You are standing on the corner of Powell and Geary streets at San Francisco's famed Union Square, pausing a moment to catch your breath. Bags in hand bear the rewards of a memorable day of shopping. It's about four in the afternoon on a summer Sunday; a stiff, cool breeze from the west mocks the cloudless skies. Above the din and traffic you hear the clang of a bell, and moments later a cable car--overloaded with wide-eyed tourists--approaches from behind, groaning its way up yet another steep hill. A steady stream of chattering pedestrians passes by, few of whom seem to speak English as a first language. Across the way a bellman hails a taxi for an older couple, both men fully clad in black. Although the sun is out, glimmering skyscrapers block any hope of a warm ray. "Should've dressed warmer," you reply to a shiver as you head back to your hotel to get ready for dinner. As you round the corner, an old man selling flowers on the street corner smiles and hands you a rose--a fitting end to a thoroughly enjoyable day.
Welcome to San Francisco.
Consistently rated one of the top tourist destinations in the world, San Francisco is awash with multiple dimensions: Its famous, thrilling streets go up, and they go down; its multifarious citizens--along with their native culture, architecture, and cuisine--hail from San Antonio to Singapore; and its politics range from hyper-liberalism to an ever-encroaching wave of conservatism. Even something as mundane as fog takes on a new dimension as it creeps from the ocean and slowly envelops San Francisco in a resplendent blanket of mist.
The result is a wee bit o' heaven for everyone: In a city so multifaceted, so enamored with itself, it's truly hard not to find what you're looking for. Feel the cool blast of salt air as you stroll across the Golden Gate. Stuff yourself on a Chinatown dim sum. Browse the Haight for incense and crystals. Walk along the beach, pierce your nose, see a play, rent a Harley--the list is endless. Like an eternal world's fair, it's all happening in San Francisco, and everyone's invited.
