San. Fran. Help me plan!!!
 

Hello:

i will be traveling to san francisco at the end of june and am thinking about staying at the Tuscan Inn in Fisherman's Wharf. Has anyone heard anything about this hotel?

-We would like to go to sonoma, can you tell us a little about a tour and tasting here and what the best way to get there is and how long it will take to get there?
- what should we make sure we see or do while we are in sf.
- what are the best places to eat (nice restaurants) for all meals?
- will it be easy to get around without a car?
- what should we do at night? we are both twenty six.
- we will be driving to reno on a friday morning - what is the best route and how long? will it be a boring ride?
i know this is a lot of questions but this will be out first time to sf and we only have a couple of days.
thanks, nicole

I recently did a tour with Incredible Adventures, doing both Muir Woods and Sonoma that was nice. See http://www.bitours.com/ There are about a billion great restaurants----depends on what you want to spend. Some good places...Greens, Rose Pistola, Trattoria Pinocchio, Dottie's True Blue Diner. It's very easy to get around without a car.

The Tuscan Inn is a great hotel. Good choice.
It will take about 1.5 hours to get to Sonoma, if there isn't traffic. The best way is to rent a car. As far as I know, you don't need reservations for tastings. I like some of the close in wineries, Cline, Viansa, etc.
Getting around without a car in the city is not easy, but do-able. Nice to not have to park, for sure.
The ride to Reno will be pretty boring. Do leave in the morning, as you'll hit rush hour if you wait until too late. It will take about 4 hours (a little less).
Have fun!

The trip to Reno on Interstate 80 will not be boring - at least after you get up into the foot hills east of Sacramento. From there up into the Sierras will be nice scenery. But you may hit a nasty bottleneck in Roseville any time in June. They are rebuilding a busy on/off ramp and building a tunnel. So -- depending on the day there will be either:

BAD traffic for a few miles

OR even worse traffic because of a temporary detour off and back on the freeway.

I would be sure to leave SF in the morning (but after rush hour). If you end up in Sacramento/Roseville on a Friday afternoon it could easily add 90+ minutes to your trip.

W/o major delays in Sac/Roseville figure about 4 hours to Reno. If you hit the Friday afternoon commute (in either SF or Sac) count on 6 hours.

For about $10 you can try a food and wine pairing at J Vineyards of Sonoma--wonderful "sparkling wine" that goes well with foods. Lovely grounds. You can spend more and choose more elaborate tastings, too.

Check out the heart of Sonoma (near the mission) for shopping and restaurants.

In SF: Very upscale and unique restaurant, Farallon at Union Square is worth trying to get reservations. We always enjoy one of the oldest Italian restaurants in town, Fior d'Italia in North Beach. Any number of small deli shoppes are great--we can never remember the names...

Have fun!

thanks for the tips! what time would you recommend that we leave san francisco in order to miss that afternoon traffic that you spoke about? that would be horrible to sit in a car for six hours. thanks. nicole

If you leave S.F. at 9 AM you will be against the incoming rush and will get through Sacramento mid morning.

I'm in my twenties too so I can recommend some places I think you'd enjoy. (=

Restaurants:

Great food and service -- Gary Danko, Boulevard, Betelnut, Le Colonial, Frascati, Slanted Door,

Nightlife:

North Beach - bars/dance clubs.
Bubble Lounge, Dragonbar, Velvet Lounge, Suede (trendy)
Fuse (small, packed dance floor)
Bamboo Hut (divey Polynesian place)

Marina/Cow Hollow -
Matrix, Cozmo's (trendy, yuppie)