San Francisco cable cars are the only moving National Historic Landmark, and 9.7 million people take a nine mile per hour ride on them each year. At the Cable Car Barn Museum, 500-horse- power electric motors turn the endless cable loops.
A city built on 43 hills will surely have steep, curving streets. Vermont Avenue between 22nd and 23rd is the "crookedest," and Filbert between Hyde and Leavenworth is steepest at 31.5 degrees, but neither fact discourages tourists from flocking to Lombard Street's seductive curves .
"I have always been rather better treated in San Francisco than I actually deserved."
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The financial district viewed from North Beach
San Francisco 11.8.05
The voters speak: Election day brought out the teeming masses who rejoiced in finally getting to tell Schwarzenegger he's wrong, rejecting his slate of misbegotten financial reforms.
China Town near Sam Wo's, election site on Telegraph Hill
Dietary extremes: It's difficult to find two more distant ends of the dining spectrum than Sears Fine Dining and Sam Wo's, two classic and beloved San Francisco eateries not more than a mile distant from each other but worlds apart otherwise. Sears is a venerable and friendly breakfast joint near Union Square. Sam Wo's is a threadbare purveyor of solid Chinese cuisine in Chinatown famed for its irrascible wait staff.
The alley outside The Irish Bank, a telescope at Coit Tower
All is forgiven: The Irish Bank, down an alley off Union Square, is a good place to watch football. The talk during the game revolved around Terrell Owens, who pissed off the Philadelphia Eagles so much that they released him from his contract. An inebriated 49ers supporter probably spoke for her fellow fans by suggesting that Owens' antics didn't bother her and he could happily return to his former Bay-area team if he wanted.
A dragon statue guards the entrance to Chinatown near the Grant Plaza Hotel.
Humble home: The Grant Plaza Hotel continues to be the lodging of choice for the frugal in San Francisco. The rooms are modest but so are the room rates, and the hotel is located conveniently between Union Square and Chinatown.
View from the top: What better way to stretch one's legs in San Francisco than climbing Telegraph Hill? While the meandering stairways that climb from the bay and Levi Strauss and Co.'s world headquarters is the more famous approach, the climb from North Beach is nicely satisfying (and breathtaking...) as well.
City Lights bookstore remains hospitable to lingering readers.
That does compute: Dell computers technical support actually solved my wireless communications problem, thereby justifying again my decision to lug a laptop on the road.
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