Tomorrow is the day I hop on a plane and head West to San Francisco. And today is the last day of my countdown to San Francisco.
If I'm being short sighted, I think the thing I missed the most from the Bay Area is the food, but in the long term, it's the sites! I truly enjoy the most.
Did I mention how much I like walking around the city? The colors of the houses. The differences between the neighborhoods. The graffiti.
Of course, there's also the bridges and Coit Tower and walking along the Wharf. And being a Kansas native, the view of the ocean is an amazing site.
Two more days! Another thing(s) I miss about San Francisco is not unique to this city and is really a combination of urban features. The culture! Public transportation!
Maybe you understand why I miss the culture - the museums, the history, the art. But you may wonder about my selection of public transportation. Everyone has a public transit horror story - see Muni Diaries and BART Musings. Regardless of the negatives, I love not needing a car. I just turned in my Prius last week as the lease was up, and I couldn't be happier.
Between BART and Muni, you can get anywhere in the Bay Area without the need to worry about parking or gas prices. It's so convenient. Plus I love walking around the city when I don't want to wait for a bus or riding my bike when the trek to my destination is not far or hilly.
Even if the stolen Picasso has not been returned to public display yet, San Francisco has plenty of other art and history museums to visit. There's also plays, musicals, ballet, comedy, and other entertainment all within close proximity and easily accessible via public transit.
Monday marks 3 days until I'm in San Francisco. And a third thing about the Bay Area I've been missing is the music!
San Francisco is a must stop for nearly every band, and there are so many great venues - Great American Music Hall, Cafe du Nord, Bottom of the Hill. And with all the small and mid-size venues, it's fun to walk into a show not really knowing much about the band playing and discovering my new favorite band.
Tickets to The Velvet Teen show at GAMH on Friday have already been purchased. I hope my second attempt to see Sick of Sarah live on September 6th won't be another missed connection. And I have a dozen other shows marked as maybe in the next couple months.
I'm continuing my countdown of the things I am looking forward to most when I get back to San Francisco on Thursday.
At the top of my to do list when I arrive is to check out the food! at some of my favorite restaurants.
The Mission neighborhood in San Francisco has the best Mexican food. There's typically at least one restaurant or burrito place per block along Valencia and Mission streets. Papalote on Valencia and 24th is by far my favorite, and it will likely be my first stop on Thursday.
Being landlocked in the Midwest, you know every time you order fish it has been frozen for some time. Plus sushi restaurants are few and far between around these parts. I love knowing that any seafood I order at a restaurant in the Bay Area is most likely fresh, and I plan on checking out various sushi places when I arrive in San Francisco.
Falafels. Everyone asks me to describe falafels when I say that I'm craving a falafel wrap. It's Middle Eastern in origin according to Wikipedia. The falafel wrap is fried balls of something indescribable and potatoes and cucumber sauce and hummus and it's yummy. I really don't want to know the specific ingredients. Truly Mediterranean is my favorite place to stop but there are a couple other good falafel places in San Francisco.
On Thursday, I'm flying to San Francisco. After three years of bopping around the world, I'm moving back to the place I enjoyed the most. Distance makes the heart grow fonder and I've been thinking about all the things I'm excited to do in the Bay Area. With five days until my departure, I thought I would countdown the five things I'm most looking forward to in no particular order.
The first thing I expect to notice when I get off the plane is the weather!
After a couple weeks of 100+ degree weather in Kansas, I'm really looking forward to the pretty constant Spring like conditions of the Bay Area and being able to wear long sleeves.
By Jen, Guest BloggerHopefully Sick of Sarah's tour in support of their new album 2205 has gotten back on track. After an illness led to a few canceled shows, a plumbing problem at their venue in Kansas City resulted in the show I was going to attend being canceled. To say I was disappointed in not getting to attend a live show is an understatement.
read full post at www.whatstheruckus.com
Uh Huh Her has been busy recording, scheduling a tour, and sending out merch.
Camila Grey has been playing keyboard on Adam Lambert's tour playing but is now back working with Leisha Hailey on Uh Huh Her's second album.
I love the ethereal sound of Uh Huh Her and highly recommend both Common Reaction
Today you can get two free tracks from their upcoming release by signing up for the mailing list at their site and at Nylon magazine (click the down arrow on the right of the player to download).