Valparaíso is an unofficial "sister city" to San Francisco. Since it was one of the last stops for boats on the way to SF during the gold rush, the two cities had extensive social & economic ties; many Chileans ended up in SF (several old prominent bay area families have Chilean roots), and likewise quite a few Americans & Europeans ended up in Valparaíso. There are almost as many German & Irish surnames here as there are Spanish ones.
There are also some very obvious physical similarities; we often felt like we were strolling some of the seedier parts of the Mission or Potrero Hill. Foggy and overcast (at least while we were there), Valparaíso's hills are a jumble of victorian homes, corrugated metal lean-tos, stray cats and scrub grass. Like SF, Valparaíso has a high concentration of design studios, art galleries & hip restaurants; in lieu of cable cars, there are many rickety & crumbling funiculars that take people up and down the steep inclines.
Needless to say, we felt right at home.
3 comments:
Love that logo :) Was it a design company, or did they make cat food?
I'm embarrassed to say I don't remember exactly. I'm pretty sure it's a local brand of beer, but I'm not positive...
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