Trip to San Francisco
Thursday, May 10th, 2007 - 2:10pm
I'm thinking of taking my wife to San Francisco for her birthday this year (it's one of those milestone ones) since she has never been there and wants to go. I was there on business (*insert ramrod club reference here*) about 10 years ago and stayed near the airport; I got into the city but didn't have time to do much. I'd like some suggestions on things to do and where to stay; I'm thinking of a 3 night/4 day trip (2 of the days will probably be a wash since will be flying from/to Ohio). The only thing I would rule out (*insert another ramrod club reference here*) would be any trips to "wine country"; neither of us drink wine much. However, if there is a "beer country" out there, that could be fit into the itinerary.
Ghiradelli Square, Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39 (touristy but has tours to Alcatraz), Sausalito (good but pricey restaurants, requires a trip over the golden gate bridge), Presidio/that new art museum, grove st and van ness st (city hall, opera house, bill graham's civic, SF ballet)
There is a Ruth Criss steakhouse on van ness. However, I have seen many places that the House of Prime Rib is the best in SF and its only a few more blocks down.
The F line is a historic trolley car that will take you all the way down market street and all along the pier. It a part of muni so its a steal at $1.50. You will pass all the major theatres (Orpheum, Warfield, etc), the new mall/shopping district at powell/market, the financial district, a block's walk from union square, the ferry building, fisherman's wharf, and a wonderful bay view as you pass all the piers up to Pier 39.
Ill try to think of more.
Being fangoriously devoured by a gelatinous monster.
If you get over to Berkeley, check out Jupiter Brewery. Good stuff.
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Some personal recommendations:
Haight Ashbury is a great neighborhood to check out, and its cultural impact as the heart of the Summer of Love is legendary. Make sure to stop by Amoeba music while there, the largest independent music store.
North Beach, halfway across town, used to be a beatnik neighborhood, but now it's mainly an Italian area - and not coincidentally, an excellent place to dine out.
When you're near North Beach, walk up the Telegraph hill to Coit Tower. It's a lovely vista with excellent views of the city. It's also home to a huge flock of wild green parrots that seem to enjoy living in the middle of a city.
Union Square is the quintessential city center - all the biggest stores and most expensive hotels are right there. It's excellent for shopping and people watching. Walk around and enjoy the hills and Victorian architecture. From there it's also only a few blocks up to Chinatown.
Take the F trolley line on Market. On one end it's anchored by Pier 39, which is a huge tourist trap full of cheap souvenirs and overpriced sweatshirts, but the view of Alcatraz and the bay is nice. I guess the colony of wild sea lions that lives there is also cool.
The other side of the F ends in the Castro, the famous gay neighborhood. Oh, and while you're at it, lay off the ramrod club references. They're not cool, but especially not there. 
Check out the Golden Gate Park, especially if you're in the mood to visit the numerous museums and gardens contained inside it. The botanical gardens are great for a walk. And the nearby AIDS memorial grove is a haunting memorial.
Golden Gate Bridge is a must, though the walk across it is not for those afraid of heights.
Underneath the bridge on the city side, check out Fort Point, an old military installation, one of three set up to protect the bay from potential sea attacks.
All of this stuff can be easily done on public transportation (MUNI). But if you'll have a car, drive over the Golden Gate bridge, and up the spectacular Highway 1, to Muir Woods (15 mi) or Stinson Beach (20 mi). Nothing quite like a drive on top of a coastal cliff on a sunny day, and then ending up on an ocean beach.
(By the way, check out this local guide to the city - it's served me well in the past.
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Thanks for all the suggestions. Can anyone recommend a good hotel to stay at?
If you like beer, I recommend hitting up the Rogue Ales Public House. Great food, and tons of great rogue brews that are tough to find elsewhere. They have some really good IPAs there.
Check it out. http://www.rogue.com/index.html
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Depends on what you're looking for I guess, but I stayed at The Hotel Mark Twain on Taylor street during GDC and it was pretty neat. Older, but walking distance to BART, a ton of restaurants and the Market district. And relatively inexpensive. Definitely an experience.
Don't be saucy with me, Bernaise. - Count DeMonet
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Also, you mentioned you spent some time there, but if you've been away for any length of time, it's easy to forget how many homeless folks there are in San Francisco. They're pretty forward about getting in your face to ask for money and whatnot and it can be off putting if you're not used to it, but I've never had any outright "trouble" in the city. If you stay downtown, or spend any amount of time walking around in there, be prepared, stay alert and keep your valuables close. I had gotten used to it, living there, but it was a bit of a surprise, even after having lived in Boston, coming back this year and being reminded of just how many people call the streets of San Francisco their home.
Don't be saucy with me, Bernaise. - Count DeMonet
FalseGravity - My first blog.
I think I've stayed at the Wharf Inn a couple of times. It's not fancy, but it's a reasonable rate which, combined with the FREE PARKING and proximity to a Trader Joe's (in room wine and cheese anyone?) made it a good deal.
FYI - having a car would let you take a day trip down to Monterrey. The drive itself is fun to do on the coast road.
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Oh, and it's right in the heart of Fisherman's Wharf, so you can pretty much walk everywhere.
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Some ideas on things to do:
- Alcatraz (yes it's touristy but kinda fun). You'll want to book your tickets to the island well before your trip. Last time I went they were sold out for two or three days.
- Drive across the Golden gate to Sausolito (sp)
- Drive the coastal road to Monterrey. Check out Cannery Road, the acquarium, maybe a whale watching boat trip. (They are quite cold, even in the summer though - take warm clothes).
- Check out street performances around Fisherman's Wharf
- Of course, check out Chinatown, etc.
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Here is a list as well as what to expect from them, from my experience:
Golden Gate park - lots of nice botanical gardens as well as some good muesiums
Muir Woods - a great place to hike amongst the coast redwoods and a very nice drive from the city
Mount Tamalpais - on a clear day you get an amazing view of the Bay Area and is easy to combine with a trip to
Muir Woods and/or Sausalito
Ghiradelli Square/Fishermans Wharf - pretty typical tourist trap stuff, although you get good chocolate/ice cream and can see/hear lots of sea lions
China Town - I just find it fun to walk around and window shop, not to mention getting decent food
The Golden Gate Bridge - nice views and as someone mentioned earlier has a real nice fort just underneath it on the SF side
Cable Cars - Well it just sorta has to be done, just make sure you get a seat toward the front so you get the nice view when coming over the top of the hill
Haight Ashbur - A great place to just walk around and people watch
And if you like fish, you really should try a Sushi place to three (an easy place to see a touch of Japan is Japan Town, its a shopping mall of sorts).
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It's still there and so are they. Market Street starts looking like something out of a Romero movie after sunset, which is mildly amusing, but more than that, extremely sad. Still, aside from being uncomfortable about not actually having enough money to be able to give it to all of the people who appeared to need it, I didn't have any trouble.
Don't be saucy with me, Bernaise. - Count DeMonet
FalseGravity - My first blog.
Second. For GDC this year, I stayed a few blocks away from Jupiter and hit it up one night. I wish I could remember what I ordered because it was really good. This might help, though. I inquired about Fat Tire and waitress said they didn't have it but did have something better.
Also, on that same street is an Irish pub that has a quiz on Tuesday nights. It was a lot of fun and the place was packed. Maybe Trashie can post the name because I can't recall.
JUST PUZZLED YOUR ASS UP, SON! -Mr Crinkle
Another note to add to the sadness is that the population increased after Hurricane Katrina...
But on the fun note, if you do spend time in Berkley be sure to go to Zachary's Pizza and bring your appetite. Its heavenly chicago style pizza only a blocks walk from the rockridge BART station.
Being fangoriously devoured by a gelatinous monster.
Or you could take a ferry from the SF Ferry Building over to Sausalito for a half-day trip. The ferry will take you past Alcatraz and if it's not too foggy, you'll get a good view of the Golden Gate Bridge.
gtnissanfan is on the front lines, building a Kritzcharge
Stopped in there as well. However, it was after a couple of pints at Jupiter so I don't remember the name either. Something generically Irish but we had a good time.
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Thank you online credit card statements. It was called Becketts.
JUST PUZZLED YOUR ASS UP, SON! -Mr Crinkle
I really like the museum at the Palace of the Legion of Honor. Take a few minutes to walk around outside the building too, the views of the ocean and bridge are really nice.
Do the cable car at least once. The lines at the endpoints can be kinda long, if you are willing to hang on to the rail, buy a ticket then walk up a block or two to the next stop.
With limited time, I'd suggest you skip the tourist traps: Fisherman's Wharf, Alcatraz, and the Haight. The City has too much non-tourist interesting things to waste time.
Eat lunch in Hayes Valley or Noe Valley, just walk around until you find something that looks cool.
Eat dinner on Columbus street in North Beach. Have an espresso and dessert there too, there are a bunch of great non-Starbux coffee shops. Parking can be a real b**ch here, be warned, you might want to take a cab. Umm.. actually, parking sucks everywhere.
If she's a bit open minded, take the missus to Good Vibrations: the cleanest, friendliest sex shop in the world.
I'd stay somewhere near Union Square. Sir Francis Drake is nice, but there are plenty others in the area. Close to cable cars, shopping, fun stuff, and high class eats.
If you have time to do this, and in four days you may not want to... the drive north, first up to Cloverdale, and then out west through Navarro and then up to Fort Bragg, is one of the most spectacular trips in the country, IMO. It's about, oh, hmm... about an hour up to Santa Rosa, another hour to Cloverdale, probably about three hours to Fort Bragg. So it's definitely a trip, and you'd want to stay there a night and then come back.
That area between Navarro and Fort Bragg is all old-growth redwood trees, still and silent.... sometimes it's foggy and mysterious, sometimes it's sunny and beautiful. Regardless, you're driving through some of the tallest trees on Earth... the very tallest tree is fairly close by, though they won't tell you exactly where it is. (they fear vandals.)
I strongly suggest, sometime after Navarro, just pulling off the road onto a suitable spot (there are many), and wandering through the redwoods a bit. Watch for poison oak... there's lots in the area. It's very easy to see and avoid; bright green triple leaves really stand out in the redwoods.
There's no possible way to mistake it as long as you know what to look for. Find a spot to sit and just soak in the ambience... a quiet lunch in the redwoods is an experience, especially if it's foggy. There's just something about redwoods in the fog.
When you get up to Fort Bragg, stop in at Clair's Pies. There's a Safeway on your right as you first enter downtown; if you cross over their lot, Clair's is (or was, a few years ago) in a brown building right across the street. I don't know if Clair herself is still alive, she was old even 10 years ago, but she had The Most Awesome Pie Known To Man. Then, if you have time and feel like it, take one of the half-day Skunk Train trips. It goes halfway to Willits and then comes back. Very pretty, though not in any LARGE sense... it's just a riot of typical California vegetation and a few moderately interesting sights. It's a quiet trip, nothing that's individually all that exciting, but I really enjoy it. It's very relaxing. You may not have time to do the drive up and still catch the train; you may have to do it the next day before coming back.
If you're feeling extra touristy, you can head further up the coast to Mendocino, which I think is about another hour past Fort Bragg. It's super picturesque ... and rather tourist-trappy. But it's nice to see if your schedule allows.
The other suggestion of going south to Monterey is also a good one. Monterey is really lovely, and the aquarium there is neat. And the drive isn't quite as long. But one is north, and one is south, so you'll have to pick one or the other, unless you want to spend all four days driving and miss SF itself.
Good restaurant in SF: "Quiet Storm" in the Cannery. There's this absolutely kickass blues/jazz bar on the waterfront too, but I can't think of the name offhand. It's hard to get into, packed to the rafters most nights. If you're interested, I can show you on a map where it is, but I don't think I'll be able to tell you the name.