A Day at San Francisco’s Mission District – Poop in a Baggy

A few weeks ago we spent some time in San Francisco. There is so much to see and do in the city, but this time we wanted to stay at the famous Mission District. Our aim was to see some murals, and we did find some cool ones, but we also found something not so fun. Poop in a baggy was not the man’s best friend variety. But I will tell you about that little later.

The Mission District is San Francisco’s mecca of arts. Many art institutes are in operation there, and they have been doing art at the mission since the 70’s. It can be seen on the streets and on the colourful buildings. It is also a place for many events, the biggest is probably the Day of the Dead festival or the Fist of May. You can see the latin influence everywhere.

The Mission District is also known for it’s many restaurants, and especially for it’s taco places. One thing that they sell is the mission burrito which is bigger than a regular burrito. We stopped at one of the taquerias and the food was delicious. Once again, I went for the fish tacos. Everyone visiting California should try them at least once. Yummy! And the kids will always love the cheese quesadillas. 

Last month I wrote about Mission Santa Inés in Solvang. Missions were catholic communities established by the Spanish missionaries in the 17th century, and many of the churches remain. The last one of them is located here, in the Mission District of San Francisco, and they go all the way down the coast to San Diego. The mission in San Francisco is called Mission San Francisco de Asís, but many people now call it Mission Dolores. This time we didn’t go in, but if you are interested in a tour, the address for the mission is 320 Dolores Street.

For a long time murals have been sort of a trade mark of the Mission District. They were started by the Chicano Art Mural Movement in the 1970’s. Colourful walls and fences can be found all over, and the most notable ones are at Balmy Alley and Clarion Alley. The Clarion Alley Mural Project started in 1992. We went to see it, and it was very interesting, and there were many people there taking pictures of the murals. Unfortunately, some of them had been painted over by some graffiti. 

When it was time to head back to the car, we stopped to take a picture of a house with some pink dresses in front of it. While searching for a good photo spot, you don’t really watch were you step. My husband happened to step on top of a soft plastic bag which turned out to be someone’s POOP! Yack! Unfortunately I must say, that nowadays the Mission District is one of those areas where I wont go after dark by myself. We were there during daylight and even then we got confronted by some drug addicts and drunks asking for money. Homeless people in San Francisco are everywhere and the situation only seems to be getting worse. 

I don’t think this picture turned out good enough, so I’m not sure it was worth it to step in poop for the shot. But other than that, I think our day at the Mission District was quite fun.