- Wednesday, December 7, 2016 3:54 PM
- DisneyDan
Hello everyone,
In October Jon and I visited San Francisco for a few days. Here on the blog I have already shared with you
our adventures at the Walt Disney Family Museum and
Muir Woods that we visited during the same trip, and so finally I am going to to tell you about the rest of our time in the City by the Bay.
To begin with, we ate at a diner several times, which seemed to be a chain in San Francisco, called Lori's Diner. They were pretty good, and I would recommend them. (Apologies for the square photos, I of course had my camera set wrong!)
We stopped by the world famous Lombard Street to see the people trying to navigate their cars around the hairpin turns.
I saw this neat little box shaped like a house while walking one day. Someone had set it up as a book exchange - take one, leave one! Such a cool idea!
The Painted Ladies are famous for being used in many movies and TV shows over the years, and their picturesque backdrop, so we dropped by to take a photo there.
Chinatown was on our list of places to visit in the city, and while there were some cool buildings, over all I didn't feel that Chinatown here had the same draw to it as others I have been to in the world. There were some good stores though, and the lights at night were pretty.
While City Hall isn't necessarily a tourist hotspot, it does have some very poignant historical significance. It was the location at which Harvey Milk and George Moscone were assassinated in 1978.
A visit to San Francisco would not be complete without riding aboard one of the world famous cable cars. A word to the wise - while it is fun to say you did it, it is not the most efficient or cost effective way to travel the city. The cable cars are around $7 per single trip, and the lines at the starting points are very long (because the fare is the same price throughout, so why would you get on halfway through the journey?). Nonetheless, we gave it a try, and it was a fun thing to say we did.
If you're wondering what
is the best way to get around the city, I actually found, personally, that the busses offered the best value and efficiency. From what I recall, I think it was around $2.50 for a single journey, even if you have to transfer busses and the journey takes a long time.
One of the Starbucks in the city (of which there were hundreds!), which was located near one of the interchange points, had a neat cable car theme.
One place I took the bus to almost directly from Union Square was Baker Beach. Baker Beach is a long, golden sand beach located to the south west of the Golden Gate Bridge, which offers spectacular views. It's a really pretty location and well maintained.
The Golden Gate Bridge itself was a little trickier to get to. We went later in the day, so that may have affected the bus schedules, but somehow we ended up having to take some other (don't ask me what, because I don't recall!) bus system that was a little more expensive than the regular transit. Anyway, we made it out to the overlook, and it was a very good view, and worth the slight hassle.
The Castro is the San Francisco LGBT district, and is colourful, lively and vibrant. We went through here at several different times, including for breakfast, dinner and evening drinks. All the vendors were friendly and welcoming, and we had a great time chatting with restaurant and bar staff who lived in the district. Several places that we personally can recommend are The Cove, Twin Peaks, Hot Cookie and Slurp Noodle Bar. There is a significant amount of LGBT history in the Castro, with the focus being around Harvey Milk, who had his camera shop at the address that is now the Human Rights Campaign store.
Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39 are popular tourist areas, filled with restaurants, bars, stores and tourist attractions, such as Madame Tussaud's. While it was good to see and experience, and I liked seeing the sea lions at Pier 39, it wasn't my favourite area simply for the crowds.
At the western end of Fisherman's Wharf is Ghirardelli Square, home to the original Ghirardelli chocolate factory. Now it is a multilevel complex that houses several Ghirardelli stores and other vendors. If you want the "full" experience, be sure to go up to the main store and soda fountain in the upper level, where you can sit inside and eat while viewing chocolatiers make the products and learn about the original factory machinery that still resides there.
The Haight-Ashbury is the "hippie" district of San Francisco, and like the Castro, is colourful and diverse. There were some interesting stores and some good places to eat. We tried VeganBurg, and were pretty impressed.
The western end of the Haight-Ashbury leads into Golden Gate Park. Golden Gate Park is an immense city park that has many different areas, including sports venues, museums and gardens. We walked the length of it (yes, I know, that's a
very long way!), and enjoyed the scenery. I don't have a particular area to recommend, but it is pretty throughout.
Exiting out of Golden Gate Park, we found ourselves on the far west side of the city, on Ocean Beach. It didn't seem as pretty or as popular as Baker Beach, but then it was quite overcast when we arrived there. We did stop at a beachfront restaurant called the Beach Chalet. It was friendly and the drinks were good, so if you were tired out after a three hour walk through the park like we were, then I recommend it!
Out on the Presidio, near the Walt Disney Family Museum, is LucasFilm. While you can't enter the buildings without a reason, you are more than welcome to stroll the grounds, take photos, get coffee at their onsite Starbucks, and generally revel in the coolness of being there!
Union Square is a popular central point for shopping and tourism in the city, and much of our time focussed around there, whether that be dining, shopping or making transportation transfers. It had a lot of options, and it certainly was friendly enough, but I wouldn't say it was my favourite part of the city. There is a Disney Store off of a nearby side street, and a LEGO Store in the the Westfield mall close-by.
Finally, we took the bus to Sausalito one day, and then the ferry back again. There isn't too much there, but the small town runs at a different pace than San Francisco, and worth a visit if you like to browse boutiques and try ice cream (there were a lot of ice cream places!). The views from the ferry on the way back to San Francisco were really good, if a little windy!
San Francisco is a beautiful city, with so much to offer. It is welcoming, relaxed and diverse. We loved our time there and look forward to returning again in the future.
Have a great day everyone,
Dan.