hello, san francisco

{image via here}

...please go easy on me. 

those words ran through my head as we drove over the bay bridge and into the massive, sprawling city of san francisco a couple of nights ago. it was dark by the time we unloaded our gear into our very 70's style, corporate-furnished apartment, so waking up to the skyline interrupted by the "dizzying" buildings (the kind of buildings that make you dizzy when you look up at them) was a shock. 

i woke up our first morning here, semi-ready to introduce myself to the city. i hope she likes me. determined to not become a hermit while we are here, i thrust myself outside and onto the streets, after walking the husband to work. with no general plan or direction, i walked through downtown, trying to blend in as a local. 

one of my first stops was a whole foods, right around the corner from our apartment. glorious, hippie-filled, whole foods. it was like walking into a home away from home. i was ecstatic we had one so close. i picked up an orchid plant to take home as a house-warming gift for the husband and myself. no better way to make yourself feel at home than flowers. i felt very cosmopolitan walking around with flowers sticking out of my reusable shopping bag, and making my way through the crowds on the street. 

baggage. everyone has a lot of baggage...the good kind. with public transit as the main source of transportation, everyone wears backpacks or drags suitcases and bags down the street with them. made my mary-poppins-style bag seem small in comparison. there are people everywhere. and they even look different. they dress for life, not for fashion. the air is cold. i love it - it feels like we've stepped into a different world. scarves, coats, gloves...oh, how i've missed you. everything, is so different from L.A.

i'll spare you the details of every stop i made on my first day, but i will tell you this: change is scary - and i've never handled it very well. but so far, i love everything about san francisco. i love having to rely on my feet to get everywhere we want to go. i love the old buildings, the architecture, the coffee shops on every corner and the feel of the city. 

and lucky for us, it already feels like home. 

more details to come.