Thursday's Child: San Francisco tour

Thursday, October 10, 2013



San Francisco is well-known for a few iconic attractions, including The Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz and the Powell-Hyde cable car ride.  When we visited earlier this year we loved all of those things, but San Francisco has a wealth of wonderful areas to visit. Last week I wrote about the California Academy of Sciences, and this week I’ll share some of our favourite destinations in the city.


A visit to any city isn’t complete without a trip to a bookstore.  The choice in San Francisco was easy – we had to see City Lights.  This bookstore came to national and international prominence in 1956 when its owner, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, published Allen Ginsberg’s Howl and Other Poems.  He was arrested on obscenity charges, but won in a landmark trial that defined freedom of speech in literature.  The Beat movement had a strong connection with the store and its publishing arm; Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William S. Burroughs were all affiliated with it. Today, it has a great collection of interesting books, and this is where I did most of my shopping.




City Lights may have been known for the beatniks, but Haight-Ashbury is the street corner most associated with the hippies. In 1967, the summer of love brought young people from all over America to San Francisco.  Wearing tie-dyed T-shirts and flowers in their hair, they ensured that Haight-Ashbury was immortalized as home of the hippie movement.



We visited the Mission District to see the great collection of street art.  Balmy Alley and Clarion Alley are home to a number of murals, many depicting social justice issues.



Everyone rides on a cable car while in San Francisco, but the museum is worth a visit too. It holds several antique cable cars – one dating back to the 1870s – and obsolete equipment. We enjoyed the viewing area for the cables and equipment that run the cars in use today.


20 comments:

Juliana said...

Oh Beth, I was in San Francisco a couple of month ago and had no idea of the museum...thanks...next time there I will make sure to make a visit to the museum.
Hope you are having a wonderful week :D

amy (fearless homemaker) said...

It's been years since I've been to San Francisco and now I want to go back! I remember it being a wonderful trip. =)

Gloria Baker said...

beautiful post beth!! xo

Natalie Aguirre said...

Love the pictures. My husband really wants to take us there.

Unknown said...

So happy you had fun in my area of the world Beth!

Belinda said...

I never tire of San Fran

Anonymous said...

I would love to get back to San Francisco - it's been a long time. The cable car museum would be great.

Denise Browning said...

I have lived near SF for almost 5 years long ago and find the mission district quite interesting indeed. But my favorite part of the city is the Golden Gate. I love that view!

Barbara said...

We've missed the cable car museum. Must have been fun to see. SF is a ball.

CQUEK said...

i love SFO... wish to go there again.

Valerie Gamine said...

I think I'd fall in love with San Francisco - I would probably never want to leave.
(By the way, did you buy a pair of those epic tie dye pants!)

Jessica Lawson said...

Another great post! I can't wait until my girls are old enough to travel and appreciate this kind of thing (or at least have memories so they can appreciate it later).

grace said...

san francisco is definitely on my must-visit list! great pics. :)

Julia said...

I love San Francisco - I've been there twice and each time I saw a play, went out to great restaurants, took lots of pictures, and had a really good time! What a neat city!

Angie's Recipes said...

I love those T-shirts!

lisa is cooking said...

I don't know how I've avoided it, but I've never visited San Francisco. When I finally get there, I'm definitely planning a stop at City Lights!

vanillasugarblog said...

I really want those leggings!
I miss cali simply for the fact that they have a lot of sun!
Oh and the sourdough bread in san fran too! lol

Kitchen Riffs said...

San Francisco is such a great place! Tons to see, and more tons to eat. And of course after all of that, I weight a ton! Good post, and hope you have a terrific Thanksgiving.

Inger @ Art of Natural Living said...

How fun! It's been ages since I was there!

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