San Francisco: the walking routes

Mark and I love to walk through cities. We firmly believe it's the best way to really see a city, to get the true vibe of its neighborhoods, to get a glimpse at how the local live. One of the things that struck us in San Francisco is that you got a completely different feel in the different areas, almost as if there were lines drawn on the floor. I thought I would share the itinerary of our week in the "fog city" (which we saw completely transformed into a summer paradise, lucky us).

We stayed at an apartment in the Mission so our routes started by walking from that area or taking the BART to a more central spot.

Day 1: We walked from the Mission District (around 24th Street)  to Mission Dolores (but we arrived so early it was closed); we continued our way taking Castro street towards the north , then walked Haight street, passed Buena Vista Park, reached the Golden Gate Park, until the 'de Young Museum' (where The girl with a Pearl earring, whose home is at the Mauritsuis in Den Haag, is staying until June 2), took Fulton st, walked north via Park Presidio blvd., turned on Clement street, then continued on 25th avenue to Baker beach see the Golden Gate bridge and then went via Muni bus to Embarcadero, from where we went down to San Mateo.

Day 2: We took the BART to Embarcadero, went across to the Ferry Building, walked along the water to Fisherman's wharf, saw the mythic sea lions at pier 39, walked south on Stockton street passing Washington Square, visited the St. Peter and Paul church, continued further south through ChinaTown and the Financial District , had tea at the Sheraton Palace hotel (you know, like Oscar Wilde, Rudyard Kipling and Sarah Bernhardt did back in the day); then took a bus to Hayes Valley, walked down Market street to Dolores Street, past Dolores park, went down to Cesar Chavez street, and from there back to the Mission.

Dolores Park

Day 3: We reached Berkeley via the BART, walked around the campus, then took the BART back to 16th Street, visited Mission Dolores, walked to Folsom Street, picked up our rental car at Mission Street, drove over the Golden Gate and a little bit further towards Wine Country (but we were so tired we didn't make it very far).

The cemetery at Mission Dolores, where a scene in Hitchcock's "Vertigo" was filmed.

Days 4 and 5: We went on an express-road trip to Yosemite National Park, then drove to Turlock (where we slept) and the next day continued to Carmel, Monterey (where I had to visit the Aquarium), and continued to Santa Cruz, Pigeon Point lighthouse and from there back to San Francisco.

On the way to Yosemite national Park

 Day 6: First thing in the morning we returned the car, from there we went back to Embarcadero, then we walked from the Ferry building up to Pier 29, turned at Lombard Street, walked on the most crooked street of the world, took Hyde street to the Aquatic Park, walked around the Marina, then took Bay Street, went down to Chestnut Street, walked through the shopping area all the way to Letterman Digital Arts, took Lyon Street to the Palace of Fine Arts , walked to the beach at Crissy Field and Marina Blvd, then took the bus to Union Square, where we met friends and hung out at the Ferry Building,  after which we went home for stroopwafels and tea.

Day 7: We saw Mark's stepbrother, who drove us to Twin Peaks so we could admire the views of the city, then we went across the Golden Gate bridge to the Marin Headlands and Sausalito, where we had lunch (with an uncle who happened to be visiting the city at the same time). From there we went to Oakland and back to Financial District where we walked to Montgomery street and then made our way back to our apartment.

We are kind of in love with the city... it really is kind of all I imagined it would be (and more). Cities with the sea, mountains, culture and a ton of parks (like Barcelona ahem) have my heart. I think I am still having trouble processing it all, so I will leave you with this. But know that this week I will most probably be writing about it all the time, I hope I won't bore you with it.