Today blew by like the wind from the Pacific over the city. (Nice image, hu?) I took a tour of the financial district, learning about the architecture and history of the buildings. I saw the first glass walled building, considered to be the most definitive structure in San Francisco. The Halliday Building is being a shopping gallery, the front-on view no longer visible in full. It was made to look like draperies, with the valence of iron at the top and two opposing fire escapes on either side as the pulls, ready to draw back the glass. The other location that stuck out was the last building to be built before the stock market crashed, and on the opposite side of the street, the first one to be built after the wars. The new building is glass, and I got a nice shot of the old reflecting in it - picturesquely metaphoric for the old reflected in the new. The most quirky building was the "Skinny Building" - 20 feet wide! Odd looking, it used to be a belt and tie factory :-P
I grabbed a bite to eat at Noah's Bagles, hopped on a trolly and went to Ghiradelli Square to check out the chocolate festival. One free sample later I wandered back up into the city and found Lumbard St - the most crooked street in the US. There was a crowd at the top, but that's cause the views were incredible. You could see the Golden Gate bridge and Alcatraz. I walked down Lumbard and made my way to the bike rental place and got outfitted. I took the bike back through the chocolate festival and down the coast to the bridge. Along the way I met another lone adventurer. He was from London. I asked him to take my picture and we ended up trading photo ops all the way over the bridge and back. The ride there was tiring - but the views were worth it! The bridge was covered in fog, giving it a disappearing effect. The bridge is so huge! Riding over it really gives one a sense of it's scale. The wind was pretty fierce too. I was having such a good time though, that by the time I rode back over towards SF my cheeks hurt from smiling. I saw several boats go under the bridge, leaving white wakes behind them, and watched dogs play on the beach in the waves. Such a good afternoon. I got food for tomorrow at Safeway and walked to the BART station to go back to the hotel. Right now I'm getting directions out of the city so I can boulder at Stinson Beach tomorrow. Pictures to come soon!
I grabbed a bite to eat at Noah's Bagles, hopped on a trolly and went to Ghiradelli Square to check out the chocolate festival. One free sample later I wandered back up into the city and found Lumbard St - the most crooked street in the US. There was a crowd at the top, but that's cause the views were incredible. You could see the Golden Gate bridge and Alcatraz. I walked down Lumbard and made my way to the bike rental place and got outfitted. I took the bike back through the chocolate festival and down the coast to the bridge. Along the way I met another lone adventurer. He was from London. I asked him to take my picture and we ended up trading photo ops all the way over the bridge and back. The ride there was tiring - but the views were worth it! The bridge was covered in fog, giving it a disappearing effect. The bridge is so huge! Riding over it really gives one a sense of it's scale. The wind was pretty fierce too. I was having such a good time though, that by the time I rode back over towards SF my cheeks hurt from smiling. I saw several boats go under the bridge, leaving white wakes behind them, and watched dogs play on the beach in the waves. Such a good afternoon. I got food for tomorrow at Safeway and walked to the BART station to go back to the hotel. Right now I'm getting directions out of the city so I can boulder at Stinson Beach tomorrow. Pictures to come soon!
