Travel: California Diaries - San Francisco pt. 2

Travel: California Diaries - San Francisco pt. 2 Mission District

I'm back with my second post on our time in San Francisco earlier this year! I had so many shots to share that I decided to break up the content in three blogposts, so enjoy ;-)

This post will cover our time exploring Mission District and the Castro area. I took a billion pictures obviously, but since I didn't feel like lugging my heavy camera around all these shots are phone pics, sorry!

We started our second full day in San Francisco determined to cover most of the city's remaining tourist attractions, after visiting Bernal Heights park, the Golden Gate bridge, Chinatown and the Financial District the day before. We set out on foot after grabbing some food at the local supermarket, no time for full breakfast!

Travel: California Diaries - San Francisco pt. 2 Mission District

San Francisco, where gay pride is loud, proud and very tongue in, erm, cheek. Touches like these were ubiquitous, making it very clear that this city embraces its status of liberal, LGBTQ+ haven.

And those houses!

Travel: California Diaries - San Francisco pt. 2 Mission District
Travel: California Diaries - San Francisco pt. 2 Mission District
Travel: California Diaries - San Francisco pt. 2 Mission District
Travel: California Diaries - San Francisco pt. 2 Mission District

I think I mentioned this in my previous post, but I was honestly surprised by how basically every house here looks as spectacular as the next. Before coming to San Fran I had expected some streets or neighborhoods looking picture pretty, but not to be confronted with such an abundance of these beautiful Painted Ladies. If only I could own a home like this!

Travel: California Diaries - San Francisco pt. 2 Mission District

Mission District is filled with adorable little boutiques offering eclectic mixes of vintage, hipster fashion, art, design and fascinating junk - 100% my taste and aesthetic. You could easily spend a day strolling around checking out the goods, but you might find it challenging not to spend all of your cash.

Travel: California Diaries - San Francisco pt. 2 Mission District

San Fran also has the cutest firetrucks - no fair! Btw this Anonyme Designers dress paired with my oldskool Vans and Kate Spade NY bag was the perfect outfit to explore SF. A little contemporary, a little vintage flowerchild.

Travel: California Diaries - San Francisco pt. 2 Mission District
Travel: California Diaries - San Francisco pt. 2 Mission District

Honestly, Miranda's "bitch what" face is so on point.

Travel: California Diaries - San Francisco pt. 2 Mission District

Pussy Power iconography was everywhere - San Francisco, unabashedly feminist!

And then we stumbled upon the most perfect hipster/curiosities shop I have ever been to: Paxton Gate. Everything from taxidermy to crystals, this is the store I'd LIVE in as a teenage tumblr witch. Also, the place to go to if you're looking for a memorable gift for someone who doesn't really *need* anything. I mean, you simply don't KNOW whether you need a taxidermy Jackalope in your life, do you?

Travel: California Diaries - San Francisco pt. 2 Paxton Gate
Travel: California Diaries - San Francisco pt. 2 Paxton Gate
Travel: California Diaries - San Francisco pt. 2 Paxton Gate

Seriously, follow this shop on Instagram, or drop by if you're in the vicinity. You won't be disappointed!

Another awesome feature of Mission District is its murals. It's like walking through an art exhibition, but a little grittier and more in touch with everyday life.

Travel: California Diaries - San Francisco pt. 2 Castro area
Travel: California Diaries - San Francisco pt. 2 Clarion alley

We passed a Goodwill and obviously I had to take a look inside. San Francisco may be one of the top destinations for thrifting. Also, for uber stylish stranger spotting. Can I have this lady's entire look please?

Travel: California Diaries - San Francisco pt. 2 vintage

After some meandering, we made it to Clarion alley which is one of streets where basically every surface is covered in stunning murals. A must visit! But there's a lot of alleys like these if you start exploring the Mission District so keep your eyes peeled.

Travel: California Diaries - San Francisco pt. 2 Clarion alley
Travel: California Diaries - San Francisco pt. 2 Clarion alley
Travel: California Diaries - San Francisco pt. 2 Clarion alley

FINALLY, vulva/vagina themed graffiti. 

Travel: California Diaries - San Francisco pt. 2

Aaaand yep, this is the heart of the summer of love, so obviously you see these types of Volkswagen hippie-mobiles everywhere.

Travel: California Diaries - San Francisco pt. 2

You know you wanna attend this shindig.

Travel: California Diaries - San Francisco pt. 2 Castro area

When the gay pride references started to become more obvious, we knew we were getting close to the Castro theatre, which was basically the center of the LGBTQ+ cultural/political counter culture that started gaining momentum in the 1970s. 

Travel: California Diaries - San Francisco pt. 2 Castro area

The theatre now hosts campy events like Frozen singalongs but also plays classic movies. Btw, how genius is the double feature of Guess who's coming to dinner vs Get out? On my bucketlist: returning to San Francisco and going to a show at the Castro. Preferably a Frozen singalong.

Travel: California Diaries - San Francisco pt. 2

It's hard to put in words what it is like to walk around in San Francisco. The city is relatively small, yet the interesting features are so plenty that they are also quite spread out, so you can easily lose a lot of time getting from point A to B over the rolling hills. But the sprawling, dynamic feeling conjured by streets running up and down the slopes entices you to explore more, to want to see what's on beyond that climb. It also creates a very open, airy feeling, especially with the strong winds seemingly never taking a break. San Francisco is without a doubt one of the loveliest cities I have visited. Stay tuned for my next post, where I cover the mecca of Hippie/vintage lovers: Haight Ashbury.

More on California;

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