Parnassus Heights~Another SF Jewel

Can't you just imagine it...
I like the one with the red door personally!

Oh boy, there are some amazing neighborhoods in San Francisco and we had a wonderful time exploring this one on Thursday up close and personal. We love to daydream about what if... that house could be ours, etc. We have played this game everywhere we have gone since we were dating, I think. We are house lovers, that is for sure.

You just have to get out of the car, walk on the sidewalk, inhale the fresh air and have your camera in your hand. We saw some gorgeous homes in Parnassus Heights, several of which we would take in a heartbeat if anyone was offering! It is near the famous University of CA in San Francisco, and the infamous Haight Ashbury of days of yore in the 60s, if you are familiar. It is in a somewhat central area of the city to the south west of downtown.


We took Masonic up the big hill toward Yerba Buena Delores Park. We had never been that far up on the hill before and much to our surprise we ran into a museum. While Jim went in to check it out, I Googled it on my phone and found out it is an interactive children's museum. While waiting for Jim I got out of the car and took this photo from the parking lot. It is looking directly south towards South San Francisco and Daly City. I love how straight the street look from up here.

It is funny in the old hippie days there was a song about the ticky tacky little boxes (houses) and how they were disdained by the cool, non-establishment types of the day. I can remember looking at these 45 years ago and thinking, there they are....the ticky tacky little boxes. Now I think, oh my gosh, I would kill for one of those! How funny! The late sixties were some really strange times looking back. But we lived here for two years during that time and it was a great place to be, even then.

This is a view from the terrace of the museum and a sight we had never seen from this perspective. See that really tall building on the right? That is a new apartment building. I really don't like it because it throws the symmetry and scale of the sky line all off. And it is right next to the Bay Bridge...what on earth were they thinking? People buy these apartments and they are huge and very posh I am assuming.

A little closer with the lens

If you stand in the same spot and make a quarter turn to the left from the last two shots you see this on the hill side of the mountain. We love the diversity of visuals in the City.


This is the front of the Randall Museum. We are coming back here this coming week with my brother and sister-in-law and their two little grandies. Sebastian will love the museum, he is four. Sammy probably will too but she is a little young yet. I have some photos to show you of the museum at the end of the post as Jim has his hands in this post at that point.

Love this roof top deck.
Windows and blinds all around with no roof.

OK this was our favorite house.
Absolutely impeccable taste,
ever square inch was eye candy.

The front door!
Who are the chosen that get
to live in a house like this?

The blossoming trees signaling spring in the west.

I am in love this yellow house too!

And this spectacular old apartment
building if we cannot afford a house!

The detailing is so intricate on the facade
of the eight story building.

A corner of the ornate apartment building

In the neighborhood it is all about the detailing.
These great flower boxes at the base of the stairs
add so much color and interest.
Curb appeal is not lacking in this
Parnassus neighborhood in the least.

This is a view from the mountian of USF. The University of San Francisco is an exclusive private Catholic college. This is a beautiful view of it that gets lost down on the street but from up here is pretty distinctive.

Another view of USF from the neighborhood
where the fancy apartment building is located.

We then went down the mountain and over to Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park for our picnic. We sat on a bench right at the lake's edge and enjoyed the seagulls and ducks that were having a great day flying and diving and enjoying their wings.

This lady rowed around Stow Lake at a breakneck pace three time while we lounged around watching her. She was moving so much she looked like she was dancing on the seat. She is my hero!

It looks like she is resting here but
she isn't...see the water flying from her oar!

The Pigeons pecking for seeds or bread or something!

The Ravens seeing eye to eye.

So this is where Jim comes into the post. He decided to take photos of couples since it is Valentine's week. His thoughts are that everything feels better with two and he is right. These first three are from the museum.

The Star Fish snuggling up on the edge of the rock.

He liked this one to show me that it is OK to feel like this and be happy about it when I am clinging to the edge of the bed and he has me in a wrestling hold while sleeping.

At the Lake, two seagulls swimming side by side
and seeing each other's reflection.

A couple having fun cruising the Lake in the peddle boats.

A couple trading their usual bakery treat for a Gelato.
The male demonstrating his dominance by eating the
female's Gelato while she is dutifully
photographing the event.

And just to add to the mix
add in a little Chinese with your Italian!
Folks...this is San Francisco!