My aunt Kathryn, cousins Bert, Vincent, Nika, and I spent the last day of 2006 making the 7 hour trip to San Francisco. It actually wasn't that bad. The people in the back seat spent most of the morning sleeping, 
and I spent most of the time watching the scenery 
"And this is what it's going to look like for the next 6 hours"
(where there was scenery to watch) and talking with Aunt Kathryn about Germany, so I had a good time. 
First view of San Francisco
If driving across the bay bridge was my first impression of San Francisco, it was an impressive one. I
never realized how long a bridge could be. 
And that's supposed to be nothing compared to some bridges in other parts of the world. You can tell immediately that the city's flavor is drastically different than Socal's. For one, you drive over the bridge and you are no longer in any resemblance to surburbia. The buildings give off a lively vibe very different from those in European cities. When we were walking through downtown before midnight, I doubt it was just the New Year's enthusiasm rubbing off. I can imagine now why lots of young people go there for excitement. You only need to be standing on Market to feel it. 
There are many things unique to the city that tell a lot about its culture and its people. Take, for instance, the street cars. Apparently the city buys old retiring street cars
from other cities all over the world and put them to use (the ultimate mode of recycling?). It has its own Gay District, right along with the usual China Town and Hispanic District. 
The city is going to take awhile to get used to. It's very, very different. But I'm
enjoying it, a lot. We walked mainly through the "ritzy" part of the city last night. There was a pretty fancy
mall we got to walk through, though all the stores were closed. Did I mention how fancy it was? I look forward to seeing other parts of the city, places on the other side of market.
We went by the Ferry Building ("Once the tallest building in San Francisco")
to watch the city's traditional New Year's fireworks. They were set off 
First view of San FranciscoIf driving across the bay bridge was my first impression of San Francisco, it was an impressive one. I
never realized how long a bridge could be. And that's supposed to be nothing compared to some bridges in other parts of the world. You can tell immediately that the city's flavor is drastically different than Socal's. For one, you drive over the bridge and you are no longer in any resemblance to surburbia. The buildings give off a lively vibe very different from those in European cities. When we were walking through downtown before midnight, I doubt it was just the New Year's enthusiasm rubbing off. I can imagine now why lots of young people go there for excitement. You only need to be standing on Market to feel it. There are many things unique to the city that tell a lot about its culture and its people. Take, for instance, the street cars. Apparently the city buys old retiring street cars
from other cities all over the world and put them to use (the ultimate mode of recycling?). It has its own Gay District, right along with the usual China Town and Hispanic District. The city is going to take awhile to get used to. It's very, very different. But I'm
enjoying it, a lot. We walked mainly through the "ritzy" part of the city last night. There was a pretty fancymall we got to walk through, though all the stores were closed. Did I mention how fancy it was? I look forward to seeing other parts of the city, places on the other side of market.We went by the Ferry Building ("Once the tallest building in San Francisco")
to watch the city's traditional New Year's fireworks. They were set off We assumed that the Bomb Squad was transporting the fireworks...
under the Bay Bridge, which we drove across to get to San Fran. It was a spectacular display. 
I look forward to seeing them another year. Maybe the fireworks will be perfected so that the smiley faces are the right side up (I was amazed that there were smiley fireworks at all, actually).
I look forward to seeing them another year. Maybe the fireworks will be perfected so that the smiley faces are the right side up (I was amazed that there were smiley fireworks at all, actually).
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