The city by the bay

Bad ideas come in many forms, and not often without company. Running on concrete, running in unknown residential areas, and of course being stubborn enough to keep running until you find your way home. All good ways to generate sore backs and stiff legs. So what better way to get back on track than to take a day to walk through the most hilly city available? San Francisco is a fantastic city in many ways. Personally, I'm still most fascinated by the fog and the effect it has on the climate in the Bay Area, but if you're interested in history, culture, alternative culture, fine dining, music, or almost anything else, the city by the bay has something for you. For my legs today, it certainly had all the steep hills and streets I needed to forget all about my back (and focus on my brand new leg pains). It is also quite confusing to freeze and sweat at the same time.





It's like the rest of California (the parts I have seen anyway, which admittedly is a quite limited selection), incredibly green and undulated. When it comes to city layout, architecture, and landscaping, I find that I really like being surprised every now and then. And SF will do that to you. You're walking yet another hill, swearing, grunting, and cursing whatever shoe salesperson has appeared in you personal history, and all of a sudden you find a vertically (un)challenged garden.


Also, big bridges. Good stuff. Sorry about the golden gate being fogged in, but the bay bridge looks nice, doesn't it?


In case you would like to do the tourist thing in SF, the obvious place to start is Fisherman's Wharf. Once there, you will be able to take pictures of motives like sea lions (well, some kind of large amphibious mammal I'm unable to classify from ocular inspection), the bay city silhouette, an old and cult classic prison, and the crabs that people fish (for fun) from the pier. Please note at this point that I successfully resisted purchasing a t-shirt embroidered "Alcatraz swim team" despite multiple opportunities.




Finally, what would California be without sweet sweet rides?