02.26.05 - 4:00 p.m.

Today I needed to go pick up my contacts, so I got on a streetcar headed downtown. I sat down and something seemed a little off. Then I noticed that instead of "exit", the exit sign said "USCITA." At stops a sign blinked on and off: "FERMATA PRENOTATA." What the hell? For a second I wondered if it was Spanish, but looking around further, I realized that everything was in Italian!

It turns out that in 1984, Milan gave a classic Peter Witt tram to San Francisco. The tram proved so popular that San Francisco bought a dozen more, as Milan was retiring them. Now these Italian antiques trundle up and down Market daily. I guess this is further evidence for the case that San Francisco is one of the more European cities in the US.

I learn new things about SF all the time. It really is like being in love.