San Francisco -- can you go back?
We're in San Francisco, on our way back to New England. The visit is bittersweet: San Francisco has been my favorite city for many years; been here dozens of times, know the streets, the buses, good neighborhoods and bad. But after 5+ years "away", and four years in our new home in Vancouver, BC, I see the place differently. The streets are comparatively dirty, homeless and beggars about. Vancouver has its deadbeats too, but they're almost never aggressive and offer a smile even if there is nothing in return. San Francisco seems more distant, more dangerous than 5 years ago. Is it it? Is it me? Both?
I wandered around this morning (we've been here two nights, we head south later today) revisiting old haunts, looking for familiarity or change. Found both.
The area we're staying (Union Square) is the city's center. Macy's. Bloomingdale's. Whereas Vancouver's "downtown" is fairly well distributed (by plan), this is "city dense" at its best -- or perhaps worst.
We are creatures of habit: we want things that we enjoy[ed] to always be the same. It doesn't work like that. "Time passes on, and the leaves that are green turn to brown".
I'm getting more involved in photography, and as a delightful result I am seeing things I never noticed before. While San Francisco's street scene I find deplorable, this morning, our walking, I noticed the city's amazing architecture. Something to really enjoy, while attempting to zone out the Levi's store and all the "modern" trappings of this city.
Labels: San Francisco, travel
posted by Scott & Kathy @ 9:29 AM
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