#adobe bookshop

[slightlyignorant]

Adobe Bookshop in San Francisco - also known as heaven.

[katrinaandthegreatworld]

16th & mission.

  " It’s artsy on crack" my friend Gina had once said about the beautiful city by the bay.

True enough, San francisco is filled to the brim with interesting murals, a hodge podge of street performers and artists, local shops, flea markets,museums, gorgeous architecture, you name it! There’s just so much history, so much color, so much art, so much soul, so much life! I don’t think my writing or my photographs give the city any justice, nor will a single blog entry cover every single thing I’ve been endlessly yapping about. Every part of the city has a different tale to tell, every area offers a new perspective-so I’m going to go ahead and start with a street.  

After living in the bay area for half a year, and bart-ing it to San francisco countless times, I can’t believe I had never gone to the Mission district until a recently concluded visit to the city a month ago. Prompted by a new local friend, Jammy, Daniela and I pre-empted a visit to Powell so we could check out Valencia street. Though the BART station wasn’t exactly situated in the best of places (gulp! it made us a tad nervous! but there’s nothing like a bit of danger to get the heart pumping right? Right? Anyway, I’m just glad we made it in and out unscathed) but if you actually walk further along 16th and Mission and hit Valencia, you’ll find that it isn’t as bad as its initial facade plays it out to be.  

The street is filled with more murals than usual, there are old theaters( ones that play one of a kind movies!), thrift shops galore (I thought I had seen pretty much everything at Haight and Ashbury, but here they sell vintage dresses by the pound!), a string of cute little shops, art galleries and kitschy little hole in the wall coffee shops with the friendliest baristas.    We also got to visit the famed Adobe Bookshop, where a lot of artists and musicians regularly come together for poetry readings, mini concerts, exhibits and the like. It’s sad that Adobe is said to be in danger of closing! But I personally  don’t think the the Mission locals and shop regulars  would allow it- It’s pretty apparent how the community supports local artists and local suppliers. The whole time we were in the district, there wasn’t a Starbucks or an H&M in sight. Everything was local! It’s actually pretty inspiring. I’d like to see that kind of local support in my hometown someday.

We spent our time window shopping, snacking on bagels and taking in all the eye candy. I busied myself browsing through the endless number of flyers and posters that seemed to crowd every shop wall! They were invitations to concerts with awesome lineups, workshops, movie openings, stage plays- all of which, a reflection of the city’s artistic culture. I wish could’ve stayed longer and have gone to some of those events, but my reality beckons-and as of this very moment, so does my bed.  More soon.

Cheerio!

Kat