San Francisco - Loved your city!
May 23rd, 2008, 07:15 AM
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San Francisco - Loved your city!
We recently returned from a 7 night trip to the SF area; we spent 3 nights in the Washington Square Inn in North Beach, drove down to Carmel (in a red Mustang convertible!) via the great directions you provided starting with Hwy 280 & ending on Hwy 1. We stayed 1 measly night (I know Stu & the gang recommended 2 nights - 3 would have been even better!) at the Tickle Pink Inn in the Carmel Highlands (best night sleep of our trip - amazingly comfortable beds & incredible views!), lounged around enjoying the relaxation & views the next morning before driving down Big Sur as far as Nepenthe, where we enjoyed a very expensive burger & salad & some more great views! Drove & walked around in Pacific Grove (beautiful area) & Carmel by the Sea (all the shops were closed by that time - easier on the wallet!), took pictures by the ocean. Then we headed back up to the Pacific Heights neighborhood SF for a 3 night stay at the Hotel Drisco (heatwave time!) & arrived ~ 10:30 pm for check-in.
We actually had only 4 full days in SF, 2 partial days & easily could have filled twice as many days! We probably saw less than 10% of what is available - totally loved your beautiful city, San Franciscans (& those who are San Franciscans at heart!) & wish we were back there right now! We were very pleased with all of our lodging choices. Dining choices overwhelmed us but we had some good recommendations & were not disappointed with anywhere we ate. One standout was Gary Danko for incredible food & service. We ate a lot of great Italian & seafood + a few burgers just for convenience! We loved, loved, loved the North Beach & Pacific Heights neighborhoods & chose to not do as much commando touring as I was a bit sleep deprived (& maybe just a teensy bit grouchy!
We walked quite a bit in the areas we stayed in, walked around parts of Chinatown in our travels, but really didn't have a chance to delve into this area on this trip; actually spend a good half day on Fillmore St in Pacific Heights on one of our hot days (really liked Heidi Says, Margaret O'Leary, Crosswalk Shoes, & Jurlique & the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf shop). What we did do: an early bird tour of Alcatraz (very good, crowds came ~ an hour or so after we arrived), Coit tower, brief visit to FW & Pier 39, & walks along the Embarcadero to the Ferry Building, saw Beach Blanket Babylon, visited Golden Gate Ntl Recreation area - Crissy Field & Fort Point, walked the Golden Gate Bridge across & back (on the day it reached 100 degrees in SF - my birthday! Did that wind ever feel great!), had lunch in Sausalito at Fish - really good!, drove through Golden Gate Park (after 4:30 pm so most of the places to tour were closing) & to Ocean Beach to put our hands in the Pacific Ocean - everyone was there since it was so hot! We rode a cable car (bought a 1 day Muni pass) down California St both ways; also picked up the Powell Mason line & jumped off (well, not literally!) at the Cable Car Museum, which we really enjoyed. Our main mode of transportation was walking, with the exception of our out of city excursion. Our last night after dinner, we drove over to Lombard St which was very uncrowded at that hour (~ 10:30 pm) & enjoyed being one of only 2 cars driving down!
I will post more specifics later (reviews, etc) both here & on Trip Advisor. Thanks again for all of the wonderful advice. If I could leave my recommendation, it would be that if you know there is a possibility of a return visit, to try to really relax & take in the wonderful atmosphere of the city & neighborhoods & to enjoy all of the wonderful people you will meet - fellow travelers, people working in the hospitality business, whether hotels, restaurants, or tourism areas, etc. - this really made our trip special & memorable!
We actually had only 4 full days in SF, 2 partial days & easily could have filled twice as many days! We probably saw less than 10% of what is available - totally loved your beautiful city, San Franciscans (& those who are San Franciscans at heart!) & wish we were back there right now! We were very pleased with all of our lodging choices. Dining choices overwhelmed us but we had some good recommendations & were not disappointed with anywhere we ate. One standout was Gary Danko for incredible food & service. We ate a lot of great Italian & seafood + a few burgers just for convenience! We loved, loved, loved the North Beach & Pacific Heights neighborhoods & chose to not do as much commando touring as I was a bit sleep deprived (& maybe just a teensy bit grouchy!
We walked quite a bit in the areas we stayed in, walked around parts of Chinatown in our travels, but really didn't have a chance to delve into this area on this trip; actually spend a good half day on Fillmore St in Pacific Heights on one of our hot days (really liked Heidi Says, Margaret O'Leary, Crosswalk Shoes, & Jurlique & the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf shop). What we did do: an early bird tour of Alcatraz (very good, crowds came ~ an hour or so after we arrived), Coit tower, brief visit to FW & Pier 39, & walks along the Embarcadero to the Ferry Building, saw Beach Blanket Babylon, visited Golden Gate Ntl Recreation area - Crissy Field & Fort Point, walked the Golden Gate Bridge across & back (on the day it reached 100 degrees in SF - my birthday! Did that wind ever feel great!), had lunch in Sausalito at Fish - really good!, drove through Golden Gate Park (after 4:30 pm so most of the places to tour were closing) & to Ocean Beach to put our hands in the Pacific Ocean - everyone was there since it was so hot! We rode a cable car (bought a 1 day Muni pass) down California St both ways; also picked up the Powell Mason line & jumped off (well, not literally!) at the Cable Car Museum, which we really enjoyed. Our main mode of transportation was walking, with the exception of our out of city excursion. Our last night after dinner, we drove over to Lombard St which was very uncrowded at that hour (~ 10:30 pm) & enjoyed being one of only 2 cars driving down!
I will post more specifics later (reviews, etc) both here & on Trip Advisor. Thanks again for all of the wonderful advice. If I could leave my recommendation, it would be that if you know there is a possibility of a return visit, to try to really relax & take in the wonderful atmosphere of the city & neighborhoods & to enjoy all of the wonderful people you will meet - fellow travelers, people working in the hospitality business, whether hotels, restaurants, or tourism areas, etc. - this really made our trip special & memorable!
May 23rd, 2008, 07:58 AM
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Part of my message was cut off:
We had hoped to do a day trip from SF on the second leg of our trip in the city, but it proved to be just too hot & we decided to take the advice of our hotel concierge & stay closer to the water & to areas we could take a reprieve from the heat rather than being inland. We also did not get to Angel Island to do a Segway tour or Bike the Bridge (but walking it was a lot of fun!). The other thing I would suggest (which we didn't do this trip) is the great recommendation of fellow travelers to do some type of city tour your first or second day to see all of the neighborhoods. I think we'll do this on our next visit.
We had hoped to do a day trip from SF on the second leg of our trip in the city, but it proved to be just too hot & we decided to take the advice of our hotel concierge & stay closer to the water & to areas we could take a reprieve from the heat rather than being inland. We also did not get to Angel Island to do a Segway tour or Bike the Bridge (but walking it was a lot of fun!). The other thing I would suggest (which we didn't do this trip) is the great recommendation of fellow travelers to do some type of city tour your first or second day to see all of the neighborhoods. I think we'll do this on our next visit.
May 23rd, 2008, 08:03 AM
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>>We probably saw less than 10% of what is available - totally loved your beautiful city,<<
Probably FAR less than 10%. Glad you had a good time.
Last week's heatwave was a doozy. On Sat, we drove over the GG Bridge around 1:00 & it was 93 degrees. On Sunday, it was fogged in & 54 degrees at noon on the bridge.
The burger at Nepenthe was $3 for the food, & $25 for the ambience & view (just guessing on the price).
Stu Dudley
Probably FAR less than 10%. Glad you had a good time.
Last week's heatwave was a doozy. On Sat, we drove over the GG Bridge around 1:00 & it was 93 degrees. On Sunday, it was fogged in & 54 degrees at noon on the bridge.
The burger at Nepenthe was $3 for the food, & $25 for the ambience & view (just guessing on the price).
Stu Dudley
May 23rd, 2008, 08:18 AM
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Hi, mouseRD!
Great report! Thanks for sharing your adventures! Soo glad you enjoyed San Francisco! It's my favorite city!
Stu: close but no cigar. The Ambrosiaburger at Nepenthe is only about $15!
last time we were at Nepenthe, they had a wonderful special with slices of beef that was absolutely done perfectly!
Oh summertime! More hiking! More Big Sur time!
Great report! Thanks for sharing your adventures! Soo glad you enjoyed San Francisco! It's my favorite city!
Stu: close but no cigar. The Ambrosiaburger at Nepenthe is only about $15!
last time we were at Nepenthe, they had a wonderful special with slices of beef that was absolutely done perfectly!
Oh summertime! More hiking! More Big Sur time!
May 23rd, 2008, 09:16 AM
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Hi mouseRD,
Really nice report.
If you were here last week and experienced the high temps, you saw the "worst" it gets here in terms of heat. Did you notice there was no humidity to make the heat miserable?
Come back soon!
Really nice report.
If you were here last week and experienced the high temps, you saw the "worst" it gets here in terms of heat. Did you notice there was no humidity to make the heat miserable?
Come back soon!
May 23rd, 2008, 09:46 AM
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Yes, we definitely liked the lack of humidity in SF! We have plenty of heat & humidity here in SC! I'm almost certain someone "told on us" that we were traveling to SF & the heat followed us there (& returned home with us!)
May 23rd, 2008, 10:18 AM
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WOW, you've seen more than I have and we live in the SF Bay Area! Glad you enjoyed your stay and sorry for the high temps...not our norm as I am sure you know. It was 103 at one point at my house in Fremont and we have no air conditioning.
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