Phallic symbols & other San Francisco treats

August 21, 2015

sidewalk penisWandering around San Francisco one day we saw constant reminders that it pays to keep your eyes open and pay attention to your surroundings. When we saw this sidewalk stain we all stopped to look, and, of course, shoot photographs of the phallic symbol, before walking on, only to encounter this:
2015-08-08 11.32.49 Something is clearly missing here, something that was intended. Without it, the sculpture (and we use that term loosely) became something else altogether.  His grip, combined with the almost ecstatic look on his face, were not exactly family fare. At least not as we saw it.

2015-08-08 10.38.24Of the same oeuvre, sort of.

Phallus symbols are popular in other places, too, as noted in this San Francisco Chronicle story about a Florida pilot who drew a penis with his plane’s routing. It provides new meaning to the term joystick.

Trust me, they aren’t dancing.

But sex wasn’t the only thing on our minds.
2015-08-08 11.49.44Laid out on a tray at Fisherman’s Wharf  was the biggest lobster I’ve ever seen. Lobster has always been a favorite dish, until someone told me they are of the same family as cockroaches. I haven’t enjoyed them quite so much, since.

SF Lic plateIt was hard to fault the tourists for bringing traffic to a standstill as they queued up to drive down the crookedest street in the world, Lombard. Well, it was hard for ME to fault them, not so sure my gay husband was as sanguine about it, as he was at the wheel. But it did give me a chance to shoot this vanity license tag.

2015-08-08 10.45.13And of course, this symbol of the city and also of Rice-a-Roni, the San Francisco treat. As you can see, there’s more to the City’s treats than just a boxed rice.

normal boring best

We know this to be true in San Francisco, but you know what? It’s true of life in general, at least in my opinion.  So, tell us: what’s the strangest thing you’ve seen when visiting any city at all?

 

13 comments on “Phallic symbols & other San Francisco treats
  1. Cathy says:

    I love San Francisco. One of my favorite cities. I’ve never noticed what you did, Carol. Hahahaha! I love the lobster and, well, had great fish there. And chocolate. Of course.

  2. What an adventure you had Carol!
    I haven’t ever done the Phallus symbol hunt. Can’t wait to next time I’m visiting a new city! 🙂

  3. Debbie D. says:

    I guess if you look hard enough, you can find any number of oddities. 🙂 The red sculpture was especially eye-catching. San Francisco has long been on the Bucket List. That’s some lobster! I love it too but didn’t know about the cockroach connection. Eww!

  4. Diane says:

    For a plethora of phallic symbols, there’s nothing quite like visiting Greece! Yikes! My teenage daughter got quite the education during our time there!
    P.S. I’ve always thought of lobsters as the giant bugs of the sea floor. Not much attraction there for me, either! 🙂

  5. I always love your San Francisco pictures. It’s my favorite city!

  6. lol…now I have the rice-a-roni jingle stuck in my head.

  7. Helene Cohen Bludman says:

    Now you’ve got me wondering what phallic symbols are in my neighborhood.

  8. Too funny! Perhaps I should have blindfolded my pre-teen daughters when we visited San Francisco a decade or so ago. 😀

    Nothing I’ve seen in other cities could top these pictures, I think. I’ll now keep my eyes more open, though, to such—at home and beyond.

  9. Hilarious! I guess it pays to keep your eyes open because there are fascinating things to see everywhere you look!

  10. Never been to San Fran but it’s on my bucket list. Don’t think I’ll be eating lobster any time soon, though…..cockroach family??

  11. Carolann says:

    I did hear that as well about lobster. I totally get why eating them is just not the same anymore. I love that tee! Normal is very boring lol. I’ve never been to San Fran but someday we plan to go there for sure!

  12. Anyway, we stopped at several places along the way as we drove from our home in Kentucky all the way to San Francisco up the coast to Oregon. Then we headed back East through Idaho and on to Yellowstone and Rapid City SD before heading back home.

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