SAN FRANCISCO - PART II - AUGUST 1982

SOME OTHER SIGHTS...

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THE JAPANESE TEA GARDEN

The Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park was created for the World Fair in 1894, and is the oldest public Japanese garden in the United States. Considered a wet walking garden, although it has a Zen garden as well, it is a perfect spot to spend some hours. Gardens are, in Japanese culture, one of the highest forms of art, as they are supposed to express in a very limited space, the essence of nature.


"BUDDHA - This one was cast at Tajima, Japan in 1790"


"PAGODA"


"SHINTO SHRINE"

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LOMBARD STREET

Lombard Street, America's crookedest street, is paved with bricks and has some beautiful Victorian mansions on its sides.


HITCH-HIKING: Give me a lift on the way down"


"WOW - Prepare for the ride"


"HALFWAY DOWN"


"FLOWERS - Almost done, with the chrysanthemums and other flowers in full bloom"

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PARKS


"GOLDEN GATE PARK - The ultimate haven away from urban chaos"



"AQUATIC PARK - Located at the west end of Fisherman's Wharf, the park includes historic vessels, a maritime museum, and a library"

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FISHERMAN'S WHARF

The traditional home of San Francisco's fishing fleet, Fisherman's wharf is overrun with tourists, and locals seem to hate and avoid it. However, some cynics say that secretly, everyone likes it a little, and looks forward to having out of town guests to profit from the opportunity to revisit it, without having to acknowledge the interest to go there. Amazingly, most of its attractions were built in the late 1960's: Ghirardelli Square, Pier 39... Furthermore, some of the best views in the city, and the sea lions are also there!

"THE CANNERY"



"RESTAURANTS AND SHOPS - fresh Dungeness crab..."

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VIEWS


"FROM THE EL CORTEZ HOTEL - Built in 1929, the El Cortez was a nice hotel at the heart of the Theatre district, quite close to Union Square, the cable car stop and many restaurants and shops. It seems that later it was named the Shannon Court. Recently, after an $11 million renovation, it is back to glory under the name of Hotel Adagio. However, Cortez is also back, as the name of the hotel's gourmet restaurant of Chef Pascal Rigo. It seems to have been named one of the "66 Hottest New Restaurants in the World" in an edition of Conde Nast Traveler Magazine"

ONLY IN SAN FRANCISCO! - AUGUST 1982

FIRST TIME - AUGUST 1982

San Francisco, located on the tip of the San Francisco Peninsula and surrounded by water on three out of four sides, is the second most densely populated major American city, after New York, and fourteenth-largest in the United States. San Francisco is also famous for its climate: a quote attributed to Mark Twain - si non è vero è bene trovato - says «The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco». We, however, were lucky this time: while we were there, no summer fog at all, and the temperature reached record levels...


"MARKET & POWELL - Waiting for the cable car to go up the Hill, we met a couple of Portuguese people living in Macau. He was a brother of a colleague at the University: sometimes the world looks rather small..."


"NOB HILL - The Mark Hopkins Intercontinental Hotel, a San Francisco landmark with magnificent views of the City and the Bay"


"CABLE CAR VIEWS - From the top of the Hill, starting to get down"


"SAFELY LANDED at Taylor Street"


"FISHERMAN'S WHARF - One of the most famous tourist attractions in San Francisco, known for being the location of Pier 39, San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, Ghirardelli Square, ferry rides to Alcatraz and restaurants that serve dungeness crab!"





"PIER 39 - Pier 39, located at the edge of the Fisherman's Wharf district, is much more interesting than Pier 17 in New York. Filled with shops, restaurants, street performances, and ferry trips to Alcatraz, the Pier is also a very popular tourist attraction. Swimming Harbour seals and California sea lions on docks nearby help to call people to the zone"


"HYATT REGENCY, Embarcadero Center: The fabulous reception lobby"


"HYATT REGENCY, Embarcadero Center: nice view from the Equinox, the only revolving rooftop restaurant and cocktail lounge in Northern California"


"VAILLANCOURT FOUNTAIN at Embarcadero Center was built in 1971 by French-Canadian sculptor Francois Vaillancourt. The public criticism was very harsh, but in 2004, the fountain came to life again"


"TRANSAMERICA BUILDING - THE most famous skyscraper of the San Francisco first wave of high rise building"



"VIEWS FROM COIT TOWER"


"CHINATOWN - It was the largest Chinese neighbourhood outside Asia, and probably still is"


"COIT TOWER from the distance"