Next Trip: San Francisco. Need pointers

[SeattleOUstudent]

Going to take our 1 year anniv trip to San Fran. We will start 2 days in the wine country once we get to CA. Then we will spend 3 days in SF. I think we have the accommodations set in the wine country at Gaige House.

I could use recommendations for nice places to stay in SF and things to do in SF. Also, what are your favorite wineries and things to do in wine country? TIA:pop:

[SCOUT]

I always stayed in Tiburon which is just over the bridge from San Fran. There is a little hotel called Waters Edge that is pretty nice. There is a ferry into the city within walking distance of the hotel.
http://www.jdvhotels.com/waters_edge/

[Ike]

This place is a little pricy, but the view from the patio is fantastic.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=moss+beach+distillery&sll=37.510271,-122.512665&sspn=0.470054,1.018295&gl=us&ie=UTF8&hq=moss+beach+distillery&hnear=&t=h&z=10&iwloc=A

[SanJoaquinSooner]

1. Alcatraz tour. Get tickets at least a week in advance online.

http://keetsa.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/alcatraz.jpg



2. Tour of USS Pampanito WWII sub at the wharf.



3. Chinatown. If you want a rec on where to eat in Chinatown, I say R & G Lounge. Their signature dishes are the roast duck and salt-and-pepper crab.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3657/3379599049_ccb15331f9.jpg

4. Drive down the World's crookest street (a section of Lombard Street).

http://blog.ratestogo.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/lombard-street.jpg



5. Most importantly, catch the cable car at the turntable (Powell and 5th street). Ride it to the end, near the wharf. Get off and go have a world famous Irish Coffee or two at the Buena Vista Cafe.

http://z.about.com/d/gosanfrancisco/1/0/A/-/-/-/BuenaVistaCafe.jpg

http://images.nextstop.com/__ns1__b838720d-3972-40f8-9893-3ffff95c0581_240_219

[Turd_Ferguson]

Holiday Inn Fisherman's Wharf was about 120 a night. Nice rooms and right next to all the wharf restaurants. Keep in mind, after they get your money for the room, they will inform you that it's fitty bucks a day to park on they're premises. Also, there's a In-n-Out right around the corner. Plus, the worlds crookedest street is really close by.

[SoonerBK]

I always stayed in Tiburon which is just over the bridge from San Fran. There is a little hotel called Waters Edge that is pretty nice. There is a ferry into the city within walking distance of the hotel.
http://www.jdvhotels.com/waters_edge/



Ba dump dump Ching!

[Sooner04]

Seattle, make at least one breakfast run to THIS (http://www.searsfinefood.com/) place. You can ride a cable car to it if you wish.

Get the swedish pancakes. TRUST ME!

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/62/177214641_264cc51474.jpg

[C&CDean]

1. Alcatraz tour. Get tickets at least a week in advance online.

http://keetsa.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/alcatraz.jpg



2. Tour of USS Pampanito WWII sub at the wharf.



3. Chinatown. If you want a rec on where to eat in Chinatown, I say R & G Lounge. Their signature dishes are the roast duck and salt-and-pepper crab.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3657/3379599049_ccb15331f9.jpg

4. Drive down the World's crookest street (a section of Lombard Street).

http://blog.ratestogo.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/lombard-street.jpg



5. Most importantly, catch the cable car at the turntable (Powell and 5th street). Ride it to the end, near the wharf. Get off and go have a world famous Irish Coffee or two at the Buena Vista Cafe.

http://z.about.com/d/gosanfrancisco/1/0/A/-/-/-/BuenaVistaCafe.jpg

http://images.nextstop.com/__ns1__b838720d-3972-40f8-9893-3ffff95c0581_240_219



This is the best post you've ever made. All very good recommendations.

I didn't know anybody else knew about the R&G Lounge. It's the ****.

Also, if you like ice cream/chocolate, hit Ghiaradellis for a sundae called "The Rock." And if you like beer and live blues, hit Lou's Pier 39 upstairs. I've seen several San Francisco blues acts there who went on to become fairly famous. Tommy Castro comes to mind as one of them.

We usually take one of the ferries out under the Golden Gate too, and if you've got a little time, drive across to Marin County, park, and then walk back across the bridge. It ain't too far, and it's pretty cool. Check out all the netting and suicide prevention phones.

[SanJoaquinSooner]

Holiday Inn Fisherman's Wharf was about 120 a night. Nice rooms and right next to all the wharf restaurants. Keep in mind, after they get your money for the room, they will inform you that it's fitty bucks a day to park on they're premises. Also, there's a In-n-Out right around the corner. Plus, the worlds crookedest street is really close by.

Close by the wharf is the Columbus Inn for the budget minded. FREE PARKING (indoors). Walking distance to the wharf and bus to Chinatown/Downtown stops right in front of the Inn.

http://www.columbusmotorinn.com/

[SanJoaquinSooner]

This is the best post you've ever made. All very good recommendations.



Well, I invited the Posse out to SF last summer for Irish Coffees at the Buena Vista, but they all gave the excuse they'd rather visit LASooner.


...and on an Alcatraz visit, I'd recommend getting reservations for the first trip of the morning. It gets really crowded on the island later in the day.

[SeattleOUstudent]

Seattle, make at least one breakfast run to THIS (http://www.searsfinefood.com/) place. You can ride a cable car to it if you wish.

Get the swedish pancakes. TRUST ME!

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/62/177214641_264cc51474.jpg


You have not let me down before.

[SicEmBaylor]

Watch your corn hole.

[JLEW1818]

Alcatraz is great.

I saw my first man dressed as a women there too. she/he was with a big black guy with tight jeans. My mom pointed it out to me. it made me sick.

If you choose to be gay, that is fine, its your choice. but don't dress as a women and get boobs and nails and a purse.

be sure to at least go by Pac Bell park. It really was fun to watch a game there. I went the Summer of 2004. Got to see Barry Bonds vs Randy Johnson. not bad.

[Crucifax Autumn]

Don't drop the soap.

[Crucifax Autumn]

If you choose to be gay, that is fine, its your choice. but don't dress as a women and get boobs and nails and a purse.


Some of us 40ish and up guys can't help getting the boobs youngster! :D

[JLEW1818]

lol. naw, I'm getting them too now. it sucks

i wanna suck on vets

[OhU1]

Alcatraz is great.

be sure to at least go by Pac Bell park. It really was fun to watch a game there. I went the Summer of 2004. Got to see Barry Bonds vs Randy Johnson. not bad.

Agree, great place to see a game. In the evening the fog rolls over the rafters. A homeless man threw out the first pitch which is something you would only see in SF. I enjoyed the atmosphere and fan support of their team. I went to an A's game too, just not near as good.

[BajaOklahoma]

We stayed at the Fairmont. Love the history of the place, very well maintained and a wonderful central location. The trolley lines cross on the back side of the hotel.
We did a package (airfare, car and hotel) though one of the travel sites and it was very reasonable. I had expected the Fairmont to way out of our price range.

[IronSooner]

Robert Mondavi is good, so is Peju if I remember right.

Just east of napa/sonoma is Fairfield, where Jelly Belly's factory is. You can take a tour, get samples, and then buy 1 pound bags of rejects for cheap.

Gotta hit In-N-Out Burger at some point, they're awesome (still a fast food place, but probably the best fast food burger joint around)

Marin Headlands - you go across the Golden Gate, exit as soon as you cross over to Marin County, and then drive up the cliffside. You can park and walk all the way to the top. Lots of photos are taken up there showing the span of the bridge or the bridge in the foreground with the city in the background. Beautiful area, especially at night.

Drive around Sausalito, also on the north side of the bridge.

Columbus St - good italian places around there, easily walkable

Coit Tower - by day you can go in, walk around and look at the murals inside, or go up to the top and look out. Another beautiful view at night - looks out over the Bay Bridge and downtown if you go to the "back yard" on the opposite side of the tower from the parking lot

Alamo Square Park is pretty with the Victorian houses (they showed the painted ladies all the time on full house), and you can see downtown in the background. Go during the day. Not at night.

Haight-Ashbury is just a few blocks from Alamo Sq Park. Generally smells like hemp. Interesting place, but really only one street to walk down, not exactly a neighborhood. Just shops lining each side of the street.

[GottaHavePride]

The San Francisco Symphony? They're kind of a big deal.

[Curly Bill]

I was once in a bar there called the Holy Cow. A rather fetching young lass danced right out of her top. I'd recommend you try to see that.

[SeattleOUstudent]

Anyone hit the Chandon winery tour before?

[SanJoaquinSooner]

I'm sitting in the Marriot Marquis in downtown San Francisco right now. Drove the family in for a weekend get-away.

WonderCon was at the Moscone convention center and we checked it out --- wild mixture of geeky and regular folks, many dressed as a superhero or sci-fi character. Huge crowd.
http://www.comic-con.org/wc/

Bionic Woman Lindsay Wagner still has a nice bod. Biggest star attraction seemed to be the star of Chuck: Adam Baldwin.

We ate at Hana Zen last night. Their specialty is Yakatori, cooked with the authentic high temperature grills from Japan. http://www.hanazenrestaurant.com/

Excellent service. I asked the waitress which of the 24 or so yakatoris did she recommend and she said the lamb was at the top. We ordered the marinated lamb, chicken, garlic pork, bacon-wrapped scallops, and squid. They also several organ meat yakitoris, e.g., heart, gizzard, tongue. Also ordered some maki rolls - spicy tuna, shiitake mushroom, soft-shell crab, and spicy dynamite. Also ordered agedashi tofu appetizer.

I don't ordinarily order lamb outside greek/gyro, but this was fantastic: tender and flavorful.

I picked this restaurant because it was among the highest recommended on tripadvisor.com for Japanese.

The downtown location is also good if anyone in your party is a shopper. Westfield shopping area is anchored by Bloomingdales and Nordstroms. My daughter got a gambler's high.

[SanJoaquinSooner]

Anyone hit the Chandon winery tour before?

I have not. It's been several years since my last napa outing, but I always drove the main Napa drag and semi-randomly stopped at various wineries. Some have production facilities to tour and others are more historical with the cellars but production done elsewhere. The various tasting rooms are a really cool part of the tours.

[SanJoaquinSooner]

n/m

[C&CDean]

Yeah, we heard you the first time.

[Jello Biafra]

Yeah, we heard you the first time.

hey dean,

did you know he is sitting in the Marriot Marquis in downtown San Francisco right now and he drove the family in for a weekend get-away.

[C&CDean]

I heard he ate some Japanese dude's guts or something too.

[Jello Biafra]

I heard he ate some Japanese dude's guts or something too.

ooooh that's completely different then,...i read japanese N U T S!

that makes a little bit of difference.

[Jello Biafra]

The San Francisco Symphony? They're kind of a big deal.

meh, for some i guess.

[GottaHavePride]

Hey, they're good enough for Metallica... ;)

[OhU1]

Jello Biafra lives in San Fran. He should be able to tell you all the cool places to go!

[Jello Biafra]

Hey, they're good enough for Metallica... ;)

OOOOOOOooohhh that was thems guys? ok. i stand corrected.

[Zbird]

St. Francis Hotel (Class)
Lunch - Roast Beef sand, dark beer and shrimp or crab cocktail at the Hof Brau
Seafood Dinner @ Scoma's on the Wharf (reservations day before)
Multiple Amen's to Buena Vista for 5 or 6 Irish Coffees (Stand at the bar just to watch the bartender line them up and make 'em.)

More than 1 day ?- Four Seasons in Chinatown

Wine Country - Mirrasou Winery in Modesto (about a 2 hr drive from SF) - Bring me a case of their Monterey Riesling and a case of Cabernet to thank me for the excellent agenda, or if you're not pleased I'll pay for the wine.

[olevetonahill]

Be sure to wear some flowers in yer hair

[Lott's Bandana]

I used to live there.
The Marin Headlands, Point Bonita and Muir Woods will leave you in awe.

Not just from their raw natural beauty, but also because of their proximity to a huge metropolitan area (I'm talking <10 miles crow) something I found amazingly ying/yangy.

[C&CDean]

I used to live there.
The Marin Headlands, Point Bonita and Muir Woods will leave you in awe.

Not just from their raw natural beauty, but also because of their proximity to a huge metropolitan area (I'm talking <10 miles crow) something I found amazingly ying/yangy.

I forgot about the Muir Woods. I've got a picture somewhere of me standing inside one of those redwoods. Awesome place.

[King Barry's Back]

Only been to San Fran once -- when John Blake's team played in Berkeley. In my opinion, SF is by far the most beautiful American city, and I've been to just about every candidate.

Great, great trip, by the way. I was hosted by a friend who was a grad student at Cal and took me to all local joints. FWIW, she was Chinese American and I had the best Chinese food (Chinatown in Oakland) I can ever imagine. I was the only white guy in the joint. Try to find some real dim sum.

But my tip is -- rent a bike and do the city right. SF is just unbelievable for a bike tour.

Gorgeous views over swimming-pool blue water in three directions, great hills. Ride over the Golden Gate, and there's interesting points below the bridge on both sides of the bay. Getting back up in a pain in the ***, though.

One other word of caution. Lombard St is paved with really slick stones, so be careful.

[Leroy Lizard]

Only been to San Fran once -- when John Blake's team played in Berkeley. In my opinion, SF is by far the most beautiful American city, and I've been to just about every candidate.

SF is completely filthy, ranking up there with New Orleans. And the people are completely unfriendly, even by California standards. It's super expensive to boot, and the traffic is horrible.

[Chuck Bao]

SF is one of the great cities in the world. It is not about pollution or traffic congestion or the number of homeless people on the streets. I mean if the criteria were to be clean, neat and efficient, Singapore would be the best place to live on the planet. But, Singapore is still pretty sterile and the people tend to be pretty quick to pass judgment.

What I love about SF is that I get a good vibe of "live and let live". I get the same vibe in Amsterdam and my home city of Bangkok. I am not talking about indifference and you can get that in abundance in NYC, London or Paris. I am talking about a general vibe of "do your own thing" and "go for it".

[Sooner04]

SF is completely filthy, ranking up there with New Orleans. And the people are completely unfriendly, even by California standards. It's super expensive to boot, and the traffic is horrible.
I was there three years ago and couldn't disagree more.

The most beautiful city in our country, in my opinion.

[C&CDean]

SF is completely filthy, ranking up there with New Orleans. And the people are completely unfriendly, even by California standards. It's super expensive to boot, and the traffic is horrible.

Horse**** Leroy. San Francisco is so >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Chocolate City it ain't even funny. Comparing the two shows your ignorance on the subject. Yes, it's expensive to live there. Yes, the traffic is bad. Yes, you can find unfriendly people there. Just like any other large American city. The difference is San Francisco offers so much more than the average city all those other inconveniences don't seem so bad. Besides, I can think of a ton of other cities that blow in comparison that some think are great. Atlanta? Miami? LA? Dallas? Houston? Boston? New Orleans? I could go on and on.

[Leroy Lizard]

SF is one of the great cities in the world. It is not about pollution or traffic congestion or the number of homeless people on the streets. I mean if the criteria were to be clean, neat and efficient, Singapore would be the best place to live on the planet. But, Singapore is still pretty sterile and the people tend to be pretty quick to pass judgment.

What I love about SF is that I get a good vibe of "live and let live". I get the same vibe in Amsterdam and my home city of Bangkok. I am not talking about indifference and you can get that in abundance in NYC, London or Paris. I am talking about a general vibe of "do your own thing" and "go for it".

So in other words, it combines the filth of New Orleans with the moral compass of Las Vegas.

[Leroy Lizard]

Horse**** Leroy. San Francisco is so >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Chocolate City it ain't even funny. Comparing the two shows your ignorance on the subject. Yes, it's expensive to live there. Yes, the traffic is bad. Yes, you can find unfriendly people there. Just like any other large American city. The difference is San Francisco offers so much more than the average city all those other inconveniences don't seem so bad. Besides, I can think of a ton of other cities that blow in comparison that some think are great. Atlanta? Miami? LA? Dallas? Houston? Boston? New Orleans? I could go on and on.

First of all, I only compared the grime of SF to New Orleans.

To each his own. But I had to visit SF on many occasions and hated it every time.

As for comparing it to Atlanta and Dallas etc, those are not vacation destinations for the most part.

[OhU1]

the people are completely unfriendly, even by California standards.

I was surprised to find that this was not true. On the contrary I found people to be helpful and friendly. I went there with the expectation of enduring California snobs and liberal elitists.

If you want in your face rudeness try Germany. Not necessarily people on the street but German workers in the service industries are like angry pitbulls.

[Jello Biafra]

I

If you want in your face rudeness try Germany. Not necessarily people on the street but German workers in the service industries are like angry pitbulls.

lol this ^^^ +5...
I don't think this place has changed a whole bunch from WWII they still think they are the cradle of civilization and they don't want or need any outside help. especially from a buncha greezy mericans.
and if the chicks tells you she doesn't speak english..best to move on. you ain't gettin any.

[Leroy Lizard]

I was surprised to find that this was not true. On the contrary I found people to be helpful and friendly. I went there with the expectation of enduring California snobs and liberal elitists.

If you want in your face rudeness try Germany. Not necessarily people on the street but German workers in the service industries are like angry pitbulls.

That much is true. But that is a European thing in general.

[Sooner04]

I walked from the NE corner of the peninsula down through Chinatown and across all the way to Presidio. I encountered, brace yourself, NONE of the filth Leroy described.

Not a bit. And I was on foot.

[Leroy Lizard]

I walked from the NE corner of the peninsula down through Chinatown and across all the way to Presidio. I encountered, brace yourself, NONE of the filth Leroy described.

Not a bit. And I was on foot.

You're blind.

[C&CDean]

Dude, the grime that is New Orleans simply cannot be seen/found anywhere in San Francisco. I don't know where the **** you're staying when you go out there, but it simply isn't anything like the filth in NO. You're dead wrong on this one.

[Tulsa_Fireman]

In one of San Francisco's fine public toilets.

[C&CDean]

I wonder if they still have the pay toilet by the trolley station in Fisherman's Wharf?

[Sooner04]

You're blind.
Nope.

And I've walked all through the French Quarter, and THAT is some serious filth. There's a reason it's always wet on Bourbon Street in the morning......it's because the Fire Department comes out at about 5 AM and turns the high-pressure hose to 11 and sends everything into the sewer.

NOTHING like that in San Francisco.

[C&CDean]

If you really wanna see the nastiness that is NO, go down to Bourbon St. on a Saturday or Sunday morning. The smells will gag you. Urine, vomit, ****, and bleach all mixed together. We used to walk down to the gay pancake house at the end of Bourbon St. and you'd see used rubbers, shopkeepers scrubbing their sidewalks out front with bleach and brushes, etc. Nasty place.

In my 20-something trips to San Francisco, I've never seen/heard/smelled anything even close to this. Is there seedy areas? Sure, but overall, it's a neat place.

[SeattleOUstudent]

Should I spend the extra bucks on the convertible rental for the 2 days in wine country? Of course I wont have the car in SF proper.

[crawfish]

Anyone hit the Chandon winery tour before?

We did that last year. The host was fun and very crazy, but the sampling was a bit thin.

[Lott's Bandana]

Should I spend the extra bucks on the convertible rental for the 2 days in wine country? Of course I wont have the car in SF proper.

Definitely

also, I don't know when you are going, but hoodies and shells are mandatory. You WILL get cold. Especially in July and August.

[KC//CRIMSON]

Should I spend the extra bucks on the convertible rental for the 2 days in wine country? Of course I wont have the car in SF proper.


I've never done any of these tours, but I bet it's awesome.

http://winetrain.com/winery-tours

[SeattleOUstudent]

Thinking about renting a Honda Goldwing for a day and driving up Muir forrest and Point Reyes etc. Should I just do this drive in the convertible coming back from Napa (a detour, of course), or is it worth making a day out of this?

[olevetonahill]

If ya have the Bucks and the Time the Bike ride sounds Allsome :cool:

[SeattleOUstudent]

150/day taint bad.

[SoonerInKCMO]

I'll be there tomorrow night - for only my second visit. Looking forward to it as I was not able to see much of the city on my previous trip (went for work related training and spent most of my time in some office building that could've been in any suburban office park across the country). Staying near the MoMA so I'll probably spend some time there... Pier 39 is supposed to be a happening place for the 4th...gonna hit City Lights bookstore for some 1st amendment action...drinkin' some beer and eating pizza with a friend one of the nights. Good times.

[JohnnyMack]

In San Jose right now. We've spent the last week out in the area.

I would kill a homeless person to live on the water in Carmel. Monterey is amazing. So is the Muir woods.

[btk108]

CA sucks...especially SJ Valley.....and San Jose is meh.

[KC//CRIMSON]

I'll be there tomorrow night - for only my second visit. Looking forward to it as I was not able to see much of the city on my previous trip (went for work related training and spent most of my time in some office building that could've been in any suburban office park across the country). Staying near the MoMA so I'll probably spend some time there... Pier 39 is supposed to be a happening place for the 4th...gonna hit City Lights bookstore for some 1st amendment action...drinkin' some beer and eating pizza with a friend one of the nights. Good times.

Hit the Crab House or Pier 23 Cafe. Both are killer for crab and other seafoods.

[SanJoaquinSooner]

CA sucks...especially SJ Valley.....and San Jose is meh.

The San Joaquin Valley will make no one's top ten list for tourism, but it is the world's most productive agricultural region.

But for tourists, many other areas of CA are great, certainly including San Francisco.