We seem to have suddenly reached the stage when afternoon playdates are being replaced with various lessons. I wave hello to friendly faces crossing through the park with their children: this one is off to soccer, that one is running to swim. This one wears the tell-tale tutu, that one carries a little black case with a tiny violin inside—rental sticker prominently affixed.
“When we speak, we sing,” a neuroscientist on a favorite episode of Radio Lab remarks. “We use the pitch of our voice to convey meaning.”
It has been fascinating to observe these efforts (or, perhaps more accurately, the frequent lack of these efforts) with the kids. One learns how to use one’s voice, generally without consciously trying to, over time. We get to watch as they take their social cues.
I’ve found that when asking people advice about visiting their city, it’s best to ask them where they’d take a friend. In “5 Things,” I’ll ask some of my favorite bloggers and photographers in cities all over the country to share insider travel tips on where to eat, shop, stay, and play in their neighborhoods (plus, what to pack to make the adventure complete). This week, Emily Nathan, the founder of the travel and lifestyle company Tiny Atlas and its magazine, Tiny Atlas Quarterly, shares her favorite spots for a visit to Oakland, California.
5 Things: Oakland, California
Emily Nathan
My husband and I moved to Oakland from San Francisco (like so many others here) when we wanted to buy a house and start a family, 10 years ago. We live in a neighborhood called Piedmont Avenue. Piedmont Avenue itself is the center point of the neighborhood. The Ave (as locals call it) is a long commercial street that seems like a small-town Main street. There is a great independent movie theater, many delicious restaurants and cafes, and lots of book stores, along with a library, a school, a hospital, multiple grocery stores, a gas station, a church, and a surprising number of nail salons. (I don’t go to the salons much, but it’s good to know!)
When we were looking at houses, our agent took us by the movie theater and a delicious Sicilian eatery (Dopo) to show us what we might do in a typical week. I remember doing a run-through of this potential lifestyle when we found a house we liked within our budget: We parked near our prospective house (now our home) and walked the few blocks to dinner and a movie and then back to the car. We were sold. Forget the fog and the circling for parking for 45 minutes and the houses we simply couldn’t afford—we were out of there.
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