Author: Ryan VanderVelden

“The point of going somewhere like the Napo River in Ecuador is not to see the most spectacular anything. It is simply to see what is there. We are here on the planet only once, and might as well get a feel for the place.”

Annie Dillard

The preceding was a quote from Annie Dillard that Geoff Dyer included in his book, White Sands. I think every city has something interesting to offer. It’s just a matter of going and exploring and, like Annie Dillard said, seeing what is there. Sometimes the best trips are ones you take over a long weekend. The kind of trips where you plan to see one or two things and then fill in the rest of the time with as much as you can. My mom and I visited Boston a few years ago as a combined Mother’s Day/birthday trip. She wanted to see some of the historical sights, like Old North Church and the Freedom Trail, and I wanted to see some architecture and visit a museum. After three days of walking, I think we both definitely got a feel for the place.

“It’s an odd thing, but anyone who disappears is said to be seen in San Francisco. It must be a delightful city and possess all the attractions of the next world.”

Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

San Francisco is one of my favorite cities. It has many of things I find desirable in a city: a coastline; walkable streets; public transportation; lots of parks and natural areas; beautiful architecture; coastal weather; and a rich and colorful history. As you can see from the pictures below, there are so many unique neighborhoods and beautiful sights to see. Here is a small selection of photos from a few summers back.

“Anyone who has first seen a place in a picture and then visited it knows how different reality is. You sense the atmosphere all around you and you are no longer dependent on the angle from which the picture was made. You breathe the air of the place, hear its sounds, notice how they are re-echoed by the unseen houses behind you.”

Steen Eiler Rasmussen, Experiencing Architecture

The general atmosphere behind these photos from Germany was peace and quiet. The streets were perfect for quiet reflection. But the presence of the buildings seemed to cut through the tranquil moment I was experiencing. They didn’t make any noise, but when I saw them, I felt like I was at the symphony with a wall of sound bombarding my senses. Maybe this was what Goethe was referring to when he called architecture “frozen music.” The shapes, the details, the colors, all swirling around inside my head like a kaleidoscope.