Comparing Cuenca to San Francisco, USA

We sometimes do that...compare Cuenca to our old haunts of San Francisco. 

Some readers and friends here have asked 'what does that mean?' when we say...'Cuenca is like San Francisco!'







(Union Square one Christmas season.)

 No beaches, no ocean,  no sweet salt air and almost never fog here in Cuenca, but the city itself is like SF in so many ways, at least to us. 

(This is the Bay Bridge.  Wish we had a picture to share of the Golden Gate Bridge also.)

Some of our friends have never been to San Francisco, so we wanted to share with them and other readers who have never been.  We've gone through some pictures to show you what you won't see here in Cuenca...


(Cable car)

Both of us grew up in the SF Bay Area and we lived and worked in San Francisco, right before we moved to country living in Oregon. San Francisco is our point of reference with every other city, just from our own experiences.

(Nancy's office was on the 26th floor of this downtown building.  The building is 38 floors high with 17 elevators!
What a view!)

Both cities are beautiful, both have lots of history and charm. There are definitely some similarities, some differences, and we love them both:  San Francisco by the Bay and Cuenca high up in the Andes.

If you are familiar with Cuenca, you will notice right away the contrasts.  In San Francisco, there are bigger, taller buildings, fancier and more spendy shopping with lots more choices, a wider variety of international food and so much more. 

The weather is very similar, too.  Note the pics of the skies.

The similarities between cities are stunning...'foreign' produce (in SF Asian and Latin neighborhoods), historic buildings and a rich history, city parks and plazas, lovely flowers, gridlock traffic, beautiful scenery.  Both are walking towns, too.

In SF, English isn't spoken much in some neighborhoods.  Yes, some Spanish, but also Chinese and other Asian languages, Italian, French, German, Farsi, Russian, you name it.  Truly a city of immigrants and visitors from around the globe.

San Francisco has the largest Chinese community in the world, outside of China.  We often thought we should learn more Cantonese when we lived there.

Of course, layering the Country on top of the City, with the cultural differences,  also make Cuenca and San Francisco unique... 

Did you know that denim blue jeans were invented in SF during the Gold Rush Days in the mid-1800's? 

Fancy shopping mall with a circular escalator AND elevators.

 San Francisco is special.  It's also where we come from and where family and friends are. 

(Coit Tower, our old neighborhood up on Telegraph Hill, center of picture.)

The Buena Vista is known for their Irish Coffees.

Here's the bartender lining them up...he'll be adding whipped cream to the top.

City Hall.

View (through a dirty window).

Check out these parking prices!

A theater downtown.

The Ferry Building down near the water.

A rare day with the bluest of skies and no fog.


We'll share more San Francisco pics later.