This is a part of San Francisco series. Check out the previous posts:
After a walk around the north part of the city, we descended down to the less famous parts of it. We were in the Richmond District, the part between the two parks on the north side - Golden Gate Park and Presidio. That part was nice because it resembled what "normal" life in this city looks like. Small shops, restaurants, and stores were all over the district's main avenue.
Unlike other cities we've been to, San Francisco is heavily influenced by Asian cultures of a different kind. You can find any kind of Asian store or restaurant. We wanted sushi or something like ramen, but we were at the wrong time of the day in one restaurant. They had a mid-day pause or something. So we settled for some Italian food - pizza and beer 🍺
It was our brief stop before the famous Painted Ladies, a set of houses across (Alamo) park that's been engraved in anyone who grew up watching American sitcoms. This set of houses is the most famous, being in the opening part of the Full House TV Series. Also, it is one of the pics you get when you search for San Francisco. It was our second time here, and as always, it was crowded with folks.
Folks were trying to get drone shots, selfies, panoramas, and portraits of them, them and the painted houses, or just the houses (like us). The thing about San Francisco, you can find equally beautiful and interesting houses anywhere else, in a street of any kind. These types of houses and their design (Victorian and Edwardian styles) are almost a landmark of this city.
Victorian and Edwardian houses were mass-produced before and after the earthquake in 1906 in San Francisco. I don't think they imagined it would make such an attraction in the whole city. Also, as a European living in brick and concrete homes, the idea of having all houses made of wood was weird to me. Especially when you compare it to their value. But not everything about the price is related to the material and build quality. For example, one of the houses sold for 3.5 million USD in 2020.
We rested on the green grass across the Painted Ladies, as it was now afternoon, and we'd been walking the whole day in the June sun, right next to the Pacific ocean. We were supposed to walk a bit more, go to our Airbnb and pick up our third friend - Karla. Karla couldn't join us from the start, so she picked San Francisco as her starting point, and she'd be with us for several more places. Her work spot couldn't let her have more days if I remember correctly.
Also, our car had a lot of miles on it and was due for a service. We also had to sort that out in the car dealership where we rented it. So we did a bit of walking, saw some nice graffiti as the sun was coming down, and took an Uber back to Airbnb. What else to take in the Bay Area in California?
After refreshing up at home, we headed to the airport to pick up Karla and see what to do with the rented Jeep. Luckily, they gave us a new car (the same one, but with California plates). This was our third car, actually, all the same - a white Jeep Cherokee. We replaced the first one in Denver, CO, and drove with Colorado plates through all western US, which puzzled some folks. The main reason for replacement is that the car needed service (usually an oil change). They gave us a new one at the rent-a-car place, and we were on our way.
We returned to Airbnb, rested, and the next day it was our time to drive up to one of the most visited national parks in the US - Yosemite. Follow along tomorrow for a post from there.