We started at Pier 39, a San Francisco classic. A place full of shops, typical tourist shopping and restaurants. So if you love giving gadgets and kitsch objects as gifts, this is the place for you: from Alcatraz souvenirs to Golden Gate ones, to shops selling exclusively every imaginable type of magnet. We went there to admire the clusters of sea lions basking in the sun on wooden platforms, happily posing for the multitude of tourists who stroll the pier every day.
Another interesting thing to visit, if you love the sea and the marine world, is without doubt the Aquarium of the Bay. After a first room with tanks containing fish of various kinds, you descend to the lower floor where the real spectacle awaits: an underwater tunnel from which you can admire large tunas, elegant manta rays and beautiful sharks. You’ll feel as though you are truly underwater alongside them! Of course it’s not the same thrill as when I dive, but I must say it comes remarkably close :-) Once at Pier 39 you need only continue along the Embarcadero, reach Fisherman’s Wharf and admire the Golden Gate in all its grandeur, which at sunset always offers beautiful photographic moments.
From there you are not far from the famous Lombard Street: a road composed of eight steep hairpin bends bordered by lush flowerbeds, built to reduce the 27% gradient of that hill. Yes indeed, because San Francisco is built entirely on steep hills, so you’ll need to reckon with your legs if you intend to explore it on foot ;-) It must also be said that distances are undoubtedly greater than in our cities, so thinking of covering it entirely on foot is impossible. Renting a car is an excellent solution if you want to see as much of the city as possible, but public transport works very well too. Moreover, if you have a smartphone, using Google Maps will give you all the necessary information: travel times, routes and costs. A single bus or metro ride normally costs $2 and is valid for about 4–5 hours. Frequency is very high, and the entire city is perfectly connected. Our last stop was the Japantown neighbourhood and the Japanese Tea Garden inside Golden Gate Park.
I love Japan, its culture and cuisine, and I love shopping. The idea of having these two things together was fatal for my credit card! I suffer from the fact that in Italy many kitchen utensils are impossible to find, so I couldn’t resist the opportunity to go home laden with bowls, bento boxes, chopsticks and accessories for sushi preparation. The neighbourhood extends essentially across three or four blocks plus the Japan Center mall, inside which you’ll find a vast selection of Japanese restaurants and shops where you can buy absolutely anything: from kimonos to origami paper to bowls, of course :) After refreshing ourselves with excellent sushi at Isobune Sushi, we headed to the Japanese Tea Garden. The entrance fee is $7 and you can admire beautiful bonsai, cherry trees in bloom, a 1915 pagoda brought directly from Japan, an imposing Buddha statue, and the characteristic peace that this kind of place conveys. Finally you can sit inside the Tea House, managed since 1894 by the Hagiwara family, and savour a warm tea accompanied by typical Japanese sweets. Our excursion, at least for now, ends here. We skipped the visit to Alcatraz, which departs from Pier 39, caught a passing glimpse of the very long Bay Bridge, and strolled briefly through Chinatown. But we came home satisfied :-)
