Report Back - SF trip Mar 10-14 05
Mar 19th, 2005 | 09:50 AM
#1
Original Poster
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 136
Likes: 0
Report Back - SF trip Mar 10-14 05
Hi All
Well I'm back and safe and sound. I've also recovered from the transcontinental flight. (I dont sleep well on planes - it was a red eye). So here is the itinerary that we ended up using and all the things that I really enjoyed.
Thurday:
Arrive on flight from Philly, take airport shuttle (not Supershuttle) to hotel, Embassy Hotel in Civic Centre area. Our driver also asked us if we were sure about the address. We arrived and the hotel was old but clean. The staff were great. The area was actually ok. We were across the street from the California Culinary Academy. One block away from most busses that would take us anywhere important. There were a few homeless people around but noone bothered us.
After settling into the room we went for a late dinner to Max's Opera Cafe, on Van Ness. That was great. The food was good but the singing servers were the best entertainment I'd ever had at a restaurant. Then it was back to the hotel to get rested for Friday...
Friday:
Pick up at the hotel for the Muir Woods/Sausalito tour. Bus to Muir Woods with a hour and a half to explore the National Monument. It was exquisite. Neither of us had ever seen redwoods and that was amazing. The Bay area had record highs on Friday so we had the most amazing weather too. After the time in Muir Woods we went to Sausalito for a half hour to explore. Just enough time to have a drink in the bar, (it smelt exactly like a good English pub, which I really enjoyed).
We then took the tour bus back to Fisherman's Wharf where we were to collect our Citypass and Alcatraz tickets. Fisherman's Wharf is very touristy but that's exactly what we were. I really enjoyed it! We went to Boudin's for lunch and I had clam chowder in a bread bowl and he had the chilli in the bread bowl.
Then it was off to the Palace of the Legion of Honor for the Bouquet to the Arts exhibit. Only mistake we made here was not realising that the bus route that I had picked out dropped us at the bottom of the hill. We had to walk through the golf course and up the hill to get to the Legion of Honor. It did afford us spectacular views of the Bay and Bridge, but was a little exhausting.
The exhibit in the galleries was wonderful. It's really different to explore art with such wonderful smells surrounding you. I really enjoyed the Rodin sculptured and the ancient tapestries. But seeing the floral art work was as interesting, as the art collection itself.
After the Legion of Honor we caught the bus outside to take us to the Cliff House. We managed to get a table at a window seat and after exploring the Camera Obscura and some photos of the Sutro Bath ruins we settled down to watch the sun set into the Pacific. What a wonderful sight. I think I took over 20 photos just of the sunset. We had a lovely meal at the Cliff House and then caught a series of busses back to Fisherman's Wharf.
Here we visited some of the tourist shops and bought a few postcards and then it was Ripley's Believe it or Not! Museum. Which was fun, but aside from being a family tradition probably wouldnt have been on my list of "To Do's". Then it was back to the hotel, by bus, with a stop at Max's for dessert.
Saturday:
We caught the bus to the cable car stop and took the Powell-Mason line to near Pier 41 for the first trip out to Alcatraz. Stopping for breakfast at one of the dinners nearby.
We spent two and a half hours exploring Alcatraz, took the audio tour which I highly recommend, and then caught the ferry back to San Francisco.
On returning to the Pier we caught the F line Street cars to SFMOMA. After lunch at the cafe, we took the guided tour of the permanent collection, and explored the galleries further.
After a brief stop to collect our tickets for the Fetish Ball, we returned to the hotel to prepare. We took a taxi to the Gift Centre where the Ball was held. After admiring the costumes of the attendees and a few drinks and some dancing, we returned to the hotel in the early morning and ordered pizza from one of the great local pizza places that actually remain open til 3am!
Sunday:
After sleeping in a little and resting up we made our way to Golden Gate park. Here we explored the Conservatory of Flowers, rode on the the 1912 Carousel, wandered through the Aids Memorial Garden and spent time in the Strybing Botanical Gardens. After getting locked in the Botanical Gardens we went to look at the Shakespeare Garden and ended the afternoon with tea at the Japanese Tea Garden. We then headed back to down town. After a late afternoon snack at Chevy's Fresh Mex, on Van Ness, we made reservations for dinner at Thep Phanom.
Dinner that night was by far the best dinner I have had whilst on vacation. We got to chat to the chef, and were also given t-shirts for their anniversary. I would highly recommend this "top 100 restaurant" to anyone going anywhere near San Francisco!
Monday:
We started with breakfast at Canteen, in the Comodore hotel, which is a great little place (Sutter at Jones Strs). The food is made fresh where you can see it, the owner/headchef/waiter, is overseeing everything which makes for a very caring environment. The best fresh orange juice I have tasted is served. They only do breakfast though and it is quite small, so plan on possibly having to wait a bit of word gets out how great this place is. It was recommended to us by a clerk in a store.
We then went on to Maiden lane for the Naughty and Bawdy tour that cityguides leads, which is on the history of prostitutes in the San Francisco area. After the tour we got to see the Marine Band playing in Union Sqaure and took a wander through Gumps.
Then it was up the hill to Chinatown. Through the Grant Street Gates and exploring the main tourist area of Chinatown. After having lunch at Sam Wo's (where the food was good, but really large portions) we wandered up the alleys to see the Tin How temple and the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Company, the we explore Stockton Street's markets a little.
We then moved on to Northbeach where spent some time at City Lights Bookstore and then had a coffee at Cafe Puccini's. After exploring North Beach a little and seeing Saints Peter and Paul Church we caught the bus up to Coit Tower. You can only go up by the elevator now - the stairs are closed except for in emergencies. The views from up there were spectacular. Once we came down we had some time to drink in the scenes of the murals in the lobby area.
We caught the bus back to Pier 39 to get a few last souvineers for people back home, and ended up visiting the Aquarium on the Bay. While not one of the best I've visited, it has some good displays and the touch pools are more interesting than others that I have seen. After crepes for dinner at the Crepe Cafe in Pier 39 (Which were very good and have a variety of fillings) we headed back to the hotel to pick up our luggage and catch the shuttle back to the airport.
Over all I really enjoyed my visit to San Francisco. We both agreed that the next time we come it will be for a month!
I took over 300 photos and have loaded 230 of them onto my yahoo album. Please feel free to have a look:
http://photos.yahoo.com/binkieloo_69
Thanks for all the suggestions and I really enjoyed your City. I certainly left my heart there and better go back to fetch it sometime.
Bianca
Well I'm back and safe and sound. I've also recovered from the transcontinental flight. (I dont sleep well on planes - it was a red eye). So here is the itinerary that we ended up using and all the things that I really enjoyed.
Thurday:
Arrive on flight from Philly, take airport shuttle (not Supershuttle) to hotel, Embassy Hotel in Civic Centre area. Our driver also asked us if we were sure about the address. We arrived and the hotel was old but clean. The staff were great. The area was actually ok. We were across the street from the California Culinary Academy. One block away from most busses that would take us anywhere important. There were a few homeless people around but noone bothered us.
After settling into the room we went for a late dinner to Max's Opera Cafe, on Van Ness. That was great. The food was good but the singing servers were the best entertainment I'd ever had at a restaurant. Then it was back to the hotel to get rested for Friday...
Friday:
Pick up at the hotel for the Muir Woods/Sausalito tour. Bus to Muir Woods with a hour and a half to explore the National Monument. It was exquisite. Neither of us had ever seen redwoods and that was amazing. The Bay area had record highs on Friday so we had the most amazing weather too. After the time in Muir Woods we went to Sausalito for a half hour to explore. Just enough time to have a drink in the bar, (it smelt exactly like a good English pub, which I really enjoyed).
We then took the tour bus back to Fisherman's Wharf where we were to collect our Citypass and Alcatraz tickets. Fisherman's Wharf is very touristy but that's exactly what we were. I really enjoyed it! We went to Boudin's for lunch and I had clam chowder in a bread bowl and he had the chilli in the bread bowl.
Then it was off to the Palace of the Legion of Honor for the Bouquet to the Arts exhibit. Only mistake we made here was not realising that the bus route that I had picked out dropped us at the bottom of the hill. We had to walk through the golf course and up the hill to get to the Legion of Honor. It did afford us spectacular views of the Bay and Bridge, but was a little exhausting.
The exhibit in the galleries was wonderful. It's really different to explore art with such wonderful smells surrounding you. I really enjoyed the Rodin sculptured and the ancient tapestries. But seeing the floral art work was as interesting, as the art collection itself.
After the Legion of Honor we caught the bus outside to take us to the Cliff House. We managed to get a table at a window seat and after exploring the Camera Obscura and some photos of the Sutro Bath ruins we settled down to watch the sun set into the Pacific. What a wonderful sight. I think I took over 20 photos just of the sunset. We had a lovely meal at the Cliff House and then caught a series of busses back to Fisherman's Wharf.
Here we visited some of the tourist shops and bought a few postcards and then it was Ripley's Believe it or Not! Museum. Which was fun, but aside from being a family tradition probably wouldnt have been on my list of "To Do's". Then it was back to the hotel, by bus, with a stop at Max's for dessert.
Saturday:
We caught the bus to the cable car stop and took the Powell-Mason line to near Pier 41 for the first trip out to Alcatraz. Stopping for breakfast at one of the dinners nearby.
We spent two and a half hours exploring Alcatraz, took the audio tour which I highly recommend, and then caught the ferry back to San Francisco.
On returning to the Pier we caught the F line Street cars to SFMOMA. After lunch at the cafe, we took the guided tour of the permanent collection, and explored the galleries further.
After a brief stop to collect our tickets for the Fetish Ball, we returned to the hotel to prepare. We took a taxi to the Gift Centre where the Ball was held. After admiring the costumes of the attendees and a few drinks and some dancing, we returned to the hotel in the early morning and ordered pizza from one of the great local pizza places that actually remain open til 3am!
Sunday:
After sleeping in a little and resting up we made our way to Golden Gate park. Here we explored the Conservatory of Flowers, rode on the the 1912 Carousel, wandered through the Aids Memorial Garden and spent time in the Strybing Botanical Gardens. After getting locked in the Botanical Gardens we went to look at the Shakespeare Garden and ended the afternoon with tea at the Japanese Tea Garden. We then headed back to down town. After a late afternoon snack at Chevy's Fresh Mex, on Van Ness, we made reservations for dinner at Thep Phanom.
Dinner that night was by far the best dinner I have had whilst on vacation. We got to chat to the chef, and were also given t-shirts for their anniversary. I would highly recommend this "top 100 restaurant" to anyone going anywhere near San Francisco!
Monday:
We started with breakfast at Canteen, in the Comodore hotel, which is a great little place (Sutter at Jones Strs). The food is made fresh where you can see it, the owner/headchef/waiter, is overseeing everything which makes for a very caring environment. The best fresh orange juice I have tasted is served. They only do breakfast though and it is quite small, so plan on possibly having to wait a bit of word gets out how great this place is. It was recommended to us by a clerk in a store.
We then went on to Maiden lane for the Naughty and Bawdy tour that cityguides leads, which is on the history of prostitutes in the San Francisco area. After the tour we got to see the Marine Band playing in Union Sqaure and took a wander through Gumps.
Then it was up the hill to Chinatown. Through the Grant Street Gates and exploring the main tourist area of Chinatown. After having lunch at Sam Wo's (where the food was good, but really large portions) we wandered up the alleys to see the Tin How temple and the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Company, the we explore Stockton Street's markets a little.
We then moved on to Northbeach where spent some time at City Lights Bookstore and then had a coffee at Cafe Puccini's. After exploring North Beach a little and seeing Saints Peter and Paul Church we caught the bus up to Coit Tower. You can only go up by the elevator now - the stairs are closed except for in emergencies. The views from up there were spectacular. Once we came down we had some time to drink in the scenes of the murals in the lobby area.
We caught the bus back to Pier 39 to get a few last souvineers for people back home, and ended up visiting the Aquarium on the Bay. While not one of the best I've visited, it has some good displays and the touch pools are more interesting than others that I have seen. After crepes for dinner at the Crepe Cafe in Pier 39 (Which were very good and have a variety of fillings) we headed back to the hotel to pick up our luggage and catch the shuttle back to the airport.
Over all I really enjoyed my visit to San Francisco. We both agreed that the next time we come it will be for a month!
I took over 300 photos and have loaded 230 of them onto my yahoo album. Please feel free to have a look:
http://photos.yahoo.com/binkieloo_69
Thanks for all the suggestions and I really enjoyed your City. I certainly left my heart there and better go back to fetch it sometime.
Bianca
Mar 19th, 2005 | 03:18 PM
#4
Guest
Posts: n/a
Binkeloo, I was very interested is your report as we are going to SF next week with our four grandchildren. What tour company did you take to Muir Woods? We havn't decided to take a tour or rent a car. For six of us it might be cost effective to rent a car. I looked up Max's Opera Cafe and it looked like it might be a fun place for the grandchildren. Would they like Thep Phanom? They basically will try anything. Is the Cliff house too fancy for children? Any comments would be welcome. Thanks for the report. Owa
Mar 19th, 2005 | 05:12 PM
#6
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 396
Likes: 0
I was thinking about you guys this last week. I couldn't remember who was coming to San Francisco, but I remembered your post because you mentioned the dates of your trip.
All week I just kept thinking - wow, what a wonderful week to be in San Francisco. The weather was so awesome! You'll be happy to know that you beat a good storm that hit this week - and while the rain isn't lasting all day, the weather is nowhere near as spectacular as last week was.
All week I just kept thinking - wow, what a wonderful week to be in San Francisco. The weather was so awesome! You'll be happy to know that you beat a good storm that hit this week - and while the rain isn't lasting all day, the weather is nowhere near as spectacular as last week was.
Mar 20th, 2005 | 09:31 AM
#7
Original Poster
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 136
Likes: 0
I was just reading the Mom/daughter report back and realised I forgot something really important!
The bus drivers in SF have got to be the friendliest in the world - we had so much help from them in getting us where we wanted to go. And they all did it in the friendliest way!
To answer other questions:
Owa: we booked our Muir Woods tour through BI Tours, but ended up on a Tower Tours (The green one) bus. The roads are really windy and there isnt a lot of parking - the tour busses have their own parking which may be a benefit, but then you are also limited by how long you spend there. Also having a car you have the opportunity to drive up the Marin headlands, which was recommended by a friend and the tour bus driver.
Max's is great and open til 10 on week days and 1130pm on weekends - makes for a great late night dessert! Thep Phanom is fantastic and I think your grandkids would love it. There is a very large menu and the atmosphere is very relaxed, but do book ahead - we were there on a Sunday night at 830 and there were only 2 open tables. I dont think the Cliff House is too fancy - I had a burger for dinner - It's best for sunset - so get there about a half hour before that and request to wait for a table at the window. We got there about 5pm and waited about 25 mins, we used the time to look at the Camera Obscura.
Grasshopper: Thanks - how do I go about that? I think I would enjoy that. Thanks for looking at my photos!
SFImporter: We were telling all the locals that we had brought the great weather
We really were blessed with the best weather, but I did see how it can be a fantastic city in any weather!
Thanks again for all the help and all the comments - I'll definitely be using the Fodorites help on all my future trips.
The bus drivers in SF have got to be the friendliest in the world - we had so much help from them in getting us where we wanted to go. And they all did it in the friendliest way!
To answer other questions:
Owa: we booked our Muir Woods tour through BI Tours, but ended up on a Tower Tours (The green one) bus. The roads are really windy and there isnt a lot of parking - the tour busses have their own parking which may be a benefit, but then you are also limited by how long you spend there. Also having a car you have the opportunity to drive up the Marin headlands, which was recommended by a friend and the tour bus driver.
Max's is great and open til 10 on week days and 1130pm on weekends - makes for a great late night dessert! Thep Phanom is fantastic and I think your grandkids would love it. There is a very large menu and the atmosphere is very relaxed, but do book ahead - we were there on a Sunday night at 830 and there were only 2 open tables. I dont think the Cliff House is too fancy - I had a burger for dinner - It's best for sunset - so get there about a half hour before that and request to wait for a table at the window. We got there about 5pm and waited about 25 mins, we used the time to look at the Camera Obscura.
Grasshopper: Thanks - how do I go about that? I think I would enjoy that. Thanks for looking at my photos!
SFImporter: We were telling all the locals that we had brought the great weather
We really were blessed with the best weather, but I did see how it can be a fantastic city in any weather!Thanks again for all the help and all the comments - I'll definitely be using the Fodorites help on all my future trips.
Trending Topics
Mar 20th, 2005 | 05:05 PM
#9
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 1,215
Likes: 0
Binkieloo,
I'm glad you had such a wonderful trip. I remember your posts before your trip and wondered if you were possibly going to be able to do all that you had planned. It sounds like you did everything and more -- you must have great energy! Do you need a rest now from your vacation? Come back soon!
I'm glad you had such a wonderful trip. I remember your posts before your trip and wondered if you were possibly going to be able to do all that you had planned. It sounds like you did everything and more -- you must have great energy! Do you need a rest now from your vacation? Come back soon!
