Travelblog - San Francisco

This is going to be my last post about our awesome vacation.  I'm compiling the kind of information I loved finding when we were planning our trip .... keep in mind that we are amateur vacation takers.  Until this year, we had never ventured farther than Alberta to the West and Grand Forks to the South.  In the past, if ever we had a few days off in a row, we would use it to 'get stuff done around the house'.  But we promised the kids a trip this year and found ourselves in San Francisco for 9 wonderful days!

Our 'DO List'

• Stay in a neighborhood for at least part of the time.  Public transportation is a breeze.  I'd suggest the Sunset neighborhood, since thats the one we visited.  It has great cafes and shops and is not nearly as touristy.  It's also really close to Golden Gate Park.
• I do recommend the Grant Hotel if you want to be central (very close to Union Square).  It is also close to the much less congested California Line for Cable Cars. (where you can get to the Embarcadero and transfer to a bus or trolley to Fishermans Wharf instead of going directly there)
• An absolute must is the City Pass - which was worth it for the transportation alone.  (never mind the attractions it included!)  Note that it doesn't cover BART, only city transit options.
• visit the Ferry Building area.  The market there is unique (you can get a coffee from Blue Bottle Coffee, with complimentary latte art!). There is an outdoor Farmers Market in the summertime -maybe twice/week? The street vendors there were the most unique and personable.  If you prefer the less touristy and crowded spots, this is a good substitute for Fishermans Wharf.  It's also a lovely place to spend some time just sitting on the pier enjoying your holiday!
• Visit Chinatown on Stockton, not only on Grant.  The prices in Chinatown (on all the 'I love SF' souvenir type stuff) are not really cheaper than the Wharf.
• Go to Alcatraz.  Book through this site well in advance...the evening tour was nice, but I think the daytime would be just as good.  The park tour guides are great sources for stories and interesting history.
• A MUST - take one of these tours leaving from Pier 41 - the hop on/off trolley tour through downtown and the wharf.  Try to get Ramon as your guide, your sides will be hurting by the end of your ride!
• Find your way to Ocean Beach at Balboa, near the Cliff House.  There is a path near the Sutro Ruins which leads right into the parking lot of the Legion of Honor.  Watch the signs there, and make sure to take note of which stairs to take back up.  This is so worth it, an AMAZING hike along the coast.  We saw dolphins playing in the waves as we walked!  For an even longer walk along the beach, start out at the end of the N Line on Judah.
• Find markets near where you're staying and get picnic foods to take along while you explore.
• If you only have time for one museum, make it the Legion of Honor.

Our DON'T List

• The Go San Francisco Card is a good way to get you into lots of different attractions.  But it is expensive!  It can become a dictator of your trip  - so get it if that's what you want.  Be very careful about which days the places you want to visit are open/closed.  We went to four different places in the middle of the week, only to find that they weren't open that day.  Especially the attractions in the SOMA area - they keep some strange weekday hours, so pay attention! Also, if you're getting this card, watch for sales.  We saw it on sale, didn't get it, then decided to get it when it wasn't on sale, then noticed it on sale again later!
• Our whole family found Six Flags Discovery Kingdom to be over-rated.  Maybe we are weird or our kids are getting too old, but we only spent a few hours there and had all had enough.  The food was VERY expensive ($18 for a coffee and three breadsticks!)  Also, taking public transportation to arrive is very pricey - over $20/person all told just to get there... but, the connections are very well timed!The lines for rides and shows weren't long when we were there, and the shows were interesting. (dolphins, whales, tigers)  I think we all struggle with the idea of animals in captivity for our entertainment/enjoyment...
• Don't try to fit everything in.. remember you're on holidays!  We were better at this some days than others. 
• Don't pass up the opportunity to use San Francisco's amazing public transportation.  Cable Cars, trolleys, subways are all easily accessible.  Unless you're going outside of the city, you don't really need a car at all.
• Don't worry about your workouts - just walk lots and don't avoid the hills!
• don't neglect the many homeless people in San Francisco.  Take some time to chat, hear stories.  Buy an extra water bottle or sandwich and make someone's day as you're out walking/exploring. 
• If you can avoid it, don't visit in July/August!
• An airport shuttle is about the same price as BART to SFO, and its more convenient.
• if you're Canadian, don't forget to watch for Westjet seat sales to San Francisco... if you're from Winnipeg, you might have to fly out of another city, though!

We'd recommend a SF vacation to anyone!

Be prepared for tourists EVERYWHERE! 

more SF

you never know who you'll run into in California!

that purple and yellow ride?  The Medusa - Syd and I went on it TWICE.

no words needed, ego takes up all the room.

tour guide.

beach day

fruit picked up from the farmers market at the Ferry Station at the Embarcadero

I took video of this for my nieces....

so these trains go under the ground AND over the ground?!?!

Bren:  Stand here by the REAL gypsy!

photos on the go

We've been taking the pics off the cameras almost every day, so its easy to put up a few every couple of days... and fun to share!  I usually do these posts with my family sleeping beside me, while I wait for the day to start.  We've been sleeping on comfy mattresses in the living room of our San Franciscan friends, who graciously allowed a family of four to crash in their apartment!  Their neighborhood is called Inner Sunset. 

We are becoming better at getting around and knowing the transit options throughout the City.  Yesterday we even took the BART under the Bay to Berkeley!  (BART is the rapid train that goes further than the city of San Francisco to other nearby cities in the Bay Area)

California Academy of Sciences

Contents of a sharks stomach!

A painting from the DeYoung that made me weep (painted by Thomas Eakins)

We visited a community called Sojourners last week.  This is our tour host, Dawn, in one of the back yards - reaching for the best plums Bren and I have ever eaten, right off the tree!  There was a lemon tree next to it. 

Angel's Trumpet - one of our favorite features at the English Gardens in our city. 

We've seen a few of these in San Francisco!

Walking down Potrero St, and then suddenly we wondered if we were back in the North End -

a Piroshki store?!?

The kids enjoying their first Fish and Chips - a concession to 'please, can we NOT have bread and cheese for lunch again?' - so, they ate fish and chips, and then ate some of the bread and cheese!

we are indeed...

.... in San Francisco!

...and, yes, we will leave our hearts here! 

(cheese, anyone?)

thoughts from afar ...

This post is written from the faraway land of San Francisco.  (not San Fran or Frisco;  SF is the common abbreviation among locals!)  We're loving it out here!  And although we didn't take the photo above, we've been taking tons of photos of the local urban landscape. 

It's a lot like Vancouver in that the neighborhoods are so inviting, so comprehensive, and so unique.  Both Bren and I love the lifestyle afforded by these cities.  Where we live, its hard to envsion not owning a car, and the big box store is almost unavoidable, at least some of the time.  Particularly in our own neighborhood, there simply isn't anywhere to walk for groceries or fresh produce. 

To make the most of the nearby shops, we picked up fruit and veggies from one, cheese and bread from others, and are packing snacks to reduce the cost of eating out.  (one restaurant meal per day!)  But actually, its not as much about the budget as about being a great way to snack!  Yesterday, we ate our little picnic in the Panhandle near Haight and Ashbury.  It was quite lovely - we spent the entire day on foot.  It was great until the 30 minute trek home - one of our kids looked up the steep hill we had to climb and said 'can't we just take a bus the rest of the way?' .. but the homemade borscht and fresh bread that we knew were waiting kept us moving!  (Our hosts are AMAZING - we'll miss them when we check into a hotel in a couple of days!)

Here are a couple of early holiday shots - maybe some SF pics soon....

We travelled part of the way to Calgary (where we flew from) with my good friend pictured here.  She'd been in Manitoba racing in a Triathlon with another friend.  I am so proud of her and inspired!  It was great to visit -even if too brief!

When we arrived in Swift Current after the first leg of our journey, I was full of energy!  I invited the kids to explore, go for a walk, go for a swim, take in the sites...

they stayed in these positions and just grunted in my direction :)

But their dad was adventurous enough to go searching for a Shoppers Drug Mart, where we picked up yogurt and cereal for our supper (staying on the meal budget!) and a couple of forgotten travel items.   And later we did swim in the hotel pool! (Our super-secret mystery hotel booked on Travelocity was the ThriftLodge!)