 |
| We walked by the financial district of San Francisco. |
We are visiting the United States and we have been in the city of San Francisco for a few days.
 |
| An old fashion street clock stands proudly on the street of SF. |
Today we did one of my most favorite activities while on holiday - walking.
We always enjoy a walking tour of the city on our own without joining a tour or following other people's schedule!
After lunch at the Thai restaurant close to our hotel, we went to explore the Mission District passing by many beautiful buildings in the financial district.
We started walking from Market Street around the financial district.
The Mission District is situated at the Delores Street and 14th Street area.
I just couldn't get the colourful buildings we saw in San Francisco.
How often do you see a purple house or building?
We saw houses in this city painted in all kinds of vibrant colours such as purple, green, red, blue.
They looked beautiful indeed!
Old buildings and modern designed houses coexisting happily in this city.
The residents seem to spare no expenses renovating and keeping these old buildings in excellent shape.
 |
| Mission Delores, San Francisco, USA |
The Mission Delores was the oldest building in San Francisco.
But it was destroyed in the 1900's and was rebuilt.
Mission San Francisco de Asis is popularly known as Mission Delores.
Within the Mission, there are a number of things to see.
They are: a small chapel, the Basilica, a Diorama, a covered walkway, a museum and a cemetery.
We did not join the official tour but walked on our own to read and learn about the history about the Mission.
This historic site receives no public funding and relies completely on visitors' voluntary donations.
We started the self guided tour with the small original chapel built on site.
This building, completed in 1791, is 114 feet long and 22 feet wide with adobe walls 4 feet thick.
"To this day, parish baptisms take place here.
The first of more than 28,000 baptisms during the Mission Period took place two months before the official establishment of the Mission. The records are still preserved." Taken from the pamphlet given to visitors to the Mission Dolores.
We also visited the museum within the Mission. It used to be a classroom. Artifacts were gathered and displayed in this small but authentic museum.
We took a walk in the cemetery shaded by tall trees.
 |
We learned about the founding father of this mission.
One thing I did notice at this mission was that there were more emphasis and displays on the culture and life of the native people.
"While the Mission withstood the shock of the 1906 earthquake, the parish church was not so fortunate.
The present building was completed in 1918.
In 1952, Pope Pius X designated it a basilica."
As we walked back towards our hotel, it was around 5pm and we were right in the smack of the rush hour.
We saw a lot of cyclists getting home on the streets of SF. It was quite s sight.
Walking by the office of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, we saw the director of the organization out on the street giving the thumbs up to cyclists passing by and encouraging them.
We had an interesting conversation with him who share with passionately of the mission of his organization -
"For over 45 years, the SF Bicycle Coalition has been transforming San Francisco streets and neighborhoods into more livable and safe places by promoting the bicycles for everyday transportation."
 |
| Mission Delores, San Francisco |
It is encounters like these, meeting with the local people and learning about their city and culture that makes our vacation enjoyable every time.
Mission District
San Francisco
USA
No comments:
Post a Comment