Fall weather always turns me a little nostalgic, and especially the thought of so many months ahead which could grace us with a mild winter or a terribly cold one has me thinking about summer.
I haven’t shared many pictures of my trip back to the U.S. this summer, but for today, I’m going to share “5 Things I Love About San Francisco” – maybe they’re not the Top 5, ever, but they are definitely things I’m loving and thinking about today.
If you feel like playing along, you’re welcome to do “5 Things I Love About ______” on your own blog (with pictures!), and either comment here, or send me an email and I’ll add it to the bottom of the post!
5 Things I Love About San Francisco
(in no particular order)
5. Always having to look twice:
A split second later and I would have missed these two pirates that rode by on their makeshift bicycle/schooner with saber in hand.
This dog was waiting patiently for his owner to return, but he looked right at home in the driver’s seat of this British-paraphernalia Mini Cooper!
This is perhaps my favorite photo of my entire trip. A sign in Noah’s Bagels that politely states to their customers there is “No Need to Tip” – absolutely refreshing and definitely unique. I am definitely spoiled living in Italy – I can’t remember the last time I tipped anyone for anything. In San Francisco I was often at odds with my friends because they were giving 20% tips to taxi drivers whose “performance” narrowly killed us each time.
4. Dungeness Crab and Food Bloggers.
Maybe those two things can’t get grouped together in your mind, but in mine, they can. These fried Dungeness crabs were one of my favorites dishes the night I had the honor to dine with 11 wonderful food bloggers during the BlogHer conference in July, many of whom live in the area. If you want to discover some great Bay Area food bloggers, Sam from Becks ‘n Posh Nosh consistently presents some Bay Area blogs.
Finally I can say it was great to meet all of you! (Thanks to Elise for picking that great place!): Claire from Cookthink, Lydia from the The Perfect Pantry, Kalyn from Kalyn’s Kitchen, Kathy from Panini Happy, Sean from Hedonia, Shuna from Eggbeater, Susan from Food Blogga, Genie from the Inadvertent Gardener, Elise from Simply Recipes, Amy from Cooking With Amy, and Jennifer Jeffrey. Kalyn did a great job of rounding up posts from other food bloggers at BlogHer.
I’m not sure if we’ll be able to swing a visit this December, since I haven’t been back during crab season in 5 years, but if we do, I’ll be having a crab a day until I go home.
Of course, the Peking Duck wasn’t too shabby, either.
3. (Good) Street Performers.
They’ve got rhythm, they’ve got unique style, and they’re always entertaining. I love turning a corner and getting a free concert or breakdance show.
2. The Culture.
At a local bookstore display for “San Francisco Culture,” I thought the selection of books was appropriate, except for the cover of BUTT; the model is curled up into the fetal position. They may want to re-shoot that one.
1. Walking Down Market Street in Early Morning.
Since the streets are empty, it’s a delicious silence and the arriving light draws my eyes up to it as it filters through the high-rise buildings and makes the leaves of the trees appear a glowing green.
What do you love about San Franciso, or another city? Play along! I’m sure I’ll have more to love and share with you about San Francisco in the future.
San Francisco is one of my favorite cities in the U.S. Love the food and walking around super early in the morning. Three of my closest friends lived there, two of them moved back to the East coast. Not sure when I will get back there. If I go to the West coast I will have to go to L.A. for work. :(
San Francisco is one of my favorite U.S. cities. It’s diverse, picturesque (especially Lombard Street) and has wonderful restaurants…not to mention it’s a short hop to wine country!! Lucky San Franciscans.
It was so fun meeting you too. I agree, it was truly a memorable dinner. Great post!
Those pics are GORGEOUS! I love eating sourdough and watching the seals on the pier. Yes, it’s a tad touristy, but it’s incredibly relaxing and entertaining. :)
Thanks for letting me relive that San Francisco weekend all over again! It was wonderful to meet you, and our Chinese banquet dinner was another highlight of the BlogHer weekend.
It was great to meet you too! That was a really fun weekend. San Francisco is one of my “hometowns” and I can’t wait to get back to it – eccentricities and all!
I have never been to San Francisco, in fact I have never been to America. But my husband loves it there, and my father in law used to live there years ago, he thought it was great!
Wow, what a line up of bloggers you got to meet and the crab and peking duck pics are so tantalizing. San Fran is just so unique and the one time I visited I met an incredible group of bakers from the group,” the Baker’s Dozen”. Most memorable.
There’s so much to love – how can you just pick 5 things?
If you liked the pirates, you should come back here in December for “Santa Con” (aka “Santarchy”).
Some of my favorite things about SF are:
1. piles of vegan restaurants – restaurants in general
2. beaches in the city
3. Legion of Honor museum & DeYoungMuseum
4. swimming in Aquatic Park with a view of Coit Tower, Ghirardelli square, an old wooden ship and Alcatraz
5. great film culture and film festivals
That was a heckuva meal…for reals. And I love all your pics that you posted. What a fun weekend that was! So glad I got to meet you, and looking forward to seeing you again somewhere else along the way.
And we love ya back! Mwah!
My favorite thing about San Francisco is YOUR FRIENDS WHO TIP TOO MUCH :) xoxo
If you’re back in December send me a note, too,- I am SO up for crab overload! :)
Things I love of SF: the view from Twin Peaks, the vibe at the Ferry Building, great food almost everywhere, the “real” summer starting in September, the crabs at Fish., the blueness of the city and the amazing people who live there!
Beautiful pictures, thanks for sharing your trip with us.
A fantastic dinner to be sure, and great company. Come back soon and let’s do it again.
OMG SF culture, that’s awesome. I love the comments on the Butt cover. Good stuff. I was just in San Fran last week! One of my favorite cities. I love your pic with the pirates and guy in the hat. Who’s the guy?
Ciao Bella – You’ve been tagged by me! :)
5. Driving up the 101 into the city. On a clear cloudless day the city skyline shimmers with excitement.
4. Walking from lower Haight up into the wildness that is upper Haight. Its a good 20 blocks of uphill struggle only to level off into a wild cornucopia of things to do and diversions
3. Walking into City Lights Book Store in North Beach and marveling at how many authors have stood in the same building
2. Spending 6 uninterrupted hours in Amoeba Records looking for undervalued vinyl and still feeling like 10 more hours wouldn’t cover what you are looking for.
1. Breathing clean, brisk air and drinking clean tap water anywhere in the city.
Great additions everyone! :) I love SF, really. I don’t think that will ever change.
i love San Francisco because it’s like a second home to me , almost all my family lives there . and i love the weather .San Francisco is my favorite city of all time !!!!!!!!!!
i wish i could live there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I visited San Francisco last year from Australia, I loved it!
It was my favorite city that I visited in America.
We arrived in America and San Francisco International and spent two nights in the city, wish we could have spent more!
Makes me miss America and San Fancisco as I write about it :(
Hope to visit America and my favorite city some time in the near future!