San Francisco/Sonoma/Sausalito Trip Report
Aug 30th, 2005, 08:59 AM
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San Francisco/Sonoma/Sausalito Trip Report
Just got back! My first time in California, much less the beautiful Bay Area!
Flew into San Jose Airport about 7PM Thursday, very nice small airport. No big plans that night, just went to my friend's apt in San Carlos.
We hit the ground running the next morning. First stop was Lombard St (curvy little street). We waited a few minutes for a trolley, but gave up quickly and headed to Chinatown. Shopping Shopping Shopping! My favorite store was the Canton Bazaar on Grant. We could have spent all day in Chinatown! I'm afraid I don't have a good restaurant recommendation because one of my friends doesn't do Chinese! Anyway, we had to tear ourselves away to make it to the Pier for the Alcatraz Night tour. Before the tour we got to see the famous Sea Lions at Pier 39, so cute! We had heard they sell out fast and had purchased our tickets in advance. We also were prepared for the cold and brought hats and scarves for the island. There were a lot of miserable people dressed in shorts!The tour was very fun and informative. After the boat got back to Pier we headed over to Boudin's based on a recommendation to try out one of their bread bowls. Just a tip, if you eat upstairs in the 'fancier' restaurant the bread bowl is twice the price (comes with a caesar salad, but still...). After a little more wandering we headed home to sleep.
Next morning we headed out to Sonoma. Our first stop was the Viansa winery. I chose this based on recommendations from tripadvisor.com. It was fabulous. The tour was great ($5) and the tasting was even better, complimentary because one of our party joined the wine club. Viansa makes great gourmet foods as well. The grounds are gorgeous and the staff is super friendly and well informed. Next we headed to Sebastiani. Tasting is free if you spend $20. They give very BIG samples! Decent wine, nice staff, but not as impressive as Viansa. Next was Gloria Ferrer champagne cellar. Very nice! Beautiful scenery and good tour. The tour is free and they gave us a few complimentary samples. They make an excellent Syrah in addition to some great champagne.
We started to feel the effects of many tastings and no food in our bellies and headed back into the city for dinner. My friend took us to an African restaurant in the Mission district called Bissap Baobab. Very excellent restaurant and reasonably priced. Be warned though that the area was a little rough around the edges and could be potentially scary for some people. On this day we got to see 2 great views of the Golden Gate. On the way to wine country we saw the fog covered view from the bay side and on the way back we drove up the other side and had an amazing clear view of the city and the bridge. This is probably the best spot for picture taking.
Next day we headed out to Muir woods. Totally gorgeous and highly recommended, but I have advice, don't take the free shuttle up -- even if the highway signs say that the parking is full. First, the directions to the shuttle lot are completely incorrect. Second, the ride up is rough and long! I am absolutely not prone to motion sickness and I was positively green by the time we reached the woods. The way down was a little better as I sat at the very front and concentrated on not getting sick, but it was scary because the drive was driving WAY too fast! I recommend just trying your luck with the parking. People are bound to leave eventually! After the woods we headed into Sausalito to have a picnic. Sausalito is so adorable! It looks like a really fun place to stay a few days or even a week. It has great shopping and quick access to the city. There is a great toy store if you need to pick up souviners for kids. We grabbed a glass of wine and sat by the water and listened to live music. It was awesome and very relaxing.
On the last day we just headed down to Pier 39 again and did a little last minute shopping before flying out. It was a gorgeous day! We made a quick stop at In and Out Burger's (Yum!) and then headed to the airport.
It was a great trip! It was so nice having a semi-local to drive us around and show us the sites. Getting around in SF could be a real headache if you don't know what you are doing.
Flew into San Jose Airport about 7PM Thursday, very nice small airport. No big plans that night, just went to my friend's apt in San Carlos.
We hit the ground running the next morning. First stop was Lombard St (curvy little street). We waited a few minutes for a trolley, but gave up quickly and headed to Chinatown. Shopping Shopping Shopping! My favorite store was the Canton Bazaar on Grant. We could have spent all day in Chinatown! I'm afraid I don't have a good restaurant recommendation because one of my friends doesn't do Chinese! Anyway, we had to tear ourselves away to make it to the Pier for the Alcatraz Night tour. Before the tour we got to see the famous Sea Lions at Pier 39, so cute! We had heard they sell out fast and had purchased our tickets in advance. We also were prepared for the cold and brought hats and scarves for the island. There were a lot of miserable people dressed in shorts!The tour was very fun and informative. After the boat got back to Pier we headed over to Boudin's based on a recommendation to try out one of their bread bowls. Just a tip, if you eat upstairs in the 'fancier' restaurant the bread bowl is twice the price (comes with a caesar salad, but still...). After a little more wandering we headed home to sleep.
Next morning we headed out to Sonoma. Our first stop was the Viansa winery. I chose this based on recommendations from tripadvisor.com. It was fabulous. The tour was great ($5) and the tasting was even better, complimentary because one of our party joined the wine club. Viansa makes great gourmet foods as well. The grounds are gorgeous and the staff is super friendly and well informed. Next we headed to Sebastiani. Tasting is free if you spend $20. They give very BIG samples! Decent wine, nice staff, but not as impressive as Viansa. Next was Gloria Ferrer champagne cellar. Very nice! Beautiful scenery and good tour. The tour is free and they gave us a few complimentary samples. They make an excellent Syrah in addition to some great champagne.
We started to feel the effects of many tastings and no food in our bellies and headed back into the city for dinner. My friend took us to an African restaurant in the Mission district called Bissap Baobab. Very excellent restaurant and reasonably priced. Be warned though that the area was a little rough around the edges and could be potentially scary for some people. On this day we got to see 2 great views of the Golden Gate. On the way to wine country we saw the fog covered view from the bay side and on the way back we drove up the other side and had an amazing clear view of the city and the bridge. This is probably the best spot for picture taking.
Next day we headed out to Muir woods. Totally gorgeous and highly recommended, but I have advice, don't take the free shuttle up -- even if the highway signs say that the parking is full. First, the directions to the shuttle lot are completely incorrect. Second, the ride up is rough and long! I am absolutely not prone to motion sickness and I was positively green by the time we reached the woods. The way down was a little better as I sat at the very front and concentrated on not getting sick, but it was scary because the drive was driving WAY too fast! I recommend just trying your luck with the parking. People are bound to leave eventually! After the woods we headed into Sausalito to have a picnic. Sausalito is so adorable! It looks like a really fun place to stay a few days or even a week. It has great shopping and quick access to the city. There is a great toy store if you need to pick up souviners for kids. We grabbed a glass of wine and sat by the water and listened to live music. It was awesome and very relaxing.
On the last day we just headed down to Pier 39 again and did a little last minute shopping before flying out. It was a gorgeous day! We made a quick stop at In and Out Burger's (Yum!) and then headed to the airport.
It was a great trip! It was so nice having a semi-local to drive us around and show us the sites. Getting around in SF could be a real headache if you don't know what you are doing.
Aug 30th, 2005, 11:46 AM
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Laustic, thank you for posting this report, and a nice one! It will be helpful to other travelers who do a search.
I remember being a little nervous on the drive to Muir Woods, but it was in a car. Maybe next year I'll take the shuttle and we can compare our impressions
I remember being a little nervous on the drive to Muir Woods, but it was in a car. Maybe next year I'll take the shuttle and we can compare our impressions
Aug 30th, 2005, 04:35 PM
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Thanks for posting your trip report. So glad that you had such a wonderful time. Hope you make it back to SF and the Bay Area again, we have so much to offer in the city besides the wharf and chinatown. (although, I know people love to visit them!) We have excellent museums, walking tours of our neighbourhoods (each with their own personalities....both the tours and the neighbourhoods) fantastic restaurants for every taste, great theatre experiences, etc.
So nice when people report back about their trip. I know it helps others planning their future trips as well. So happy that you had such a great time! Come back soon!!
Andiamo
We have excellent museums, walking tours of our neighbourhoods (each with their own personalities....both the tours and the neighbourhoods) fantastic restaurants for every taste, great theatre experiences, etc. So nice when people report back about their trip. I know it helps others planning their future trips as well. So happy that you had such a great time! Come back soon!!
Andiamo
Aug 31st, 2005, 09:01 AM
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I will for sure be returning to SF. I fell in love! It is such a gorgeous place. Of course next time I'm sure we won't be quite so touristy. My friend has been living out there for about a year now and has gotten really good at showing people around! She had a deck of cards that had "walking tour" recommendations on them and I would love to do a few of those next time.
