San Francisco Trip Report
Oct 4th, 2007, 12:21 PM
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San Francisco Trip Report
Because I got lots of help from folks on this board, I thought it would be only fair to post a report of our recent trip to SF and Wine Country. Wine Country part will be posted separately under "Backroads bike tour of CA Wine Country". First, a little background. This trip was a present from Hubby for my 50th. We are from New England and hadn’t been to this area since the early 80’s, so all was new to us. I’ll try to be succinct and then folks can ask questions.
Hotels: First 3 nights (before bike tour) were at the Harbor Court, right near the Ferry Building. Nice older hotel, renovated after the earthquake leveled the elevated highway, providing nice views of the bay and Bay Bridge. Wonderful staff; free wine happy hour; very convenient to public transportation. Room a bit small, somewhat like a European Hotel. Highly recommended. The last night of our trip, after Wine Country, we stayed at the Hotel Drisco in Pacific Heights. A completely different neighborhood surrounded by beautiful mansions and steep hills. Not too convenient for other parts of the city but very elegant. Evening wine reception with appetizers and nice European-style breakfast included. Extremely nice and helpful staff.
Muni Pass: Hubby had purchased these over the internet before we left. We didn’t use any of the admission tickets but got our money’s worth riding the bus, tram and cable cars all over the city. We found that looking at a map we could generally get within one block of anywhere we wanted to go with no more than one transfer, usually direct. Riding the cable cars was a blast and the free Cable Car Museum is a must see.
Blazing Saddles: One of our highlights was renting a bike from Blazing Saddles and biking across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito. Easy biking and got to see things from a different perspective. We even checked out George Lucas’ studio complex in the Presidio on the way to the bridge.
Alcatraz: Made reservations in advance for a 6:10 Alcatraz tour. It was a slightly overcast night and that made everything more eerie. Hard for me to imagine that this is SF’s most popular tourist attraction, but I guess everyone has to do it once. It was worth it but not our favorite part of the trip.
Other activities: Walked up the hill to Coit Tower but didn’t go up the tower itself. Beautiful gardens on the stairway walks in that part of the city. Explored the Mission neighborhood (good soft tacos at one of the many eateries there). Went to the Haight –Ashbury area, it was not as interesting as we expected. A couple of funky shops but really not that interesting unless you have a guide I guess. Saw the sea lions at Pier 39. They were great but we couldn’t figure out why anyone would go there for anything else.
Eating (the really important stuff!): I am a little embarrassed to say that despite all the great recommendations we kind of ended up flying by the seat of our noses and stomach’s. For breakfast we generally went down to the Ferry Building. Hubby got in line for excellent coffee at Peet’s; I bought bread or pastries at one of the fabulous shops or from the Farmer’s Market on Saturday morning. The Ferry Building and the market were a highlight of our visit – wonderful produce, olive oils, breads, cheeses – a foodie’s dream! In Sausalito we ate at a little Taco restaurant a bit out of the mainstream, a couple of blocks down the main street to the right of the ferry dock. We saw it on the map and their Baja fish taco’s were excellent! Another day we ate at House of Nanking just outside of Chinatown, near the intersection of Columbus and Montgomery I think. I must say that this was the best Chinese food I’ve ever had. First I asked if they had dim sum that day and the owner (I assume, based on photos on the wall) said, “I get you some.” He returned with a platter of about 10 beautiful little dumplings, a nice assortment and delicious. Then we watched people around us getting these main dishes that were sort of like moo shu pancakes. We asked for one order of “what they’re having” and were delighted with a platter of steaming shrimp, chicken and pork mixed with veggies and with the super thin, handmade pancakes. I’ve never seen this before, but the veggies included peas and zucchini! Not typical Chinese to me but very fresh and delicious.
For dinners, we ate the first night with friend’s of friends at Crustacean. Upon their recommendation we had their signature dish – garlic roasted crab and garlic noodles. Now I love my olive oil and garlic more than the average WASP, but this was just too much for me. The oil overpowered the crab and made it very difficult to crack and eat. It was a good experience but once was enough for me. Another night we ate at Café Delucci in North Beach, on Columbus a block or two south of Washington Square. Very nice and reasonably priced. The gnocci was out of this world! Wonderful waitress and nice, casual atmosphere with tables on the sidewalk as well as inside with wide open windows. We didn’t have a reservation but arrived at 7:30 and only waited 15 min! Our final night we headed to North Beach Pizza for the clam and garlic pie. Loved the NY style pizza atmosphere and again, great service. The pizza was a little heavy on the cheese for my taste, but good just the same.
Now I have to add a little note about wine bars/happy hours. We stopped twice at the Ferry Building, once at the outdoor MarketBar in front of the building, and another time at the Ferry Building Wine Merchant inside the building. Both were nice places to stop and rest. Saturday afternoon at about 3:00 the inside bar was chock full of folks enjoying fine wine and good bread and cheese. A very fun place to be. We also stopped one night at the Coppola bar at the corner of Columbus and Grant(?). We had walked by there earlier in the week and the building itself is architecturally interesting. Inside is full of movie posters and memorabilia and is worth a visit if you like his wines.
Overall we discovered a wonderful city. Its size makes it very manageable and the individual neighborhoods are fantastic. Public transportation is fun and convenient. The people are very friendly, whether they are in the service industry or just someone you meet on the street. Although we saw a few people asking for money, I wouldn’t say it was as prevalent as some posters have mentioned. One story that characterizes our experiences: Riding the bus from Haight back to the Ferry Building a young woman got on the bus. She only had a $20 and kept asking people if they had change for the bus fare. No one offered change and we didn’t have change but had the $1.50 so gave her the fare. Our last day we were shopping the crafts booths outside the ferry building. I wanted to buy a $24 handpainted tee shirt as a gift but didn’t have the cash or a personal check and the woman did not take credit cards. Without hesitation she offered to give me the shirt if I promised to send her a check when I got home! She said that she had recently begun doing this and always received the money. I thought this was a wonderful attitude and felt that we were being blessed by our “paying it forward” with the bus fare. Of course we immediately sent her the check!
Hotels: First 3 nights (before bike tour) were at the Harbor Court, right near the Ferry Building. Nice older hotel, renovated after the earthquake leveled the elevated highway, providing nice views of the bay and Bay Bridge. Wonderful staff; free wine happy hour; very convenient to public transportation. Room a bit small, somewhat like a European Hotel. Highly recommended. The last night of our trip, after Wine Country, we stayed at the Hotel Drisco in Pacific Heights. A completely different neighborhood surrounded by beautiful mansions and steep hills. Not too convenient for other parts of the city but very elegant. Evening wine reception with appetizers and nice European-style breakfast included. Extremely nice and helpful staff.
Muni Pass: Hubby had purchased these over the internet before we left. We didn’t use any of the admission tickets but got our money’s worth riding the bus, tram and cable cars all over the city. We found that looking at a map we could generally get within one block of anywhere we wanted to go with no more than one transfer, usually direct. Riding the cable cars was a blast and the free Cable Car Museum is a must see.
Blazing Saddles: One of our highlights was renting a bike from Blazing Saddles and biking across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito. Easy biking and got to see things from a different perspective. We even checked out George Lucas’ studio complex in the Presidio on the way to the bridge.
Alcatraz: Made reservations in advance for a 6:10 Alcatraz tour. It was a slightly overcast night and that made everything more eerie. Hard for me to imagine that this is SF’s most popular tourist attraction, but I guess everyone has to do it once. It was worth it but not our favorite part of the trip.
Other activities: Walked up the hill to Coit Tower but didn’t go up the tower itself. Beautiful gardens on the stairway walks in that part of the city. Explored the Mission neighborhood (good soft tacos at one of the many eateries there). Went to the Haight –Ashbury area, it was not as interesting as we expected. A couple of funky shops but really not that interesting unless you have a guide I guess. Saw the sea lions at Pier 39. They were great but we couldn’t figure out why anyone would go there for anything else.
Eating (the really important stuff!): I am a little embarrassed to say that despite all the great recommendations we kind of ended up flying by the seat of our noses and stomach’s. For breakfast we generally went down to the Ferry Building. Hubby got in line for excellent coffee at Peet’s; I bought bread or pastries at one of the fabulous shops or from the Farmer’s Market on Saturday morning. The Ferry Building and the market were a highlight of our visit – wonderful produce, olive oils, breads, cheeses – a foodie’s dream! In Sausalito we ate at a little Taco restaurant a bit out of the mainstream, a couple of blocks down the main street to the right of the ferry dock. We saw it on the map and their Baja fish taco’s were excellent! Another day we ate at House of Nanking just outside of Chinatown, near the intersection of Columbus and Montgomery I think. I must say that this was the best Chinese food I’ve ever had. First I asked if they had dim sum that day and the owner (I assume, based on photos on the wall) said, “I get you some.” He returned with a platter of about 10 beautiful little dumplings, a nice assortment and delicious. Then we watched people around us getting these main dishes that were sort of like moo shu pancakes. We asked for one order of “what they’re having” and were delighted with a platter of steaming shrimp, chicken and pork mixed with veggies and with the super thin, handmade pancakes. I’ve never seen this before, but the veggies included peas and zucchini! Not typical Chinese to me but very fresh and delicious.
For dinners, we ate the first night with friend’s of friends at Crustacean. Upon their recommendation we had their signature dish – garlic roasted crab and garlic noodles. Now I love my olive oil and garlic more than the average WASP, but this was just too much for me. The oil overpowered the crab and made it very difficult to crack and eat. It was a good experience but once was enough for me. Another night we ate at Café Delucci in North Beach, on Columbus a block or two south of Washington Square. Very nice and reasonably priced. The gnocci was out of this world! Wonderful waitress and nice, casual atmosphere with tables on the sidewalk as well as inside with wide open windows. We didn’t have a reservation but arrived at 7:30 and only waited 15 min! Our final night we headed to North Beach Pizza for the clam and garlic pie. Loved the NY style pizza atmosphere and again, great service. The pizza was a little heavy on the cheese for my taste, but good just the same.
Now I have to add a little note about wine bars/happy hours. We stopped twice at the Ferry Building, once at the outdoor MarketBar in front of the building, and another time at the Ferry Building Wine Merchant inside the building. Both were nice places to stop and rest. Saturday afternoon at about 3:00 the inside bar was chock full of folks enjoying fine wine and good bread and cheese. A very fun place to be. We also stopped one night at the Coppola bar at the corner of Columbus and Grant(?). We had walked by there earlier in the week and the building itself is architecturally interesting. Inside is full of movie posters and memorabilia and is worth a visit if you like his wines.
Overall we discovered a wonderful city. Its size makes it very manageable and the individual neighborhoods are fantastic. Public transportation is fun and convenient. The people are very friendly, whether they are in the service industry or just someone you meet on the street. Although we saw a few people asking for money, I wouldn’t say it was as prevalent as some posters have mentioned. One story that characterizes our experiences: Riding the bus from Haight back to the Ferry Building a young woman got on the bus. She only had a $20 and kept asking people if they had change for the bus fare. No one offered change and we didn’t have change but had the $1.50 so gave her the fare. Our last day we were shopping the crafts booths outside the ferry building. I wanted to buy a $24 handpainted tee shirt as a gift but didn’t have the cash or a personal check and the woman did not take credit cards. Without hesitation she offered to give me the shirt if I promised to send her a check when I got home! She said that she had recently begun doing this and always received the money. I thought this was a wonderful attitude and felt that we were being blessed by our “paying it forward” with the bus fare. Of course we immediately sent her the check!
Oct 4th, 2007, 12:28 PM
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Cindy, you said:
"Muni Pass: Hubby had purchased these over the internet before we left. We didn’t use any of the admission tickets but got our money’s worth riding the bus, tram and cable cars all over the city."
I am a little confused. Was it a CityPass which combines the MUNI pass with several museum admission? I don't think a MUNI pass has any "admissions" except the transportation: buses, metro, streetcar, cable car.
"Muni Pass: Hubby had purchased these over the internet before we left. We didn’t use any of the admission tickets but got our money’s worth riding the bus, tram and cable cars all over the city."
I am a little confused. Was it a CityPass which combines the MUNI pass with several museum admission? I don't think a MUNI pass has any "admissions" except the transportation: buses, metro, streetcar, cable car.
Oct 4th, 2007, 12:57 PM
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Sounds like you had a really good time. My husband and I were in S.F. in August this year and I was very disappointed when I found out what the Ferry Building had to offer and we never went!!! Boo hoo. I LOVE food and all the related stuff. Oh well, next time FOR SURE.
We very nearly went to dinner at Café Delucci but ended up at Ristorante Milano in the Nob Hill area (nearish to our hotel The White Swan (a sister property to Hotel Drisco). Ristorante Milano was good but I think I may have enjoyed Cafe Delucci more after reading your report. Again, next time.
I love that area where Hotel Drisco is located. Several years ago we walked up and down the streets there oogling all the lovely homes.
Regarding Crustacean - whew, I'm glad I didn't make reservations at the one in L.A. when we were there in August as well. I nearly did and there was my husband and I and another couple (I'm always the one sticking my neck out and making dinner plans for everyone) and from what I've read on-line and your experience, doesn't really sound that good ... and it's very expensive too.
We very nearly went to dinner at Café Delucci but ended up at Ristorante Milano in the Nob Hill area (nearish to our hotel The White Swan (a sister property to Hotel Drisco). Ristorante Milano was good but I think I may have enjoyed Cafe Delucci more after reading your report. Again, next time.
I love that area where Hotel Drisco is located. Several years ago we walked up and down the streets there oogling all the lovely homes.
Regarding Crustacean - whew, I'm glad I didn't make reservations at the one in L.A. when we were there in August as well. I nearly did and there was my husband and I and another couple (I'm always the one sticking my neck out and making dinner plans for everyone) and from what I've read on-line and your experience, doesn't really sound that good ... and it's very expensive too.
Oct 4th, 2007, 01:06 PM
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Wow! Replies already, I feel so important after being the question asker for so long! Yes, I guess I meant the CityPass. It is valid for 7 days but no one ever put a start date on it so we used it in both the beginning and end of the trip. We may have used the aquarium tickets if the weather had been poor but just didn't have time.
Re: Crustacean - yes, I guess it just wasn't our cup of tea. I much preferred the crab legs in the choppino! The Ferry Market is a foodie's dream, especially on Farmer's Market days - Tuesdays and Saturday's I think.
Re: Crustacean - yes, I guess it just wasn't our cup of tea. I much preferred the crab legs in the choppino! The Ferry Market is a foodie's dream, especially on Farmer's Market days - Tuesdays and Saturday's I think.
Oct 4th, 2007, 01:45 PM
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Thank you for sharing your beautiful visit to SF with us cindy. I smiled regarding the Alcatraz Tour, I have only done it when I have have out of the area guest. And if I never ever see or smell those SeaLions at Pier 39 again I will be so happy. But when my grandson's were younger it was a "must" visit.
And the Ferry Bldg., I can spend hours there although sometimes time crowds make it a bit crowded, lol.
Your husband certainly gave you a wonderful 50th birthday present! I hope that you can return some time in the future. In the meantime have a joyous 50th year.
And the Ferry Bldg., I can spend hours there although sometimes time crowds make it a bit crowded, lol.
Your husband certainly gave you a wonderful 50th birthday present! I hope that you can return some time in the future. In the meantime have a joyous 50th year.
Oct 4th, 2007, 05:14 PM
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Thank you so, so much for your report, Cindyj! You've made me SO anxious to go back to SF again ... we were there in March for the first time, and loved it. I'll print out your report to take with me on my next trip! 
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