 | San Francisco Local Customs | Tips 21 - 30 of 323 |  |
I heard a comedienne once describe it thusly; "there's a huge rivalry between San Francisco and Los Angeles........ it's just that only San Franciscans know it exists!" I don't know if it's really essential to know this, but there is animosity between SF and LA, or, more accurately, Northern and Southern California.
The most obvious manifestations of this are in baseball. Giants v. Dodgers games are always sold out, and chants like "Beat LA!' and "LA sucks" echo through the stands. I remember in the 80's when normally deserted Candlestck Park would get 50,000 fans on a chilly Wednesday night for SF/LA games. They could, and often did, get violent - fights in the stands were common. After one paticulaly nasty game (which I had the misfortune to attend), The Giants banned beer sales completely for nearly a year! The rivalry between Oakland and Anaheim is not quite as heated, but the 2002 world series between the Giants and the Angels fueled this rivalry anew!
Besides baseball, the rivalry exists in other sports as well - particularly college football. Cal vs. USC games are always intense no matter how poorly the teams are doing.
It would be one thing if this was only about sports, but there are very real and pragmatic reasons as to why this rivalry exists. Water being a main reason. Water is scarce in this booming area, and more than a few NorCal lakes have been drained dry in an effort to supply the Southland with water. The drought of the 70's saw many NorCal areas close to water rationing, while the TV showed Southlanders wasting it with impunity.
This goes back to the very beginnings of the state. San Francisco sees it self - quite rightly ;) - as the real California, with the gold mining areas of the Sierras as its protectorate. When Los Angeles surpassed San Francisco in population in the 1910's, the politicians had to secure water rights for their new booming area. Much of that water would end up coming from Northern California. The environmental damage caused by this is still very evident today; the windswept, desolate Owens Valley was drained by SoCal, and Mono Lake very nearly met the same fate. The California "Water Wars" have been the subject of many books and TV specials, and no doubt will continue to be, as the population of California continues to boom - and the political and business interests of the state continue to do nothing but make the problem worse.
Northerners tend to look at Angelinos as wasteful, shallow, a-moral "use and be used" types. Southerners look at Northerners as elitist, stuck-up "player hating" hicks. Whatever. I only include this to point out that there are really 2 Californias - and it goes way beyond Bonds v Gagne. Leave a Comment
|
 | |  |
Visiting San Francisco?
Read reviews about San Francisco Hotels
Real Reviews from Real VirtualTourist Members.
Just across the street from MOMA (Museum of Modern Art at 3rd and Mission), is my favorite place to see current artists' work, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. If you like looking at new art, see art that isn't in books, support the local art scene, or just want to be stimulated, head here. There are large spaces for installations, a theater for film, and also several spaces for dance.
If you can see SF's Lines Ballet in the theater here, do so. Every seat is good, and at a fair price. Leave a Comment
|
The second weekend of October is "Fleet Week" in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Navy brings in several ships, all men on deck in their dress whites, saluting the SF public. The weekend features an airshow over the San Francisco Bay, with center stage being Chrissy Field, along the San Francisco waterfront. The highlight is a show by the Blue Angels... Yowza! There's one show Saturday afternoon and another on Sunday afternoon. Also, they practice on Thursday and Friday before the weekend. Very, very cool. Or not. Depends on how you feel about military aircraft. Leave a Comment
|
Street Protests are an integral part of life for many San Franciscans - especially those who have been here for a few years. While there's been a lull in recent times, large street actions are beginning to make a resurgence - especially as conditions worsen in Iraq. While protests today aren't as vocal or confrontational as they were in, say, the late 80's (Central America) or the early 90's (Gulf War I), the protest organizers are much more adept at their craft. A well-organized phone and flyering network can, and often will, put together a protest of other 10,000 people in 1 or 2 days notice!
If you should find yourself caught in the middle of a protest, just relax and enjoy it 'cuz you're not going anywhere. DO NOT try to drive through a crowd of people - at the very least you will get your car damaged, you may get pulled out of your car and roughed up AND get arrested to boot! The police and the more-organized protestors have an "understanding" - and usually work with eachother well and in this case YOU will be the troublemaker!
Protests are really San Francisco's best expression of spontaneous creativity! Enjoy the colorful costumes and the hilarious signs. You came here to see San Francisco, and this is as San Francisco as it gets! Consider yourself lucky, take lots of pictures, and enjoy democracy! Leave a Comment
|
| | |
I still do not know why they were selling the 3 monkeys on all the shops at Chinatown, but just before the entrance there was an art shop that had this seat outside.
Of course we had the photo from Eilat, Israel, so we needed another one in San Francisco!
Leave a Comment
|
Visiting San Francisco?
Read reviews about San Francisco Hotels
Real Reviews from Real VirtualTourist Members.
San Franciscans always seem to have a cause. Hardly a week goes by when there isn't some kind of protest or demonstration by my office building in the Financial District.
Most protests are tolerated here, as long as they aren't too rabidly conservative. Sometimes the good citizens of San Francisco stage a demonstration just for the sake of demonstrating and you're not too sure what the cause is.
Celebrating April Fool's Day, the St. Stupid's Day Parade and protest is held April 1 at noon, starting at the Embarcadero Plaza. The festivities end at Washington Square in North Beach where there is a rally in the park. The parade is sponsored by The First Church of the Last Laugh.
The costumes worn by the protesters are very amusing, but then again, they are rather normal attire for many San Franciscans. Leave a Comment
|
The search for a parking place is made even more complicated by the presence of variously colored curbs. These indicate when and to whom parking is admissible, so don't automatically give up if you see a space in a painted zone. It goes without saying (but we'll still say it) that it's always a bad idea to park too close to a fire hydrant, a driveway or a wheelchair ramp (within three feet), whether painted or not.
GREEN: Limited time parking - 10 minutes from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
YELLOW: Commercial loading and unloading; vehicles with commercial plates may park up to 30 minutes from 9am-6pm Monday-Saturday. Some yellow zones are restricted to trucks with commercial plates only. Violators will be towed. Usually accompanied by a sign; check for hours of enforcement.
BLUE: Parking for vehicles with special disabled person plates or placards only. Always enforced; violators will be fined $275. (Shame on you for even contemplating it!)
RED: No parking at any time. Vehicles in bus stops will be towed and subject to additional fine.
WHITE: Passenger loading zone (usually in front of churches, restaurants, hotels, etc.). Vehicles may not be left unattended for any length of time during enforcement hours; attended vehicles may stand for up to 5 minutes. Hours of enforcement may be painted on the curb or posted on a sign. If not, check to see if the business in front of the white zone appears to be in operation.
|
| | |
When parking downtown, be sure to check metered limits. Metered parking spaces limit parking to 30 minutes or 1 hour. These regulations are designed to encourage "turnover" so that spaces are available to the greatest number of downtown visitors. Overstaying the limit by "feeding" the meter can result in a fine, regardless of whether there is time showing on the meter or if the meter is out of order.
Downtown parking meters are not in effect on the following holidays:
New Year's Day
Memorial Day
Independence Day
Labor Day
Veteran's Day
Thanksgiving Day
Christmas Day
Fisherman's Wharf parking meters are not in effect on these holidays:
New Year's Day
Thanksgiving Day
Christmas Day
|
Beware the Bushman! Ok, so now I've ruined one of the most fun activities in the city, but then, not everbody who visits SF reads VT. Here's the deal...in the Fisherman's wharf area, there's this man, who hides behind his own tree branch on the sidewalk and scares the crap out of tourists as they walk by. It's really harmless fun and most people play along with the joke, but the guy does have a bodyguard near by in case someone didn't pack their sense of humor on the trip. Traditionally, after you get scared (and leave a few coins in his jar) you move to the other side of the street with the rest of the tourists and wait for the next unsuspecting fellow. He can attract large crowds during the summer, so if you're walking along down fisherman's wharf, and you see a crowd of people staring at you...LOOK OUT!!! The bushman might be waiting, ready to pounce. Leave a Comment
|
The fog tends to appear quite often in the evenings, but once in a while we get lucky with incredible sunsets that rival the ones in Hawaii. If you happen to be here on one of those days, make sure to head out to Ocean Beach to see it. That's what we do! Leave a Comment
|
|
|
on April 13, 2008
on March 26, 2004
on October 12, 2003
on September 7, 2004
on April 1, 2005
on October 18, 2007
on December 2, 2004
on July 18, 2003
