This was my second time in San Francisco and it was just as beautiful as the first time. I really love California, it’s amazing what a difference sunshine makes, everything is just so vibrant and lovely here. A stark contrast to the freezing cold, rainy New York City. I can’t wait to go back to New York and see it in sunshine, I really can’t.
San Francisco is much less of a fashion place than New York for sure, so I’ll just summarise a few key areas here, but don’t get me wrong it’s certainly a fabulous place to shop.
For those who haven’t been there is the Union Square/Powell area which is the main shopping center. A great area with masses of stores, a Westfield mall, Macy’s, Saks Fifth Avenue and a wealth of independent and chain stores. My favorite store here is Harputs which stocks Comme Des Garçons amongst other great collections. All the streets surrounding the square are filled with shops and Chinatown is just a short walk too.
Another great place to visit for stores is Valencia Street in the Mission and Haight Street. Both are filled with quirky independent places, thrift stores and amazing places to eat and drink. It’s great to just wander and explore everything they have to offer. There’s a branch of Amoeba Music on Haight, as well as a Bettie Page store amongst loads more. Just north of Haight is also Japantown which is a really cool area with a Japanese mall, a real different place in the heart of the city.
I spent some time in Oakland and Berkeley this time too which are some other fantastic areas and just a short subway (BART) ride from the city. Berkeley is beautiful with it’s vast university campus and great little stores, plus markets on the weekend.
And here’s a few more pictures I took during the trip. A beautiful place, beautiful colours and beautiful light.
If you ever get the chance to visit San Francisco I really cannot recommend it enough. There’s so much to explore in the Bay Area, you must go for as long as possible. It’s my favorite place I’ve been so far.
