Honeymooning

Moving to a new city is always exciting, particularly if you happen to be an experience junkie (who, me?). About a year ago at this time I was falling madly in love with Valparaiso, Chile.

Now I'm losing my heart to San Francisco.

Unfortunately, I don't actually live in the city, I live in the East Bay. This may change soon. In any event, every time I get the motivation up to head into town, I get that high that comes with a new relationship (with city or person).

While Boston and many other cities I know have come to feel a bit like outdoor malls, with chain stores dominating the landscape, San Francisco has maintained a local feel. Even better, the local locales are loco and lovely (don't worry, I hate me too sometimes).

One example would be the overwhelming number of independent bookstores. I passed at least 4 this past weekend. I've already found my current favorite: Dog Eared Books, a great and inexpensive store with book clubs and other events. Selecting a favorite bookstore, for me, is an absolutely essential step in bonding with a place. In Paris, it was W.H. Smith, across from the Jardin de Tuileries. In New Zealand, it was a used book shop in Kaikoura. In Boston, it was Trinity Books on Newbury Street and of course my former employer, Newtonville Books. In Meadville, my college's bookstore was thankfully independent and stocked well. And in Valpo, it was the multi-lingual bookstore on Cummings, just off of Anibal Pinto.

There are also incredible events and organizations here. I've just found out about one that I'm very excited about: The Bike Kitchen. I've wanted to learn about bicycles for several years now, but there are two major problems: 1. Books about bikes are impenetrable, 2. People who know a lot about bikes tend to get snobby about it and make you regret you ever asked. So when I found out about this place, I was thrilled. For a low membership rate and parts fee, you can build your own bike with the guidance of volunteers. I've been told that there is little to no snobbiness involved. More on this as I get myself involved.

So yes: Valparaiso, I will always love you, but you can really never trust a romantic, now can you?