TBT: San Francisco City Sights

Three years ago, in March 2014, the end of an era loomed as we faced another cross-country move from California to Tennessee. We lived in San Francisco for three years and packed as many ups and downs as a young married couple can manage, including a lot of fun sights in the city and beyond. Even though there were plenty of homesick moments, I’ll always be glad that we had those years together before settling down in suburbia.

For today’s Throwback Thursday, I’m looking back at my farewell post to San Francisco.

But first! Reasons I love Franklin, TN…

:: Main Street and its festivals

:: downtown Franklin’s architecture and antique malls

:: rolling hills and horse farms

:: how it’s always 10 degrees cooler than MS and AL

:: Music City Modern Quilters Guild

:: it will always be Amelia’s birthplace and first home

:: our first house, from watching it being built to settling into the neighborhood

:: Puckett’s (Grocery and Boat House)

:: wine tasting at Red Dog

:: McKay Used Books

:: proximity to shows and museums in Nashville

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And now for that TBT action, from 2/25/14:

Our chapter in San Francisco is coming to an end… and a new adventure in Nashville, TN is just around the corner. Whenever I hear the phrase “end of an era” I think of that Friends episode when Rachel is moving out of Monica’s apartment and then they flashback to all their favorite roomie memories.

Today’s my last day at work, which is bittersweet… Any big change is filled with conflicting emotions. We always planned on moving closer to home again eventually, but I think we’re both surprised that it happened so quickly once Sam started job hunting.

San Francisco, I’ll miss you! Let me count the ways…

I will miss…

:: The guy at my favorite sandwich place who calls me “sweetheart” (it’s not creepy, I promise – he’s British)

:: A fifteen minute commute to work

:: Walking everywhere

:: Book club

:: Cardigans every day

:: Hilltop views in every direction

:: Trader Joe’s half a block away

:: The neighborhoods we never got to explore

:: My co-workers

:: The local comedy club

:: The AMC movie theatre (it’s converted from an old bank and has twelve floors with escalators that go up and up and up)

:: My favorite restaurants: Nob Hill Café, Street, Dunya, Allegra Romano, that Italian hole in the wall in North Beach

:: Victorian architecture in our neighborhood

:: Neighborhood street festivals every weekend during the summer

:: Napa valley

:: Food trucks

:: The Uber app… it’s been a lifesaver!

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Of course, there are some things I won’t miss…

:: Lugging groceries up the hill because we don’t have a car

:: Waiting for public transportation

:: Getting jerked around on the bus when there’s no seat available

:: The upstairs neighbors banging around above us and partying every weekend

:: Lack of thunderstorms

:: Growing immune to the ubiquitous homeless population

:: Sharing one washer and dryer with the whole building. In the basement. Which is only accessible from outside on the street.

:: The two or three weeks that are hot when we have no air conditioning and start sweating the moment we enter the apartment

:: No dishwasher

:: Being surrounded by concrete

:: The humongous crowds at any public event… especially if it’s free

:: The litter boxes in our hallway, and Cora’s habit of using the bathtub instead

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I’m glad we took advantage of our short time here and tried to experience everything we could. Of course we couldn’t see it all… but here’s a recap of all the city sights (and our ventures beyond the city) from our three years in San Francisco!

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San Francisco City Sights

Ten Things I Love About San Francisco