Lands' End

San Francisco, California - USA

The Lands' End Trail is part of the California Coastal Trail.  I suggest doing this if you are ever in San Francisco.  You have some breathtaking views all along the way!

tallest building in SF

San Francisco, California - USA

The Transamerica Pyramid can be spotted from many angles of the city.  Here it can be seen from a street of Chinatown.

cables in the Castro

San Francisco, California - USA

The Castro, one of the first gay neighborhoods in the U.S., continues to be a prominent symbol of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender activism and events.

 

Alamo Square

San Francisco, California - USA

Alamo Square sits high on a hill overlooking downtown San Francisco and is a place where many people gather to enjoy a lazy afternoon.  Many Victorian houses line this park on all sides creating a beautiful backdrop.

 

yet another mural...

San Francisco, California - USA

Balmy Alley murals in the Mission District of San Francisco

more murals

San Francisco, California - USA

Balmy Alley murals in the Mission District of San Francisco

Mission District murals

San Francisco, California - USA

This mural honors the great painters, Friday Kahlo, and her husband, Diego Rivera, as well as other important figures from Latin America.

so many murals

San Francisco, California - USA

Murals on Balmy Alley in the Mission District of San Francisco

Balmy Alley

San Francisco, California - USA

Many murals can be seen throughout the Mission District of San Francisco.  Balmy Alley, in particular, contains the most concentrated collection of murals.  These murals initiated in the 1980s as an expression of artists' outrage over what was happening with human rights and political abuses in Central America.  Murals can be found on garage doors, walls, gates or whatever area is possible.  Today the murals are constantly changing and range from a variety of issues.  I highly recommend walking around this colorful and vibrant multi-cultural neighborhood.  It's definitely worth your time.

San Francisco Bay

San Francisco, California - USA

San Francisco Bay and its impressive skyline...  The brown dome-like structure that stands out is the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre.

iconic bridge

San Francisco, California - USA

Yep, it's the top of the Golden Gate Bridge!
 

California Coastal Trail

San Francisco, California - USA

The California Coastal Trail is a great way to spend your sunny day walking along the California coastline.  Here in the picture is Baker Beach.

Ocean Beach in SF

San Francisco, California - USA

Ocean Beach, forming part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, is popular among serious surfers.

 

San Francisco skyline

San Francisco, California - USA

Views of Coit Tower and the San Francisco skyline taken from the rooftop of the California School of Fine Arts.

Coit Tower murals

San Francisco, California - USA

Here is one of the many murals to be seen while walking up to the top of Coit Tower.

view from 65 meters up

San Francisco, California - USA

Here is one of the angles to be seen from the top of Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill.

Coit Tower

San Francisco, California - USA

Coit Tower stands today thanks in part to Lillian Coit who donated a third of her estate money to the city of San Francisco when she died in 1929.  She requested it be used to add beauty to the city she loved.  As a result, this tower was built on Telegraph Hill offering beautiful 360º views of the bay area.  Faculty and students from the California School of Fine Arts were asked to paint murals inside focusing on scenes from San Francisco, racial equality and leftist political ideas.

 

Jack Kerouac

San Francisco, California - USA

Jack Kerouac is a novelist and poet and, alongside Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs, is considered a pioneer of the Beat Generation.  Many references are made to him in San Francisco, such as this street which became a pedestrian street and was painted with several murals and references from his work.

North Beach neighborhood

San Francisco, California - USA

North Beach is considered the Little Italy of San Francisco and is also where the Beat Generation came to be known in the 1950s.  Many Beatnik writers such as Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and Gregory Corso, just to name a few, lived in this neighborhood.

Columbus and Transamerica

San Francisco, California - USA

The Columbus tower (also known as the flatiron building) on the right and the Transamerica Pyramid on the left are two emblematic buildings of San Francisco.  The flatiron building, located in the North Beach neighborhood, was taken over in the 1970s by Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas creating the American Zoetrope Studio, an early adopter of digital filmmaking.