The number one thing we knew we wanted to do on our vacation in San Francisco was to rent bicycles and ride across the Golden Gate bridge to Sausalito. I wasn't 100% sure how this worked, if it was guided or if we had a…Read More

The number one thing we knew we wanted to do on our vacation in San Francisco was to rent bicycles and ride across the Golden Gate bridge to Sausalito. I wasn't 100% sure how this worked, if it was guided or if we had a time limit, but I was beyond thrilled with the whole experience.

We walked from our hotel (The Westin Market Street) all the way down to their office on Columbus just past North Point St. We got down there at around 9:45am, and after we filled out the proper paperwork, we were then shown the route to Sausalito on a large map on the wall.

We decided that since it would be a while before we made it to the bridge, we should probably eat something. So once we got the bikes, it took us less than ten minutes to ride them down to the Wharf to see what we wanted to eat. We decided the Blue Mermaid Chowder House & Bar would be a great place for some Pacific coast seafood! Once we finished with brunch around 11am, we hit the road toward the bridge.

Something to note: in San Francisco, it's actually illegal to ride bikes on the sidewalk. There are bike lanes throughout most of the city, and if there aren't specific bike lanes, there are bike "compatible" lanes, that require motorists to share with cyclists. As I personally have not ridden a bike since I was 12, this was a bit unnerving for me!

The Blue Mermaid Chowder House is literally just a few streets away from Ghirardelli Square, as we saw the sign on our bikes as we were riding by. Not long after you pass by Ghirardelli, there's a pretty steep hill. We realized we would NOT be able to do this unless we walked our bikes up the hill, which gave us our first official view of the bridge! Then we were able to make it down to a gravel path portion of the bay, which was just a few feet from the ocean! Naturally, we had to briefly stick our feet in the water. :-) Then back on the bikes, we got closer and closer to the bridge. I must say- the houses facing the water are SPECTACULAR. I cannot imagine what the real estate is like down there, but the views are just fantastic.

Onto the most unpleasant part: the winding hill that leads you from the water to the opening of the bridge. Again- I haven't ridden a bike since I was 12, but even an avid cyclist would find this difficult (at least I think so!). Due to the humidity and the cute polyester blouse I chose to wear, this portion of the ride was absolutely miserable. The only reason I rode instead just of walking the bike up the hill was due to the fact that 1) all my other friends were riding and 2) it would have taken me twice as long. UGH. NOT fun.

When we approached the entrance to the bridge it was a MAD HOUSE. I'm guessing this was because it was very warm out that day, but also because it was the day before a holiday so tourist traffic might have been at a high. The narrow pedestrian part of the bridge was impossible to ride down. People were stopped to take photos and milled around, which was a complete nuisance to anyone on a bike. However, about 1/4 of the way down, the tourists cleared out, and we could actually start riding again. As you can tell in my photos- the fog on the bridge was pretty intense, and even though it was an abnormally warm day, the bridge was definitely 5-10 degrees cooler to begin with. Again- the farther we progressed, the more the fog lessened and the sunnier it became again. I must say though: the freedom you feel with the wind through your hair and the ocean breeze whipping across your face as your glide across the bridge is the absolute best.

Once you cross the bridge, it's actually fairly downhill from there- no joke. My favorite moment of the entire trip was the stretch of downhill street, where you're first able to see the bay from the Sausalito side. It's an absolutely incredible view, and one that truly solidified how wonderful this experience was. Once you've made it down a fairly long downhill stretch, you start to see all the cute little homes on the side of the hills. It's like a less colorful Cinque Terra (as I have yet to go there, I'm only assuming this based on picutres)! I would guess after another mile or two, you finally roll into the adorable little town of Sausalito.

Again, since this destination is EXTREMELY popular to bike to, there were probably HUNDREDS of people who had parked their bikes all throughout the little downtown area. Luckily the town was prepared, and we were able to finally find a non-full rack, just a little farther down the main strip.

After being there for probably 2-3 hours, a ferry ticket was included for our passage back to San Francisco. Again- since it was clearly a very popular day for tourists, we didn't quite realize just how many people would be doing the same thing. The line of cyclists to take the ferry back across was probably half a mile long. Regardless of this, we definitely had to wait and catch the next one at 6pm. The ferry ride was definitely a nice easy way to get back to the other side. For the amount of people AND bicycles, it seemed like they had things down to a science. It was probably only about 30 minutes, but we were enjoying the leisurely pace of the ferry and the up close views of Alcatraz, so we honestly didn't care. I actually don't even recall looking at my watch for the rest of the day after we'd finished brunch!

The ferry docked at the Port of San Francisco, and by that time, the original bike office was closed, so we had to navigate ourselves to the evening dropoff location. I'm not actually sure how far this was from the port, because we drove the wrong way/got a bit lost, but again, we were enjoying ourselves and the pedestrian view of the city so we really didn't mind. The bike lanes down close to the port are all painted a very bright green, which made this a lot less scary for me. It's such a cool thing to be able to bike right along the water and cars and have down town San Francisco be just several feet away.

Getting to see the city of San Francisco AND Sausalito at our own pace was an experience of a lifetime. I think being in such a bike friendly city made me want to live there- as it feels almost European. Of course, the 70 degree temps probably did most of the work, but still; I will never forget our bike tour on the west coast.   Close

We left our hotel on Bush Street and headed east towards the financial district. It was a crisp clear December morning and to our surprise, few people were out on the streets. We felt lucky to have the place to ourselves. We continued as far…Read More

We left our hotel on Bush Street and headed east towards the financial district. It was a crisp clear December morning and to our surprise, few people were out on the streets. We felt lucky to have the place to ourselves. We continued as far as Grant Avenue, where the three banks of floating green tile roofs indicate the entrance to San Francisco’s Chinatown.

It was a funny experience to walk through the area in such a quiet state. It is the largest Chinatown in North America and is usually teeming with tourists and local merchants. One of the few signs of normal life was a modestly sized walking tour group. They rounded a corner across the road from us and their leader announced matter of factly that they would now be going into a shop to sample tea.

This wasn’t our first visit to San Francisco, which is why we only passed through Chinatown but if it’s your first time, I can recommend spending some time in this area, visiting souvenir shops, tea houses and food shops. Chinatown comes alive at night so it is also a great place to come for dinner.

We turned right on Jackson Street, passing the Great Star Theater and catching our first glimpse of the Transamerica Pyramid skyscraper. It’s not possible to visit the building but it strikes a unique outline on the Chinatown horizon. Just in front of the skyscraper and equally as arresting is the Sentinel Building. Also triangular in shape, it has beautiful rounded window bays bound together by broad copper frames that now have a green patina. Film director Francis Ford Coppola rescued the building in the 1970s, renovating it and installing Cafe Zoetrope and his own business in other parts of the building so that its legacy could live on a little longer.

Another landmark establishment is close by at 255 Columbus Avenue. The bar that is now forever associated with Jack Kerouac opened in 1948 and became a home to a number of Beat Generation artists, writers and musicians. The artwork on the outside of Vesuvio’s Bar is difficult to ignore, as is the bare-bottomed sign hanging above its doors.

While the urge to stop at Zoetrope was strong, and would have been for Vesuvio too had it been a little later in the day, we continued on as we wished to try out the coffee at Caffe Trieste at 601 Vallejo Street. Just off Columbus Avenue and on the cross street of Grant Avenue, Trieste is off the main road on a quiet street but people obviously know that this is the place to come for good coffee. They also have giant cakes and pastries although a few items in the display case looked like they were past their prime.

All the tables at Trieste were taken, even the few outdoor benches, so we ordered lattes to go and continued on along Columbus, turning off onto Stockton Street which took us all the way to Fisherman’s Wharf.

The Embarcadero is a long curve that runs from a small park by Ghirardelli Square all the way to the Ferry Building at the end of Market Street. We made an early lunch stop at Boudin for a sourdough bread bowl full of white clam chowder and then headed east and south along The Embarcadero.

There is a lot to explore along the 19 or so piers that stretch out from the Bay Bridge. The piers around Fisherman’s Wharf target souvenir hungry tourists and there is an opportunity to see a colony of sea lions, usually found sunbathing on Pier 39. You can usually smell them before you see them.

We walked on passing signs advertising boat trips. Tours to Alcatraz leave from Pier 33 and unless you scare easily, it is a tour well worth doing. The pier numbers descend by odd numbers only (even numbered piers are located south of the Bay Bridge) and eventually we reached Pier 1 and the Ferry Building. The Marketplace inside the old building is a tall, grand, slate blue building that looks not unlike an iconic train station (www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com).

Inside are rows of well appointed stalls selling everything from Scharffen Berger chocolate to Cowgirl Creamery cheese to organic skincare products. Recommended stops are Blue Bottle for coffee and if you like mushrooms, there is a dizzying array at Far West Fungi. Just before Christmas, the Marketplace was incredibly busy and seemed like a great place to pick up party snacks and last minute gifts.

From here we said goodbye to the bay and took the Muni all the way to Golden Gate Park and the De Young Museum but if you want to take things at a more leisurely pace, the route we walked can easily take up a full day   Close

The city of San Francisco is split into several areas, each of which have their own way of life, attractions and things to do. Here are the main things you should know about each one and what there is to do there:-Downtown-Downtown is the main…Read More

The city of San Francisco is split into several areas, each of which have their own way of life, attractions and things to do. Here are the main things you should know about each one and what there is to do there:

-Downtown-

Downtown is the main hub of the city and as a result is one of the busiest parts of it. Getting their is easy enough – you can take a bus or if you are feeling energetic it is possible to walk their from almost any other area of the city in around 30 minutes – remember how steep the roads are in San Francisco! The funnest way to get there, if you are coming from Fisherman’s Wharf, is by the world famous cable car.

The main part of Downtown is Union Square, which is a shopper’s paradise. All of the big hitters are here, including many of the famous New York department stores, such as Macy’s, Bloomingdales and Saks Fifth Avenue. There are also a lot of hotels in the area and you can find a good bargain as the prices are generally lower here than in other parts of the city.

-Fisherman’s Wharf-

This area is the tourist mecca and is a lot of fun despite its somewhat tacky facade. The area lines the ocean front and it is here that you’ll find the ferry to Alcatraz Island (at Pier 33) and the world famous Pier 39, where the adorable sea lions have taken up residence.

There are so many things to see and do here, it is hard to know where to start but you should definitely grab a bowl of clam chowder from one of the many restaurants and enjoy all the fun of the fair at Pier 39. You can also find loads of places here to hire a bike to ride over to the Golden Gate Bridge. The main thing to do though is enjoy yourself and admire the amazing views over The Bay.

-China Town-

As is usually the case with China Towns, this area is extremely busy and has a fabulous bustling atmosphere. It is quite a big area and the streets are lined with hundreds upon hundreds of shops selling all manner of wares and restaurants where you can grab a reasonably cheap bite to eat at any time of the day.

The entrance to the area is marked by a Chinese arch way that makes a great photograph. The arch way is typically ornate and has a Confucious saying emblazoned across the top of it.

-Nob Hill-

I loved Nob Hill. It is a great place to walk around. It is one of the poshest areas of San Francisco and the houses show this. There are some really huge ones. It isn’t quite the high society area it once was, but you can still see how it would have been in some of the fabulous architecture in the area.

-Golden Gate Park-

At three miles long and almost half a mile wide, the Golden Gate Park is one of the largest man made parks in the world and it is a lovely place to while away a sunny afternoon. There are lots of things to see here, not least the amazing gardens which include the Japanese Tea garden (where the fortune cookie is said to be invented), a rose garden and a rhododendron dell which are all very pretty. If you want to be more active, you can join the thousands of cyclists and skaters who always fill the parks pathways. The park is also home to the massive California Academy of Sciences complex which is home to a living rainforest containing, amongst other things, a 210,000 gallon aquarium, an alligator swamp and 38,000 animals from around the globe.

So whatever you want to do in San Francisco, there is surely an area to do it – you can enjoy nature, amazing views, the fun holiday spirit and a shopper’s paradise all in one great city.
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==Getting There==We flew into San Francisco’s main international airport (code SFO). After a long flight with a two hour layover in Chicago, we were too tired to try and work out a cheap way to get to the city, so we just jumped in a…Read More

==Getting There==

We flew into San Francisco’s main international airport (code SFO). After a long flight with a two hour layover in Chicago, we were too tired to try and work out a cheap way to get to the city, so we just jumped in a taxi. It's a very easy process which involves heading out of the main doors in the arrivals lounge and following the many taxi signs. Our taxi into the Fisherman's Wharf area cost fifty dollars plus tip. It is metered, but anywhere in the downtown San Francisco area will cost you about the same. I think our taxi driver was in a hurry to get back to the airport though because the ride was quite hair raising to say the least! If you want to travel in style and take a limousine, it's actually not that much more expensive at about sixty dollars plus tip and you'll find a stand to hire one of these in the same area as the taxi queue.

Like I said, these are the easiest options, but there are a few cheaper (in some cases much cheaper) choices available if you are willing and able. There are three bus routes operating to and from the airport and with fares varying from $1.50 to $4 there are by far the cheapest option. Two of the three buses operate 24 hours a day, but there is a catch: it is probably the slowest way to get into the city. A happier medium is to get the BART train which operates between 4am and 11pm and costs about $5 per person. It goes from the international terminal, although there is a free airport 'Airtrain' that connects it to all of the other terminals.

==Getting Around==

The city of San Francisco isn't particularly big and sprawling so I'd recommend walking as much as you can so that you can enjoy the quaint and laid back neighbourhoods between the main attractions. Certainly the traffic around both Union Square and Fisherman's Wharf means that walking is a much easier and less stressful option than driving. The only problem is the steep hills that San Francisco is famous for making walking a challenge at times!

There is a fairly comprehensive public transport system that includes buses, street cars and cable cars. We got a map from the tourist information booth at Pier 39, which was free and very handy. We took the bus up to City Hall and the fare was $1.50 per person (there is a fifty cent discount for concessions), which I actually thought was pretty good value. The street cars are used more by commuters and locals than by tourists, although there are a couple of handy ones that run along the waterfront and up to Union Square. The most famous option for getting around though is the Cable Car that climbs some of the steepest streets in the city between Fisherman's Wharf and Union Square. There is a comparatively hefty charge of $6 to use the cars and they are fairly small so fill up very quickly. We found that the stations nearer to the Wharf were quieter than the other end, where there were long queues.

==Sightseeing==

There are a number of options here too. As is usually the case in cities popular with tourists, there are hundreds of 'hop on hop off' tour routes. You can get details from tourist information or from representatives that scatter the tourist spots. There is also the very popular option of biking the bridge, which basically involves hiring a bicycle and riding across the Golden Gate Bridge. There are various packages to choose from, but the most basic is approximately a two hour round trip that will cost around $16 per person, including equipment hire and route plan. By far the most fun way to see the city though is the option we took which is to hire a Go Car. It's a little yellow car with in built satellite navigation that you drive yourself. Along a choice of set routes the car will give you directions and tell you interesting and fun information about the sights you are seeing. It was unbelievably good fun although a little pricey at around $40 an hour. I'd highly recommend it though if your budget stretches that far!
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Having once lived in San Francisco, I can honestly say that I left (a piece of) my heart there, as corny as that may sound. There are so many wonderful things to see and do in this culturally rich city that I decided that the…Read More

Having once lived in San Francisco, I can honestly say that I left (a piece of) my heart there, as corny as that may sound. There are so many wonderful things to see and do in this culturally rich city that I decided that the top 5 sightseeing spots must be some of its neighborhoods. Once tourists get off the beaten path and into some of the most exciting neighborhoods of San Francisco, they will truly see the city's soul.


1. North Beach
This is the neighborhood of the Beat poets, and the premier hang out for writers like Jack Kerouac and Lawrence Ferlinghetti in the 1950s. An old Italian section, today the neighborhood is filled with cafes, coffee bars, and great restaurants. Moose's and The Stinking Rose (which refers, of course, to garlic) are two great eating spots. Bordering Chinatown, North Beach is an easy spot to find for any tourist. Stop in at the very first bookstore in the country to sell paperbacks, City Lights, which was founded by one of the original Beatniks.

2. Russian Hill
While many tourists know Lombard Street (the steepest, most winding street in San Francisco), many may not know that the adjoining neighborhood is called Russian Hill. Beautiful Victorian houses sit side by side with trendy shops and restaurants. This is where the young and hip buy their kitchen goods and dress up clothes, decorate their homes, and go out for drinks. It's charming with none of the tourist hype, but all of the style San Francisco is known for.

3. The Haight
The cross-section of Haight and Ashbury Streets gave a location to the hippie movement. Here is where Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix hung out and rose to fame playing the local clubs. The first head shops and all-natural bakeries still dot the landscape, which also adjoins beautiful Golden Gate Park. Buy your Grateful Dead souvenirs, prowl the punk resale shops, or go for a vegetarian vibe. See where the 1960s revolution in music and style began.

4. Chinatown
With the largest population of Chinese in the United States, San Francisco's Chinatown is a uniquely thriving community today. Celebrate the Chinese New Year by enjoying a dragon parade. Stop for dim sum on Sunday, when all the Chinese families flock to the old neighborhood. Buy dishes, clothing, and bedding at rock bottom prices after stopping in at one of the hundreds of restaurants crammed into an eight block area. Find the street that writer Amy Tan used as a character name in the "Joy Luck Club."

5. Nob Hill
Grace Cathedral and the Fairmont Hotel (where many a president has stayed) mark the square of this neighborhood. Take the cable car up California Street, stop in at the Top of the Mark for cocktails and a view, or enjoy some early morning Tai Chi exercises performed with grace and ease in its central park. Home to railroad barons, this was once the wealthiest neighborhood in town, where you could learn to "hob nob" with the rich and famous.

These five neighborhoods make up just a fraction of the city overall. San Francisco is full of delights, as are the surrounding areas, including Muir Woods, the wine country of Napa and Sonoma, and Highway One, which hugs the California coastline. Every year, San Francisco tops the list of favorite American cities and, with so much to offer, it's no surprise why!   Close

It was my first time in San Francisco. In fact, it was my first time in the US. On a bigger scale, it was my first time across the Pacific.I went to the US to attend the 2009 National Conference on Volunteering and Service.…Read More

It was my first time in San Francisco. In fact, it was my first time in the US. On a bigger scale, it was my first time across the Pacific.

I went to the US to attend the 2009 National Conference on Volunteering and Service. It was a big shot event opened by no less than First Lady Michelle Obama. So, there I was in San Francisco, coming all the way from the Philippines on my own although joined at the conference by our board members. We all just met up at Moscone West, the conference venue.

Through its narrow streets and uphill neighborhoods, the peninsula of San Francisco offers so many interesting tourist spots. Riding the cable car was quite an experience. Seeing with my own eyes what I used to view on TV or in magazines was awesome. Add to that the different feel of the cool San Francisco breeze, the smell of fresh leaves, and the sound of the bay's waves and of nature – they were all quite an experience!

I roamed San Francisco by foot but I also had various opportunities to see its famous landmarks. First, a bus ferried us from Moscone West, located in the South of Market but near the downtown area, to Fort Mason for the Cheers to YOU party. Then, I joined an immersion program in the Presidio which also took us through San Francisco's streets. Of course, we went around the city before proceeding to our destination. I met up as well with my childhood classmate, also named Claire, who indulged me in riding the cable car all the way to the Fisherman's Wharf. Lastly, on my way back to San Francisco from LA, a bus pick-up from the Amtrak station in Emeryville took us through the Bay Bridge, around the Financial District, the Embarcadero, and in various drop-off points.

San Francisco's layout is easy to understand. The northern part is where the Fisherman's Wharf, Marina, the Presidio, Russian Hill, Telegraph Hill, Cow Hollow, and the Golden Gate Bridge are found. At the central area are the Civic Center, Chinatown, Japantown, Financial District, Union Square, and Tenderloin. Cutting right in the middle is Market St. It's right smack at the Shopping District. On the southern part is the South of Market (SOMA), Yerba Buena, Castro, and all the way to Daly City and the international airport.

Golden Gate and The Presidio

San Francisco is known for the Golden Gate Bridge which connects the peninsula to the northern part of the Bay Area. We were fortunate to have activities at Fort Mason and at the Presidio. The Presidio is used to be the oldest military post in the US and is within the boundaries of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. GGNRA occupies the northeastern part of San Francisco and the southern part of Marin County, connected by the Golden Gate Bridge.

Part of the Presidio is the Crissy Field, a marshland that is now converted into a park where various plant and animal species grow. The Presidio also provides a beautiful view of the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, and San Francisco Bay. People bike and jog around the area, ofte flying kites or watching sails at the bay. Within the Presidio is the Palace of Fine Arts which is also another tourist spot.

How fortunate I was to be able to join this immersion learning program. So excited was I for this activity that I was the first in line at the bus pick-up point. Even I was the only one from an international affiliate on that bus, I didn't mind. I was just delighted to join the whole contingent off to the Presidio. I learned a lot and experienced the beauty of their national park firsthand. It was the best session I've ever attended. And before we left Crissy Field, we were given goody bags which included a flash drive containing all information about the program as well as souvenir items like a collection of postcards!

Downtown San Francisco

I was billetted at Hilton San Francisco, right at the city's downtown, which is also within the Tenderloin area, known for its number of homeless people and a place that should be avoided. I witnessed it first hand since the night I arrived until the day I left for LA. One homeless man followed me and my friends from the cable car all the way to O'Farrell St.

Every block seem to have a Starbucks while parking buildings are scattered everywhere. Two blocks from Hilton, which is located along O'Farrell St., is Macy's, San Francisco Shopping Center, and several other stores. It was summer sale when I was there and I found brands like Old Navy, Gap, and FCUK selling their goods at discounted prices.

Restaurants of various kinds of cuisine can be found anywhere in the downtown area. There are Japanese, Italian, Indian, Thai, and American restaurants. You name it, they have it. I tried one Indian food outlet just across Hilton and found their food very delectable. Friends from our mother organization also took us to Farmerbrown, a restaurant offering soul food, which is more commonly found in southern states. Farmerbrown, although offering American food, definitely has character and far different from usual fastfood joints that US is known for.

The Financial District skyline is distinguishable because of the famous Transamerica Pyramid. Not only is it the tallest building in San Francisco but it is also the most unique because of its triangular shape.

Also located in the downtown area is the Civic Center that includes the city hall, museums, theaters, and the main public library.

South of Market (SOMA)

The conference venue is located at Moscone West, which is part of South of Market. It's a short walk from Hilton, passing through Powell St. and the San Francisco Shopping Centre, which houses Bloomingdale's.

Moscone West was surrounded by Metreon, Yerba Buena Garden, The San Francisco Chronicle, City College of San Francisco, California Academy of Science, and Jollibee. Yes, the historic Filipino fastfood has landed in this side of San Francisco.

Fisherman's Wharf

The Fisherman's Wharf is frequented not only because of its many attractions but also because of known restaurants and cheap botiques. Visitors go to the famous Boudin bakery where they find breads made in different forms and shapes.

We dined at the Rainforest Cafe that has a souvenir shop at the ground floor. The restaurant truly has a rainforest feel with life-size robotic elephants, starlit ceiling, and fountain which has Atlas carrying the globe on his shoulders. On the walls were aquariums that housed different kinds of fishes.

The sun was still up at 8:00pm and may be confused for a 5:00 late afternoon. But the breeze says otherwise. The cold air at night lets you forget of summer. Thus, wearing clothes in layers is a wise move whenever you are in San Francisco.

A never-to-be-missed spot in the wharf is the Ghirardelli Square which is famous for its chocolates. You can even view how they make these chocolates and enjoy the delectable sweets right there at its plaza or in the confines of its restaurant.

Near the Fisherman's Wharf is Fort Mason where we had our opening party. Also popular near the wharf is Pier 39 where the Aquarium of the Bay is located. Sea lions found a hangout place at Pier 39, and have become an attraction to tourists.

Around San Francisco via the cable car

One should never miss the cable car while in San Francisco. These famous trams have been around for many years. We took the tram from end to end of Powell St. to Hyde St. It passes through the downtown area, Union Square, Chinatown, and Lombard Street, giving a magnificent view of San Francisco's narrow, steep streets and the financial district's skyline. It also gives passengers a view of Coit Tower, the crooked street at Lombard, and Alcatraz.

In addition to other sights of San Francisco, the city also has the Castro, which is an area for gays and lesbians. Last June 27 and 28, a gay pride parade was held at the city.

San Francisco also has biking tours and sightseeing tours. Others take a wine tour at nearby Napa Valley across the bay. If I had time, I could have also visited neighboring cities and counties. Still, I feel content for having seen as much as there is to see in San Francisco.    Close

San Francisco ended up on our A-list in the 1990s and barely a year goes by without another trip to the City by the Bay. The ambiance of the city, its many distinct neighborhoods and seaside location make for an unbeatable combination of urban energy…Read More

San Francisco ended up on our A-list in the 1990s and barely a year goes by without another trip to the City by the Bay. The ambiance of the city, its many distinct neighborhoods and seaside location make for an unbeatable combination of urban energy with the lure of sea breezes.

Any time is right for San Francisco, though the winter months tend to be a little more overcast. This stable climate is what makes the area north of the city one of the most important winemaking regions in the world today.

Hosting around half the number of people who visit the Las Vegas Strip each year, San Francisco lands somewhere between Disney World and Niagara Falls in popularity as a North American tourist destination. With a population of a little more than 800,000 and a land area of around 46 square miles, it’s one of the most densely populated cities in North America.

An important aspect of San Francisco’s appeal is its diversity. While the city’s tolerance toward gays and its position at the epicenter of 1960s counterculture are well known, San Francisco’s wide-ranging population makeup doesn’t end there. Around 32% of the city’s residents are Asian and more than a third of San Francisco’s residents are foreign-born. More than 45% speak a language other than English in their homes.


Chinatown

You’d need to visit Asia itself to find a larger Chinese community than that of San Francisco’s Chinatown. While it was born of discrimination and various exclusion laws directed against Chinese, it thrives today as one the most interesting parts of the city. It truly is a trip into another culture, with more than 100,000 people of Chinese descent living in a relatively compact neighborhood.

Everything from live fish and frogs to medicinal herbs are found in the packed-to-the-rafters shops. Windows are filled with prepared ducks, statues of Buddha and other deities, dishes, Chinese art and everything else needed to live a good Chinese life. On the streets, in the stores and in restaurants, you’ll hear Chinese being spoken and Chinese music playing. Depending on where you go, your dim sum bill may even be in Chinese.

At Chinese Cultural Center directly across the street from the Hilton Financial Distict, we saw groups of men huddled around games of Chinese checkers — something that perhaps you wouldn’t think of as a spectator sport. On a terrace separated from the men, young children play and Chinese women visit with each other while these serious matches take place. Walking across that short bridge was almost like walking across the Pacific.

One hidden gem — before you leave the edge of the Financial District and its iconic Transamerica pyramid tower — is Belden Alley, which is inconspicuously located in the block bounded by Pine, Bush, Kearny and Montgomery streets. Several restaurants there feature both indoor and outdoor dining. If you crave fresh mussels like I do, put Plouf on your list. It’s a little French bistro that will remind you of Paris, with a menu and wine to match to match the ambiance.


North Beach and Fisherman’s Wharf

Walking through Chinatown down Stockton Street, you’ll see a change that takes you across the Atlantic and into the Mediterranean to Italy. Your first hints might be seeing the colors of the Italian flag painted on the lampposts of Columbus Avenue, the smell of garlic, coffee shops serving espresso and people dining al fresco.

Italian cooking isn’t the same without garlic, but an extra measure comes from an establishment that’s a monument to the stuff. It’s known as The Stinking Rose: A Garlic Restaurant, and it serves more than 3,000 pounds of garlic per month in conjunction with their menu. The world’s longest garlic braid winds its way through one of the dining rooms. Their motto: "We season our garlic with food."

There are plenty of choices for Italian food along Columbus Avenue. One mandatory stop for us on every visit is Molinari Delicatessen. More than a century in business, this Italian grocery store deli has all the ambiance and authenticity of the Old World. Every square inch of the place is filled with delicious food items and we never fail to pick up some specialty items to take home. You can also choose ingredients and bread to have them make you an unforgettable sandwich on the spot.

A walk down Columbus toward the wharf brings you to the North Beach district, home to the beatnik neighborhood epitomized in writer Jack Kerouac’s 1960s hangout, the renowned Vesuvio Saloon. A few blocks up is Washington Square Park and Saints Peter and Paul Church. The visitors who stop there range from homeless street people to well-groomed dogs with their owners, families, businesspeople and everyone in between.

You should be able to hear, even before you see or smell, the California Sea Lions that lounge on rafts off Pier 39 of Fisherman’s Wharf. The herd began building in the early 1990s and at first, boat owners weren’t too happy about working around the beasts, which can grow to 1,000 pounds. Of course, people love them and it was the boat owners who ended up relocating. This past November, nearly all of them left. Speculation is that they followed a food source. They have migrated out for periods of time in the past, so chances are good they’ll be back in the spring.

Fisherman’s Wharf has a long history as a place where the boats came in with their catches and people could buy fresh seafood prepared on the spot or wrapped to take home. Some of that charm and history is still around, like Irish coffee at the Buena Vista on Hyde Street, across from the wharf’s closest cable care terminus — a tradition that began in 1952. (A quick tip: Don’t wait in line at a terminus for your mandatory cable car ride; rather, catch it along its route. You can pay on board and since the cable cars truly are part of San Francisco’s mass transit system, they leave space for riders on the way. Also, the California Street line is dependably less congested than the Hyde or Powell Street lines.)

Feeling active? Rent a bike from Blazing Saddles on the wharf, bike across the Golden Gate to Sausalito and take the ferry back across the bay.

The mandatory stop that attracts tons of tourists yet offers an authentic San Francisco experience is the Boudin Bakery, which occupies a spiffy and fairly new facility along Jefferson Street in the heart of Fisherman’s Wharf. In addition to all that great breads that come in a variety of shapes and sizes, Boudin’s has a full menu and dining areas so you can enjoy their famous sourdough bread on site. The bakery itself started in 1849 and they claim that a bit of the original mother dough — dating back to the California Gold Rush days — is present in every loaf. It’s a tradition well worth keeping alive, since the stuff is addictive.

We’ve enjoyed fresh Dungeness crab and shrimp on the wharf at a number of different places that are worth a stop. Our current favorite is the Crab House at Pier 39. But Fisherman’s Wharf is also known as a kitschy tinsel strip of tourist traps and crowds poring over souvenirs. The nice thing about Fisherman’s Wharf is that it’s dependably active and animated with street performers, shopping and things to do. By all means, take a boat tour of the Bay for a good look at the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz, the famous penitentiary that housed such notables as Al Capone and Machine Gun Kelly.

But if you want to mix in more with the locals, keep walking up the Embarcadero to the Ferry Terminal building on Pier 2 and one of North America’s best farmers markets. It includes many permanent shops inside, as well as a busy outdoor market filled with local favorites grown and produced in the area. It’s also a place to enjoy a cut-rate boat tour, since ferries are cheaper than tourist boats. You won’t get an audio narration, but you will get a nice ride on the Bay at a mass transit fare.

Another hidden gem: the best seafood in San Francisco that we’ve found isn’t at Fisherman’s Wharf. It’s a skinny little place with one row of maybe two dozen seats along on old marble serving bar located on Polk Street in the Nob Hill neighborhood called the Swan Oyster Depot. There’s always a line and it’s always worth standing in. Swan Oyster Depot opened in 1912 and it’s the place to go for crab, chowder, fish, seafood and, of course, raw oysters on the half shell.
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Being a huge fan of scavenger hunts and interactive theater, I was thrilled to discover Shanghai San Francisco, a "walking adventure tour" when Stuart and I were in the city last weekend. It turned out to be such a fun way of spending a…Read More

Being a huge fan of scavenger hunts and interactive theater, I was thrilled to discover Shanghai San Francisco, a "walking adventure tour" when Stuart and I were in the city last weekend. It turned out to be such a fun way of spending a Saturday afternoon – but then, cavorting with shady characters has always been my thing.

The premise of Shanghai San Francisco, a "walking adventure tour" is that the participants (us) are part of a traveling, interactive play in which we are members of a good-guy spy organization called the Committee of Vigilance. Our mission: to recover one of our agents who is being held hostage by the rival organization, the Bowery Hounds. In order to find the moll, you must rendezvous at various boîtes and restaurants in North Beach and China Town, where you obtain clues from tipped-in bartenders and actors who give such a convincing performance that your notion of reality is completely turned upside down.

The adventure begins even before the tour starts. Participants are directed to meet up under a signpost at Coit Tower. But prior to this, you are contacted on your cell phone by a serious and somewhat ominous-sounding man, who gives you your first set of instructions.

The tour itself takes roughly 2 1/2 hours and has you stopping at various bars or restaurants for a rest, quick nip and exchange of classified information that will propel you to the next meeting place. But you have to be very careful, as members of the Bowery Gang are all around you, waiting to stop you and intercept the information at any opportunity.

More on Shanghai San Francisco story at http://www.batteredorangesuitcase.com/2009/11/shanghai-san-f…stery-intrigue/   Close

This was one visit when we wanted to get out in the city and see alot of the areas we never saw before. To start with we decided to take the the Cable Car up California St. from the Hyatt Rengency and to walk the…Read More

This was one visit when we wanted to get out in the city and see alot of the areas we never saw before. To start with we decided to take the the Cable Car up California St. from the Hyatt Rengency and to walk the victorian house tour of the Pacific Heights area. We thought this would be a great way to see alot of the city architecture, one of the more beautiful neighborhoods in the city, and see some inspiring San Francisco views.

We really enjoyed the victorian house tour. The walking was not as bad as you would think with all the hills, you walked through some really pretty neighborhoods, and the homes are as picture perfect as what you always see in the travel magazines. We even saw the house used to film the movie Mrs. Doubtfire that Robin Williams stared in!

After the tour we decided to start walked down through the Filmore District on our way to Haight Ashbury. The boulevard is lined with quaint little shops, store fronts, and restaurants. We had a great time seeing the area, but also noted how alive the District and San Francisco is in general. People are out on foot walking everywhere all day long; walking their dogs, couples strolling and shopping, and sitting in the many restaurants. This city is really alive and you can feel the vibe and energy everywhere.

About half way to Haight Ashbury District we decided it would be wise to take the Metro transportation the rest of the way (way too long a walk). Again, we used our three day Metro transportation pass and hopped a bus the rest of the way. I don't know why, but we really had no problems figuring out which buses to take, and if we had a question, there were 4 or 5 people there willing to help us. My experience with public transportation in other cities was not this easy. The buses are well maintained, clean, and pretty much on time. And in this city - everyone uses public transportation! So you can pretty much be assured that the seats will be full.

The Haight Ashbury District was a must do for us and it was everything and nothing at the same time. There are shops and pubs all over the place and the eclectic neighborhood is what you might think it would be for an area with the 60's history this one has. It is a touristy area that trys to capitalize on it's past, a little run down, but worth seeing if you've never been before.

From here we took the bus to Market St., transfered to a great street car that was originally manufactured and used in Milan, Italy. I love all the old refurbished street cars that the city uses. They are from all over the States and the world, are beautifully refurbished, and provide a ride through the past when you take one. The ride down Market St. on the street car dropped us off at our home base (Hyatt Regency) located in Embarcadero Center and we ended the day with a glass of wine sitting on the balcony. A nice adventure for the day, a wonderful walk and ride through the city, and the end of another San Francisco day watching the sun set.   Close

Getting around in San Francisco can be daunting if you don't know your way around and a little intimidating in a car due to the traffic. We were advised by the hotel to get a 3 day unlimited use Metro Pass to use any of…Read More

Getting around in San Francisco can be daunting if you don't know your way around and a little intimidating in a car due to the traffic. We were advised by the hotel to get a 3 day unlimited use Metro Pass to use any of the city's public transportation. This turned out to be a grat idea and a great bargain. over the four days that we were there, we used the cable cars, street cars, and buses to see the city, and I mean we really got out there!

I think I love the Street Cars the most. They are antiques from all over the world and have been refurbished back into working order. The street car that impressed me the most was from Milan, Italy. All wood, beautifully restored, and well maintained.

Of course, who can resist the San Francisco Cable cars? These were great to ride and really gave you an opportunity to see city sites from an open air cable pulled cable car. It doesn't get much better than that.

The buses were also in good shape, well maintained, and we found everyone to be very friendly and helpful.

If you are going to San Francisco for a few days we definitely recommend that you get the Metro Pass to see the city.   Close