San Francisco trip...

[Ara Ann]

So..DH is heading to San Francisco next month, for a business trip/vacation combo and I found out today, I am going with him! This will be an early anniversary trip (a month early, but I''ll take it, LOL).

Any sightseeing tips for SF?

We''ll be there on a Saturday, through the following Friday...we plan to visit the Golden Gate Park the first weekend with friends of ours who live in the Bay area...but they won''t be available during the week.

DH will be working during the day M-F (financial district), but we''ll have the evenings free. Any suggestions for evening sightseeing? Or for me, during the daytime hours?

Any advice is appreciated! I''m not a ''big city'' person and will probably feel like a fish out of water...

The second weekend we''ll be flying to Southern CA, to see his brother and we''ll go to Disneyland too...then head back home. Should be a great trip!

 

[wsu12]

Do a search for San Fran. I just recently posted a similar inquiry a few weeks back. Enjoy your vacation!

 

[Mara]

Ditto FSU there were a lot of recommends in that thread. Not sure what else was in there but if you have mostly evenings free for romantic times, def go to Tiburon and/or Sausalito for dinner. Sausalito has super cute shops and great restaurants and a view of SF.

Enjoy!

 

[movie zombie]

spend some hours at the Legion museum with the Cartier exhibit while hubby i busy during the day. you won''t regret it.

mz

 

[Ara Ann]

Thanks for the suggestions ladies! I''ll definitely check out the Cartier exhibit!

Any suggestions as to what I should wear? What is the weather like this time of year (a month from now)?

And any ''must visit'' restaurants near the financial district? DH will be working during the day and may be done late...so not sure how many evenings we''ll have to sight-see out of the immediate area, we won''t be renting a car.

Thanks again! Getting excited!

 

[Mara]

Ara...use Yelp to help you find restaurants local to where you will be on recommendations. take some of them with a grain of salt but a restaurant that has 100-200+ reviews and a 4 star plus average will usually be worth trying. SF has so many great places to eat, some fancy and some total dives! also don't limit yourself to one area just because you don't have a car, you don't need one in SF. you can take a cab or the trolley or whatever to get to other areas.

as for weather, check the forecast before you come down but expect rain, wind, and sun for the most part. it won't be that cold when you are here, prob 50-60 during day and 30-40 at night but in SF and coastal areas, or even inland in napa you can get all types of the elements in a few days period. yesterday we had rain, wind and today it's sunny.

have fun!

 

[Ara Ann]

Thanks for the tips Mara! And I''ll check out the restaurant reviews on Yelp!

 

[Ara Ann]

Well...looks like we will be in for a treat...I just found out we''re arriving the weekend of the Chinese New year celebrations/parade and the parade route goes almost right past our hotel! We planned to visit China Town that weekend, but it''s going to be a lot busier than we expected!

 

[AmberGretchen]

Sounds like fun! Chinese New Year is a huge celebration in SF - just be careful of trying to get around then, it tends to snarl the whole area in terms of public transit, etc...

FYI, if you''re thinking of Tiburon and/or Sausalito, check the Ferry schedules - those are a great way to get over there, really nice on a clear day. And in Tiburon, check out Guayma''s to eat - great, fresh Mexican food and killer Margaritas, right on the water overlooking the bay.

Since you will be staying right near there, you could also do a jewelry-shopping tour of Union Square - definitely at least try to make it to Lang''s - they have one of the most spectacular collections of antique jewelry I have ever seen

Also, if your hubby is going to be in the Financial District - you should go with him over there, and then walk over to the Ferry Building. There is a beautiful walk to be had along the water on the Embarcadero, and the Ferry Building itself is really beautiful, and is a mecca of awesome food - get some cheese from Cowgirl Creamery (a local favorite - just ask for recommendations, they love to give them, and they usually come with samples

) and some fresh bread from Acme bakery right next door, and you are all set.

If you and hubby have time, one of our favorite things to do when we lived there (we hope to live there again in the not-too-distant future) was to get a picnic lunch at the Ferry Building, then walk over to Sansome St, and take the Filbert Street Stairs (basically its so steep they couldn''t put a real street all the way through, so you just climb the stairs through these lovely little houses and gardens, then you have your picnic at the top outside Coit Tower - killer views, and the Tower itself is pretty cool, with 1930''s-era murals on the inside.

 

[Ara Ann]

Date: 2/7/2010 10:11:18 AM
Author: AmberGretchen
Sounds like fun! Chinese New Year is a huge celebration in SF - just be careful of trying to get around then, it tends to snarl the whole area in terms of public transit, etc...


FYI, if you're thinking of Tiburon and/or Sausalito, check the Ferry schedules - those are a great way to get over there, really nice on a clear day. And in Tiburon, check out Guayma's to eat - great, fresh Mexican food and killer Margaritas, right on the water overlooking the bay.


Since you will be staying right near there, you could also do a jewelry-shopping tour of Union Square - definitely at least try to make it to Lang's - they have one of the most spectacular collections of antique jewelry I have ever seen

Also, if your hubby is going to be in the Financial District - you should go with him over there, and then walk over to the Ferry Building. There is a beautiful walk to be had along the water on the Embarcadero, and the Ferry Building itself is really beautiful, and is a mecca of awesome food - get some cheese from Cowgirl Creamery (a local favorite - just ask for recommendations, they love to give them, and they usually come with samples

) and some fresh bread from Acme bakery right next door, and you are all set.


If you and hubby have time, one of our favorite things to do when we lived there (we hope to live there again in the not-too-distant future) was to get a picnic lunch at the Ferry Building, then walk over to Sansome St, and take the Filbert Street Stairs (basically its so steep they couldn't put a real street all the way through, so you just climb the stairs through these lovely little houses and gardens, then you have your picnic at the top outside Coit Tower - killer views, and the Tower itself is pretty cool, with 1930's-era murals on the inside.

Wow! Thanks for all the great tips Amber Gretchen!

And I AM really concerned now, about getting to our hotel, because we land a couple of hours before the parade! Yikes! But we plan to reserve a van, with the hotel's shuttle service, from the airport. I just hope we aren't stuck in traffic for hours...it's a long flight and I know I'll just be so happy to get to the hotel and relax for a bit!

Also, I am going to be staying in the financial district with DH, the hotel is right there...I also found out there is a shopping center nearby.

And LANG'S! I had no idea I'd be close enough to pay them a visit! But very dangerous...I LOVE antique jewelry! EEEK!

I hope we have some free time during the week, it all depends on how late DH will be at the office each day and what his co-workers have planned for dinners, etc. The weekend is already planned out and the following weekend we'll be in SoCal. But I know we'll enjoy the time we spend there!

 

[movie zombie]

if you get the cow girl cheese, get some acme bread to go with it.......

mz

 

[Hest88]

Ara, are you a shopping person or a museum person or an outdoors person? All are available but the public transportation system in the city takes a bit of getting used to, and the farther you go out from downtown the harder it is to get a taxi back (even by calling). If you''re into the outdoors and museums, a great combo is Golden Gate Park PLUS trips to both the Academy of Sciences and the De Young Museum, which are across from each other in GG Park.

There''s also a number of darling shopping streets full of boutiques (Union Street--NOT Union Square, Fillmore Street--which can be combined with a trip to Japan Town easily, Hayes St., the edgier boutiques in the still very Latino Mission district etc.) but they''re all out of the downtown area.

 

[Ara Ann]

Yum, the bread and cheese idea sounds great, would like some right about now!


And Hest, to answer your question...yes to all three. I am not a ''big shopper'' but enjoy shopping (even if it''s just browsing) boutiques and of course jewelry stores are always fun...I love seeing new outdoor sights and walking outdoors and I also love museums! LOL! Doesn''t narrow it down much! I guess the weather will dictate some of our activities. Sunday is reserved for the Japanese Tea Gardens, but if it''s raining we''ll need a back up plan just in case.

Thanks for the cab tips too...sure don''t want to get stuck somewhere out of town.

 

[AmberGretchen]

If the shuttle picking you up from the airport belongs to the hotel, and they have trouble getting close because of the parade, you could considering having them drop you off to walk the rest of the way or wander around the area, and then just bringing your luggage to the hotel separately.

Little shopping streets with tons of personality are abundant in SF - my personal favorites are Fillmore, Union (Union Street Goldsmiths is an AMAZING jewelry store

) and Chestnut St - all have lots of little shops and nice restaurants and are fun people watching. Chestnut has the additional advantage that if you are a walker, you could get over to the Marina (waterfront) from there - its really a beautiful part of the city.

For museums, my personal favorite is the Legion of Honor, both for the museum itself, but also for the utterly breathtaking setting.

Also, if you''re going to be at the Japanese Tea Garden, the De Young and the Academy of Sciences are literally just around the corner. I''d definitley recommend them especially if the weather''s bad. If the weather''s good, I''d recommend the Arboretum - just across the street in the other direction, and so incredibly beautiful - tons of gorgeous exotic plants, beautiful gardens, and its all free

If you''re feeling like channeling a native in that area when its time to eat - venture just outside the park (again, easy walking distance from the Japanese Tea Garden - always remember that SF is very small, only 49 miles square in total), and go to Park Chow on 9th Avenue - they make fantastic, healthy, local fare (try the lasagna!!), and killer desserts (any kind of pie is always good, but also the ginger cake with pumpkin ice cream

).