Lovely neighbourhood
August 2, 2008
I love the neighbourhood I'm living in. I'm in the Castro area, which borders on the Upper Market, Mission and NOE areas, all lovely areas themselves as well, and 15 minutes to downtown Union Square where I work via the J Church Muni light rail, a $1.50 trip. I'm living in an apartment owned by a gay male and there is another gay male from Barcelona who is visiting as well. So, it's three's company, at least I'm hoping.
The Castro, marked with rainbow flags down the main streets, is recognized as the centre of the gay and lesbian community, and is vibrant, creative, quirky and unpretentious. I've read articles that speak how a healthy and thriving gay and lesbian community and artists community is important in creating a city that is healthy, vibrant and attractive, and San Francisco is a perfect example of this in action.
When staying in San Francisco this time around I really wanted to live and experience a vibrant neighbourhood, away from all the tourists and panhandlers in the downtown core, and was also curious about what it would be like as a minority. Not the minority I am usually labelled as, visible minority, but being straight in a largely gay community. Also, I believe I am progressive and open to others and change but I'm always trying to stretch myself. So far, it's been a wonderful experience. The owner has been very kind and easy going, even making me his famous buttermilk pancakes on Sunday morning before I headed to my 9 am shift and giving me tips about the city.
When I asked about a place to get a pedicure, he told me about the place he goes to called "All About You Spa" at 4051-18th Street www.itsallaboutyousf.com. He said, "Go here and see Tasha. I always see Tasha, she's the best." He even calls to see if Tasha is around and books me an appointment. They ask for the name and he says "Caroline". "Caroline??" they ask to make sure. I guess they are not used to Bill recommending women. He usually has gay males as guests, and the salon has a majority of male clients.
So, there I sat with my feet in warm gurgling water, sitting beside a gay man and chatting away about... how it's so important to take care of your feet, my work, his work, his boyfriend, how important it is to stay positive and not let others affect your mood, how he was a vegetarian growing up as he was brought up with the Seventh Day Adventist Church and escaped but do they ever know all about making vegetable proteins and he is now starting to crave more vegetarian food though his boyfriend is a serious meat eater (as an aside - in selling their new soy protein mock chicken, KFC had to go to the the Seventh Day Adventist Church as they are the best around at making a vegetable proteins and are ordering their supplies from them), what colour he should paint his toe nails - thought a ice blue but it looked like the nails were bruised so he opted for a white and it was very nice, etc. - you know, the usual spa chit chat.
The owner, a vibrant social young Asian gay man, encouraged me to join in some wine with the guys and after the guys had manis as they call them, I had to do mine as well. Being in the kitchen, my hands are always looking quite worn from knife and burn scars to say the least, and I need to keep my fingernails short, clean and unpolished, so I usually don't think of a manicure but it was wonderful to have them massaged and taken care of. The guys were right. All this and only $34 for the mani and pedi. Afterwards, I walked through the vibrant Castro, Market and Noe Valley areas on a bright sunny 20s day and it was lovely. The centre strips lined with palm trees as a sign that I was definitely not back in Ottawa still. The creative, quirky and colourful stores and cafes where the independent is alive and well, and actually seems to thrive better than any of the chains that try to fit in discreetly. It doesn't feel yuppie or pretentious. All around there are beautiful colourful historic Victorian houses, most restored by their owners or painted in loud colours or murals.
This is an area with definitely more dogs, mostly small to medium, than children, and these dogs are obviously well loved and treated, and even some with rainbow scarfs, shirts or sweaters. In one park off of Noe it was strange to see the dogs run free and the children's play area enclosed. I was in a video-coffee shop this morning with a long line up and everyone seemed to know one another. The coffee server had to stop to say hello to one of the regular dogs and make him sit for a treat, and then the dog went to make his rounds to greet the rest of the crowd.
In the afternon, I went to one of my favourite places in town - Japantown - where I ate sushi, ate some dessert yakis filled with red bean or an, and bought some food at the Japanese supermarket. Is there a theme here? It's also always interesting to visit the stores filled with the latest merchandise from Japan, with the large hardware store having a good kitchenware department in the basement with lots of neat stuff from Japan. I also noticed on the way out there is also a Sundance cinema in the area that plays the latest popular films from the Sundance festival, which I hope to be able to return to at some point. I definitely must make one more return to Japantown, this time for homemade ramen.
I love the neighbourhood I'm living in. I'm in the Castro area, which borders on the Upper Market, Mission and NOE areas, all lovely areas themselves as well, and 15 minutes to downtown Union Square where I work via the J Church Muni light rail, a $1.50 trip. I'm living in an apartment owned by a gay male and there is another gay male from Barcelona who is visiting as well. So, it's three's company, at least I'm hoping.
The Castro, marked with rainbow flags down the main streets, is recognized as the centre of the gay and lesbian community, and is vibrant, creative, quirky and unpretentious. I've read articles that speak how a healthy and thriving gay and lesbian community and artists community is important in creating a city that is healthy, vibrant and attractive, and San Francisco is a perfect example of this in action.
When staying in San Francisco this time around I really wanted to live and experience a vibrant neighbourhood, away from all the tourists and panhandlers in the downtown core, and was also curious about what it would be like as a minority. Not the minority I am usually labelled as, visible minority, but being straight in a largely gay community. Also, I believe I am progressive and open to others and change but I'm always trying to stretch myself. So far, it's been a wonderful experience. The owner has been very kind and easy going, even making me his famous buttermilk pancakes on Sunday morning before I headed to my 9 am shift and giving me tips about the city.
When I asked about a place to get a pedicure, he told me about the place he goes to called "All About You Spa" at 4051-18th Street www.itsallaboutyousf.com. He said, "Go here and see Tasha. I always see Tasha, she's the best." He even calls to see if Tasha is around and books me an appointment. They ask for the name and he says "Caroline". "Caroline??" they ask to make sure. I guess they are not used to Bill recommending women. He usually has gay males as guests, and the salon has a majority of male clients.
So, there I sat with my feet in warm gurgling water, sitting beside a gay man and chatting away about... how it's so important to take care of your feet, my work, his work, his boyfriend, how important it is to stay positive and not let others affect your mood, how he was a vegetarian growing up as he was brought up with the Seventh Day Adventist Church and escaped but do they ever know all about making vegetable proteins and he is now starting to crave more vegetarian food though his boyfriend is a serious meat eater (as an aside - in selling their new soy protein mock chicken, KFC had to go to the the Seventh Day Adventist Church as they are the best around at making a vegetable proteins and are ordering their supplies from them), what colour he should paint his toe nails - thought a ice blue but it looked like the nails were bruised so he opted for a white and it was very nice, etc. - you know, the usual spa chit chat.
The owner, a vibrant social young Asian gay man, encouraged me to join in some wine with the guys and after the guys had manis as they call them, I had to do mine as well. Being in the kitchen, my hands are always looking quite worn from knife and burn scars to say the least, and I need to keep my fingernails short, clean and unpolished, so I usually don't think of a manicure but it was wonderful to have them massaged and taken care of. The guys were right. All this and only $34 for the mani and pedi. Afterwards, I walked through the vibrant Castro, Market and Noe Valley areas on a bright sunny 20s day and it was lovely. The centre strips lined with palm trees as a sign that I was definitely not back in Ottawa still. The creative, quirky and colourful stores and cafes where the independent is alive and well, and actually seems to thrive better than any of the chains that try to fit in discreetly. It doesn't feel yuppie or pretentious. All around there are beautiful colourful historic Victorian houses, most restored by their owners or painted in loud colours or murals.
This is an area with definitely more dogs, mostly small to medium, than children, and these dogs are obviously well loved and treated, and even some with rainbow scarfs, shirts or sweaters. In one park off of Noe it was strange to see the dogs run free and the children's play area enclosed. I was in a video-coffee shop this morning with a long line up and everyone seemed to know one another. The coffee server had to stop to say hello to one of the regular dogs and make him sit for a treat, and then the dog went to make his rounds to greet the rest of the crowd.
I love the benches and seats that people put outside of their stores and cafes so people can sit out with their coffees and greet one another or just be. It provides a small town atmosphere and I loved basking in the sun with my juice while waiting for my laundry to finish. That's why I love living in neighbourhoods when I visit a city vs being in a tourist district. You get a real sense of the community, the people and it is just a more relaxed way of living and I look forward to coming back after my long and exhausting shifts at the restaurant. When I leave my shift in the late evenings, there is so much noise and hustle and bustle, the sidewalks jammed packed with tourists and panhandlers and the homeless, who seem to congregate around the Union Square area.
The Castro-Upper Market area borders on the Mission district, a vibrant neighbourhood reflecting the area's Mexican and Latino heritage, with colourful Latino cafes, stores and wares and foods from countries such as Bolivia, Equador, Salvador, Guatemela, Mexico, etc.In the afternon, I went to one of my favourite places in town - Japantown - where I ate sushi, ate some dessert yakis filled with red bean or an, and bought some food at the Japanese supermarket. Is there a theme here? It's also always interesting to visit the stores filled with the latest merchandise from Japan, with the large hardware store having a good kitchenware department in the basement with lots of neat stuff from Japan. I also noticed on the way out there is also a Sundance cinema in the area that plays the latest popular films from the Sundance festival, which I hope to be able to return to at some point. I definitely must make one more return to Japantown, this time for homemade ramen.
posted by Caroline at 9:43 PM
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