Exploring the City

One day, while waiting for a prescription to be filled at Costco I came across a small box titled, "City Walks: San Francisco." Intrigued I grabbed it and read, "Skip the dull tour guides, ditch those unruly maps, and experience San Francisco like a native - on foot!...each card in this deck outlines a self-guided walking adventure, with a detailed map on one side and insider information on the other...you'll discover the locals' favorite places to eat, drink, stop, shop, rest, walk, and play." So, I bought it. I figured it was a great and inexpensive way to get to know the city-not to mention healthy with all the walking.

So, a few weeks ago Nate and I grabbed one of the cards as we had a free afternoon and started to explore. The card we grabbed was Chinatown I (Grant Avenue). We took BART into the city, which was only my second time ever to use BART. I love public transportation. It adds to the whole big city feel. Our BART station is actually pretty nice. It's the last stop south on the peninsula so doesn't get as much traffic as the others. I was intrigued by the bronze statues they have displayed on the platform area. I wasn't quite sure why they are located where they are but we took pictures next to them anyways.

Once we got to Chinatown we started at the dragon gates, the entrance to the infamous Chinatown, and walked up Grant Avenue, which happens to be one of San Francisco's oldest streets. From the card we learned that San Francisco has the world's largest Asian population outside of China and makes up close to 1/3 of the cities' population. (I believe it!)

The whole street is filled with Chinese paper lanterns, store windows are packed full of ornate ceramic bowls and jade carvings-plus it wouldn't be complete without all the cheap tourist items. Some buildings on the street have their own oriental flare with the upraised roofs. Even one of the playgrounds contained Asian looking jungle gym sets. The playground we saw, which is one of the only open spaces in Chinatown was one of the city's first civic centers during the Gold Rush.

Overall, the evening was great and we learned a lot! Hopefully we have as good of a time on the next 49 cards. Stay tuned for more San Francisco "insider information".

Dragon Gate entrance to Chinatown

The two of us about to start our walk up Grant Avenue-passing the dragon sentinals

One of the many ornate carvings in the store windows

Just having fun with the tourist merchandise

The lanterns that were strung across the streets plus the ornate architecture

The Chinese playground