San Francisco - rainy days activities
 

I know that 10 day weather forecasts are far from accurate. That said, it does seem that SF is in for some stormy weather over the next week and a half, which is of course when we will be in town.

Silly question - when it rains in SF - is it (1) an all day, steady rain; (2)an all day but off and on thing; or (3)is it just big rain and then its over?

Umbrellas needed? Will carrying them around be bothersome? We will be using MUNI to get around town.

We were really going to focus on walking and exploring lots of the sections of town this trip.

Wanted to do many of the SF Library tours but am concerned about the rain. Are they rain or shine? {side question - <i>are the tour guides tipped</i> and if so, how much - it will be the 2 of us}.

So I am now trying to come up with rain day activities.

I have started my list of <u>museums</u>: de Young, SF MoMA, Cal Academy of Science. Is Cartoon Art worthwhile?
How is the Contemporary Jewish Museum? Asian Art?

We are not shoppers, so that isn'treally of interest.

Is it worth driving to wine country on a rainy day if we are not wine drinkers; are the tours still worthwhile. I was hoping for nice picnic weather while in wine country.

We got spoiled on last years' trip as it didn't rain once.

So, what's on the &quot;to do, can do&quot; list for rain days in San Francisco?

Thanks!
Deb

Umbrella--yes!! Get one of those very small travel umbrellas that fold up to fit in your pocket-- then it is not cumbersome.

Museums-- yes.

How about plays, concerts, dance shows and movies?

Have fun.

Hi Deb-

I went to the Contemporary Jewish Museum and the Asian Art Museum last fall.

The CJM mainly has revolving exhibits, so what I saw is probably different from what they have on now. The building itself is worth seeing, because it has a new wing designed by Daniel Libeskind attached to an old building. It symbolizes a combination of &quot;yud&quot; and &quot;chet&quot; to form &quot;chai&quot;.

I highly recommend you to visit the museum on one of their guided tours (free w/admission). I wouldn't have understood what I was looking at (both the art and the building) if it weren't for the tour. If you can't make it to the guided tour, the museum also has a audioguide tour for the architecture (but not the art, I think).

The Asian Art Museum is very worthwhile. It is very big, I think it's one of biggest Asian Art Museum outside of Asia.

On my trip, I also went to the SF MOMA, deYoung, and Legion of Honor. If you're interested, you can take a look at my trip report:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35154243

Hi Deb !!!!!

&gt;&gt;Silly question - when it rains in SF - is it (1) an all day, steady rain; (2)an all day but off and on thing; or (3)is it just big rain and then its over?&lt;&lt;

This past Friday was drippy and they said it would also be drippy &amp; overcast on Saturday. Sat was fantastic - blue skies, etc. My wife conducted a &quot;Landmark Victorians of Alamo Sq&quot; tour for City Guides on Sat and the view of &quot;postcard row&quot; was fabulous. Lots of people &amp; dogs in Alamo sq, and elsewhere in the City taking advantage of the beautiful weather. We returned for dinner &amp; tok about a 30 min walk after dinner. Young kids were playing &amp; skateboarding on the sidewalk at 9:30pm. Today, however, it is overcast.

For some reason, San Francisco is like Camelot - it usually rains at night. We are forecast to have 30% chance of rain this evening. It rarely rains all day.

&gt;&gt;Umbrellas needed? Will carrying them around be bothersome? We will be using MUNI to get around town.&lt;&lt;

Good idea.

&gt;&gt;We were really going to focus on walking and exploring lots of the sections of town this trip.&lt;&lt;

How many City Guides tours are you going to take??????

Are you going on my Noe Valley walk??????

&gt;&gt;Wanted to do many of the SF Library tours but am concerned about the rain. Are they rain or shine? {side question - are the tour guides tipped and if so, how much - it will be the 2 of us}.&lt;&lt;

Oh - I assume you mean the City Guides tours.

They are rain or shine - my wife has conducted some in downpours. The Palace Hotel tour is entirely inside, so that would be a good one for a real rainy day. The Fire Dept museum is naturally inside. City Scapes &amp; Public Places is partialy inside. Much of the Ferry Bldg tour is inside. There is an Omni Hotel walk that is probably inside - but this is a new one &amp; we have not been on it yet.

Average tip is $3-4. They suggest $5 - but lots of starving students &amp; budget travelers don't have that much money. On Sat, my wife had 8 in her group - including 4 students. Tips were less than $20. The tips go to print programs, advertise, pay the salary of 1 administrator, and other stuff like that. Guides receive zero - in fact, my wife had to pay to go through training and she provides all the handout materials (she copied the handouts at work before she retired), and we're not reimbursed for travel, or anything else - it is purely a volunteer program.

Your husband might like the Haight Ashbury tour if he liked the City Lights bookstore. You'll see the Greatfull Dead house, Janis Joplin's apt, etc.

&gt;&gt;So I am now trying to come up with rain day activities.

I have started my list of museums: de Young, SF MoMA, Cal Academy of Science. Is Cartoon Art worthwhile?
How is the Contemporary Jewish Museum? Asian Art?&lt;&lt;

This past Friday we went to the newly opened Academy of Science museum. Excellent !!! - although the crowds are still large. Do this on a work day - not on a holiday or weekend. Get there at 9:20. There are 3 lines - one for &quot;members&quot;, another for non-members (like you), and another to purchase tickets. There was nobody in the line to purchase tickets so that will not consume time. Have your husband buy tickets while you hold a place in line. Once the doors open at 9:30 - you'll be inside within a minute or two (we were way back in line). The museum is staffed with greeters. One told us to immediatly go &amp; get a &quot;badge&quot; to get in to the 10:30 planetarium showing. There is a coat-check to the left as you walk in &amp; I stashed the coats &amp; umbrellas there while my wife got the badges for the show. They told her to get in line at 10:10 for the show. We then immediatly went down to the aquarium area - which was fantastic. It has been a while since we viewed the one in Monterey - but I think this one is better. At 10:10 we got in line for the planetarium. The show was fantastic. After the show, we went back to the aquarium to finish up. There were easily 3 times as many people there as there were at 9:40 when we first got there. It did not really interfere with the viewing - but it was a little annoying because of the noise (lots of kids). If I had to do it again, I would get tickets for the planetarium showing at 11:30 and spend the first 1 1/2 hours at the aquarium. There is also a &quot;Rain Forrest&quot; but the lines were long &amp; we skipped it. There is a restaurant at the museum that has received excellent reviews from our local restaurant critic. There is also a very nice cafeteria style restaurant that has many different types of foods you can get - only in SF.

&gt;&gt;We are not shoppers, so that isn'treally of interest.

&gt;&gt;Is it worth driving to wine country on a rainy day if we are not wine drinkers; are the tours still worthwhile. I was hoping for nice picnic weather while in wine country.&lt;&lt;

Better in nice weather. Muir Woods might be interesting in drippy weather.

&gt;&gt;We got spoiled on last years' trip as it didn't rain once.&lt;&lt;

We are having a record drought year!!!!!

&gt;&gt;So, what's on the &quot;to do, can do&quot; list for rain days in San Francisco?&lt;&lt;

I love Tadich at the counter for lunch - arrive at 11:30 to 11:45. Crocker Galleria is covered and it's kinda fun - but shopping.

If I can think of more, I'll let you know.

Stu Dudley

If you love the bay, the bay model in Sausalito is really cool.
http://www.spn.usace.army.mil/bmvc/

Sit in The BV and sip Irish coffees for a few hours? :-?
Watch the Cable Cars at the turnaround and keep an eye on Aqautic Park?

SF is one of our fave cities for walking in the rain.
Paris is a strong #2.

Thanks all for input!

I was just looking at tickets to see Wicked, wow - they are hard to come by and they few showing up as available are top price but are in the way up high seats.

I did see they are having a $25 Orch seat give away before each show, so maybe that might work. I don't mind paying $80 for an Orch seat, but do mind paying that for last row mezz at end of row! I can't believe the seats are same price.

stu - I am not sure how many of the City Guides we will do, depends on weather partly and partly how much we do on our own. Letting someone else lead the way sounds pretty good this time around.

Your Noe Valley walk sounds good too! We appreciate your knowledge and willingness to share it with all of us!

Deb

yk - I just finished your trip report - it was so informative and helpful! It will be most helpful this week and next.

Deb

Silly question - when it rains in SF - is it (1) an all day, steady rain; (2)an all day but off and on thing; or (3)is it just big rain and then its over?

Can be either one at this time of the year :( Or (4) weather forecast folks made a mistake, and it's only cloudy

If you have a jacket with a hood it's enough. Maybe one umbrella for both for the bus stop.

Did you go to the Legion of Honor already? If not, put it on top of your list!! The permanent exhibits are the greatest, and if this is not enough (see my name :)) ) they now have a Faberge exhibit.

Take bus #2 on Sutter (where are you staying? I can find another bus for you) to 32nd ave and either walk up if the weather is nice, or take bus # 18 across the avenue.

Asian Art museum is great too, and their caffee is rather good for lunch.

Jewish museum... well... honestly, didn't touch my heart (and I'm Jewish). They will have Chagall's exhibit later. The gift shop is good.

There is one more overlooked museum: Oakland museum, 3 floors of history, art, nature. Take BART to lake Merrit and walk a block or two. Easy.

Deb - this is from my trip report about the science academy last Oct - it was great.
&quot;My advice for those planning to visit, is that you should buy tickets online, print them and then just walk in at 9:30. We head straight to the planetarium and get tickets for the 11:30 show. We check out the albino alligator (pretty cool) and then head to the aquarium. There is plenty to see and the exhibits are wonderful. In a short time, it is mobbed with visitors (why aren’t all the kids in school?). It is so crowded and I’m glad we started early. We head back to the main floor and visit the African Hall – animals diorama style like the MoNH in NY but smaller. It’s now time for the planetarium show (I think it’s about 30 minutes in length). The all digital show is enjoyable and comfortable. It's time for lunch and lines for the cafe are very long. We notice a sign for a restaurant called the Moss Room and ask the hostess if there are openings. She can seat us at 1:30 and we take it. We decide to go up to the Living Roof. There is a docent up there (they’re all over actually wearing a bit of orange) and we talk to her. She explains what we are looking at, how it was built, what’s under the plants, what the glass openings do, etc. Without that explanation, I know I would not have appreciated the design. When we leave the roof, there is an employee giving out tickets for a 3D film called ‘Bugs.’ It is not listed in the brochure yet and we get tix for a performance prior to lunch. This is a 26 minute film that was delightful. It is not a children’s film although they will like it too. The film is narrated by the unforgettable voice of Judi Dench.
We go back to the Moss Room hostess and someone escorts us downstairs. The restaurant is attractive, with nice service and more than decent food. This option is way too expensive for families, imo, and I wonder if you can byo lunch and eat it in the caf&eacute; and avoid the long lines. When we finish, we go back to the main level and at this point, there is a long line to enter the rain forest exhibit. The staff is very good at crowd control, not letting people in until people exit certain exhibits. On the other hand, waiting for many exhibits is not fun. My advice is to head to a popular exhibit that you’re interested in when you first enter. Leave the African Hall for later as well as the small open exhibits on the main level. They are the least crowded as compared to the aquarium, the roof and the rain forest. Also, pick up your tix for shows when you arrive. You can ask for a later performance and plan your time.&quot;

Unlike yk, I did not enjoy the Contemporary Jewish Museum - see my trip report if you're interested.

DebitNM, if you like wine then I say go to Napa or Sonoma even if it's raining. You will get great service and of course the wineries are dry inside and you'll be in a car the rest of the time. Your pictures will just have that &quot;moody&quot; look of a vineyard on a raining winter's day, nothing wrong with that!

Hi Deb-

Glad to be of help. Have a good trip and hope you'll end up with some nice weather!

Unfortunately, I know noone who has been impressed with the Jewish Museum's exhibits.

deb, i'm sorry the weather is predicted to be so bad when you are here.
it has been so gorgeous recently but then you don't really want to hear that do you?
i hope the winds change and you don't have to deal with it.
keep an umbrella and a hoodie with you at all times. the weather can be so unpredictable and maybe the sun will come out after all.
have you tried to get tickets for beach blanket babylon?
that may be a nice rainy nite activity in north beach.
if you end up in sausalito, i could join you for a warm toddy by the firelplace.

The CJM does not have any permanent exhibits. As its title implies, the exhibits are contemporary - very! We didn't like them except for the Warhol exhibit which we saw in NY (although they weren't identical. SF was better). We took the architectural tour which was very informative, but definitely didn't care for Liebskind's work. The Chagall exhibit is in NY now and I guess it will go to Sf at a later date.

Chagall and the Artists of the Russian Jewish Theater, 1919-1949
April 23, 2009 - September 7, 2009

Deb
Just like in Camelot - it rained in the night a little. Today's forcast is &quot;mostly cludy &amp; frequent rain&quot;. As I walk outside, all I see is bright blue sky (but a little chilly).

Stu Dudley

So far, so good!

It was raining when we got into OAK yesterday, pouring as we rode BART into SF. It stopped when we got out and walked to our hotel, rolling out bags. From Market and Montgomery to Second and Folsom, a good roll with bags.

We scored same day tickets to WICKED matinee just after arriving. We had a great lunch at Zuni and loved the show. Especially since we got orchestra tickets in 7th row for $25 each. DH's name was first picked!

After the show, we walked to Powell and hopped on the Cable Car and went over to Fisherman's Wharf. It was cold, but no rain. It was pretty deserted as it was around 5:30.

We walked on Columbus into North Beach. Had dinner at Figaro. It was good and the place was pretty quiet. Good service and a free glass of wine for me and a free beer for DH.

We walked back to hotel to walk off the calories.

This morning we took MUNI to Presidio as it was sunny and the forecast said today was the day to be outside.

We walked across the Golden Gate and then walked back.

We walked to Chrissie Field, had lunch at Warming Hut and then walked to Fisherman's Whart.

We split a hot fudge sundae at Ghiridhelli. We then took the F trolley to Market and went back to hotel for a much needed nap.

We are headed over to Restaurant LuLu in a few minutes and then will hit SF MoMA for a few hours [1/2 price admission at 6pm].

They are calling for some major rain, so we are glad we got out so much today.

Deb

Wow Deb, you're packing a lot in so far! Glad to hear the sun is out today. Enjoy dinner and SF MOMA!

&gt;&gt;We walked to Chrissie Field, had lunch at Warming Hut and then walked to Fisherman's Whart.&lt;&lt;

That's an accurate description of Fisherman's Wharf !!!

Did you have a grass fed free-range hot dog at &quot;Lets be Frank&quot; at the Warming Hut??

Stu Dudley

Deb, I couldn't find this thread, posted more advices on your other thread here:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35182669

Wow, Deb - this sounds like a great start to your trip! Am envious of your &quot;Wicked&quot; score!

A rainy forecast had us change some of our San Fran plans -

we went to the Wells Fargo History Museum on Montgomery Street. Not large or time consuming, but a wild, wild west look at WellsFargo banking; a coach on display too

Hey Deb, you should win a prize for the number of activities you packed in yesterday and today. I didn't realize you were getting to SF before the weekend.

We changed our weekend plans until later this month because of the forboding weather forecast, so we won't be dining in SF Friday night, but I'm hoping we can get a GTG off the ground the next time you and Mr. Debit come to SF.

Here's the link to a Gourmet Chocolate Tour in SF on Saturday at 10:30 and 2:00. If the weather clears maybe you can indulge your inner chocoholic!

www.gourmetwalks.com

Deb, will you post the procedure for possibly scoring same-day tickets for Wicked? Did you show up at the box office just before the performance or what? Lucky you!

The lottery for WICKED tickets is pretty simple. They do it for ever performance, but the number of available tickets varies depending on what is left unsold. They also don't tell you ahead of time how many they will sell at this price, so it is a shot.

You show up 2.5 hours before show time. You fill out a form that has your name on it and circle either 1 or 2 [depending on how many tickets you want]. Each member of your party can fill out a form, thereby increasing your odds of getting drawn. You must have ID and cash. They check your name and ID and the form goes into a container.

At 2 hours before, they start pulling forms. You then have to buy the tickets immediately and show your ID again. Our seats were together, they may not all be together. You then spend your next 2 hours off and doing whatever[our was lunch at Zuni] and come back for show.

As we were leaving, after we bought the tickets --MY name was called; I was the 4th name called. So of course, we didn't need those and someone else got them.

Tonight, we went to SF MoMA and got in the line to buy our tickets. We weren't in line for more than a minute, when a man walked over to the couple in front of us and handed them 2 tickets and then us 2 tickets; said &quot;have a nice time&quot; !!

We were amazed!

We love San Francisco :)

Deb

http://www.shnsf.com/tickets/index.asp?key=536

For the official details of lottery.

Deb

Thanks a bunch, Deb. We'll definitely try to get lucky on our visit to SF later this month.

Though the weather report is calling for mucho rain later, it's bright and shiny down here on the Peninsula this morning. Hoping it's the same in the City.

The sun is out now! Water dripping off the roof of my building.

Reading this thread with interest. I'm headed to the Bay Area tomorrow for a week. We had planned to take two days and drive down to Big Sur, but I'm rethinking the plans. Doesn't sound like much fun in the rain. I'm copying this rainy day San Francisco information.

The sun was out at 9, but it definitely isn't out at 10!

We did the 10am tour of City Hall. It was excellent. We were the only 2 people and we had a very knowledgeable guide. We were in the Supervisors Chambers and it was beautiful.

We had Dim Sum at City Views [went last year too] and it was just as good. As we did before, we got there just before Noon and sat right down. We were near the door to kitchen so we were the first to be offered food and it was excellent and hot. Total bill was $36 and we were stuffed. We walked a bit, got some custard tarts at a bakery and some mandarin oranges for 59 cents a lb.

We then went on a City Guide tour offered through the library.

We did the City Scapes tour which is in Financial District and goes through several buildings and gardens. The weather held up for almost the entire walk.

We got pretty wet walking back to hotel, but it was a great day.

Deb

Nikki, if you can be flexible with your plans you may still be able to do BIg Sur. The thing is at this time of year one never knows. My sister has been in Carmel all week and even though the forecast was for rain and showers, they have had fairly clear skies; whereas here in the City (SF) it has rained more.

My sister followed my rule for our weather--if it looks nice, get out and enjoy it, because you can't count on it being nice the next day.

Take your umbrella this time! We have a saying here &quot;The storm door is open&quot;. There are some big rains on the horizon. SF has many,many movie theaters and you can really just about have your pic of things to see. That being said, you can also link movie &quot;dates&quot; with some parts of town as: The Clay(art house movies) on Fillmore Street which has some pretty good places to eat. Take the Geary Bus to Fillmore Street and then take the 22 heading towards the Bay.

The Kabuki Theater movies(comfy!) and one of the locations for the SF Film Festival. You can grab a bowl of steaming Japanese Noodles in the Kabuki Mall and/or sign yourselves up for some really good Japanese baths at Kabuki Hot Springs.

The Castro Theater (in the Castro-Harvey Milk's part of town) often shows some vintage films and the entertainment during same from the
audience is great! (Example: during &quot;Stella Dallas&quot; lots of hissing at the daughter etc).

I actually think taking the car across the GG Bridge and having lunch at Cavallo Point could be fun(pricey but fun).

I think driving to Wine Country would be fine in the rain as long as it's not rainy too hard. I do recommend checking out the wineries on Silverado Trail and doing so during the week might be the best option. We just (call for appointment) did a tasting at Failla Winery..it was some damned good stuff. It's a comfy place as well.

Since you have considered heading up to wine country, also consider going a tad more to Calistoga and taking spa treatments at Indian Springs Resort and Spa. If you have even one spa appointment (try a mud bath and blanket wrap or $$ massages and the like) you can use the large heated and oh so lovely mineral water pool all day until 6 pm. My absolutely favorite time to be there is in the rain. Consider a small plates dinner at La Jolie and do not leave the premises without having a slice of their coconut cream pie.

Check out The Hunan Restaurant on Sansome for some bowls of hot steaming dumplings. Spicy and good.

Now..back to the umbrella idea. Our favorite umbrellas (travel sizes) have been purchased while on trips. We have one from the Clark Museum (says so) and one of the NY SUbway system bought at the Transit Museum in Grand Central. Both recall for us great trips! SF MOMA is bound to have one.


One more thing..being from New Mexico, you simply must have some Dungeness crab while you are here.it's in season now and SWEET.
You can(very simple) try some at Swan's Oyster Depot on Polk. Or, get more adventurous and see if you can find Than Long(in the Sunset-I am not certain they are still open) and go for hot garlic crab and garlic noodles.

Agree with Kal about doffee at the Buena Vista.

And, one of the most beautiful temples is in Pacific Hgts. You might be able to see Temple Emmanuel.

Come to Berkeley and check out Afikomen(Jewish Renewal Book and gift store). Or, take BART and the Shattuck bus up to Chez Panisse for lunch.

Thahn Long is still open! Check them out on Yelp.com(you will almost be to the beach when you take the bus out in their direction!)

Thahn Long
4101 Judah
SF

(415)665-1146

OOOOh you big luckies!

So what'cha doing for dinner tonight, Deb? Tell all!

We went to Tadich Grill. It was one of 3 places I &quot;allowed&quot; ourselves to repeat from last years' trip to SF. {Zuni Cafe and City Views were the other 2].

We walked over and got there around 6:30 pm. We were able to get a table in less than 10 minutes. I am not sure if it was due to the rain, or that it's a 3 day weekend, or that tomorrow is V Day or it's just the economy or it was early to eat but the place was not busy. Last year, it was very crowded on a Thursday night. We ate at the counter last year, this time we decided to wait for table.

DH had their excellent cioppino and I had sand dabs, which were tender and so sweet.

We walked back to hotel and had a few mandarin oranges for dessert.

So far, we really have only had to be in heavy rain for less than 30 minutes. I am glad that we decided against going to Big Sur or even up to wine country. We can still do that if the weather seems ok, but I think this is simply a city visit.

Ferry Building Farmer's market tomorrow morning and then a CityGuide Tour of Palace Hotel, at 10am. Rest of the day is still undecided.

Deb

Hi Deb. Hoping your found a warm, cozy spot for your SF Sunday. Bring us up to date, OK?

Also, would you describe what you had for lunch at the Zuni Cafe? We're coming to the City a little later in February and plan to toss our names into the pot for Wicked tickets at noon, then head to Zuni for lunch while we await our fate. Thanks!

betsy,
zuni is known for their roast chicken and fries which i can definitely vouch for. yummmm!
it is just amazing.
i have heard that the burgers are also very good.
don't eat them so can't say first hand.