First, I must tell you about the difficulties of buying airline tickets. A few weeks before, I checked Southwest and tickets were $59 one-way. A few months before, I found them for $44 one-way, so I was going to wait for the prices to drop. Instead, the prices went up. I was traveling on January 17th (MLK Day) and returning on the 20th, so first the prices on the 17th rose to $122! I figured I could shift my dates over one day from the 18th - 21st. Next day I checked, the 18th went up to $122 as well. So then I thought, maybe I'll cut my trip short by a day and leave on Wednesday. Nope, Wednesday went up to $122 too! At that point, I was cursing the airlines for raising prices. Finally, I figured out that I could fly to San Jose for $49 one-way and take the CalTrain up to San Francisco. Done. That was my plan.
Monday morning I set out early for my 8am flight with Horizon Air. Initially the flight was delayed for 20 minutes because of fog that was over all of the Bay area, so when we boarded the plane, they told us that if the fog hasn't cleared up by the time we arrive, then the plane would return to LAX. As I sat on the plane (which is the smallest plane I have ever been on, with the most random brands for beverages and snacks... explains why it was so cheap I guess) wishing and praying that we would land, I saw the fog that was down below... then I watched as the plane was engulfed for 30 seconds in just white... next thing I knew, we were on the ground. Highly impressive. From there, I took the Valley Transit Authority (VTA) bus to the CalTrain station, where I boarded a train for San Francisco. Finally, I reached SF around noon.
The first thing I did was check in at the Adelaide Hostel which I found on Yelp! I had never done the hostel thing (American movies have made me super paranoid about meeting/sharing with strangers) but this was a positive experience. It only cost $25/night with shared bedrooms and bathrooms (where Seattle cost me $74/night), and the location was great. They had free breakfast in the morning, washer and dryer on site, and public computers for everybody's use.After I secured all of my belongings, I headed for the
Contemporary Jewish Museum which Daniel Libeskind had renovated and designed a new addition to the once-abandoned power station. I've recently become a fan of Libeskind after reading his book Breaking Ground, although I do admit sometimes his designs are a bit cheesy. However, I enjoyed the interior of the museum. There's one space where the openings create this great conversation between light and shadow. Because it was MLK Day, admission was free (fantastic, because I wasn't going to pay to see the exhibits!) so I got to experience the gallery spaces as well as the exterior. Here's one of my favorite quotes from his book:
If architecture fails, if it is pedestrian and lacks imagination and power, it tells only one story, that of its own making: how it was built, detailed, financed. But a great building, like great literature or poetry or music, can tell the story of the human soul. It can make us see the world in a wholly new way, change it forever. It can awaken our desires, propose imaginary trajectories, and say to a child who has seen little and been nowhere, Hey, the world can be very different from what you ever imagined. You can be very different from what you ever imagined.Buildings--contrary to popular thought--are not inanimate objects. They live and breathe, and like humans have an outside and an inside, a body and a soul. So how does one go about designing a building that can sing? A building that expresses character, humanity, and beauty? How does one begin?
Next stop was SFMoMA designed by Mario Botta. Again, I bought a CityPass for $64, which is more than worth it--five attractions (SFMoMA, Aquarium of the Bay, Blue and Gold Fleet Cruise, California Academy of Sciences, de Young Museum and Legion of Honor or Exploratorium) plus unlimited rides on the Muni (bus, cable car, and street car) for seven days. From the outside, it doesn't look too impressive, but the interior was great. I love the use of lines and light. There's a large atrium space when you enter, and the circulation is fantastic. I was looking at my pictures when I uploaded them onto the computer, and at one point, I couldn't figure out which orientation was up or down. I love that. The museum also had a good amount of exhibits and a sculpture garden on the roof. 
After the museum, I walked around Union Square looking for a place to eat or something to do. I ended up at Beer Zone (over 100 beers!) which was connected to a Lori's Diner. I had a few beers, ate a burger, and watched the Celtics game at the bar. I called it a night after that.
Tuesday was a tiring day. I had breakfast at the hostel and then set out for the bus towards Golden Gate Bridge. It was a beautiful day out--blue skies with a bit of early fog. I spent the morning walking across the bridge, which is a little less than a mile long. When I got to the other side, I was hoping there would be a bus or ferry to take back to San Fran, but the only public transportation back was in Sausalito, and I didn't feel like getting lost, so I walked all the way back across the bridge.
My next stop was Coit Tower, the highest point in San Francisco. I took a bus to Filbert Street and walked towards the tower. My calves got quite the work out going up that hill; they were burning by the time I got to the tower. When I entered, I couldn't figure out how to get to the top. I kept looking for stairs but they didn't exist. Then I saw all the signs posted around the elevator--the elevator was closed due to renovations until January 19th... it was January 18th. So I cursed for a while for walking up that hill for nothing and then turned around and walked down a million steps towards the waterfront. 
I was going to walk to Pier 39, but my legs were tired, so I decided to take the street car instead. These cars have been around since the 40s or something, and they're like Boston's above-ground subway lines. So I hopped on free with my CityPass and arrived at Pier 39 to visit the Aquarium of the Bay. It was probably the smallest aquarium I have ever been to... I had anticipated spending a large chunk of the day there, but before I knew it, I was done walking through it! There are only two parts to the whole aquarium. You start off by taking the elevator down one story and walking through a tunnel, with fish and sting rays all around you. That was pretty sweet. The second part is just touching a starfish or shark. That was it! I was so disappointed! 
When I got out, I grabbed some lunch at a random tourist trap and headed over to check the times for the Blue and Gold Fleet Bay Cruise. Just my luck; there was one leaving in 10 minutes! So then I stood in line and got on the 2:30 departure. What a gorgeous day it was! We went around the Bay, under the Golden Gate Bridge, and then around Alcatraz before returning back to the pier. The cruise wasn't as good as the Seattle one; there wasn't a person narrating the journey but a really lame recording of a "pirate" or something... 
When the cruise was over, I had time left in my itinerary, so I decided to head over to Castro and check out the area. I walked around Harvey Milk Plaza (if you haven't seen the movie Milk, I highly recommend it) and then walked up and down the streets. I've been to West Hollywood (supposedly the gay capital of America) before, but Castro had a completely different feel. Both are great communities, but Castro just felt more laid-back, which makes sense since LA is so superficial. And of course, some drunk guy started talking to me as soon as he saw me taking pictures with my DSLR. Seems I can't avoid the crazies no matter where I am. After Castro, I headed back to downtown to meet up with a friend for dinner. We got some pizza and caught up for about two hours, then I went back to the hostel.
Wednesday was a day spent at Golden Gate Park. I got up early, ate breakfast, and made my way to the California Academy of Sciences, designed by Renzo Piano! This is my third Renzo building, and as always, it did not disappoint. When I arrived, I found out that admission was free for the day, which meant two things. 1) I didn't have to use the ticket from CityPass, and 2) there would be a million children inside. The museum (would it be referred to as a museum?) is pretty amazing. Inside, there are two domes--one is the IMAX dome, and the other is a simulated rain forest. When I was in the rain forest, I witnessed a snake attack and eat a frog... it was crazy and awesome. The ground floor has a variety of exhibits, the cafe, gift shop, etc., and downstairs is an aquarium. On the roof is the most famous feature--the green roof! From the top, you get a great view of the de Young Museum across the way. After spending too much money for too little lunch, I finished exploring the academy and went to the de Young Museum.
The de Young Museum, a fine arts museum, was my first Herzog and de Meuron building, and honestly, I was a little disappointed. The facade is interesting and different, but the form of the museum was ugly. The interior was alright--nothing too special like Renzo's Modern Wing in Chicago. Overall, I was left with a feeling of "ehhh." The art was okay but not my favorite. I also didn't like the fact that I couldn't get out to the "garden" areas (maybe I just didn't look hard enough) or that I couldn't go outside when I was at the top of the tower. 
Eventually it was closing time, so I took the Muni towards Haight Street, which is mostly where the hippie scene occurred in the 60s and 70s. The street is filled with smoke shops, thrift stores, bars, cafes, etc. Definitely an eclectic street like Venice Boardwalk. I knew there was an Amoeba Music on the street, so obviously I had to go. I ended up buying four CDs for under $5. I LOVE Amoeba Music. I could literally spend all day in there. I was feeling a bit hungry, so I found a place called People's Cafe and had a wonderful and cheap dinner there. I ended the night at a bar before heading back to the hostel.Thursday morning, I met a German girl in the hostel and started talking about Europe. Hostels are great for meeting Europeans! They're all young too. I asked her a bunch of questions about Europe and she gave me tips about places to go. After breakfast, I checked out and headed for the the Federal Building.
The Federal Building was designed by Morphosis. I've been a fan of Morphosis ever since I saw their 41 Cooper Union Building. I love the tectonics of all their designs. I could only see the exterior (I didn't want to risk going inside of a federal building) but I love that the facade wraps around the roof of the building as well.
Nearby was the civic center, so I walked towards City Hall just to see the plaza. It was another beautiful day out so I photographed all morning. I was killing time until 11am for an architecture walking tour, but because I hadn't made reservations online beforehand, I called the guy in the morning, left a voicemail, but never got a response (not until the next morning... when I was back in LA), so I decided to just meet him at the gathering spot. As luck would have it, he wasn't having a tour that day because no one had signed up, so that screwed up my plans for the day (I had to decide between the walking tour or Alcatraz and picked the walking tour. Wrong choice). Thankfully there was a Jamba Juice next door to save my spirits. I took a minute to figure out my next move. 
While I was looking at a map of SF, I noticed that there was a Frank Lloyd Wright building close to where I was, so that's where I went next. The building is occupied by Xanadu Gallery, which I believe is a jewelry store (I wasn't really paying attention). The building itself wasn't designed by Frank but it was renovated by him. It's similar to Guggenheim with the spiral ramp to the second floor and he uses a lot of circles and spheres (as you can see in the picture). It's very much a Frank space.My next stop was in Pacific Heights to find a particular house. It was featured in a very popular 90s film with Robin Williams, and thanks to my Frommer's guide, I was able to find it! There was also a fantastic view north towards the water. I love San Francisco because no matter where you are, there's always a picture-perfect view.
I ended up walking along Union Street (the main street in Pacific Heights) and got some lunch at Jovino before heading to Ghirardelli Square. The waterfront is great in SF. Lots of public spaces, attractions, parks, shops, restaurants, etc. I walked all the way to Pier 39 and then took a bus to Coit Tower. At that point, I expected the elevator to be working and ready, but when I entered, the signs had all been changed to say that the elevators would not be fixed until the 24th. I was pretty mad about that, but there was nothing I could do.Finally it was time for me to head back to the hostel to pick up my stuff, so I rode the cable car at last and got my stuff. Headed to the train station, took the CalTrain down to Santa Clara, took the VTA bus to the San Jose Airport, and flew back to LAX. Whew.
My friend Tyan (probably my only real friend in LA outside of work and home) picked me up and she took me to dinner at the Alibi Room. Fantastic restaurant/bar with a fusion of Korean and Mexican food. Delicious. Ended the night drinking a bottle of champagne I received for Christmas with her and her neighbor Matthew.
Now I'm back on the east coast where there are mountains of snow everywhere I look, the temperatures are well in the single digits, and my feet are constantly freezing. Feels good to be home.
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