San Francisco | A Quiet Respite From The Holiday Madness

Thursday, December 21, 2017







How I love the holidays but it can  be maddening! The quest to find the perfect presents, the rush to check off the holiday bucket list before December 25, the Christmas parties! I love it. I hate it. I love it!

Christmas for me is about festivities, getting together with all my loves, tying loose ends, merriment, laughter and solitude. It gets dark early and it is freezing. These should be opportunities for quiet introspection by the fire but busyness seems to infiltrate even these chilly evenings with conversations and thoughts about plans for Christmas and New Year celebrations. And in my case, Mr Sweetie and my dad's birthdays the day after Christmas! Yes, the holidays are enough to drive me crazy! I cannot get enough of it yet I also want it to end already!

Today, in my search for presents for my brother and brother-in-law and after attending 2 holiday parties, I found myself walking by One Sansome. I am amazed by this place as it is an oasis in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the Financial District in San Francisco. It has no walls but just an open space of architectural beauty. It is an atrium made of marble floors and pillars. There are bistro tables and chairs for eating whether you bring your lunch or buy it from the crepery on site. 

What amazed me was how quiet and empty it was at 4 o' clock in the afternoon on the first day of winter. There were so many tourists and locals walking on the streets but this place seems to be on a time warp. There was  a girl with a book quietly reading by herself. The crepery was closed. A couple was sitting down just quietly chatting. A security staff was walking around. I thought to myself, I need to come back here again on a late afternoon to read or just be still and hear my thoughts. 

This space is one of the the Privately Own Public Open Spaces (POPOS) in San Francisco. Best of all, it is free.

I did not stop or sit down but walking by this place already brought me the peace that I am looking for. Maybe because it gave me hope that I have one more space to escape to  someday -- when I finally make the time. And I will, in 2018.