California - Day 1 - Alex Haig's Photo Blog

Kelly had been staying with Mart for a couple of days when I arrived on Saturday night. On my arrival we met at the airport, took a taxi back to Mart's place, had a drink and made ambitious sight seeing plans for the next day.

Mission and Castro

We were out the door pretty early for three non-morning people and headed straight to a near by coffee shop. Then it was time to start getting used to the Muni Transport System, so we hopped on a tram going in the direction of the Mission district. Mart took us on a tour of this largely spanish-mexican district where we saw murals apparently inspired by the traditional Mexican paintings which expressed the feelings and stories of the district's historical inhabitants. Then we went to Mission San Francisco de Asís, a beautiful mission founded in 1776 and now the oldest remaining building in San Francisco. The building and the graveyard are amazing sights, and you get to see old photographs and learn something about the city's history. After lunch we in a fantastic gourmet burger restaurant, we walked through the Castro before catching a bus in the direction of Twin Peaks.

Twin Peaks

The bus drove up several very winding, steep streets. We got off at the point that Mart worked out was the closest we could get and we started our ascent. It turned out we weren't that far from the top and there were stunning 360 views of the peninsula and the bay. We could see right up Market St to Downtown San Francisco and could just about make out where Mart's place was. The panoramic view below was taken standing on one peak, you can see it's twin in the photo. Taking the shot wasn't easy, as the wind made it difficult to stand up or even to keep my glasses on my face. After that we walked down Twin Peaks and caught a bus to get up close to what we'd just seen from a far, Downtown.

Downtown

Downtown felt distinctly more touristy than the Mission. I have had a black and white photo of California St on my wall since I was about 15, so I was really pleased to make my own version, capturing from the ends of the cable car rails upwards. There were many other recognisable landmarks, such as the ferry building and the Transamerica Pyramid. I was staggered by the size of the Bay Bridge and I looked forward to driving over it the next day. We ended the evening by going to Tres Agaves, a mexican restaurant, in Downtown.