New vistas of San Francisco opened before us today as we visited the Mission and Castro districts. These are to the south of the city, away from our usual safe haunts of Union Square (Macy's, Tiffany's, The Cheesecake Factory, etc.) The Mission is famous for its thriving public art community, and Castro for being the gay capital of the world!
First off, it was the 99th Bay to Breakers race - a sort of fun run where most people are drunk and in costume. Or naked. We shared our BART carriage with a hot dog, his friend a bottle of ketchup, and several girls in their underwear.
Having breathlessly arrived, both Districts lived up to expectations. Hannah's Dad fully embraced 'street culture' by photographing everyone he met, while the rest of us followed twenty paces behind. We looked around Mission Dolores, the oldest building in SF (one of the only survivors of the 1906 quake) and famous for it's appearance in Hitchcock's Vertigo. Now that was a pilgrimage.
After lunch at a small deli, opposite a cafe where a tall pink transvestite waited the tables, we wandered the Castro. This is San Francisco as it's envisaged by most people around the world: colourful, vibrant, and very gay. We stood at 'the gayest corner in the world' (according to the guidebook) and left feeling a little more stylish and outrageous than when we arrived. But it's all relative.
Some of Hannah's Dad's new friends (yes, he took the photo).
Balmy Ave, in the Mission.
Dad admires the art.
Earth mother #1
In Dolores Park, by the Mexican Liberty Bell (they had one too!)
Mission Dolores, outside.
And in.
I've been there!
Over in Castro, Hannah has started a new business (see what an MBA does for you?)
The gayest corner in the world - 18th and Castro.
When you're in this district, you expect to see a queen or two.
