Hello all.

I recently spent 3+ days in my favorite West Coast city with my husband, 13 y.o. son and 20 y.o. neice. Before I share all the details, I'd like to thank the Fodorites who shared lots of suggestions and helpful information, including joegri, Stu Dudley, Pam SF, dovima, easytraveler, SAB and TravelDiva.

We stayed at the Hotel Galleria Park, a 3* Kimpton property, located at Sutter and Kearney. I didn't choose this hotel, but rather "won" it on a successful Priceline bid for $75/room/night. It ended up being great for our needs. The location was fabulous, on the border of Union Square and the Financial district, close to all forms of public transportation, including BART, cable cars and bus lines. We took BART from the Oakland Airport and walked only a block and a half to the hotel.

We had 2 large rooms that were clean with comfortable beds and pillows and Aveda bath products. My kid was happy for the in room Nintendo.

The staff was nice and helpful, the rooms quiet at night and they offer complimentary coffee in the am and wine in the pm. The lobby is comfortable, with a lit (gas) fireplace and 2 free internet terminals. Not bad for $75 a night in that city!

Saturday, we arrived late, so we unpacked and headed down to the Mission district to Tartine Bakery, 18th and Guererro. Hip area and great little place where we had grilled sandwiches and great desserts. Even the wine was good! Light dinner for 4 w/1 glass of wine, about $45.

From there, we headed back north of Market, and hopped a cable car, ending at the wharf. We walked off dinner, and tried to have an Irish coffee at the Buena Vista, but no kids allowed after 9:30. So, hot chocolate at Ghiradelli and a cable car back to the hotel.

On Sunday, we walked to the Ferry Building to meet local friends. What a great place! The building itself is beautiful, with the lower level for retail space and the upper level for commercial office space. I guess if I had to work, that's where I'd want to be. What a view!

For shopping, there are beautiful flower stalls, awesome chocolates, cheeses, meats, gifts and restaurants. We grabbed a bite at Mijita Cocina Mexicana for some good Mexican "fast food". I understand that the person who started this restaurant is the famous chef of another SF restaruant, but I don't recall which one.

After spending many hours shopping, eating and enjoying the view, my neice and I headed off to Union St. in Cow Hollow for coffee, window shopping and people watching. This area proved to be her favorite of the whole trip.

Then, it was off to North Beach to meet the boys for Beach Blanket Babylon. What a hoot! The whole family enjoyed it! Afterwards, we strolled North Beach. I was happy to find an Italian ceramic rooster wine pitcher at La Raccolta, and my kid enjoyed passing the nudie bars! We ended at Enrico's for a g

oops!

where was I? Oh yeah, at Enrico's for dinner. Great lamb stew and a nice bottle of St. Emillon. A big bonus was the live jazz quartet that began playing at 7. Enrico's is located at 504 Broadway. Dinner for 4, with a nice bottle of wine and tip, about $200.

We had to walk off dinner, and we couldn't let the kids show us up, so...we walked UP the crooked part of Lombard! It was fun and we lived to tell about it. Anyway, a cable car ride to the hotel and off to sleep.

Monday was a full day. We started with breakfast at Sears. Then, we walked (in the rain) through Haight Ashbury, part of Golden Gate park and up to Clement Street for lunch, where we had great Pizza at Pizza Orgasmica.

From there, we took a bus to Alamo Square, where we took Stu Dudley's Victorian homes tour. this was MY favorite part of the trip! Thanks, Stu!

After a well deserved rest at the hotel, we had dinner in Chinatown at the R&G Lounge, 631 Kearney. This truly was perhaps the best Chinese meal I've ever had and I recommend it highly. Dinner for 4 with 1 drink, about $110.

Tuesday was a hodgepodge. I took a walk on Maiden Lane and Union Square to see the new restaurant in the St. Francis. It's very pretty, but I miss the Compass Rose, where my husband and I were engaged many years ago.

Then, some shopping with the kids in Chinatown and then on Fillmore Street. By then, I was pretty rain soaked, so we stopped for lunch at Chez Nous (great cheese plate) and drinks at Harry's Bar across the Street. A bus ride up to the Marina to see the GG bridge and it was time to head back to the hotel and the airport.

We covered a lot of ground and had a great time. Thanks again to all who helped!

Thanks for sharing your SF trip Iregeo. It sounds like you all had a wonderful time.

I too miss the Compass Rose. All the old landmarks keep getting changed and not always for the best either.

Great report - what is the beach blanket babylon?

Welcome back Iregeo!
I am copying this to keep for a guide for our own visit to SF, which hopefully is in the near future.
When asked last night, where he would live to visit next, the Yankee said California..so who am I to argue with that??
I love Kimpton hotels!

I really enjoyed reading this-it brought back a few memories ~
I am glad you had a good time

Hi Iregeo,
Thanks for the report. Lucky you, dinner at Tartine! I suffer through standing in line once in a while at Tartine, all for the sake of their Danish rye bread and pain au chocolate. I'm glad you had a safe and happy trip.

Hello, Iregeo, welcome back!

Radio, Beach Blanket is a long running performance, you'll get more info by Googling it.

Iregeo, what a great report! So happy you had a good time in California! ><

One little issue with Tartine (no big deal.) We got there around 7:00 pm, knowing they closed at 8:00. Fortunately, there was no wait to get in, but I had to bus a dirty table myself and it took about 1/2 hour to get our sandwiches served. When I went to order our desserts, it was about 7:55. They would only serve me "to go", as they were closing in 5 mins. Even thought there were many people still seated, I took them in "to go" containers, but we sat inside and scarfed them up in exactly 4 minutes!!! No big deal, but kinda rude.

Glad you liked the Galleria Park, it is 1/2 a block from where I work and I frequently recommend it to family friends because of it's location. Near enough to Union Square for everything that has to offer, but just enough away to be quiet at night and on weekends.

SAB, it really was great for us. Since we booked through Priceline, we didn't have our choice of rooms. We put the kids in a room on the alley and we took a streetfront room, both on the 3rd floor. I noticed that some people complain about street noise at this hotel, but we found that with the windows closed, the room was silent. Again, can't beat it for the price!