A Walk Through Chinatown

Back in February some girlfriends and I went down to San Francisco for a few days of fun. One had never been (Kate's in Geneva) and the other hadn't been in over 10 years (Forest's in Paris). We did the usual trolley rides, bar hopping and of course dining around which I love to do whenever I'm in the city.

drinks at Clock Bar

One day we decided to go on a self guided walking tour of Chinatown, something I had not done before. It's such a fascinating area, feeling very foreign in places yet also screaming "tourist trap" in others. This is the oldest Chinatown in the states and the largest outside of Asia. Armed with our printed map we let Kate lead the way!

We started at the Dragon's Gate and poked into the funny souvenir shops which line Grant Ave. Resisting the urge to buy umbrellas, statues, pot holders and the like we continued on in search of a snack. Past the ornate dragon streetlamps and under the strings of lights and flags crisscrossing overhead we found our place. Where better than Eastern Bakery where none other than President Clinton also stopped in for a bite as this picture clearly states!

"President Bill Clinton came to visit Eastern Bakery on July 23, 1996 from 5:00pm to 5:30pm. He shook hands with everybody inside our bakery. All of us, our customers and employees were thrilled and it was just like a short but exciting and memorable party!!!!" Hey if it's good enough for Bill, it's good enough for 3 ladies on a little walk!

Bao in hand we continued on to Waverly Place, gazing up at the interesting multi-floored temples and all their flags and pennants. Also called "the street of painted balconies" it is here where you'll find the oldest Chinese temple in the USA, Tin How.

Continuing on to Spofford Alley, once home to opium dens, brothels, turf wars and secret society halls. Now it seems tame and ordinary, cluttered with beauty salons and florists. We found number 36 where reportedly Sun Yat met and helped the Ghee Kung Tong (the Chinese Freemasons) plot and overthrow China's last dynasty, the Manchus. Established in 1849 this 100,000+ member clandestine organization has quite a history!

A stone's throw away and we turned down Ross Alley. Kate thought this was cool as her last name is Ross. I thought this was cool as we were headed into the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Company. Here 2 women sit and hand fold fortune cookies as it's been done since 1962. The machines cook the wafers on what look like mini griddles and then quickly a fortune is inserted and the cookie is folded before cooling and hardening. A gentleman keeps the people moving in and out quickly as the shop is very tiny. You can have samples of the flat or broken cookies or purchase bags of the finished products. And if you take a picture, like mine below, it'll cost you 50¢. You're welcome.

We wandered back down to Grant Street and browsed many dried herb and other "healing" products in the shops. Passed by more souvenir shops and buildings with the classic Chinese architecture.  Saw 2 crazy looking cocktail bars that I now hear to be quite the "regulars" watering holes- Buddha Bar and Li-Po (I really want to check these out some day).

We ended our tour at Portsmouth Square. It was a very nice little walk, one I'd do again soon with other friends and one I'd recommend to you. 

Other recommendations from this trip: great tiki drinks were had at Smuggler's Cove, we had an awesome dinner at Boulevard Restaurant, and we took full advantage of our 3-day Muni passes on the trolleys and streetcars.

photos here

Cuba Wrap Up, Adios!

It's time to wrap this Cuba trip up. Have I told you everything? Of course not, but I've got other trips to write about and there's still so much to tell!

There were the dinners in Havana's El Barrio Chino. A strange Chinatown with no Chinese people and an equally strange blend of Cuban and Chinese food on the menus. Highly recommended by Luis one of the restaurants was actually quite delicious. Our only gripe was that when I asked if it was family style or we should each order our own plate we were told to order our own. There was enough food leftover to feed a small army! The other Chinese restaurant not only ended up delivering some of the worst food ever but had us waiting practically all night for it. Our normally quiet and well behaved French friend Matt stormed into the kitchen demanding they bring out what was ready immediately!

 Matt giving the kitchen the "what for!"

 
And there was the very interesting Museo de la Revolution, housed in the old Presidential Palace and decorated by Tiffany's of NYC. Inside we found life size Che & Fidel figures, a history of Cuba, their struggles against the world (told with an incredible communist slant, natch) and the funny Wall of Cretans!

And also the Capitolio Building, a gorgeous domed structure resembling the US Capitol that use to house the Cuban Congress. It's full of beautiful offices, libraries, huge bronze doors, and even a 35 foot statue of a woman. In the center of the main floor is a 24 carat diamond from which all distances between Havana and other cities in Cuba are measured.

There was the day spent in Vedado with it's huge abandoned mansions, amazing Art Deco, Hotel National, Plaza de la Revolucion and the cemetery Cristobal Colon, including it's impressive list of residents such as La Milagrosa

And one of the most fun nights spent up at the Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabana where Dayne shook drinks on a cannon before we all sat and watched the festivities of the nightly 9pm cannon shooting, complete with guards in costume!

Besides staying in a Casa Particular we also stayed at the Hotel Sevilla, considered to be a moderately upscale hotel. In addition to the stories about other thugs, writers and celebrities Al Capone once rented out the entire 6th floor here. We enjoyed their large rooms, running hot water, outdoor courtyard, music and mojitos.

And there was New Years Eve, which was a quiet one this year since we had to get up early the next day. We started with champagne, shared with Luis and Luisa at their home, then had a nice seafood dinner by the waterfront where we watched fireworks at midnight. There were parties in the streets as we headed home, people dancing and having a great time. Unfortunately for Tim and Forest, there is also a tradition of dropping water balloons off balconies, which they experienced first hand.

So there you have it, our Cuba trip 2009-2010 in a nut shell. Lots of pictures of all these things and more are in two sets here and here!