SF MUNI Glossary

Cable cars--3 lines, two that begin at Powell and Market go over Nob Hill and end at the Wharf; 1 that begins at Market and California Street goes over Nob Hill (intersecting with Powell St cars) and ending at Van Ness.

Historic Streetcars-one line, the F runs between the Wharf and Market and Castro along the Embarcadero and Market Street.

MUNI Metro--J, K, L, M, and N--streetcar lines that are below ground downtown and on the surface elsewhere in city. N goes to the ball park along the Embarcadero and comes above ground on the Embarcadero; in the other direction it can be taken to Golden Gate Park (comes above ground past downtown).

There are also trolley buses and diesel buses.

Nicely put, SAB, very succinct.

How does this sound as a tentative itinerary? Packing in too much or will I have time to spare? Hard to guage without understanding distances/travel times.

Wednesday evening, need to know arrival time before I can decide on a restaurant. Maybe Belden Alley http://www.belden-place.com/view/restaurants/ if not too late…they all stop seating at 10.

Thursday: Hubby works  , Son and I go to Fisherman’s Wharf then on to Alacatraz http://www.alcatrazcruises.com/ . Back from Alacatraz tour then Lunch at the Ferry Building http://www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com/ and adjoining Farmer’s Market where they have wood fired pizzas, grilled meats, lots of things to sample from the slow food movement, and a great bakery to pick up some afternoon dessert. All to Betelnut http://www.betelnutrestaurant.com/ for dinner or Belden Alley unless we went there night before.

Friday: Hubby works morning  , son and I to do walking tour with CityGuides of the Golden Gate Bridge at 10:00, on to Academy of Science http://www.calacademy.org/ for most of the day, meet Gary for sunset cocktails at the Cliff House http://www.cliffhouse.com/sutro/barNlounge.html if he can get away, and dinner at ??? Somewhere back close to the hotel if we don’t end up eating at the Cliff House.

Saturday morning we leave for Yosemite.

Thank Deb--I know that it can get confusing for visitors as we have many different types of transportation and they may be called differently in other places i.e. our streetcars are called trolley cars in other places and it can get confusing since we have trolley buses.

If your son is willing to do a 10 am walk, get up earlier and get to the museum when it opens at 9:30. It gets mobbed the later you go. Buy tix on line in advance. When you walk in, immediately get the free tix for the 3D movie (it had been Bugs) and one of the planetarium shows. Then head to the aquarium and see it relatively uncrowded. You can spend a whole day here (the roof, the rainforest, lunch, etc). It is a great place.

Sounds great. Be aware that the Thursday farmer's market at the Ferry Bldg., while very nice, is not nearly as big as the Saturday market. (You can still eat very well, but don't know how much sampling you'll be able to do).

I just checked and Betelnut is open till 11, so you could go there upon arrival if you don't mind eating that late, and you're not too tired.

How are you planning to get to the Cliff House? It's pretty far from your hotel, and from the Academy of Sciences. Downtown to the Cliff House is as far as you can travel in an east-west direction in the City (Bay to Ocean).

Oh, ok, thanks sf7307, I was wondering if Cliff House might be logistically difficult. May have to rethink that part, but it sure sounds like a fun thing to do, especially if it's a nice sunset. What about taking a cab from the museum to the Cliff House?

Would really prefer to go to the farmer's market Saturday but we have to get an early start for Yosimite that morning, so will have to stick with Thursday for Ferry Building & market.

The Cliff House is just a 10 minute drive through the park, isn't it? I'm not great with directions, though.

There is a parking lot at the Academy of Sciences. Although you have to pay, it's convenient. You can go across the street to the De Young Museum and go up their tower (for free). It's a beautiful view and place to take pictures.

She's not going to have a car.

She says she'll have a car, but would rather not use it, although going to Golden Gate Park and the ocean isn't a challenging drive.

You're right. To the OP, it would be MUCH MUCH easier for you to do the Academy of Sciences and the Cliff House if you were to drive.

bookmarking

The Academy of Science was a zoo the day we were there(thousands of tweens). I can see an 18 year old liking it, but I think most people over age 15 or so would find it a little too kiddish for them. Someone mentioned a Seway earlier, it was a blast. You don't mention in your iten of walking though chinatown or riding the cable cars, I can't imagine being in San Fran and not doing those. I see that you are going to Yosemite, that will be a great experience as well.

spiro - of course, everything is up to the individual, but I'd have to disagree with you on the A of S. I've been there twice - with husband once and then with 23 yr old son. We have all been to world class museums and loved it - nothing kiddish about the aquarium, the eco roof top or lunch in the Moss Room. I don't enjoy crowds and tend to go to museums when they first open in the morning, but all popular places do get crowded.

Revised itinerary: your thoughts please!

Wednesday evening arrival around 7:45, 9:45 reservation at Betelnut.

Thursday morning: cable car to Ferry Building, grab some good coffee/pastry, then walk (how far???) to the pier for Alcatraz tour. (other suggestions for breakfast between Fairmont & Alacatraz?)
After Alcatraz tour back to Ferry Building for lunch and shopping for me.
Union Square for shopping for son if I have the energy!
Back to hotel for a rest!

Thursday Evening: pizza at Tommaso (North Beach, I think? Best way to get there from hotel at night??).

Friday morning: Walking tour "All About Chinatown", skip the Dim Sum and go on our own to Yank Sing.
Back to hotel to meet up with hubbby & regroup.
Friday afternoon: driving Lombard Street, out to Muirs Woods, cocktails at Cliff House, back to hotel, then to Belden Place for dinner.

Saturday morning depart for Yosemite.

Sunday-Yosemite

Monday-morning drive back from Yosemite to airport.

Awahnee Hotel has a good Sunday Brunch in Yosemite, if that interests you. If you go to the Maripossa area, we enjoyed a meal there at the Wawonna.

I would see the Maripossa Grove over the Muir Woods, btw. Muir woods is nice, but the big sequoias are hard to beat.

we had good dim sum(our first time)at a place called City View. We though it was good. A lot of people think that YS is overpriced. I do hope to try it sometime, though as many think it is the best.

You could describe us somewhat the way you described yourself. That said, we did see the Hippie area and thought it was interesting.

Is Friday realistic for Lombard St, Muir Woods then Cliff House? Its been forever since I have been to those but it seems way to spread out and time-consuming. I could be completely wrong here though.

We are planning to go to the Maripossa Grove, so could eliminate Muir Woods on Friday if we feel too rushed, we've been there before.
Can anyone comment on safety and best mode of transportation to/from North Beach at night? This would be Fairmont to Tomasso & back. Thanks!

Getting to North Beach - walking is fine. Walk there and cab back.

Friday afternoon -- too much. By the time you all "regroup" after lunch, get your car and leave the hotel, what time will it be? If it were up to me, I'd skip Muir Woods, and instead go out to the Cliff House a little early and take the walk on the Land's End Trail before cocktails at the Cliff House.

http://www.parksconservancy.org/visi...lands-end.html

I would vote for City Views for Dim Sum. We eat there every visit. Clean, lots of fresh food on carts and replenished frequently.