The wonder city called San Francisco

Alcatraz Island, the TransAmerica Pyramid, the Golden Gate bridge, Coit Tower, many bridges of the bay reflect the history of this city that was a host to many immigrants. These are nice to know, nice to see places in San Francisco. But so are places in other cities in the US.

The magic of San Francisco lies in the the China Town, the Little Italy and the little latino street called the Mission Street and other places around it. It was amazing to see small shops with items that did not have that irritatingly ubiquitous bar code which is somewhat reminiscent of the shops in India. The strong culture of these places and occasionally running into people who could not speak English left a strong impression of this truly global city called San Francisco.

Some things that will always be fresh in my mind were our little rendezvous with the Buddhist Monastery and chanting the name of Buddha with the monks, the graffiti in the Mission district and the painters still finishing some of their art work and the experience of the night time communion of various artists. We spent our final night in San Francisco attending a few programs by the members of Mission Arts & Performance Project. These people come together anywhere they find a small place (even in a garage) to express their thoughts and feelings through their art.

Oh wait, did I forget the crookdest street in the world? Tarun's friend, Brandon, who had shown us around San Francisco the day we landed there, drove us along this street paved with bricks that has sharp switchbacks. Oh and the popular steep hilly streets of San Francisco and houses sharing a wall with each other ... this city sure has its own charm.