Living like a local - San Francisco style
Oct 3rd, 2011, 03:47 PM
#21
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Hey Deb, it will be nice again on Thursday and Friday-but be careful out there. This is the first rain of the season, and many people forget that the roads are extra slick from 7 months of oil. etc. I saw three accidents on my way back to City from East Bay just 30 minutes ago.
Oct 3rd, 2011, 03:56 PM
#22
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Hubs is pretty good on the bike, but thanks SAB. We made the mistake of taking California to Chinatown, won't do that again. Hold steady for those seemingly long red lights isn't fun. Came home via Market, way easier!
Oct 3rd, 2011, 05:35 PM
#23
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Oct 3rd, 2011, 05:37 PM
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Motorbike is a pretty good way to get around the City, less parking hassle. I used to have a scooter in my misspent youth in the City, it was really convenient. Kind of miss it, then it rains and I remember those days of getting soaked!!!
Oct 5th, 2011, 04:36 PM
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We went to the Walt Disney Family Museum today. Spent 5 hours there and could have stayed longer. What an amazing man; his creativity was unbounded. Not for kids, but rather a look into his life and his career. http://disney.go.com/disneyatoz/familymuseum/
The weather got markedly better and driving through the Presidio was wonderful.
Farmer's Market right out the front door this afternoon.
Tonight, a jazz concert just down the road, part of SFJAzz Festival.
The weather got markedly better and driving through the Presidio was wonderful.
Farmer's Market right out the front door this afternoon.
Tonight, a jazz concert just down the road, part of SFJAzz Festival.
Oct 6th, 2011, 07:22 AM
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Deb
Did you know that this is "Fleet Week". Lots of ships in the Bay. The Blue Angels few into SFO yesterday. You should see - and especially hear them practicing today and tomorrow (if the weather is clear) around 3pm (I think). There is a big air show Sat & Sun with the Blue Angels as the Grande Finale. Bi-plane acrobatics & other air stuff before that. A good vantage place to see the show would be Crissy Field, and your motorcycle would be perfect for getting to/from there. There was a huge traffic jam last year that we got tangeled in.
When do you plan to explore the Noe Valley??? Have breakfast or lunch at Savor. There is outside dining in the back with heaters & a tent covering. You can access the outside dining area through the restaurant or the alley just to the west. How about dinner at Contigo ( www.contigosf.com ) or Firefly ( www.fireflyrestaurant.com ). Look for the latter's early-bird special.
Stu Dudley
Did you know that this is "Fleet Week". Lots of ships in the Bay. The Blue Angels few into SFO yesterday. You should see - and especially hear them practicing today and tomorrow (if the weather is clear) around 3pm (I think). There is a big air show Sat & Sun with the Blue Angels as the Grande Finale. Bi-plane acrobatics & other air stuff before that. A good vantage place to see the show would be Crissy Field, and your motorcycle would be perfect for getting to/from there. There was a huge traffic jam last year that we got tangeled in.
When do you plan to explore the Noe Valley??? Have breakfast or lunch at Savor. There is outside dining in the back with heaters & a tent covering. You can access the outside dining area through the restaurant or the alley just to the west. How about dinner at Contigo ( www.contigosf.com ) or Firefly ( www.fireflyrestaurant.com ). Look for the latter's early-bird special.
Stu Dudley
Oct 6th, 2011, 07:41 AM
#31
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Firefly is on tap Stu. Yes, we knew about the Blue Angels and that is on tap for Sunday. We are headed to Healdsburg on Sat to a wine and food pairing at LaCrema.
Looks like the weather is heading to it's proper October status. Must have thought we were only here for 1 week! haha.
Looks like the weather is heading to it's proper October status. Must have thought we were only here for 1 week! haha.
Oct 6th, 2011, 09:01 PM
#32
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Another great day, albeit a bit damp. Hung out at home this morning until the rain stopped and then headed over to Ft Mason. Had picnic lunch overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz. Now those are 2 very different, but equally great, views.
We did another City Guide tour, "Ft Mason to Aquatic Park". Another informative walk with more SF history. The guide had to stop talking several times as he was drowned out by the roar of the Blue Angels! They provided some competition for him, that's for sure. They were amazing to watch as they flew over head and near about blew out our ears!
After the tour, we sat and watched them flyover some more and then headed home.
We had a nice dinner at Cafe Flore just down the block from the apt and had a nice meal.
We then headed over to Yoshi's San Francisco to see a favorite group of mine "Foreplay." A great evening of music as the rocked the house for 90 minutes.
Another great day in San Francisco, for sure. Pictures to come.
We did another City Guide tour, "Ft Mason to Aquatic Park". Another informative walk with more SF history. The guide had to stop talking several times as he was drowned out by the roar of the Blue Angels! They provided some competition for him, that's for sure. They were amazing to watch as they flew over head and near about blew out our ears!
After the tour, we sat and watched them flyover some more and then headed home.
We had a nice dinner at Cafe Flore just down the block from the apt and had a nice meal.
We then headed over to Yoshi's San Francisco to see a favorite group of mine "Foreplay." A great evening of music as the rocked the house for 90 minutes.
Another great day in San Francisco, for sure. Pictures to come.
Oct 6th, 2011, 09:11 PM
#33
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Oh, I wanted to share these sites - they both have some great deals on restaurants and you don't pay to get the deals. [unlike Groupon and living social]. You sign up, click on deals that look good and get a code to use. Some significant savings on a lot of popular places too.
http://scoutmob.com/san-francisco/subscriptions
http://blackboardeats.com/san-francisco
http://scoutmob.com/san-francisco/subscriptions
http://blackboardeats.com/san-francisco
Oct 9th, 2011, 04:22 AM
#34
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Great trip report and thanks for the info about http://sf.funcheap.com/..wow, free books right near my house!
Berkeley now has "Off the Grid" truck food every Wednesday at Rose and Shattuck, and it's quite good, especially the Indian.
Berkeley now has "Off the Grid" truck food every Wednesday at Rose and Shattuck, and it's quite good, especially the Indian.
Oct 11th, 2011, 06:23 PM
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On Friday, we did another City Guides tour of the Presidio. Once again the Blue Angels were flying overhead for a good bit of the tour which proved a challenge for the leader.
The Presidio is an amazing places and is a beautiful location to wander about. Lucas has offices there and we were able to enter the lobby of the building and look at some Star Wars memorabilia.
Dinner was in Noe Valley at Firefly. A nice, homey atmosphere and some yummy brisket.
Saturday we drove up to Healdsburg going a bit off the normal path [thanks to Stu for excellent directions] to see a bit more scenery. Had picnic lunch with goodies from Big John's Market. Did a wine and food pairing at La Crema winery. {my favorite]. It was really nice - Healdsburg is a quaint little town and the weather was picture perfect. We are not big wine drinkers, so not planning on heading back this way again for some time.
Got back to the city and had our must do dinner of cioppino at Tadich Grill. Got there and seated at the bar [our favorite spot where you can see the waiters in action].
The Presidio is an amazing places and is a beautiful location to wander about. Lucas has offices there and we were able to enter the lobby of the building and look at some Star Wars memorabilia.
Dinner was in Noe Valley at Firefly. A nice, homey atmosphere and some yummy brisket.
Saturday we drove up to Healdsburg going a bit off the normal path [thanks to Stu for excellent directions] to see a bit more scenery. Had picnic lunch with goodies from Big John's Market. Did a wine and food pairing at La Crema winery. {my favorite]. It was really nice - Healdsburg is a quaint little town and the weather was picture perfect. We are not big wine drinkers, so not planning on heading back this way again for some time.
Got back to the city and had our must do dinner of cioppino at Tadich Grill. Got there and seated at the bar [our favorite spot where you can see the waiters in action].
Oct 11th, 2011, 06:39 PM
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Sunday we went to Marina Green to watch the air show of Fleet Week which was really fun but the weather turned bad as the marine fog rolled in and unfortunately, The Blue Angels were unable to perform 
since the fog got too thick. We did get to see the RCAF Snowbirds and several other planes perform and they were all spellbinding.
We did the City Guides night tour of "North Beach by Night" which was quite different than most tours [leaning towards adult only rated] and had a great tour guide.
We really like the tours but have found that the quality of the tour is really heavily dependent on the personality of the guide. Some are great, some are so-so and a few [and just a few] are not good.
Monday was rainy and I wasn't feeling too well [all that looking upward and whipping my head around to watch the jets overhead made my vertigo act up] so we didn't do much until it was time to take BART over to Berkeley and have DH's birthday dinner at Chez Panisse. We have eaten there several times now and they never disappoint.
since the fog got too thick. We did get to see the RCAF Snowbirds and several other planes perform and they were all spellbinding.We did the City Guides night tour of "North Beach by Night" which was quite different than most tours [leaning towards adult only rated] and had a great tour guide.
We really like the tours but have found that the quality of the tour is really heavily dependent on the personality of the guide. Some are great, some are so-so and a few [and just a few] are not good.
Monday was rainy and I wasn't feeling too well [all that looking upward and whipping my head around to watch the jets overhead made my vertigo act up] so we didn't do much until it was time to take BART over to Berkeley and have DH's birthday dinner at Chez Panisse. We have eaten there several times now and they never disappoint.
Oct 11th, 2011, 06:42 PM
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Another day and the sun finally came back out as we headed over to Potrero Hill for a tour there. Had been in that area once before on our first trip to SF to go to Anchor Steam Brewery but didn't see much else. Another great guide and tour.
Dinner tonight was at Frances in The Casto. Another delightful meal. Reservations a must, 60 days in advance or you can try walk up at 5 pm to sit at small bar.
Pictures to follow.
Dinner tonight was at Frances in The Casto. Another delightful meal. Reservations a must, 60 days in advance or you can try walk up at 5 pm to sit at small bar.
Pictures to follow.
Oct 11th, 2011, 08:53 PM
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Bummer about the Blue Angels.
Ellen led a "Victorian San Francisco" City Guides tour on Sunday, so I drove her in & I "hung out" on Union St/Fillmore St/Chestnut St & heard/watched some of the air show. Like you noted - about 3:30 the fog came in with a vengeance.
Stu Dudley
Ellen led a "Victorian San Francisco" City Guides tour on Sunday, so I drove her in & I "hung out" on Union St/Fillmore St/Chestnut St & heard/watched some of the air show. Like you noted - about 3:30 the fog came in with a vengeance.
Stu Dudley
Oct 12th, 2011, 03:01 PM
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Another great, WARM and sunny day. Spent the morning in Golden Gate park, just loving the flowers, paths, etc. Went all the way down to the ocean and finally saw the windmills. We walked along the Great Highway and had lunch overlooking the breaking waves.
Went on 1906 Earthquake tour given my city guides. This one concentrated on the Civic Center area. Tour was ok, not great. But we did find a tidbit that I wanted to pass along.
We stopped in the Whitcomb Hotel and went up to the mezzanine level where there were some amazing photos of the Enchanted City era, the Fox Theatre, the jazz era of Fillmore and more. Area is open to public from 8-6 daily, unless there is an event in the ballroom. Don't miss a chance to gain some real insights into life back then; really great.
http://tinyurl.com/3fjpxfa
http://www.historigraphics.com/fox/default.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fillmor..._San_Francisco
Went on 1906 Earthquake tour given my city guides. This one concentrated on the Civic Center area. Tour was ok, not great. But we did find a tidbit that I wanted to pass along.
We stopped in the Whitcomb Hotel and went up to the mezzanine level where there were some amazing photos of the Enchanted City era, the Fox Theatre, the jazz era of Fillmore and more. Area is open to public from 8-6 daily, unless there is an event in the ballroom. Don't miss a chance to gain some real insights into life back then; really great.
http://tinyurl.com/3fjpxfa
http://www.historigraphics.com/fox/default.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fillmor..._San_Francisco
