The Streets of San Francisco

The first night I was in San Francisco, Ryan took us on a tour of the city after our time at the beach. The San Francisco that I had seen so far was nothing like the movies. I had imagined being on the top of a hill and looking down at city and water, and though we had found our way to the water, it was relatively flat. What else I noticed was that the houses and buildings were not that tall, for such a large city; they were close together and there were a lot of stairs. So our driver, Ryan, took us downtown. What I realized after getting my bearings was that the water in all the movies and television shows is actually San Francisco Bay, and not the ocean. Here's our first view of the Bay....



There are hills in San Francisco - there is Russian Hill, Knob Hill, and as Ryan said, if there was a lot of precipitation there, it would be a problem. Here is a down view...



As you can see, cars are parked in a rather unique way. Great idea as it is difficult to slide sideways.

There is also up...



Here is a leap of faith in that there is something on the other side. To me, the painted STOP on the road almost looks like a vertical sign.

Ryan also took us to Lombard Street, a favourite for people touring San Francisco. The sight to see is a part of the street that has 8 switchbacks - it is called the Crookedest Street in the US. Ryan was delighted to take us down the hill, and in keeping with his hidden desire to be a Nascar race car driver, we zoomed down the street. I protested as I was so occupied with putting on the imaginary brakes and swirling around the corners, I couldn't see a thing. He had a lot more faith in the brakes than I did. At the bottom we joined the many photographers.