Speaking of "as little as possible", I have a ditty about the Castro neighborhood in San Francisco. Walking down Castro, we saw a man walking on the opposite side of the sidewalk, wearing nothing but a sailor hat and cowboy boots. Gasp! Even the locals were impressed! I fought the urge to take his photo. After all, he was obviously working on his tan, in his neighborhood and minding his own business, right? Not to mention that he gave me a sideways glance that sorta-kinda said "I dare ya". ;-)
The story continues with WP and I running a quick errand and going back up Castro to the corner where the bar Twin Peaks is. As you will see in the photo, there is this little area with outdoor seating across from the bar, right where the trolley cars turn around.I leave Wayne at the table, talking to his daughter, go inside Twin Peaks for a glass of wine and leave it outside with him while I return to the bar to use the women's room. I return to what turns out to be a mini-hullaballoo: my glass of wine has been confiscated and returned to the bar and I am asked to consume it inside the bar. The patrons next to us, obviously regulars, apologized for the inconvenience, while expressing concern over the bar potentially losing its license to service alcohol. Hmmmm...a person can walk up Castro stark naked and The Pagan Sphinx almost gets arrested for bringing her wine outside! Gotta love San Francisco! And we did and do!
The four days in Frisco were a total blast. A few more photos follow; samplings from the Mission, North Beach, Fillmore Jazz Festival and Japantown.
Vesuvio Cafe
"We were bon vivantes at Vesuvio"
"We were bon vivantes at Vesuvio"
The Womens Building on Valencia and 18th Street, the Mission
Women's Building (detail)
And some museum art, of course...
One of the spider sculptures by the late, great Louise Bourgeous, in the sculpture garden at San Francisco MoMA
Thank you to my friends who took the time to stop by and say hello while I was gone. I'm thinking of you all with affection and looking forward to catching up with your blog posts.
I hope you are all having a good early summer. It's hotter than Hades in the Northeast the last couple of days, and from what I understand, we missed the worse of it. Stay cool.
Some water nudes tomorrow night, I hope. A nymph or two and if I can find a Merman, all the merrier!
Love, peace and all Groovy Things,
Pagan Sphinx
A blast! Great shots! I could smell the bay!
ReplyDeleteAloha from Waikiki
Comfort Spiral
I love your nude man/illicit wine drinking story! Funny old world! The photos are fabulous...especially Jack K., Beat Museum and...City Lights Books!! A dream, a dream.
ReplyDeleteWhoa! It looks like so much fun! I'm glad you had a great time.
ReplyDeleteMy first reaction to San Francisco was that the world would be a happier place if everyone could live in a city like it. I'm glad you both had a wonderful time and hope the summer keeps on getting better for you. It's likely to be cooler in Nova Scotia :-)
ReplyDeleteIt looks like you had a great time! I love the murals
ReplyDeleteI felt totally at home there. It's good to be back, though.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jams, Susan, Mac, Lisa, Cloudia and Singing Bear for stopping by.
Your photos and your narrative are a wonderful adventure. So much well worth seeing, and what gorgeous skies! That's what low humidity looks like, right? Welcome back to our corner.
ReplyDeleteIt's been years since I've been to SF. You are making me want to go back.
ReplyDeleteHi, Sandy. It's nice to get your comment. Right on about the sky. I don't think I've seen a blue sky since we returned to New England. Hopefully this humidity wave will pass soon.
ReplyDeletePeace.
oh how I miss San Francisco, I used to go there at least twice a year
ReplyDeletesuch a wonderful city
I always felt myself there
incredible photos!!
Happy Belated Birthday
I love that you and Hope are both July babes
Great shots of the city by the bay. I love the detail on that theater in the Castro. They don't make like that much anymore.
ReplyDeletePerfect timing for a SF post! I have to leave Italy in a week to move back there... thanks for reinforcing in my mind how wonderful it is there!
ReplyDeleteI love the photos, as I've said, I love San Francisco. Thanks for taking us there with you.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you could have served the wine in the nude and would have been acceptable. Or maybe Wayne should have taken his clothes off.
I remember when I lived in L.A. and the new smoking ban went intoi effect. People would hang out by the door of the bar and reacxh outside with their lit cigarettes, then put their head out to take a drag, exhale and bring their head back into the bar. So this place has an outdoor seating area that is off limits to what they serve inside. Weird!
I read where you are heading to Nova Scotia soon. I am jealous of all your travels. I need to get back on the road soon!
Peace.