Susanne His clientele is very diverse and tour participants come from all over the world although women do outnumber the men. Single female travelers who do not know which areas of the city are safe enjoy taking his tour because it introduces them to the real San Francisco in a safe manner.
Pacific Heights
To put his tour and the city into context, Jay provided us with a comprehensive overview of San Francisco’s history during the Victorian era. People flocked to San Francisco from all over the world during the Gold Rush from 1849 onwards. Many abandoned their ships along the shoreline, which ended up being used as landfill and expanded the northern shoreline. In the 1860s Comstock silver led to a boom in silver mining and lots of money flowed into the city. Many of the Victorian row houses were built in this era, and the city’s population grew rapidly. Upscale hotels and fancy mansions went up during the second half of the 19th century.
Pacific Heights
The earthquake of 1906 reshaped the city completely. Fires broke out, water mains ruptured, and houses were burning towards the ocean. A fire barrier was set up at Van Ness Avenue where houses were blasted to stop the advancing flames. This explains why so much of the Victorian housing west of Van Ness was preserved while the area east of this major thoroughfare had to be rebuilt.
A great view twards teh Golden Gate Bridge and the Marin Headlands
Rebuilding after the earthquake was quick. The 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition exuberantly celebrated the rebirth of this city. The Palace of Fine Arts is the only remaining building of this complex and still enchants visitors today with its classical structures. To this day San Francisco is renowned for its stunning well-preserved Victorian architecture. The “Painted Ladies” on Alamo Square, also known as “Postcard Row”, are perhaps the best known example of Victorian houses. Almost 50,000 homes were built in the Victorian and Edwardian styles in San Francisco between 1849 and 1915. Many of the mansions on Nob Hill were destroyed by the 1906 earthquake, but thousands of them survived, particularly in the western and southern parts of San Francisco.
Pacific Heights
As the local expert, Jay also filled us in on the unique mindset of Northern Californians. For example, when he first started giving tours residents in some of the upscale homes in Pacific Heights would invite him inside to familiarize him with their homes. Some of the homeowners brought cookies or offered their restrooms to Jay’s tour groups. This is a very unique mindset, and Jay added that San Francisco has always had a more collective spirit than many other places.
Pacific Heights
We had already heard about and experienced the European flair of this city, and Jay elaborated on this further. People love to walk everywhere, or they take public transit. Food and living a balanced lifestyle is very important to the locals. Nowadays a lot of young people are moving into San Francisco, which adds a new dynamic to the city.
Victorian-inspired horticulture
San Francisco is a city with many diverse neighbourhoods. From the ethnic spirit of Chinatown to the gay community in the Castro, the Spanish-inspired Mission District to the young professionals in the Marina District, San Francisco offers a myriad of flavours, to mention just a few. Many consider it the most liberal and tolerant city in the entire Unite states. As an example, Jay explained that medical marijuana is legal here. Aggressive panhandling is being addressed with new social programs geared towards rehabilitation. A $1 tax on restaurant bills has gone towards financing a local health tax. The minimum wage in San Francisco is higher than in other places. This was the second time in two days that we heard San Francisco being referred to as a “compassionate city”. A “live and let live” attitude prevails here that allows people of the most different kinds of background to coexist peacefully.
View of Cow Hollow in the rain
Jay had provided us with an excellent overview of San Francisco’s past and present. After we said goodbye we finally capped the afternoon off with a late lunch at a French café called “La Boulange” on Union Street where I enjoyed a delicious butternut squash soup followed by an open faced sandwich garnished with hummus, avocado, cucumber, tomato and bean sprouts. San Francisco is definitely a town for foodies.
My scrumptious soup at La Boulange
After our Victorian adventures we took the bus back to the Queen Anne Hotel in the rain. Since the Queen Anne was fully booked tonight we were going to relocate to the downtown Handlery Hotel and looking forward to an exciting evening of entertainment at Asia SF, a popular downtown restaurant and night club that features its world renowned gender illusionists. An exciting evening was awaiting us…
