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Sunday 7 September 2008

Pacific Heights

Alasdair Palmer visits San Francisco

‘God created the world in seven days... San Francisco took a little longer.’ You can forgive San Franciscans a little blasphemy — well, you sort of have to, because it’s printed in large letters on the postcards of the Golden Gate Bridge for sale everywhere. But then San Francisco is an extraordinarily beautiful place, and its natives are understandably proud of their wonderful city. Built on a peninsula where the Pacific cuts deep into the California coast, and rising from the ocean on a series of steep hills, San Francisco is blessed with many natural advantages. If you arrive from London by air, the view from the window as you circle the city before landing should persuade you that the 12 hours you have just spent cooped up uncomfortably in a metal tube have been worthwhile.

Of course the place has its drawbacks. It can be cold in every season, and the fog can arrive unexpectedly, then stay for far longer than anyone could possibly wish. But the thick mist can also lift unexpectedly, and when it does, the sudden visions of deep blue sea, bright sky and multicoloured buildings can take your breath away.

The steepness of San Francisco’s hills makes for some very uncomfortable walking. On the other hand, those hills also make the wonderful views possible — not to mention some great car chases in movies (remember Bullitt and What’s Up Doc?). Still, if you hire a car to drive round San Francisco, the last thing on your mind will be emulating Steve McQueen: your first and possibly your only thought will be to pray that your brakes work, because just coming over the top of some of those hills, and seeing the drop on the other side, is enough to make you wish you were walking rather than driving.

San Francisco has another drawback: earthquakes. The last big one was in 1989. The Embarcadero Freeway, which used to run on stilts along San Francisco’s waterfront, collapsed, and the top tier of the Bay Bridge fell on to the bottom tier. Hundreds of people should have been killed, but miraculously, only nine people in the city died.

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