People

Julien

Julien (near Castro Metro Station)

Julien is not a resident of any of the neighborhoods on our walk. In fact he is from Nantes, France.
 

I met Julien while researching our walk. He was in the Diamond Heights area, lugging a suitcase and looking for Twin Peaks. He had come to San Francisco the day before from a stay in inland California. On this day he was due to meet a friend in a couple of hours who he would stay with that night and then fly back home the next day. He had checked out of his hotel and was pulling his luggage trying to see Twin Peaks before he had to go to the city center to hook up with his friend.

Only a few months before, while on a walk, I had crossed paths with three young men from Switzerland. They too had been wandering around looking for Twin Peaks.

And I have had a number of other encounters of (usually) foreigners trying to find their way to some sight in SF.

Some times I have given them my SF Detail map and/or City Transit map. This time I could see Julien was about ready to give up on his quest and make his way back to downtown.

I took a break from my research and got him on the correct bus to the Twin Peaks stop. We then had to ascend some unevenly spaced log stairs to get to the look out. He was reluctant, but I persuaded him to let me carry his luggage part of the time.

After seeing the view from the lookout we walked down to the Pemberton
Stairway, trading off carrying the suitcase, and then walked to the Castro Station. I took his picture and then we parted with Julien taking the underground Muni Metro train downtown and me making my way back to Diamond Heights.

I admire these foreign visitors that come here with a sense of adventure and try to use public transit to get around and explore on foot. We in the Dave and Bill hikes group have a bond with them for a love of hiking/walking.