I *heart* San Francisco

Can’t say enough good things about San Francisco. I *Heart* San Francisco…Yes, there have been times that I would get bored in the city because every single activity that I’ve been doing in the city since the time I studied here, can become so mundane– you know, same ol’ same ol’ each time. That meant– looking for cheap parking, eating, window shopping. What I hated the most was leaving the city empty handed, but having forked over US$10 for parking. That was unproductive. Plus, $10 is a lot of money if you’re a student– that’s 5 meals already at our local Taco Bell 😉

That’s why there are weekends when I would just abstain from heading downtown for fear of lusting for something new. Mind you, that first Chanel bag I bought for myself took me a good three months of saving before I was able to walk into I.Magnin and take her home. *Sigh* I still remember those days of walking into the doors of Hermes, with all those imposing sales associates looking at me. I was 16 or 17 then, and Hermes was still on Stockton Street, and they had birkins on the shelf– yes, they had. There was only one nice sales associate who would entertain all my questions, knowing fully well that I wouldn’t be able to buy a birkin with my student budget. I vowed to be able to buy one someday, I still distinctly remember telling her. Birkins back then cost US$4,800. And now, well they’re almost US$10,000. What on earth happened in between those years?! *SOB*

The one thing I realized after I left San Francisco to work in the “real world” in Asia was, the city was really anything but boring. I realized it was ME that was boring, not the city. So I decided to make the most out of each trip to the city now– meaning, I don’t just go to the usual shops, I actually stop and take in the view. Sit on a bench in Union Square and enjoy people watching. Sip a cup of warm tea while enjoying the cool breeze on an autumn day… These little things made such a difference in the way I see San Francisco– downtown *meaning, Union Square*.

Then Bloomingdales came along, and then Barneys. And then there are also so many smaller shops worth visiting within the Post- Geary-Stockton-Sutter Streets, all the way down to New Montgomery Street. San Francisco was never the same in my eyes. How blind was I back then? *Obviously very blind*

Anyway, these are some of the shops in the Maiden Lane. London Sole has cute, comfy shoes. Tory Burch is also on Maiden Lane. I loved the look of her store (sorry no photos– the SA was staring at me when I whipped out my camera haha).

Maiden Lane is also home to Chanel. This time, I was quite alarmed to see that someone had damaged the window of the boutique… I wonder if this was a bullet hole.. Hmm.. bagnappers on the rise???
Marc Jacobs I like Marc Jacobs, but I found nothing interesting in the bag department. I was disappointed. 🙁
Gumps is also a favorite store– they have few but fantastic jewellery (all very expensive though haha).
DeVera also has a small place in Maiden Lane. Alas, they were closed when I went.

DeBeers parked itself in San Francisco! Holy crap, they had BIG BLING!!

Huge PRADA store Nope, no Fairy bags. But I found some classic leather totes that were quite nice– they came in different colors.

And lastly, beautiful Balenciaga strass necklaces at Barneys. There are really plenty reasons to love San Francisco… *Sigh* 🙂

x
Mrs.T