San Francisco
I know…you’re all thinking…why is she writing about travel when truly one of the hardest hit industries with this pandemic is travel. Well, what better way for you all to get acquainted with the different cities I’ve been blessed to visit in my lifetime during a time where travel is restricted. We can start our own bucket list called “Places we want to visit when this pandemic is over”.
It was a pretty easy decision to start with one of the greatest cities I know…San Francisco! I spent my first 29 years of my life growing up in and around this city and a lot of my influences in design, fashion & life perspective come from the rich diversity that this city has afforded me.
San Francisco has so many names. If you are a local you refer to it as “The City”. Others have referred to it as The City by the Bay, SF, Fog City, Golden Gate City, San Fran and my least favorite “Frisco”. Seriously? Who made up “Frisco”? I need to Google that. It is mentioned in so many song lyrics like “When the lights go down in The City” by Journey, “Save Me San Francisco” by Train and, most famously, “I Left My Heart In San Francisco” by Tony Bennet. It is home to the famous Ghirardelli Chocolate and you can’t visit without having Clam Chowder in a sourdough bread bowl on Fisherman’s Wharf.
For you sports fanatics (me included), this great city is home to the San Francisco 49ers, Golden State Warriors, the San Francisco Giants, and the nearby Oakland A’s. That’s 4 professional sports teams! And let's not forget the Raider's (who just this past year moved to Las Vegas) used to be the Oakland Raiders.
Palace of Fine Arts
Back in my day, my favorite things to do in The City were shopping, dining, concerts, theatre, sporting events and all the local street festivals. My favorite street festival was the Fillmore Street Jazz Festival which would be attended by 100,00 people every year! Other favorite events were the Bay to Breakers, Union Street Festival and Halloween on the Castro. I’m getting nostalgic as I’m writing this, remembering the good ole days and realizing how much has changed. I can’t fail to mention that Karaoke night happened every night (my claim to fame is singing Love Shack with Ryan Seacrest at the Silver Cloud…it’s STILL there!)
Today you can still enjoy the beauty of the Palace of Fine Arts, the Golden Gate Bridge, shopping in Union Square, Fisherman’s Wharf, eating on Union or Fillmore and let’s not forget driving down the crookedest street in the world (Lombard Street). I could really go on and on and on and on. But you’ll just have to put San Francisco, the City that I truly left my heart in, on your list.
