I'm not the biggest fan of nighttime. I hated walking home in the dark as a kid because I was scared of evil monsters popping out, and as an adult nighttime is like the big, bad wolf that creeps up every day to take all the sunny views away, especially in the winter when it gets dark at 4:30PM.
What the dark does do, however, is to give 2 views of the same landmark/ tourist attraction: the day view and the night view.
San Francisco has some great views that I didn't know about. Especially because it's such a hilly city with so many dips, peaks, and valleys, every street can give way to going up a massive hill for a view of the city. The best view MJ and I got this trip, however, was from Twin Peaks overlooking the entire city (can see both the Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge, and everything in between) and the vista point right off the Golden Gate Bridge. Has anyone marveled before at how awesome the Golden Gate Bridge is night. Sure the orange hue stands out even in the day, but at night it's doubly impressive, almost flashing in the dark as a beacon of San Francisco's skyline. (Unfortunately also a beacon for some poor souls planning to commit suicide).
The Palace of Fine Arts is just another cool-looking thing to pass over on the way over the Golden Gate Bridge most times, and I've literally ran by it before without giving it much thought, but at night it's absolutely dazzling. From inside it looks like a magical palace from the iconic scene in Aladdin where the prince whisks Jasmine away to show her a whole new world (Remember that scene?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeDYx7Tkc7I) From outside it looks even more Disney-esque, with the surrounding pond making it look like a setup for a show of "Fantasmic" at Walt Disneyland.
Not to compare cities and be jealous, but L.A. just doesn't measure up in terms of night attractions, IMO. Lala Land plays up the Hermosa Beach Pier and Griffith Observatory as popular destinations to go for Yakei, but that's about it......the ocean is not nearly as majestic or visible at night. Hollywood Bowl is closed, Getty Center is closed.....no wonder everyone just heads to the bars and the Hollywood scene after dark, there's no natural scenery.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
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