Two Weeks in San Francisco

Whilst I’d visited the east coast of the U.S. in the past I’d never been to the west coast until September when I spent two weeks in the Bay Area. Given that my whole career revolves around building digital products it was exciting to get a glimpse inside Willy Wonka’s factory.

View from Telegraph Hill

After dropping my bags at my AirBnB apartment in Burlingame, a small city near San Francisco International Airport, I immediately headed downtown (or should that be uptown?) for a wander around North Beach. The blue skies and gentle breeze were the perfect tonics for my jet-addled mind.

Hyde Street Cable Car Terminus
Hyde Street

As many a traveller before me will attest, San Francisco’s rolling hills make for some arresting views and its grid layout neatly partitions a number of distinct ethnic and cultural districts each with its own intrigues. Having only been in Hong Kong the weekend before, a wander through Chinatown provided many moments of déjà vu.

Cable Car Crossing Lombard Street
Lombard Street

Instead of taking the historic cable car, which was packed with tourists, I elected to walk up the steep incline of Hyde Street to its peak where it crosses the famously wiggly Lombard Street.

Hairpinned

You might recall Sony’s bouncing balls advert which was shot nearby a few years ago.

Bay Bridge

The Oakland Bay Bridge shouldn’t be confused with its better-known neighbour but is impressive in its own right given its enormous span.

Muir Woods
Coast Redwood

During the second weekend, I paid a visit to Muir Woods, which is a protected old-growth coastal redwood forest a short drive outside the city. The largest of the magnificent Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) reach 300 feet tall, and the oldest is over 1,200 years old.

Golden Gate Bridge

Of course, no trip here would be complete without the obligatory shot of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Dolores Park
Painted Ladies

Back in the city, I had a wander around the painfully trendy Mission District where I enjoyed one of many good Mexican meals that fortnight at La Taqueria. After this, I soaked up more of the perfect weather in Dolores Park and paid the Painted Ladies a visit.

Google Offices

I also had the opportunity to go on a tech pilgrimage to the headquarters of two of my favourite companies which was a real thrill. If I had to characterise them both I’d describe Apple’s campus as staid and the Googleplex as whimsical which sums them up pretty well!

Head On
Android Offices
Tesla Charging

Elon Musk is likely doing pretty well from Google’s highly incentivised employees.

Computer History Museum

A visit to the Computer History Museum in Mountain View brought home just how far we’ve come, even in the 30 years I’ve been alive, and just how much of the information revolution has been driven from the region.

Analogue Dashboard
Altair 8800 Computer

There’s still a huge amount I’d like to see and do in the Bay Area so I hope I’ll have another chance for a return visit before too long.

David avatar

5 responses

  1. Martha avatar
    Martha

    Hi! Huge fan of your blog! I love your photos and the throughly descriptions of all the places you’ve been. One of my dreams is to visit Japan some day, and your blog has encouraged me a lot more to accomplish that dream!
    In the meantime, I’m going to San Francisco next week and want to ask you if you could please tell me where did you take that marvelous picture of the Golden Gate.

    Many thanks in advance!

    1. Thanks so much Martha!

      I took the photos from two viewpoints (you should be able to find them on Google Maps):

      1. Moore Road Pier – at Visa Point on the east side
      2. Conzelman Road – a lookout point along the road on the west side

      Hope you make it over to Japan at some point 🙂

  2. Millie avatar
    Millie

    Hi David, I like this set of photos. Because of you, I want to own a Fujifilm X-T1 now. How do you feel of this machine?

    1. Hi Millie, I only just recently bought it myself and have not had a lot of time shooting with yet but so far have found the results very impressive. I’m using the 23mm lens whose quality goes way beyond anything I’ve ever used before. I’ll have lots more photo posts over the coming weeks!

      1. Millie avatar
        Millie

        Thank you. It helps. Looking forward to your new pieces 😀

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