Coit Tower was lit up in red, white and blue during Fourth of July week.

San Francisco, CA

Felix Wong's avatar
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I can’t say that while I lived in Silicon Valley I had a tremendous fondness for “The City” and its bumper-to-bumper turtle-ness, stratospheric cost-of-living and dearth of convenient parking. But the farther away from Tony Bennett’s City on a Hill my affinity for it has only grown, and now I even tell people it’s one of my favorite big cities. At least to visit. And to walk.

We got to do a bit of ambling at Land’s End, North Beach, the Embarcadero and Fisherman’s Wharf, even encountering Rodin’s The Thinker at the former. So that’s why yesterday that sculpture was no longer behind Meyer Library at Stanford as it was when I was an undergraduate, I mused; mystery solved. We also ventured inside the Cliff House—one of my favorite spots in the world—but did not eat there.

I also did a bit of walking through Little Italy and Chinatown in order to fetch some Tum Yum Gai for Katia, who was nursing a bit of a headache one evening. Along the way I admired all the little city cars: Minis, Beetles, Smart Cars, and Fiat 500s like the silver one I rented. There were lots of gas-miserly Prii there too, of course. Even an Alfa Romeo Spider and a service garage in Little Italy devoted to what some affectionately call “the poor man’s Ferrari.”

Below are photos of all the above.

So no wonder I did not see The Thinker by Rodin in front of Meyer Library yesterday. It was here at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor near Lincoln Park.
So no wonder I did not see The Thinker by Rodin in front of Meyer Library yesterday. It was here at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor near Lincoln Park.
Katia in front of a golf course.
Katia in front of a golf course.
Two lions in this photo.
Two lions in this photo.
Planking.
Planking.
Katia using her rock climbing skills.
Katia using her rock climbing skills.
The Sutra baths.
The Sutra baths.
Enjoying the view.
Enjoying the view.
Pointing at a rock.
Pointing at a rock.
The Cliff House.
The Cliff House.
A light at the end of the tunnel at the Sutra Bath cave.
A light at the end of the tunnel at the Sutra Bath cave.
Lands End Lookout.
Lands End Lookout.
Yellow Smart Car.
Yellow Smart Car.
Yellow Mini Cooper in front of Trader Joe's.
Yellow Mini Cooper in front of Trader Joe's.
SF townhomes.
SF townhomes.
A red Smart car providing good advertising.
A red Smart car providing good advertising.
Alfa Romeo Spider in front of a townhouse.
Alfa Romeo Spider in front of a townhouse.
Red Scooter.
Red Scooter.
The Transamerica building.
The Transamerica building.
The Noodle Bar Grill, where I fetched some Tum Yum Gai.
The Noodle Bar Grill, where I fetched some Tum Yum Gai.
An Alfa Romeo garage.
An Alfa Romeo garage.
Bread alligator at Boudin.
Bread alligator at Boudin.
Coit Tower was lit up in red, white and blue during Fourth of July week.
Coit Tower was lit up in red, white and blue during Fourth of July week.
The Bay Bridge lit up.
The Bay Bridge lit up.
We went by the Levi Strauss & Co. building.
We went by the Levi Strauss & Co. building.