gain a heart in phoenix, leave it in san francisco

To celebrate our one-year anniversary, le boy and i jetted off to san francisco for the weekend, partially as a mini-romantic-getaway, partially as a means to show him how amazing the city is and convince him to love it enough to move there with me next year. His vote has been for chicago, but since i spent 18 years growing up there, i was looking forward to moving somewhere new once i left phoenix. Part of the Operation Fall in Love With San Francisco involved my two roommates/best friends from when i studied abroad in rome, who currently live in SF with their boyfriends and were jumping at the chance to show us a great time and get us to move there.

Operation: SUCCESS!!

It was great, we walked everywhere, ate everything, and drank a lot. Coming from Chicago, where I didn't get my driver's license until I was 19 because it's so easy to walk and use public transportation everywhere, it's been difficult living in Phoenix, land of strip malls and sprawling suburbia and freeways. People take freeways to get EVERYWHERE. I really miss being able to walk around -- with the intense heat and the fact that nothing here is compact, except for small pockets of downtown and around the university, it's just not a walkable place. So, once we arrived on Saturday morning, we spent the next 8 hours walking from Union Square (downtown) to the North Beach neighborhood, meandering along the Italian and French cafes lining its sidewalks, and perused & bought books at Beat Generation Central (i.e. City Lights Bookstore. ah, my heart flutters just thinking about it, below is a photo from the bottom of one of its steep staircases). i bought a simone de beauvoir's she came to stay for me and kerouac's on the road for le boy.

We drank in old-tymey pubs all along the way, and walked up to the overrated and out of control touristy Fisherman's Wharf, and back again. i felt mildly nauseous all day from our dim sum lunch in chinatown, which at the time was delicious but i became pretty sick by the end of the nite. Happy annivesary, honey! Now pass me the Tums and lights out at 8!

but the next day, thankfully, i felt all better and we met up with my friends and we did some amaaaaaazing shopping in the haight/ashbury district. i got some great finds for my vintage site (tiniest spark) and a lovely satin kimono top/minidress for me at one of the gorgeous little boutiques.

oh, and the heart photo above? le boy smelted, smithed, forged, and fashioned the pendant for me for my anniversary gift. as an apprentice to a blacksmith's girlfriend, i got my very own handmade, custom-designed piece. : )

and, i had lots more photos but for some reason when i upload them and blogger says DONE! they don't appear in my post. grr.

all in all, i had an amazing weekend -- i fell in love with san francisco years ago when my older sister lived there, and everytime i visited her was better. i feel like san francisco, more than any other U.S. city reflects my personality perfectly. i feel like i belong there more than anywhere else -- its layered neighborhoods, its cultural diversity, its hilltop views from every corner, its colorful houses and storefronts, its streets lined with unbelievably charming cafes and restaurants and bars and little shops, its prominently independently-owned businesses and its general city-wide eschewing of corporate, big biz enterprises. i love it i love it i love itttttt!

sigh. one more year. <3