英語學習筆記

If I'm lucky maybe it will be crab season while I'm here. This is a great place to find some of the famous Dungeness crabs. The best way to try some of the delicate sweet flesh is by the paper cup-full from the boiling cauldrons of the street-side stalls. Low in fat, high in protein and minerals plus very tasty. It just seems to good to be true.

"The Haight" gained much of its reputation as the center of counterculture and flower power from the famous musicians that lived and wrote about life there.
Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead and Janis Joplin all called Haight-Ashbury home. Hippies flocked there in the 60s culminating in the 1967 summer of Lover. Groovy Baby!

I really want to check out the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) while I'm in SOMA. Even the building itself is a work of art. It's designed around a striking cylindrical skylight finished in zebra-like bands of black and while marble. The museum also has a very extensive collection of art inside the building as well.

I'm so tired, I think I'll take a nap on the tranquil lawns of Washington Square. There's a statue of Benjamin Franklin here, donated by a wealthy teetotaler dentist named Cogswell. He had the odd idea that building enough water fountains in San Francisco would cure the city's thirst for booze. I guess he got that one wrong!

A dominant feature of the Nob Hill skyline is grace cathedral. Modeled after Notre Dame in Paris, it's an impressive example of Gothic architecture. After the earlier church was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake, it took 54 years to build the current one. I hear that it also has some labyrinths. They only have one path through, so I should manage them just fine.

The magnificent Tea Garden started its life as part of the California Midwinter International Exhibition of 1894. The original 1 acre part was expanded to its present 5 acres and is now part of Golden Gate Park. One of its most famous attractions is the incredibly steep Moon Bridge. It looks tricky, but I bet it will be fun to climb it.

Alamo Square is one of the most picturesque and most photographed parks in San Francisco. I instantly recognized the famous row of brightly colored Victorian housed called the "Painted Ladies". I've seen many photos of them with the San Francisco skyline looming behind them. Just being here is like stepping int o TV show.

The scenic Marina District was once just a swampy marshland. In 1915 it was filled in to create the site for the 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition. Unfortunately, landfill is rather unstable and the area suffered extensive damage during the 1989 earthquake. Ironically, part of the landfill was rubble from the 1906 earthquake.

The gloriously decorated three-arch Dragon's gate signals that we're entering Chinatown. The gate was a gift from the Republic of China in 1969 and incorporates many good luck symbols. It is also guarded by some fierce stone lion dogs believed to be able to ward of evil spirits. With all those things to help me. I'm sure I'll do well today.

The Mission District is the region surrounding the oldest building in San Francisco, the Mission Dolores. It was completed in 1791 and has survived 4 major earthquakes including the 1906 earthquake that flattened most of San Francisco. Ironically, it was almost destroyed by lowly wood-eating beetles in the 1990s. Strange but true.

While Lombard Street is definitely the crowd favorite, there are much steeper streets in San Francisco. Filbert St. and 22nd St. have sections of road while a grade of 31.5 degrees. Normally, most people would consider a hill of only 16 degrees steep. Vermont St. is also quite windy with 7 turns in only 270 feet. Parallel parking must be fun!

I'm so excited! I've finally arrived in San Francisco for the Big City Adventure treasure hunt. I'm on my way to the first location, the famous island of Alcatraz. The prison there was deemed escape proof. 36 prisoners tried in 14 separate escape attempts, although 5 were never found. I hope I don't disappear mysteriously when I leave!

Guess what I found at the beach? No, not some shells or a crab, try a 95,000 pound cannon! Baker Beach is part of the Presidio, an old military base dating back to 1776. The World War II era bunkers and a replica defensive cannon are still present. Just as well it's only a replica, anyone can walk up and climb all over it if they wish to.

Union Square is the heart of the shopping, hotel and theater district. The open square is surrounded on all sides by fine department stores and imposing hotels. The name comes from the pro-union rallies held there just prior to the American civil war. The huge column in the center commemorates Dewey's victory in the Spanish-American war.

This has to be the most recognizable bridge in the world. Interestingly, its distinctive color was somewhat of an accident. During construction, the bridge was painted in red-orange primer to protect against rust. The designers happened to like the way the primer looked, and thus, the bridge's International Orange color was decided.

This has to be one of the most impressive buildings in the city. The dome is the 5th largest in the world and rises 301 feet above the street, higher than the capitol in Washington D.C. It is built in the Beaux Arts style (French for 'Fine Arts') and was inspired by the gilded dome and spire of Les Invalides in Paris. They sure don't build them like they used to!

Cable cars are so much fun. San Francisco was the first city to use cable cars and it's the only one that still does. Almost 10 million people take a ride on them each year. There was such an uproar over a 1947 proposal to replace them with buses, that the city's constitution now forbids discontinuing the service. Long live the constitution!