San Francisco Day 4

Imagine you get on a city bus in America and you get off in America. Well, yeah, obviously. Then imagine that you go inside a fairly ordinary-looking shopping center, and suddenly you're in Japan. Or at least you're in some version of Japan - perhaps a Japanese mall with a heavy American influence. And everything is adorable. Seriously, they even sell a brand of sponges called "Colorfulness."

Welcome to Daiso. This was my first stop in Japantown, and I went into major must-acquire-all-the-cute-things mode. Strawberry-printed travel fork-and-spoon set? Yes, please. Checkered lunch boxes? Kitchen sponges shaped like slices of cake? Never before had I realized just how wonderful Japanese things are. And the best part? Almost everything was only $1.50! I was incredibly satisfied with my purchase of a heart-shaped ladle and a panda laundry hanger. 

I think this captures my enthusiasm for the Japan Center. 

An interior shot. Note the cherry trees. 

When we left the Japan Center, however, we quickly realized that there is actually a relatively limited Japanese influence in Japantown. Lots of trendy boutiques? Yes. Japanese shops and restaurants? Not so much. I didn't mind and was just happy to explore another neighborhood, but my sister, who's something of a Japan enthusiast, was disappointed.

Since trendy boutiques tend to be somewhat out of our price range, we decided to take a bus over to Ocean Beach and have lunch at a restaurant overlooking the water. The Beach Chalet had a beautiful ocean view, delicious food (I had the seasonal vegetable risotto), and excellent brewed-on-location beer. I absolutely loved my chocolate porter. 

The ocean view

After lunch we stopped by Haight-Ashbury, and I learned that hippie must have turned into hipster sometime in the past 40-ish years. If I remember correctly, there were approximately two vintage clothing stores per block, a few record stores, quite a few coffee shops, and lots and lots of tourists. Something tells me that the area has changed a bit since the Summer of Love.

Now I could give you a play-by-play of the events of our final night in San Francisco, but since it consists mostly of dinner and a hunt for dessert, I'll spare you the details. What I will say, though, is that I saw a lot of San Francisco in only three-and-a-half days. Of course my knowledge of this city isn't on the level of a local's knowledge, but I can navigate the public transportation system; I know a few good restaurants; I know a few neighborhoods that I find fun/interesting/aesthetically pleasing. And, really, don't we travel to learn about new places? I think I succeeded. 

San Francisco Day 3

Midway through the bus ride to the Marin Headlands, my hands started sweating, which signified our rather close proximity to some very dramatic hills, and with dramatic hills come steep drop-offs, and with steep drop-offs comes the assumption that the bus will drive off the cliff. This is just how my mind works. And, yes, I know that I must have looked terrified when the bus was winding through the hairpin curves. And, yes, I know that other people noticed my obvious fear and were probably silently mocking me. Don't worry, I'm used to silent mocking. Still, this was the most spectacular public bus ride I have ever taken, and despite my transportation anxiety, I'm sure it was actually quite safe.

You don't get views like this on just any bus ride.

San Francisco transportation tip (in case you'd like to see how scary this bus ride is for yourself): the San Francisco Municipal Railway sells passports, which allow unlimited rides on busses and the very popular cable cars for $7 per day. Considering the fact that a single cable car ride normally costs $6, the passport is an incredibly good deal. All you have to do is show it to the driver when you get on a bus/cable car. 

After the bus ride, we took a ferry to Sausalito, and on the way saw excellent views of San Francisco.

SF from the ferry. Also, a sailboat!

The first thing you should know about Sausalito is that its main street is primarily a place for tourists to eat and shop, and, as is common in resort towns, nearly every restaurant seems to have a menu offering everything from pasta to burritos. Since my mid-afternoon hunger was setting in, I was grateful for this variety. So many choices! So many food smells! I talked a lot about food smells during this trip. I don't know why.

Anyway, we decided to get lunch at the Bridgeway Cafe, and I had a bean burrito. This was good because I hadn't had a bean burrito in days, and I was about to start experiencing withdrawal symptoms. I eat a lot of bean burritos, and this one was among the best because it was made with avocado. Avocado! In a bean burrito! Unprecedented.

After lunch, we did a bit of shopping, and thus concludes our relatively brief interlude in Sausalito. My impressions: very pretty, good food, very touristy, with quite an impressive selection of tourist shirts. I even ended up buying one - something I don't think I've done in 8 years. Side note: the entire time I was in Sausalito, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was actually in Saugatuck, Michigan. Regional variation is possibly dead.

Now, onward with this fairly disjointed post!

Since our third day in San Francisco was the Fourth of July, naturally we went to see American Idiot at the Orpheum Theater. Naturally. And it was... interesting. I liked the music, the energy, the set design (lots of TV screens - I thought it made a strong statement about the influence of the media in our culture). I appreciated the attempt to portray the challenges of growing up, of trying to do something new or different or important and finding that nothing is ever as straightforward as originally planned. However, I really, really wanted to see more character development. All of the main characters could have been much more complex, but it seemed like I never saw anything beyond the most superficial traits. It's not that I disliked any of the characters; I just thought they needed more depth. If you like Green Day's music, though, and you don't mind a non-traditional play, you will probably like American Idiot. And, seriously, there was no better way to spend the night of the Fourth of July than seeing American Idiot.

And, yes, while watching the play, I did acknowledge that I am fortunate to live in a country where I can watch a fairly anti-American play on Independence Day. But I prefer to laugh at the irony. What a hipster.