I recently wrote about Taiwan and Singapore as places to enjoy Chinese New Year celebrations. That made me think of places closer to home with rich Asian traditions--in particular, San Francisco.
I lived in San Francisco for part of a year and across the Bay in Berkeley and Oakland for five. I have visited frequently since. I'm not particularly fond of cities, but I'm fond of San Francisco.
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| Cathay House |
Of course you will see iconic San Francisco views (And beautiful Pacific Coast conifers.)
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| Baker Beach |
But you can walk neighborhoods well outside Chinatown and find shops with Chinese signs
And yards clearly created as Asian gardens:
street-side plantings with a Japanese aesthetic
And yards clearly created as Asian gardens:
When we have a day in San Francisco, my husband and I have a custom of eating dim sum at Yang Sing downtown (bite-sized portions, often steamed, a terrific lunch) and then visiting one of the museums. Since this blog post features Asian influences in San Francisco, take in the wonderful Asian Art Museum whose exhibits continue to enchant me. Likewise, Americans don't have to fly across the Pacific to eat different regional styles of Chinese food, shop bookstores with extensive collections of books in Chinese (for example Eastwind Books and Arts), or Japanese (for example Kinokuniya Bookstore), or buy fine rice paper and ink for trying calligraphy--those things and other Asian specialties can be found in San Francisco.
These few pictures don't begin to do justice to San Francisco, of course. It has iconic bridges, diverse food, and quirky neighborhoods. I saw my all-time favorite vanity license plate there. It read "WIERD".
And there are palm trees!
Visit San Francisco!
Most of the photographs are thanks to my brother, Clark Keeler, who lived in greater San Francisco for years and loves photography. Thanks, Clark.
Comments and corrections welcome.
Kathy Keeler
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