Adobe Bookshop brings me much happiness. Not only are there a zillion wonderful used books of all kinds, there is the man behind the books, Andrew McKinley. He is the heart and soul, and his wise, welcoming and super fun personality draws all sorts of colorful characters to gather and be eccentric.

If you can get past the bourgie factor and/or you work down the street like I do, you will come to love this place. It has some of the best food in the city, a Blue Bottle coffee, and an observation deck from which you can watch the ferries come and go, emitting their weird beeps and disgorging tourists. The people who work here are great too (whether or not I dated a baker from the Acme Bread kiosk because of a Craigslist missed connection will be left to history).

#1 in the city for old book smell and creaky wooden floors. Too small to find anything specific you’re looking for, good enough that you’ll find something else instead.

Shopping area in Japantown connected by an outdoor plaza with a Japanese Pagoda. The malls feature some good food spots and as well as Kinokuniya Bookstore.

Dense eucalyptus forest on a hill. Great hike on foggy San Francisco days.