Oakland - An Unplanned Side Trip for Me!

BART - Subway system takes u from SF to Oakland

I got up early this morning and went downtown with Eric. In order to save time we hailed a cab and had some quick breakfast in a cafe. Eric ordered for himself and I had a bagel with cream cheese & tomato outside the restaurant.

An exterior wall mural on an Oakland building

A nice lady came to our table asking if she could share the table with us. Sure, why not. San Fransisco is just like New York - space is premium,especially in the downtown area. Therefore, sharing a table with a stranger is common practice. We started talking about many things; I told her about my visit in San Fransisco and my interest in architecture. Michele ( we introduced ourselves)  then told me that I could take the BART - San Fransisco's subway which would take me to downtown Oakland where there would be ample opportunities for me to see many beautiful buildings and take pictures.

The Oakland City Hall

The Federal Building - Oakland

This is why I love traveling and visiting different cities. While we are traveling or on vacation, there are ample opportunities for us to meet other people.

 Sometimes we could have gone to work and seen our colleagues every day, yet know little about some of them.  However,  we can meet someone for the first time during our travels and we can talk as if we have known each other for a long time.

Meeting Michele was just like that. She was very friendly, open and easy to talk to and we had a great conversation.  We exchanged contact information before we said good bye to each other.







I did not plan to visit Oakland during this trip but I did follow the advice Michele gave me.

After we parted, I took the subway on Market Street, and paid  $ 3.15, one way to Oakland, another city in California!

Life is an adventure. I want to travel and see as much as possible when I am still healthy and able to do so.

Viola! Twenty minutes later, I was on 19th Street and Broadway, in the middle of Oakland.

Since I was on my own that day, I needed to use common sense and stay in the safe area.

Michele told me between 12th - 19th Street is the downtown area and it should be pretty safe during the day. So I made use of the day and captured many beautiful scenes and buildings on my camera.

I had a lot of fun strolling along on Broadway - the main street in downtown Oakland. Since I was by myself, I did not have to follow anyone's schedule and could take as long as I wanted at each stop.

Very pretty recycling containers in the city square

Lincoln University in Oakland

The downtown  area looked clean and tidy.

Oakland was much quieter than San Fransisco. There wasn't as much traffic and there were much less people.

It was a nice change from all the hustle and bustle of a big city.

All day Free Shuttle bus to downtown Oakland!

I think the weak economy has impacted this city.

As I walked by a few empty stores and retail shops  covered with brown paper on their windows in the business area.

City Centre - Oakland

    







Passing me by a few times were free shuttle buses taking people back and forth to the downtown area.


I think this is a great idea to encourage shoppers
to visit the stores and boost the local economy.








 Downtown Oakland has a lot to offer to its residents. It has beautiful and spacious public space where people can meet up with friends to have coffee, relax and enjoy the sunshine.

Even though it is much smaller than San Fransisco, downtown Oakland does have many restaurants offering a wide variety of food. I saw a couple of Hawaiian restaurants advertising their luau menus!

  

Because I wanted to experience a different mode of transportation,  I walked from 19th Street all the way to the Port of Oakland at the waterfront, snapping pictures in between my walk of some of these beautiful buildings in downtown Oakland.

Equipment used to bring in & load  container cargo ships - Oakland

I took the ferry back to San Fransisco and the fare was $6.00, one way.

I got another experience. I learned about how important the terminal was to the local economy.

It was an unplanned and unexpected visit but one that I enjoyed thoroughly!

R.T.
Oakland, California