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Does love come from the heart?
In San Francisco, we encountered quite a few symbols of love scattered throughout the city. We learned that "Hearts in San Francisco" is part of a citywide fundraising art installation project.
These public art installations originated in 2004 from the San Francisco General Hospital and Orthopedic Trauma Center Foundation to raise funds for patients, inspired by the international "Cow Parade" exhibition, in which sculptures of cows are displayed in various locations around the world.
Each year, heart-shaped sculptures are painted and decorated by various artists and installed in locations throughout San Francisco, including Union Square, which we visited.
The heart symbol of this campaign is inspired by Tony Bennett's song "I Left My Heart in San Francisco," with its sweet lyrics: "My love waits there in San Francisco/ Above the blue and windy sea/ When I come home to you, San Francisco/ Your golden sun will shine for me."
These artworks are auctioned off at the end of each year, and the proceeds go to charity. Many works from previous years are also displayed in numerous different locations such as San Francisco City Hall, San Francisco General Hospital, AT&T Park, Pier 39, the steps on Lyon Street, the Museum of Cartoon Art, and several branches of Wells Fargo Bank. To date, more than $10 million has been raised for this charity.
We wandered around Union Square taking selfies with the heart-shaped decorations, then strolled up to Pier 39 to continue our hunt for the remaining hearts, like playing a puzzle game.
At the end of the Pier, the artwork titled "Open Heart" is permanently placed on the first floor. It was hand-decorated by local artist Patrick Dintino, a San Francisco native whose mother's life was saved more than a decade ago thanks to open-heart surgery.
Artist Dintino said that this heart represents a larger idea about love and self-understanding. It symbolizes the openness of the people here, and also implies that if you've fallen in love with San Francisco, your heart will stay when you leave.
Without prior arrangement, we quietly sang together, "The day I left...San Fran, I left my heart behind," and then chuckled to ourselves.
Or does the way to love go through the stomach?
Having previously experienced a "Valentine's chocolate tour" in Boston (Massachusetts), this Valentine's Day we chose a food tour around Chinatown offered by "Local Tastes Of The City Tours".
True to the tour's theme, "Eat Your Way through Chinatown," many first-time foreign visitors are taught how to use chopsticks with their right hand and pick up spilled food with their left hand.
Luckily, our friend Isabella was a true local, so we got to experience Chinatown like we were in a miniature China, especially those hidden corners that only a "local" would know.
After browsing through antique Chinese shops to see statues and ceremonial objects thousands of years old, we enjoyed a variety of Dim Sum at San Francisco's oldest Chinese bakery.
Here, we got to eat many delicious dishes we had never tried before, such as BBQ pork sandwiches, Siu Mai (steamed dumplings), rice cakes, shrimp dumplings, steamed sesame seed mixed cakes, and even mooncakes.
After having a little extra money to tide us over, we visited one of the oldest mosques in San Francisco, explored Chinese cooking utensils, and especially saw how fortune cookies are made at their local market. Next, we visited a Buddhist temple and enjoyed some delicious teas, learned how to brew them, and discovered more about the health benefits of tea. Finally, the day's activities concluded at the city's renowned "Begoni Bistro," run by Chef Howard Wong, who has been recognized as one of San Francisco's top Chinese chefs.
Round bamboo bowls hold everything from scallion pancakes to Shanghai-style dumplings, from battered and fried squid to mixed wontons. Desserts like sponge cake and Goji Berry Jelly cake make the flavors of San Francisco even sweeter!
At the end of the day, we stopped at Pier 39, watching the "Blue & Gold Fleet" yachts carrying tourists back and forth to admire the famous Golden Bridge.
I asked her, "So where else could love come from?"
She gently placed a sweet kiss on my lips and replied, "Love also comes from the sweetness of lips, my dear!"
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