[usa19] san francsico

On Columbus Avenue Chinatown meets the Italian neighbourhood of North Beach, a fact beautifully illustrated by the busker on the corner of Pacific Avenue; a Chinese man playing Solo Mio on the flute.

After a coffee and a Danish at a Chinese run French Bakery I'm heading up the steep slopes of Filbert Street towards Coit tower and the top of Telegraph Hill. From here there is a good view of the city from the downtown skyscrapers and the Oakland Bay Bridge round to the hillside homes and the fog shrouded bay, in which Alcatraz is just visible but the Golden Gate Bridge remains hidden.

From Telegraph Hill I head across the North Beach district to the top of Lombard Street; allegedly the 'crookedest street in the world.' After debating with myself whether crookedest is actually a word I take in the view including the scores of vehicles queuing up to drive down the hill; and those cars already doing so with family members hangingf rom the window to film the experience. I can't help but feel for the people who are made to watch these holiday videos; "And this is us going down Lombard Street, turning left, and then to the right... and then left... and now right again... and left."

I head downhill to the waterfront, the most tourist heavy part of this and any city I've visited in the US. After an hour or so of meandering back and forth along the Marina and Fisherman's Wharf I can take the crowds no more. There's only so many times you can stop to avoid being in a photograph or fall over a small child before you begin to get irritated so I grab a smoothie from Pier 39 and head back inland.

As darkness descends I head back up Telegraph Hill for the sunset. It turns out this original idea of mine is not that original and so I have to grab a spot on the wall between other camera wielding folk to get a hazy photo of an orange backed misty Golden Gate Bridge. At least I think its the Bridge.