According to Saint Augustine, “The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page”. With this in mind, let me share a short summary of my recent San Francisco solo travel. This short video is a proof that I indeed finished at least a chapter of what this saint was talking about.
For those who endured and finished watching the whole video… Thank you!!! Watch out for the next chapter…
Neks peydg na ko…
I am a big fan of art that are commonly found in museums. The forms of art I often marvel about outdoors would be magnificent architectures and massive infrastructures. But while having a walk along the Embarcadero near the Bay Bridge in San Francisco, one massive piece of sculpture struck me. It’s the humongous bow and arrow monument in the middle of Rincon Park.
Upon google search, I learned that the title of this masterpiece is Cupid’s Span built in 2002. The artists who created this gigantic piece made reference to Eros, the Greek God also known to the Roman’s as Cupid who shoots arrows into its would-be-victims.
Unexpectedly discovering this cool piece of art was great! Perceiving and understanding the statement that Cupid’s Span makes – like any other piece of art – can be very subjective. It is open to the personal interpretation of the individual. You either like it or you don’t. I happen to love it! It blends well and stands out pretty impressive with the surrounding location. You can actually view Cupid’s Span from different angles, backgrounds and perspectives at different times. And this unique attribute of this masterpiece gives you different opinion and feeling every time.
It is one unique landmark in SF which I guess celebrates love and how an SF visitor’s heart can actually get stuck and held immovable by the beauty of the sights and culture of San Francisco. For me, it is an unflinching representation of the famous line, “I left my heart in San Francisco”.
And while taking photos of this massive masterpiece, I was gleefully unashamed singing Rachel Alejandro’s song, Mister Kupido! (click the LINK to that song) Hahaha!
Ba’t hindi panain, ang kanyang damdamin ng ako ay mapansin…
I am more of a burger person than a pizza person. I more enjoy the juicy-ness of a beef as compared to the gooey-ness of a mozzarella cheese. I can’t actually remember when I boast or wrote about a pizza. Maybe it’s because my pizza experiences has always been a letdown. However, when I chomped on a slice in a pizza joint in Castro Street, I promised myself that I have to write about it.
It’s Oz Pizza. After grasping the LGBT vibe and feel of Castro streets in San Francisco, I decided to have pizza for lunch. This was because of a pregnant lady with a young kid gleefully munching on a big box of pizza slices at the patio table of Oz Pizza. Water falls came down from my oral cavity while seeing them do colossal bites and enormous chomping of their pizza.
the castro
oz pizza counter
a slice of heaven
Since I am not a pizza person, and there were too many varieties to choose from, I asked the mild and smiling attendant for a recommendation. He endorsed the Combo, which I supposed is a mix of all toppings in their menu. I gladly obliged. And on my first bite, I realized that the attendant knew what he is endorsing. The crust was chewy and crispy at the same time, which I personally prefer. The toppings, which by the way is so generous, were all tasty and flavorful. That slice was one spectacular treat!
Though there is nothing to praise about the interiors of the eatery, the wonderful taste and impressive quality of their pizza however compensates for all this drag. I am not a pizza person but if Oz Pizza will be the one offered to me, I will gladly drop a sumptuous burger for it.
Yum yum…
Stupid as it may sound, but my preconceived idea of the gay mecca in America is that the streets are filled with pink elephants, happy unicorns, colorful fairies, gentle dragons and sparkling angels. All of these were erased when I got to walk the streets of Castro District in San Francisco.
smile….
rainbow land!
rainbow!
The Castro is considered San Francisco’s (if not USA’s) gay-friendly epicenter. It actually has glitzy bars and restaurants, flamboyant shops and of course a historical theater. You would know that you have entered this area when lampposts are donned with rainbow flags and zebra lanes are in rainbow colors.
But what I had was a quiet walk in the Castro. I was nevertheless left to realize that the area is a thriving marketplace for all things gay. While I grasp on the sidewalk historical plaques/markers representing past LGBT icons, it was not difficult to recognize that the area is catered to people who identify with the LGBT culture. Actually, passing through a coffee shop seated outside were two young men kissing. And wall murals and posters abound in the area about gay rights and human rights.
at the steve harvey plaza, milk!
love wins…
The streets may have been calm and quiet on the time of my visit, but I can truly feel the lingering colorful gay spirit in the atmosphere and the unabashed zest for life of The Castro.
Lab wins…
If bridges have emotions, the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge would be suffering from the saddest form of depression. It is because it lives in the shadow of its gorgeous cousin, one of the most iconic landmarks in USA, the Golden Gate Bridge.
shot this at pier 14
nice…
It must be experiencing the lowest form of inferiority complex! Can you just imagine though you are standing mighty and majestic, it is your closest neighbor that singers would sing about and painters would paint on their canvass. Can you just imagine being the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and your sister (named Golden Gate) is the one chosen by photographers every time there is a photo shoot? It would definitely feel like being the ugly step sister of a famous super model.
San Francisco-Oakland is so unpopular even those who plans to commit suicide living in Oakland would have to drive and cross it and then proceed to its megalomaniac neighbor, the Golden Gate Bridge where they would execute their plans of killing themselves. Suicide committers I guess finds jumping at the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge to be prosaic and un-poetic. Unlike jumping from the Golden Gate Bridge the suicide act, of course, would be more dramatic!
awesome…
selfie galore…
A lot of tourists even snob it and call this bridge un-sexy. Though it has one of the longest spans in the US, visitors deemed it as the poor ugly cousin of the Golden Gate. While for the locals who cross it every day, due to heavy traffic and congestion especially during rush hours, they would consider this pathway a daily disaster.
But despite all these collective discouraging image and reputation that Bay Bridge has been attached with, I nevertheless marveled at the beauty strength and majesty of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. It’s actually beautiful if you got to take a good look at this equally magnificent engineering master piece. I was actually at awe by its enormity! No matter if people like it or not, and thank goodness it does not have feelings at all, this engineering marvel and the commerce that it brings to the city keeps the SF metro alive.
Maganda din naman!
One downside of being a solo traveler, which I realized during my San Francisco CA solo expedition, is that I am to eat alone. Good thing I am living by myself in Manila, thus, the impact of eating solo in a foreign country is not disturbing if compared to those who are so used to sharing a thought and their food with someone else during a meal.
Because of this glitch, I avoided fancy restaurants and during meal periods I can be found in a communal table of a food court, an indie coffee shop or in a park munching a dish I bought from a food stall or food truck.
nice interiors…
crispy baby romaine, grana & croutons
main event!
main course! hahaha!
will be back!
But when my college best friend Marie (now based in Los Angeles) recommended that I should try and dine at Stinking Rose, I never had a second thought. One late lunch period, I navigated the streets of SF and proceeded to Columbus Avenue where the Italian restaurant is located.
The receptionist upon knowing that I am dining “just myself”, she was smart and gentle enough to assign me to a good and strategic table (a corner by the window) which seem intended really for solo diners.
I ordered a 3-course Prix Fixe Dinner bundle. For the main course I settled with the one recommended by the waiter, the Forty Clove Garlic Chicken. And when the food was served, I totally forgot about the glitches and hurdles of dining solo in a fancy or busy restaurant.
On a bright side of this experience, since my mind would not be diverted or side-tracked from this gustatory encounter, I actually was able to indeed levy the quality and taste of the food that was served at Stinking Rose. I was more focus and conscious about the palatal attributes of the food I was devouring. And my verdict about Stinking Rose? Let me just say that my super friend Marie cares for my palatal satisfaction. She indeed gave me an excellent recommendation!
havin’ a blast!
I may forget that I dined solo at Stinking Rose but the gustatory experience I had with this Italian restaurant shall be remembered for a very long time.
Salamat Marie…
Sometimes we grow up with images of a place thinking we’ll never see them in real life. But when you finally get there, those images are just as magnificent as you expected. The Palace of Fine Arts in the Marina District of San Francisco CA is one of those places.
i love this shot
majestic!
overwhelming!
There has been voluminous magazines, journals and publications in my younger years that this popular tourist attraction has been featured. There are even lots of foreign movies wherein this place is the location shoot. One in particular is a 1995 Filipino movie starring Lea Salonga and Aga Mulach entitled Sana Maulit Muli. (Hahaha! Of course I remember that!)
And when I finally and personally got to see and feel the whole majestic beauty of the Palace of Fine Arts, the feeling is just but surreal. I can’t actually remember how many times I sat on various locations of benches scattered around the park. I even sat under a tree! Maybe it is because I was too overwhelmed by the experience, I had to stop and breathe so as to sink all the prodigious feelings in.
smile!
pikchur muna
A visit to this gorgeous piece of architecture is one memorable highlight of my SF adventure.
Akalain mong makaraing ako dun?!
While at the Presidio looking for a nearby Starbucks to fulfill my coffee craving for the day, I happen to have found a fountain that features one of the most iconic fictional movie characters of all time. While sipping my coffee and taking a much deserved rest inside Starbucks after a beautiful walk at the Palace of Fine Arts, I looked into Google Maps to determine how to go back to my hotel.
Google Maps pointed that I am actually steps away from a certain Yoda Fountain. I just wondered if Yoda is the same Yoda that I was thinking of. I absolutely had zero idea about it! And out of curiosity, I followed the Google Map on how to reach it.
you won’t notice it unless you’ve been told
taray ng lolo mo may monumento
“spontaneity” is the word
With my personal belief that “spontaneity is the best kind of adventure”, I had a surprising selfie with Yoda, the Grand Master of the Jedi Order!
Adapting to the famous movie line by Yoda, one of wisest beings of the galaxy, “Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose”, this type of surprising occurrence and unpredictable circumstance truly made my first time solo travel adventure so fulfilling!
‘Di ko akalaing makita ang huklubang Yoda sa Kalipornya!
I did not miss the Philippines when I was in San Francisco CA. Aside from the copious presence of Filipinos everywhere in SF, there are bounteous existence of Filipino dishes around. The mere fact that at the back of my mind there is a Filipino whom I can easily approach while in SF and there are Pinoy dishes around, I never have to suffer the looney craving for my home country.
During my early stay in San Francisco I had an unfaltering decision of not eating any Filipino dish during the whole length of my stay in the City by the Bay. And at the same time will munch on a big and heavy burrito, a seem-to-be-staple for the locals. This decision however was easily modified when I saw a food truck named Señor Sisig parked along the corner streets of Powell and Ellis at downtown San Francisco.
it must be the filipino in me that i just have to fall in line
pabili!
popular choices…
sisig burrito
gone in a couple of minutes
Since there is a queue of people on the said food truck, out of curiosity, I quietly fall in line and looked unto the menu board that the food truck offers. To my surprise, Señor Sisig offers a variety of Filipino fusion dishes. This therefore made me decide to violate what I have earlier promised yet will achieve what I intend to eat at the same time.
I ordered the surprisingly large and heavy “Señor Sisig Burrito” – a Filipino-cum-San Franciscan dish because it is a fusion of Sisig (a Kapampangan dish) presented in a San Francisco burrito way. And what’s my verdict as to how this dish faired? Let me just say I gasped on my first bite and the large burrito was gone in a matter of minutes!
My experience of chomping on Senor Sisig Burrito can therefore be summarized as a promise that was broken yet a fantasy that came true wrapped into one.
Sarap!
I am a solo traveler in my recent travel adventure to San Francisco, California. Prior to leaving Manila, I tried to read a couple of blogs and view a number of vlogs on tips of being a solo traveler, which I hope would help me in this first time solo expedition.
There are however two worthy items that all these blogs and vlogs seem to have missed. First, is never to arrive in your destination at night time. This is actually what happened to me when I arrived in SFO. My flight landed at 10:30 PM and was only able to go out of the airport after about 40 minutes.
waiting for BART train at SFO. looks tired and clueless of what is going to happen…
Arriving in an unexplored location in the middle of the night somehow gave me chills and some dash of fear. Good thing with my childhood background, I grew up in a slum-like area of Pasay. Dealing with street weirdos is like something that I am used to. With this rich experience, I know I can handle goons and crooks out in the streets of San Francisco.
But goons and crooks of US are actually not my problem when I arrived super late at night in SFO. It was the rain!
While rolling my humongous luggage and drenched in a very cold rain, there was literally no one in the streets of San Francisco to ask for possible directions and location of my super budget hotel. Even the goons and crooks seem to have gone to some freakin’ dry and warm shelter.
Thus, may you fear lurkers in the night or dread the horrors of unforeseen weather condition, never land to your area of destination at nigh time when you are a solo traveler.
Second, when you have just arrived in your destination and it’s in the middle of the night, drenched with heavy rain and can’t seem to locate your hotel, the thing that you should do is to proceed to the nearest five star hotel. Not the police station, not a hospital neither a 24-hour convenience store. You should run to the concierge of the nearest 5 star hotel.
Concierge of 5 star hotels are more knowledgeable, more efficient and more helpful compared to bellhops and front desk beings of most non-5 star accommodations. They are always there to help, may you be a guest or a mere “tambay” (loiterer) of their establishment.
And this is exactly what I did. Drenched, tired and worried, I run to the nearest hotel concierge that I can find. The obliging concierge pointed that it’s only walking distance from their hotel but since it’s raining he volunteered on calling a cab for me. He summoned a bellman to blow his whistle and automatically a cab arrived. He even helped me with my luggage by putting it inside the trunk. I of course handed the guy some hefty tip for being such an angel towards a co-angel in distress.
still thinking of where to go next…
Though these experiences adds up to the spice of my learnings of being a solo traveler, I hope these two tips would help a lot especially those who plan to go on solo. Good luck, have fun and stay safe!
Basang basa sa ulan sa lugar na di ko alam!
Nengkoy 