If there’s one city that consistently lives up to its image and reputation, it’s San Francisco.

Beyond the obvious things like the Golden Gate Bridge, the trolleys, the hills, and the cool, crisp temperatures, there’s the city’s sheer beauty. Its physical presence overwhelms me in a way that New York, Chicago, London and others never have (that is, when the fog isn’t obscuring the bay and surrounding hills).

There’s also a hint of mystery about the city. I can see why Hitchcock chose this location for so many films. San Francisco also has a whimsical way about it, what with the world’s most crooked street, Alcatraz Island and Haight-Asbury.

I’ve visited bigger, louder and more boisterous cities, but none that has the hold on me like San Francisco.

It’s nice to see that city planners are carefully controlling its growth and modernization. Because, I plan on visiting the city by the bay time and again and continue to leave my heart here in the process.