Trip Report: San Francisco, Monterey, Wine Country
Apr 8th, 2009, 02:45 PM
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Trip Report: San Francisco, Monterey, Wine Country
Guten Tag, here is a German couple writing a trip report about a ten-day trip to California which was, thanks to Stu Dudley, DAX and many other Fodorites, a great pleasure. We started with three nights in San Francisco, drove down to Monterey, where we spent four nights (in order to participate in a convention which left us, however, enough time for some sightseeing) and ended with two nights in Sonoma Valley.
Day One: A Most Unpleasant Flight But a Good Welcome to San Francisco
O boy - what a torture! And we flew Business Class. We had to fly on Saturday, the 28th of March and since we collect Star Alliance Miles, we had the choice of three Star Alliance flights from Düsseldorf to San Francisco, all three with a change in Frankfurt. The first one was operated by Lufthansa, the second one by United and the third one again by Lufthansa. We chose United. Why? Firstly, because the Fodorites on the Airlines Forum told us that United has slightly better seats than Lufthansa (which was true, but finally did not help). Secondly, because United's schedule was most convenient for us - with a leisurely start at 10:25 AM in Düsseldorf and a convenient arrival at 5:24 PM in San Francisco. Theoretically.
When we spent an hour waiting time in that fabulous Lufthansa Lounge in Frankfurt (complimentary meal, complimentary booze, complimentary shower...) we were aghast when we noticed that flight UA901 was announced to San Francisco/Boston. Hah? Hadn't we booked a non-stop flight to San Francisco?
On board, we learned that United Airlines had a shortage of pilots and they had to land in Boston for a crew change. Okay, we lay down in our wonderful lie-flat business class seats, enjoyed a mediocre meal (fillet mignon, well done) and mediocre wines (a bland sparkling wine from California which they dared to call "Champagne" while Lufthansa serves real Jacquart Champagne in business class and a cabernet sauvignon from Chile while Lufthansa served us a Grand Cru Classé from Médoc) and slept a couple of hours, wisefully skipping videos and inflight entertainment.
In Boston, the aircraft was taxied to a remote tarmac position. The crew change/refueling took 2 1/2 hours! Finally, when we landed after 10PM in San Francisco, we had spent 16 hours on the aircraft, with the last 10 hours without any food. Will we book United again?
Well, at least we managed to be among the first to deplane and to be the very first in the foreigners' line at the immigration counter. We had the first immigration officer after 2001 who was fairly friendly and halfway efficient, grabbed our bags (which were miraculously on the belt which had never before happened on a United flight) and rented our car. The advantage of driving on a Saturday night at 11PM was that there were no traffic jams in sight. United managers, thank you!
We had booked a standard double room at the Huntington Hotel on Nob Hill. After reading mixed reviews on Tripadvisor, we were very pleased with the hotel. A beautiful room, freshly renovated, with a wonderful marble bathroom. It is a socalled "Small Luxury Hotel" which means highly personalized service, cozy ambiance and no nametag-bearing business guests. The locals later told us that there is a better hotel in San Francisco (the adjacent Fairmont) but that the Huntington has the very best spa in town. So true - we loved it. And this all for $135 per night (no typo).
Of course, we were thirsty after such an exhausting flight and headed down into the bar. We learned that the bar hours were 5PM to 12PM, and it was 12:30. However, the bar was still lively. The barman told us "Sorry, no drinks anymore we are closing" but when we told him our story he said "This is an emergency!". He gave us a tray, poured two large longdrink tumblers full of booze, gave us two bottles of mixers, a huge pile of almonds and wrote a check about $8. And he poured me a complimentary shot of Woodford Reserve and told me this should be my beverage of the next day. Needless to say, we slept well and awaked next morning without any jet lag.
San Francisco could not have welcomed us better!
To be continued.
Day One: A Most Unpleasant Flight But a Good Welcome to San Francisco
O boy - what a torture! And we flew Business Class. We had to fly on Saturday, the 28th of March and since we collect Star Alliance Miles, we had the choice of three Star Alliance flights from Düsseldorf to San Francisco, all three with a change in Frankfurt. The first one was operated by Lufthansa, the second one by United and the third one again by Lufthansa. We chose United. Why? Firstly, because the Fodorites on the Airlines Forum told us that United has slightly better seats than Lufthansa (which was true, but finally did not help). Secondly, because United's schedule was most convenient for us - with a leisurely start at 10:25 AM in Düsseldorf and a convenient arrival at 5:24 PM in San Francisco. Theoretically.
When we spent an hour waiting time in that fabulous Lufthansa Lounge in Frankfurt (complimentary meal, complimentary booze, complimentary shower...) we were aghast when we noticed that flight UA901 was announced to San Francisco/Boston. Hah? Hadn't we booked a non-stop flight to San Francisco?
On board, we learned that United Airlines had a shortage of pilots and they had to land in Boston for a crew change. Okay, we lay down in our wonderful lie-flat business class seats, enjoyed a mediocre meal (fillet mignon, well done) and mediocre wines (a bland sparkling wine from California which they dared to call "Champagne" while Lufthansa serves real Jacquart Champagne in business class and a cabernet sauvignon from Chile while Lufthansa served us a Grand Cru Classé from Médoc) and slept a couple of hours, wisefully skipping videos and inflight entertainment.
In Boston, the aircraft was taxied to a remote tarmac position. The crew change/refueling took 2 1/2 hours! Finally, when we landed after 10PM in San Francisco, we had spent 16 hours on the aircraft, with the last 10 hours without any food. Will we book United again?
Well, at least we managed to be among the first to deplane and to be the very first in the foreigners' line at the immigration counter. We had the first immigration officer after 2001 who was fairly friendly and halfway efficient, grabbed our bags (which were miraculously on the belt which had never before happened on a United flight) and rented our car. The advantage of driving on a Saturday night at 11PM was that there were no traffic jams in sight. United managers, thank you!
We had booked a standard double room at the Huntington Hotel on Nob Hill. After reading mixed reviews on Tripadvisor, we were very pleased with the hotel. A beautiful room, freshly renovated, with a wonderful marble bathroom. It is a socalled "Small Luxury Hotel" which means highly personalized service, cozy ambiance and no nametag-bearing business guests. The locals later told us that there is a better hotel in San Francisco (the adjacent Fairmont) but that the Huntington has the very best spa in town. So true - we loved it. And this all for $135 per night (no typo).
Of course, we were thirsty after such an exhausting flight and headed down into the bar. We learned that the bar hours were 5PM to 12PM, and it was 12:30. However, the bar was still lively. The barman told us "Sorry, no drinks anymore we are closing" but when we told him our story he said "This is an emergency!". He gave us a tray, poured two large longdrink tumblers full of booze, gave us two bottles of mixers, a huge pile of almonds and wrote a check about $8. And he poured me a complimentary shot of Woodford Reserve and told me this should be my beverage of the next day. Needless to say, we slept well and awaked next morning without any jet lag.
San Francisco could not have welcomed us better!
To be continued.
Apr 9th, 2009, 08:32 AM
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So true, Aussiedreamer!
We thanked God that we had decided to splurge on business class. We booked socalled "restricted business" and it was quite reasonable. On other flights, we use our miles for an upgrade. It is most recommendable.
Next installment will come in a few hours.
We thanked God that we had decided to splurge on business class. We booked socalled "restricted business" and it was quite reasonable. On other flights, we use our miles for an upgrade. It is most recommendable.
Next installment will come in a few hours.
Apr 9th, 2009, 09:59 PM
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The Huntington is one of the great old hotels in SF. I didn't know you could get a room there that cheap. This is where Alistair Cooke always stayed when visiting SF.
It used to be owned by Newton Cope who was once engaged to Princess Lee Radziwill who called it off at the last minute because she didn't like the prenup. Cope also, at one time, owned restaurants in St Helena and Sacramento as well as the Big Four in the hotel and was a Napa Valley grape grower too.
It used to be owned by Newton Cope who was once engaged to Princess Lee Radziwill who called it off at the last minute because she didn't like the prenup. Cope also, at one time, owned restaurants in St Helena and Sacramento as well as the Big Four in the hotel and was a Napa Valley grape grower too.
Apr 11th, 2009, 06:38 AM
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Day Two: Radically Inclusive
We woke up on a bright sunny day in San Francisco. After some exercising and swimming in the Huntington’s fabulous spa and after a meal of eggs Benedict, we were ready for an authentic San Franciscan experience, perhaps the very experience which is most typical for San Francisco: Sunday service at Glide Church.
I must say I am not a church member. I am agnostic, skeptic and even cynic. But service at Glide Church is most impressive. Firstly, if you arrive at the church one hour before service begins, there is already a line in front of the entrance. Imagine: people line up in order to go to church! And it’s worth it – even if you are not religious.
Glide Church is located in the Tenderloin neighbourhood which is, according to wikipedia, renowned for “squalid conditions, homelessness, crime, drug sales, prostitution, liquor stores (more than 60 in 2008), and strip clubs“. Glide Church has several principles: “we offer real help”, “we celebrate” and “we are radically inclusive”. “Real help” means they do a lot of social work with the poor and the homeless.
“Celebration” means: service largely consists of live music, singing, dancing and hand-clapping. And how they sing! The atmosphere is fantastic. At a certain point everybody embraces one another. All in all there is a feeling like on a rock music concert.
“Radically inclusive” means they accept everybody, regardless of culture, color or sexual orientation. This had been the main message of the sermons which were delivered by several pastors. Service included a baptism. When the pastor read the five given names of the baby and ended with the last name “Obama”, the crowd thundered with applause. Several sermons dealt with the financial crisis – one of the leitmotifs was “there are no pinks slips in the kingdom of God”.
After some two hours, we left the church in high spirits. That had been a really authentic San Franciscan experience. Hardly to imagine to find something similar in another city.
We devoted the afternoon to the new museums in Golden Gate Park. Since the parking garage was full (it was a Sunday with beautiful weather), we made a circle and found ample streetside parking on the northern fringe of the Park. We walked a few steps through the beautiful Park and looked at two masterpieces of contemporary European architecture – Renzo Piano’s Museum of Natural History which is built in the energy-saving greenhouse style which is now so popular in Germany and Herzog and de Meuron’s de Young Museum.
The de Young had a good temporary exhibition of Andy Warhol’s works, with (as you would expect in San Francisco) a strong accent on his gaiety (e.g. the paintings he made of Mick Jagger). Another temporary exhibition of YSL dresses was sloppily made and faceless. The permanent exhibition is the usual collection of North and Latin American art which can be found at a dozen or so art museums in North America’s capital cities. Anyway, the main thing here is not the art, it is the architecture!
Back at the hotel, we relaxed at the pool for an hour and got dressed for dinner. I had selected a small restaurant, called “Rue Lepic” which I found when I looked up Google Earth to locate restaurants in walking distance to the Huntington Hotel. And Rue Lepic evokes faded memories of Paris, because some 30 years ago, the least expensive restaurant of Paris was located there (they offered a three-course menu for 10 francs). The San Franciscan Rue Lepic is just 200 meters from the hotel, and the reviews on Yelp.com were good. The Thursday before we left I called for a reservation. When the owner asked me for my telephone number I answered “well, I am calling from Germany – are you sure you want this number?” and she cracked up.
Well, we arrived at the restaurant. It is tiny, a typical neighbourhood restaurant, but nicely decorated with white tablecloths and flowers on the tables. The chef is a Japanese-American lady who once had been married to a Frenchman and had learnt French cuisine from her mother-in-law. Typically French, they offer a fixed five-course menu with several main dishes (the Americans say “entrees” although the French word “entrée” means “starter”). The cuisine is a fusion of French, Mediterranean, American and Asian. The menu starts with Mediterranean-style seafood pasta, followed by an American-style salad and an American-style soup. The main dish is French-style (we had lobster tail on pommes au gratin with vegetables), but with an Asian twist, because she flavours it with cilantro. The dessert – a to-die-for ganache – was 100% French and the lady was very pleased when we told her that even in France we had never eaten a better ganache. This was a San Franciscan fusion-of-cultures experience, and we liked it. (The check was, including a bottle of Californian wine, waters and a complimentary glass of Muscat, about $70per person).
Happy with life, we walked back to our hotel. Since the food at Rue Lepic was very filling, we needed to visit the bar. Ty, the barman who had rescued us from our emergency the day before, was happy to serve us Californian brandy. What he poured into one glass, looked for like a quadruple brandy. And furthermore, he kept on providing us with complimentary samples of XO Brandy, XO Cognac, Woodford Reserve and Californian sweet wines. And he was a master of conservation. Originally we had seated ourselves at a table, but after five minutes, Ty had managed to get us on bar stools and include us into conservation with the rest of the patrons. Most of the regulars were locals and the mood was so good that we never felt the need to walk the 50 meters to the bar of the Mark Hopkins Hotel next door.
Our second day in San Francisco could not have been more beautiful.
To be continued.
We woke up on a bright sunny day in San Francisco. After some exercising and swimming in the Huntington’s fabulous spa and after a meal of eggs Benedict, we were ready for an authentic San Franciscan experience, perhaps the very experience which is most typical for San Francisco: Sunday service at Glide Church.
I must say I am not a church member. I am agnostic, skeptic and even cynic. But service at Glide Church is most impressive. Firstly, if you arrive at the church one hour before service begins, there is already a line in front of the entrance. Imagine: people line up in order to go to church! And it’s worth it – even if you are not religious.
Glide Church is located in the Tenderloin neighbourhood which is, according to wikipedia, renowned for “squalid conditions, homelessness, crime, drug sales, prostitution, liquor stores (more than 60 in 2008), and strip clubs“. Glide Church has several principles: “we offer real help”, “we celebrate” and “we are radically inclusive”. “Real help” means they do a lot of social work with the poor and the homeless.
“Celebration” means: service largely consists of live music, singing, dancing and hand-clapping. And how they sing! The atmosphere is fantastic. At a certain point everybody embraces one another. All in all there is a feeling like on a rock music concert.
“Radically inclusive” means they accept everybody, regardless of culture, color or sexual orientation. This had been the main message of the sermons which were delivered by several pastors. Service included a baptism. When the pastor read the five given names of the baby and ended with the last name “Obama”, the crowd thundered with applause. Several sermons dealt with the financial crisis – one of the leitmotifs was “there are no pinks slips in the kingdom of God”.
After some two hours, we left the church in high spirits. That had been a really authentic San Franciscan experience. Hardly to imagine to find something similar in another city.
We devoted the afternoon to the new museums in Golden Gate Park. Since the parking garage was full (it was a Sunday with beautiful weather), we made a circle and found ample streetside parking on the northern fringe of the Park. We walked a few steps through the beautiful Park and looked at two masterpieces of contemporary European architecture – Renzo Piano’s Museum of Natural History which is built in the energy-saving greenhouse style which is now so popular in Germany and Herzog and de Meuron’s de Young Museum.
The de Young had a good temporary exhibition of Andy Warhol’s works, with (as you would expect in San Francisco) a strong accent on his gaiety (e.g. the paintings he made of Mick Jagger). Another temporary exhibition of YSL dresses was sloppily made and faceless. The permanent exhibition is the usual collection of North and Latin American art which can be found at a dozen or so art museums in North America’s capital cities. Anyway, the main thing here is not the art, it is the architecture!
Back at the hotel, we relaxed at the pool for an hour and got dressed for dinner. I had selected a small restaurant, called “Rue Lepic” which I found when I looked up Google Earth to locate restaurants in walking distance to the Huntington Hotel. And Rue Lepic evokes faded memories of Paris, because some 30 years ago, the least expensive restaurant of Paris was located there (they offered a three-course menu for 10 francs). The San Franciscan Rue Lepic is just 200 meters from the hotel, and the reviews on Yelp.com were good. The Thursday before we left I called for a reservation. When the owner asked me for my telephone number I answered “well, I am calling from Germany – are you sure you want this number?” and she cracked up.
Well, we arrived at the restaurant. It is tiny, a typical neighbourhood restaurant, but nicely decorated with white tablecloths and flowers on the tables. The chef is a Japanese-American lady who once had been married to a Frenchman and had learnt French cuisine from her mother-in-law. Typically French, they offer a fixed five-course menu with several main dishes (the Americans say “entrees” although the French word “entrée” means “starter”). The cuisine is a fusion of French, Mediterranean, American and Asian. The menu starts with Mediterranean-style seafood pasta, followed by an American-style salad and an American-style soup. The main dish is French-style (we had lobster tail on pommes au gratin with vegetables), but with an Asian twist, because she flavours it with cilantro. The dessert – a to-die-for ganache – was 100% French and the lady was very pleased when we told her that even in France we had never eaten a better ganache. This was a San Franciscan fusion-of-cultures experience, and we liked it. (The check was, including a bottle of Californian wine, waters and a complimentary glass of Muscat, about $70per person).
Happy with life, we walked back to our hotel. Since the food at Rue Lepic was very filling, we needed to visit the bar. Ty, the barman who had rescued us from our emergency the day before, was happy to serve us Californian brandy. What he poured into one glass, looked for like a quadruple brandy. And furthermore, he kept on providing us with complimentary samples of XO Brandy, XO Cognac, Woodford Reserve and Californian sweet wines. And he was a master of conservation. Originally we had seated ourselves at a table, but after five minutes, Ty had managed to get us on bar stools and include us into conservation with the rest of the patrons. Most of the regulars were locals and the mood was so good that we never felt the need to walk the 50 meters to the bar of the Mark Hopkins Hotel next door.
Our second day in San Francisco could not have been more beautiful.
To be continued.
Apr 12th, 2009, 04:46 AM
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Day Three: Stu Dudley’s San Francisco
What is so special about San Francisco? – Certainly the way the people live in this city. Preparing our trip and browsing Fodors.com I was (as others) stunned by Stu Dudley’s fabulous thread (http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...mendations.cfm). I learned about San Francisco’s neighbourhoods which are sometimes called “pockets”. Thus, we devoted our second day to exploring these urban areas.
Our first destination was the most typical of them, the Castro. It is very easy to find. You just drive down Market Street until you see a huge rainbow flag and you are unmistakably at Harvey Milk Plaza. I parked the car, but DW was somewhat uneasy to get out: “There are only men in the street – is this the right place for me?” I consoled her by saying “You will see women. Even gays have their cleaning women.” Somehow she was not completely satisfied with my reply.
Anyway, one of our sons wanted us to bring a souvenir from San Francisco and I thought the Castro would be the best neighbourhood to find something for him. We started with a loop walk around the neighbourhood and could lively imagine to meet Anna Madrigal next corner. Beautiful wooden houses, loving manicured front yards – looks like a nice place to live.
Back on the main street, we found an interesting array of shops, practically every one run by a man and most of them by two men. We bought some supplies for our picnic in a delicatessen store which was, however, wholefood and vegetarian. But DW found some rare cheeses from California and was quickly involved in an expert talk with the two shopowners.
The next shop we visited was an antique and kitsch dealer who proudly told us that his shop starred in the Harvey Milk film. Finally, in an art gallery we found some small gimmicks which we thought were adequate for our son, including an Obama box of mints manufactured by the “Unemployed philosophers’ guild”.
There were many more shops in the neighbourhood, but since this is a family-friendly forum, I will not give detailed descriptions.
We drove further to one of Stu Dudley’s recommendations, Noe Valley. It is just a short drive away and the architecture looks similar, but the neighbourhood could not be more different. While the Castro is thoroughly rainbow-flagged, Noe Valley is the epitome of a neat middle-class neighbourhood with lovely shops and restaurants.
After a stroll through Noe Valley, we continued to the place where it all began: the Mission San Francisco de Asís. Amazingly, the old adobe church has survived several earthquakes while the adjacent modern basilica had been destroyed and had to be rebuilt. On former trips, we had seen other missions in New Mexico, Arizona and Texas, and later on this trip we should see more missions, but the Mission of San Francisco was still a rewarding experience. Especially on this sunny day, we enjoyed the tranquil graveyard where trees and flowers were so lavishly blooming.
We continued our exploration of San Francisco’s culturally diverse “pockets” with a quick drive along Valencia through the Mission district where we observed a current gentrification process. What we Europeans have noticed during our last trips to the USA is that the Hispanics appear to become increasingly integrated into US society without losing their cultural identity – a process which might be a model for our relations to the immigrants from Turkey.
Our next destination was, obviously poorly timed, Fishermens Wharf. We had been there in 1984 and had found it tacky. Now, it appeared utterly disgusting to us and although I might have been interested in seeing one of the ships there, we decided not even to stop (and pay extraordinary parking fees) but to consume our gay picnic lunch in a cute little park nearby.
After lunch, we found the time ready for the second best view over town. The day before, we had already driven over Golden Gate Bridge and taken pictures of San Francisco from Conzelman Drive, and now we headed to Twin Peaks. The view is really worth the short drive and Stu was, as ever, certainly right about driving up there not before afternoon.
After a swim in the hotel pool, we walked through Chinatown to Union Square and back to our dinner spot: Bar Crudo. Again, I had found Bar Crudo with the help of Google Earth and Yelp.com. And certainly it was a cute little restaurant! The patrons were quite different from yesterday’s experience at Rue Lepic. While Rue Lepic was frequented by families, Bar Crudo was a place for the childless.
Also Bar Crudo has a tiny upstairs dining room, dimly lit by spectacular jellyfish lamps. We got a table right at the window and overheard the conversation at the next table where a white guy in a business suit dated a rather annoyed black lady. “Dating” appears to means today, to do a little flirting while constantly typing your Blackberry. Toying with the Blackberry seemed to be the favourite pastime at all tables in this restaurant.
We concentrated on the menu which features raw fish in many varieties. We decided to have oysters as the first course, the “Bar Crudo Sampler” as the second and a half portion of seafood chowder as the third course, accompanied by a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc from Washington State (excuse us, Californians!).
Especially the sampler was again a wonderful example of Californian fusion cuisine. Although I love raw fish, in Japan, I got after some time bored because sashimi is always accompanied by soy sauce, wasabi and ginger. At bar crudo, the sampler consisted of a scallop, a piece of butterfish, salmon and tuna and each piece was creatively marinated in a different way – a perfect fusion of Asian and Mediterranean tastes!
After so many raw items, we had the chowder for some warmth. This was the very best seafood chowder we ever tasted (including some samples in very expensive restaurants). In the open kitchen, we could see the chowder’s secret: the do not cook the seafood in the soup, but they place the raw seafood in the serving bowl and pour the hot soup over it – delicious.
The check was also a pleasant surprise: $44 per person including wine and water for a gourmet-level menu!
On the way home, we deliberately passed again the Top of Mark and enjoyed the talk with the locals at the Huntington’s bar.
To be continued. Happy Easter!
What is so special about San Francisco? – Certainly the way the people live in this city. Preparing our trip and browsing Fodors.com I was (as others) stunned by Stu Dudley’s fabulous thread (http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...mendations.cfm). I learned about San Francisco’s neighbourhoods which are sometimes called “pockets”. Thus, we devoted our second day to exploring these urban areas.
Our first destination was the most typical of them, the Castro. It is very easy to find. You just drive down Market Street until you see a huge rainbow flag and you are unmistakably at Harvey Milk Plaza. I parked the car, but DW was somewhat uneasy to get out: “There are only men in the street – is this the right place for me?” I consoled her by saying “You will see women. Even gays have their cleaning women.” Somehow she was not completely satisfied with my reply.
Anyway, one of our sons wanted us to bring a souvenir from San Francisco and I thought the Castro would be the best neighbourhood to find something for him. We started with a loop walk around the neighbourhood and could lively imagine to meet Anna Madrigal next corner. Beautiful wooden houses, loving manicured front yards – looks like a nice place to live.
Back on the main street, we found an interesting array of shops, practically every one run by a man and most of them by two men. We bought some supplies for our picnic in a delicatessen store which was, however, wholefood and vegetarian. But DW found some rare cheeses from California and was quickly involved in an expert talk with the two shopowners.
The next shop we visited was an antique and kitsch dealer who proudly told us that his shop starred in the Harvey Milk film. Finally, in an art gallery we found some small gimmicks which we thought were adequate for our son, including an Obama box of mints manufactured by the “Unemployed philosophers’ guild”.
There were many more shops in the neighbourhood, but since this is a family-friendly forum, I will not give detailed descriptions.
We drove further to one of Stu Dudley’s recommendations, Noe Valley. It is just a short drive away and the architecture looks similar, but the neighbourhood could not be more different. While the Castro is thoroughly rainbow-flagged, Noe Valley is the epitome of a neat middle-class neighbourhood with lovely shops and restaurants.
After a stroll through Noe Valley, we continued to the place where it all began: the Mission San Francisco de Asís. Amazingly, the old adobe church has survived several earthquakes while the adjacent modern basilica had been destroyed and had to be rebuilt. On former trips, we had seen other missions in New Mexico, Arizona and Texas, and later on this trip we should see more missions, but the Mission of San Francisco was still a rewarding experience. Especially on this sunny day, we enjoyed the tranquil graveyard where trees and flowers were so lavishly blooming.
We continued our exploration of San Francisco’s culturally diverse “pockets” with a quick drive along Valencia through the Mission district where we observed a current gentrification process. What we Europeans have noticed during our last trips to the USA is that the Hispanics appear to become increasingly integrated into US society without losing their cultural identity – a process which might be a model for our relations to the immigrants from Turkey.
Our next destination was, obviously poorly timed, Fishermens Wharf. We had been there in 1984 and had found it tacky. Now, it appeared utterly disgusting to us and although I might have been interested in seeing one of the ships there, we decided not even to stop (and pay extraordinary parking fees) but to consume our gay picnic lunch in a cute little park nearby.
After lunch, we found the time ready for the second best view over town. The day before, we had already driven over Golden Gate Bridge and taken pictures of San Francisco from Conzelman Drive, and now we headed to Twin Peaks. The view is really worth the short drive and Stu was, as ever, certainly right about driving up there not before afternoon.
After a swim in the hotel pool, we walked through Chinatown to Union Square and back to our dinner spot: Bar Crudo. Again, I had found Bar Crudo with the help of Google Earth and Yelp.com. And certainly it was a cute little restaurant! The patrons were quite different from yesterday’s experience at Rue Lepic. While Rue Lepic was frequented by families, Bar Crudo was a place for the childless.
Also Bar Crudo has a tiny upstairs dining room, dimly lit by spectacular jellyfish lamps. We got a table right at the window and overheard the conversation at the next table where a white guy in a business suit dated a rather annoyed black lady. “Dating” appears to means today, to do a little flirting while constantly typing your Blackberry. Toying with the Blackberry seemed to be the favourite pastime at all tables in this restaurant.
We concentrated on the menu which features raw fish in many varieties. We decided to have oysters as the first course, the “Bar Crudo Sampler” as the second and a half portion of seafood chowder as the third course, accompanied by a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc from Washington State (excuse us, Californians!).
Especially the sampler was again a wonderful example of Californian fusion cuisine. Although I love raw fish, in Japan, I got after some time bored because sashimi is always accompanied by soy sauce, wasabi and ginger. At bar crudo, the sampler consisted of a scallop, a piece of butterfish, salmon and tuna and each piece was creatively marinated in a different way – a perfect fusion of Asian and Mediterranean tastes!
After so many raw items, we had the chowder for some warmth. This was the very best seafood chowder we ever tasted (including some samples in very expensive restaurants). In the open kitchen, we could see the chowder’s secret: the do not cook the seafood in the soup, but they place the raw seafood in the serving bowl and pour the hot soup over it – delicious.
The check was also a pleasant surprise: $44 per person including wine and water for a gourmet-level menu!
On the way home, we deliberately passed again the Top of Mark and enjoyed the talk with the locals at the Huntington’s bar.
To be continued. Happy Easter!
Apr 13th, 2009, 02:39 PM
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Enjoying your report a lot, we will be in San Francisco mid -late October. Still haven't decided for how many nights yet, but this report is very helpful. Obviously Stududleys list has been saved and printed also, good to hear other peoples feed back.
Apr 14th, 2009, 05:20 AM
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Day Four: Highway 1, Part One
We bade San Francisco farewell and headed towards Monterey, taking the breathtakingly scenic coastal route. Most guidebooks focus on the Big Sur section of Highway 1, which is, admittedly, more dramatic, but the section between Pacifica and Santa Cruz is equally scenic, with more beach access. Landscape is very diverse, with steep cliffs and gentles slopes, covered with zillions of wildflowers. Surprisingly, although just minutes from San Francisco, we saw hardly another vehicle on the road.
Originally, we had thought about spending a few nights in Half Moon Bay, mainly because we found a nice-looking hotel there. Fortunately, fellow Fodorites had warned us – Half Moon Bay is the only section of the coastline which is not beautiful. Why Ritz-Carlton picked exactly this spot to build a hotel remains a secret (perhaps it was the only place to get a building permit).
We continued southwards until we reached Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz is a beach resort for families with a roller-coaster right on the beach. This says it all.
Just after Santa Cruz, we we ate our picnic lunch on New Brighton State Beach. A beautiful spot with a brook emptying into the ocean. Of course, I waited until we had finished our lunch before I showed DW the half-rotten carcass of a seal in a bunch of driftwood. That’s part of being close to nature.
The last scenic highlight before we reached Monterey were the dunes around Moss Landing (on wikipedia, I have read the stopped developing Highway 1 into a freeway in order to protect the wilderness here). However, the convention was waiting for me and we headed towards our hotel, the Monterey Marriott.
Usually, I am fond of Marriott Hotels, but this one we did not like at all. Firstly, it is an eyesore. From old pictures, I see that Monterey used to be a charming historical town – until this hulk of concrete had been built right in the center of town. Secondly, it is nothing but a soulless business hotel designed to host large conventions (like ours, admittedly). They don’t even have areas where you can sit and relax.
The only bar they have is a socalled “sports bar” which means that there are large TV screens where games are running which are played in the USA only. For Europeans, this is as interesting as for Americans watching the annual meeting of the German tax advisors association. Most strikingly, the Marriott features the ugliest pool I have ever seen – it is in a barren courtyard, which is cold, shady, windy and dirty. The pool is not properly heated, and you need the spa tub in order to warm up. And to top it all, the spa tub was closed during our stay because they had put some caustic chemical inside.
Would I come back for a private trip, I would choose the adjacent Portola Hotel which has a slightly better location, is much nicer and even less expensive. Or choose a hotel in Pacific Grove, but this is a story yet to come.
Anyway, I was here for business and at 5 p.m. the “directors’ meeting” started which meant that considerable quantities of truffled lobster risotto, poached salmon and Californian wine were consumed while enjoying the view of nightly Monterey Bay from the 10th-floor-restaurant of the Marriott (at least one positive point).
To be continued: tomorrow I will write about our trip to Big Sur.
We bade San Francisco farewell and headed towards Monterey, taking the breathtakingly scenic coastal route. Most guidebooks focus on the Big Sur section of Highway 1, which is, admittedly, more dramatic, but the section between Pacifica and Santa Cruz is equally scenic, with more beach access. Landscape is very diverse, with steep cliffs and gentles slopes, covered with zillions of wildflowers. Surprisingly, although just minutes from San Francisco, we saw hardly another vehicle on the road.
Originally, we had thought about spending a few nights in Half Moon Bay, mainly because we found a nice-looking hotel there. Fortunately, fellow Fodorites had warned us – Half Moon Bay is the only section of the coastline which is not beautiful. Why Ritz-Carlton picked exactly this spot to build a hotel remains a secret (perhaps it was the only place to get a building permit).
We continued southwards until we reached Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz is a beach resort for families with a roller-coaster right on the beach. This says it all.
Just after Santa Cruz, we we ate our picnic lunch on New Brighton State Beach. A beautiful spot with a brook emptying into the ocean. Of course, I waited until we had finished our lunch before I showed DW the half-rotten carcass of a seal in a bunch of driftwood. That’s part of being close to nature.
The last scenic highlight before we reached Monterey were the dunes around Moss Landing (on wikipedia, I have read the stopped developing Highway 1 into a freeway in order to protect the wilderness here). However, the convention was waiting for me and we headed towards our hotel, the Monterey Marriott.
Usually, I am fond of Marriott Hotels, but this one we did not like at all. Firstly, it is an eyesore. From old pictures, I see that Monterey used to be a charming historical town – until this hulk of concrete had been built right in the center of town. Secondly, it is nothing but a soulless business hotel designed to host large conventions (like ours, admittedly). They don’t even have areas where you can sit and relax.
The only bar they have is a socalled “sports bar” which means that there are large TV screens where games are running which are played in the USA only. For Europeans, this is as interesting as for Americans watching the annual meeting of the German tax advisors association. Most strikingly, the Marriott features the ugliest pool I have ever seen – it is in a barren courtyard, which is cold, shady, windy and dirty. The pool is not properly heated, and you need the spa tub in order to warm up. And to top it all, the spa tub was closed during our stay because they had put some caustic chemical inside.
Would I come back for a private trip, I would choose the adjacent Portola Hotel which has a slightly better location, is much nicer and even less expensive. Or choose a hotel in Pacific Grove, but this is a story yet to come.
Anyway, I was here for business and at 5 p.m. the “directors’ meeting” started which meant that considerable quantities of truffled lobster risotto, poached salmon and Californian wine were consumed while enjoying the view of nightly Monterey Bay from the 10th-floor-restaurant of the Marriott (at least one positive point).
To be continued: tomorrow I will write about our trip to Big Sur.
Apr 14th, 2009, 08:11 AM
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Thank you for your insights, Stu.
I will tell our friends from Europe how effectively the Californians manage to protect their beautiful coastlines.
Thanks again for not recommending a stay at HMB. We stayed in Sonoma County instead - and that was gorgeous!
I will tell our friends from Europe how effectively the Californians manage to protect their beautiful coastlines.
Thanks again for not recommending a stay at HMB. We stayed in Sonoma County instead - and that was gorgeous!
Apr 14th, 2009, 11:47 AM
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Day Five: Highway 1, Part 2: Carmel, Point Lobos, Big Sur and Pfeiffer Beach
Fortunately, during our first full day in Monterey I had no business, so we boarded our car and drove southwards. Originally, we had intended to visit Carmel in the afternoon, but when we saw the roadsign “Carmel Mission 1 mile” I could not resist to leave the highway. A good decision, because in the morning, it was not crowded yet. Carmel Mission is one of the prettier Missions, especially because of the fantastic front garden which makes wonderful pictures.
Besides, there are a few cute little museums on the grounds. I especially loved the graveyard, because many graves were decorated with shiny seashells (abalone?). I learnt that the graves of Native Americans were decorated that way.
In the souvenir shop, I felt tempted to buy a plastic bottle with Holy Water. It will be certainly doing good if you mix it with whisky. (Sorry for the joke, but as a baptized Catholic, I am entitled to make jokes about religious aberration.)
From Carmel, it is just a two-minute drive to Point Lobos. It was another bright day, but cold and windy, almost stormy, with impressive breakers. It gave us a finis terrae feeling at the point. You are supposed to spot sea-otters there, but it was probably too stormy for them. However, in a leewards bay, we notice quite a few seals lounging and barking on the cliffs.
Proceeding southwards, the cliffs rise and the coast gets more dramatic. Guided by a “vista ½ mile” roadsign, we stopped at a pullout. Another tourist, shoulder-shrugging, came across, pointed down and said “That is the vista.” It was indeed an unspectacular bay but – what did we see? – A couple of sea-otters! Finally we found them.
We headed further southwards, often stopping for picture-taking. At Big Sur (which is rather an area than a town), Pfeiffer State Park was still closed due to flooding damage. We drove some kilometres further down and decided to return in order not to spend too much time. I was eager to drive down to Pfeiffer Beach, which seems to be a well-kept secret because you find no sign on the road. However, at the State Park Ranger Station, we were given directions: “take the only paved road which is without a gate” and, yes, we found it.
Pfeiffer Beach is not just a beach. It is a piece of art, created by nature. Although someone had forgotten to switch off an enormous sandblasting machine, it was overwhelmingly beautiful. We should keep it a secret.
When we returned, our cheeks were reddened like after a sandpaper treatment. We took our picnic lunch in Andrew Molera State Park where we found a picnic table in a beautiful grove, nice and warm and protected from the wind.
On the way back, we stopped at Carmel-by-the-Sea. It is touristy, but in the best sense of the word: with a most beautiful beach, neat gingerbread houses, nice boutiques. Children were frolicking in the sand, lovers leisurely strolling between the cedars at the beach. Heart-warming.
Back in Monterey, we participated in the convention’s Welcome Reception which meant that considerable amounts of guacamole, prime rib and mousse au chocolate were washed down with Californian wine.
To be continued: Tomorrow we will see more of Monterey.
Fortunately, during our first full day in Monterey I had no business, so we boarded our car and drove southwards. Originally, we had intended to visit Carmel in the afternoon, but when we saw the roadsign “Carmel Mission 1 mile” I could not resist to leave the highway. A good decision, because in the morning, it was not crowded yet. Carmel Mission is one of the prettier Missions, especially because of the fantastic front garden which makes wonderful pictures.
Besides, there are a few cute little museums on the grounds. I especially loved the graveyard, because many graves were decorated with shiny seashells (abalone?). I learnt that the graves of Native Americans were decorated that way.
In the souvenir shop, I felt tempted to buy a plastic bottle with Holy Water. It will be certainly doing good if you mix it with whisky. (Sorry for the joke, but as a baptized Catholic, I am entitled to make jokes about religious aberration.)
From Carmel, it is just a two-minute drive to Point Lobos. It was another bright day, but cold and windy, almost stormy, with impressive breakers. It gave us a finis terrae feeling at the point. You are supposed to spot sea-otters there, but it was probably too stormy for them. However, in a leewards bay, we notice quite a few seals lounging and barking on the cliffs.
Proceeding southwards, the cliffs rise and the coast gets more dramatic. Guided by a “vista ½ mile” roadsign, we stopped at a pullout. Another tourist, shoulder-shrugging, came across, pointed down and said “That is the vista.” It was indeed an unspectacular bay but – what did we see? – A couple of sea-otters! Finally we found them.
We headed further southwards, often stopping for picture-taking. At Big Sur (which is rather an area than a town), Pfeiffer State Park was still closed due to flooding damage. We drove some kilometres further down and decided to return in order not to spend too much time. I was eager to drive down to Pfeiffer Beach, which seems to be a well-kept secret because you find no sign on the road. However, at the State Park Ranger Station, we were given directions: “take the only paved road which is without a gate” and, yes, we found it.
Pfeiffer Beach is not just a beach. It is a piece of art, created by nature. Although someone had forgotten to switch off an enormous sandblasting machine, it was overwhelmingly beautiful. We should keep it a secret.
When we returned, our cheeks were reddened like after a sandpaper treatment. We took our picnic lunch in Andrew Molera State Park where we found a picnic table in a beautiful grove, nice and warm and protected from the wind.
On the way back, we stopped at Carmel-by-the-Sea. It is touristy, but in the best sense of the word: with a most beautiful beach, neat gingerbread houses, nice boutiques. Children were frolicking in the sand, lovers leisurely strolling between the cedars at the beach. Heart-warming.
Back in Monterey, we participated in the convention’s Welcome Reception which meant that considerable amounts of guacamole, prime rib and mousse au chocolate were washed down with Californian wine.
To be continued: Tomorrow we will see more of Monterey.
Apr 19th, 2009, 06:03 AM
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Day 6/7: Monterey and Pacific Grove
Due to my business at the convention, we needed two days to see that what you can do in one day. And we did not have time for 17-mile-drive, but we had done it in 1984 and preferred to drive down to Big Sur this time.
Monterey started to impress us slowly. On our first evening in Monterey, we walked to Fishermens Wharf to find ourselves in scene which was like in horror movies when aliens had killed all humans but the power plants were still running. It was nine p.m. and not quite dark, the souvenir shops and restaurants were well-lit, but we were the only people on the pier. In downtown, which is barely more than one block, the situation was not better. Imagine, a beautiful spring evening and no one on the street!
What we take home is that the Californian life-style must be like this: Rising at 4 a.m. in order to jog, sticking in the traffic jam at 6 a.m., having dinner at 5:30 p.m. and going to bed at 7 p.m.
Next morning, while I was in the meetings, DW explored the wonderful historical museums around the plaza. She learnt a lot about the history of the State of California and told me that she had had a most beautiful talk with a most charming gentleman in one of the museums. The told me he was about 90 years old but from the look in her eyes I guessed he must have been a 25-year-old surfer who had been volunteering before the surf season started.
Together, we drove to Cannery Row one afternoon. Of course, I have read John Steinbeck some decades ago and I have read that the author himself had complained about Cannery Row changing into a tourist trap. Yes, it was a tourist trap but a good one. Tourism helped to conserve the industrial architecture which has not lost its charm.
Cannery Row’s main attraction is, of course, the Aquarium. Firstly, because it is in one of the canneries and you can see the ovens where the sardines were cooked, some packing devices etc. Secondly, the architecture is a state-of-the-art blend of historical structures and modern glass-and-steel elements. Thirdly, the wildlife inside the aquarium.
We had seen sea-otters from the distance, and here you see them close-up, just behind a glass wall. It had been dinner time and they were fed with seafood which was packed into colored ice. A guide explained to us that originally, they had fed the sea-otters with real crabs and shellfish, but since they used to knock the goodies against the glass walls, the glass walls got scratched and had to be replaced. They still enjoyed knocking the ice blocks against the glass, but without damage. Sea-otters are cute critters which are in constant motion. Really an experience.
Another main attraction is the jellyfish tanks. Like works of modern art, the jellies form surrealist structures, gently moving and expertly illuminated.
There are many more tanks with sharks, lobsters, corals and other creatures of the sea. There is an open tank where you are supposed to pet rays, but the critters are clever enough to hide in the very corner where the human fingers cannot reach them.
The other day, we drove over to Pacific Grove. Pacific Grove is the epitome of a California coastal town with gorgeous flower-bed lining the shoreline which consists of sandy bays and rocky cliffs. At Lovers’ Point, the coast is especially nice and also the gingerbread houses of Pacific Grove. We drove further past the lighthouse to Asilomar Beach, where we walked a bit up and down. Downtown is also attractive, with some historical structures, nice boutiques and pretty hotels. We resolved to stay here when we would come back to the area again.
For lunch, we went to Bubby Gump in Cannery Row. It is a family-style restaurant, with pretty decoration and mostly seafood on the menu. If you are wondering why so many Americans are obese, you should go there. We had just starters (DW had clams and mussels and I had Cajun-style shrimp) and the portions were as big as main courses in Europe. The family next table (all of them heavily overweight) HAD main courses, mostly deep-fried items dripping with grease, and, again, we felt like in a scene of a horror movie when we watched four people consuming enough calories to feed a whole village.
We came close to their experience when, for dessert, we ordered one mudpie to share. The thing was large enough to feed a family of six and eat the leftovers next day. And it was intended for ONE person! Unbelievable. We were tempted to ask the waitress if they had doggie bags for desserts but doubted if it was a good idea to take leftover ice cream home. A starter and a fraction of a shared dessert were more than enough to fill us up completely.
On the way back, we stopped at a roadside surfers shop. There we found the souvenirs for our 19-year-old boys! While (good) food and (good) wine is expensive in the USA, clothing is dirt cheap. We bought some Billabong and Quiksilver shirts at $10 each which are sold in Europe at €50 ($70)!
To be continued: Tomorrow we will head for wine country.
Due to my business at the convention, we needed two days to see that what you can do in one day. And we did not have time for 17-mile-drive, but we had done it in 1984 and preferred to drive down to Big Sur this time.
Monterey started to impress us slowly. On our first evening in Monterey, we walked to Fishermens Wharf to find ourselves in scene which was like in horror movies when aliens had killed all humans but the power plants were still running. It was nine p.m. and not quite dark, the souvenir shops and restaurants were well-lit, but we were the only people on the pier. In downtown, which is barely more than one block, the situation was not better. Imagine, a beautiful spring evening and no one on the street!
What we take home is that the Californian life-style must be like this: Rising at 4 a.m. in order to jog, sticking in the traffic jam at 6 a.m., having dinner at 5:30 p.m. and going to bed at 7 p.m.
Next morning, while I was in the meetings, DW explored the wonderful historical museums around the plaza. She learnt a lot about the history of the State of California and told me that she had had a most beautiful talk with a most charming gentleman in one of the museums. The told me he was about 90 years old but from the look in her eyes I guessed he must have been a 25-year-old surfer who had been volunteering before the surf season started.
Together, we drove to Cannery Row one afternoon. Of course, I have read John Steinbeck some decades ago and I have read that the author himself had complained about Cannery Row changing into a tourist trap. Yes, it was a tourist trap but a good one. Tourism helped to conserve the industrial architecture which has not lost its charm.
Cannery Row’s main attraction is, of course, the Aquarium. Firstly, because it is in one of the canneries and you can see the ovens where the sardines were cooked, some packing devices etc. Secondly, the architecture is a state-of-the-art blend of historical structures and modern glass-and-steel elements. Thirdly, the wildlife inside the aquarium.
We had seen sea-otters from the distance, and here you see them close-up, just behind a glass wall. It had been dinner time and they were fed with seafood which was packed into colored ice. A guide explained to us that originally, they had fed the sea-otters with real crabs and shellfish, but since they used to knock the goodies against the glass walls, the glass walls got scratched and had to be replaced. They still enjoyed knocking the ice blocks against the glass, but without damage. Sea-otters are cute critters which are in constant motion. Really an experience.
Another main attraction is the jellyfish tanks. Like works of modern art, the jellies form surrealist structures, gently moving and expertly illuminated.
There are many more tanks with sharks, lobsters, corals and other creatures of the sea. There is an open tank where you are supposed to pet rays, but the critters are clever enough to hide in the very corner where the human fingers cannot reach them.
The other day, we drove over to Pacific Grove. Pacific Grove is the epitome of a California coastal town with gorgeous flower-bed lining the shoreline which consists of sandy bays and rocky cliffs. At Lovers’ Point, the coast is especially nice and also the gingerbread houses of Pacific Grove. We drove further past the lighthouse to Asilomar Beach, where we walked a bit up and down. Downtown is also attractive, with some historical structures, nice boutiques and pretty hotels. We resolved to stay here when we would come back to the area again.
For lunch, we went to Bubby Gump in Cannery Row. It is a family-style restaurant, with pretty decoration and mostly seafood on the menu. If you are wondering why so many Americans are obese, you should go there. We had just starters (DW had clams and mussels and I had Cajun-style shrimp) and the portions were as big as main courses in Europe. The family next table (all of them heavily overweight) HAD main courses, mostly deep-fried items dripping with grease, and, again, we felt like in a scene of a horror movie when we watched four people consuming enough calories to feed a whole village.
We came close to their experience when, for dessert, we ordered one mudpie to share. The thing was large enough to feed a family of six and eat the leftovers next day. And it was intended for ONE person! Unbelievable. We were tempted to ask the waitress if they had doggie bags for desserts but doubted if it was a good idea to take leftover ice cream home. A starter and a fraction of a shared dessert were more than enough to fill us up completely.
On the way back, we stopped at a roadside surfers shop. There we found the souvenirs for our 19-year-old boys! While (good) food and (good) wine is expensive in the USA, clothing is dirt cheap. We bought some Billabong and Quiksilver shirts at $10 each which are sold in Europe at €50 ($70)!
To be continued: Tomorrow we will head for wine country.
