The first day the double decker tour bus drives us past the City Lights bookstore in North Beach, we are surprised that the tape narrative is silent about it.
The last time we were here, Ferlinghetti, Ginsburg, Kerouac, Ken Kesey and other literary giants hung out here. It was as famous as Alcatraz.
The next day we get off the bus and ask the driver where City Lights is located. He drives past it 10 times every day, but says he has never heard of it. We study the map and a young girl with a smart phone says that she has never hear of it either, but she looks it up for us on her GPS "app".
It is amazing how quickly culture moves on and old icons are forgotten. How many of us remember Paul Robeson or Otto Skorzeny?
The last time we looked, this funny looking building wasn't here. However, overall the city hasn't changed as much as many places. We only saw one guy walking down the street with a flower in his hand. Most of the people we see on the street didn't exist back then. Time marches on.
We've been to Fisherman's Wharf, North Beach, Union Square, Chinatown, the Golden Gate Park, the Japanese Tea Garden and a French restaurant with a jazz band.
Maybe it's just the Memorial weekend, but the electric buses and streetcars are packed like sardines wherever we go. Ben and Jerry have an ice cream parlor at Haight and Ashbury. Begging is still very popular.
well nothing stays the same...looks like you are getting lots in on this trip....
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