Your San Francisco "Must- Do's" UPDATE
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DISNEYGOOF · 04-23-2005, 02:29 PM

As you can see in my signature, my DH and I are heading to SF for our anniversary. We've never been and I'm trying to get some ideas of things to do. We're staying in the Fisherman Wharf area and we'll have a car for things not in walking distance. So far we've got tickets to Alcatraz and I'm thinking of getting a tee time for golf. Being the obsessive "Passporter" planner that I am, I'm driving myself nuts looking at websites. Anyway, if you were going to SF for a few days, what would you do?
PS: we've never been to SF. TIA for any info.

lauren-roxy · 04-23-2005, 03:33 PM

Muir Woods and Sausalito are two great places to visit. You will have a wonderful time, it is one of my all time favorite places to visit!!!! Definitely go to Alcatraz!!

Tink and co. · 04-23-2005, 03:47 PM

Oh--could I write a book! I absolutly love San Francisco, and have been many times. We had our honeymoon there. It is soooo romantic. Some things you must do:
1. Ride a cable car. You can catch one right at fisherman's wharf, and you can trasfer to one that takes you right down to Union Square where there's magnificent shopping, dining, and those really steep hills!
2. Drive or walk down Lombard Street, the most crooked street you'll ever see, and beautiful. The cable car goes right by, so you can get off there.
3. Walk the golden gate bridge. I know everyone drives it, but walking it is just incredible, and what a beautiful view of the city.
4. Check out Golden Gate Park and the Japanese Tea Garden. There's a museum of Natural History there that's pretty cool too.
5. We like to drive or take a ferry over to Sausalito, and stroll the shops, and eat. It's a cute little town, and there's a place called Point Bonita that's owned by the YMCA now, and you can see all kinds of marine wildlife (there's even a marine mammal rescue center), and a beautiful place for hiking.
I could go on and on. We usually don't drive while we're there. We park the car, and use the terrific MUNI system which is easy to figure out, even for me. I've never ridden busses before. Sometimes we taxi too. I went with my girlfriends last June and found some terrific shopping down on pier 1 (I think) and we had some real fun bar hopping at night, but I have no idea where we were! (I was having lots of fun!) We just asked the concierge at our hotel, and they gave us suggestions. Have fun, and dress warm.

boosmom96 · 04-23-2005, 04:31 PM

Kelly,
Welcome, in advance, to "my neck of the woods"! How long are you going to be here? From your sig it looks like you're getting in sometime Thursday?
How avid a golfer are you? You don't say where you would like to play. This will take alot of time away from touring and unless you can get a tee-time at Olympic (it's private), I don't know that there's anything close that is worth the time, (IMHO). I'm sure the golfers out there might not agree.
I would suggest you hit Golden Gate Park. The Conservatory is absolutely gorgeous and I really love the Japanese Tea Garden. The DeYoung Museum and Steinhart's Aquarium are both closed for major renovation, but the Legion of Honor Museum is really nice. The Asian Art and SFMOMA are also great museums. I would get reservations at the Cliff House for lunch (although dinner would be fun at sunset). Make sure and ask for a window table, the view is gorgeous!!! Pier 39 is touristy (no disrespect meant!!) but I really love it! There are a bunch of really good restaurants there. I love Dante's. Just make sure and get a window table!! There is a nice restaurant at the top of the Hyatt Regency. It's a great place to have drinks and enjoy the view. One of the cable car lines stops out in front. The concierge at your hotel should be able to tell you how to get from the Warf by cable car. You may need to transfer. The food is good, but pricy. (Of course that's pretty much the case everywhere.)
If you're going over to Sausalito Scoma's has great food. If you've got a car you might want to consider driving down the coast to Half Moon Bay. It's a pretty ride and HMB has some nice shops and restaurants. Personally, I love the SF Zoo, but that could just be hometown pride talking. You probably shouldn't miss Chinatown It's a great place to walk around and people watch and then walk up to North Beach and look around. Fior d'Italia, in North Beach, has great Italian food. They had a fire a few months ago and I don't know if they had to close for repairs or not. Check before you go.
If you're into shows you have to check out Beach Blanket Babylon at the Club Fugazi. It's a San Francisco legend. (And really funny) "Lennon" just opened to rave reviews at the Orpheum Theatre. I don't know what the ticket situation is. Teatro Zinzanni is a great dinner show. You can always check out Tix Bay Area in Union Square to get 1/2 price tickets the day of the show. I'm posting some links below to the shows I mentioned.
www.bestofbroadway-sf.com (Lennon)
www.zinzanni.org (Teatro Zinzanni)
www.beachblanketbabylon.com (Beack Blanket)
www.tixbayarea.com (1/2 price tickets)
Remember to pack for layering. I cannot stress this enough!!!! The weather can be somewhat unpredictable. We were wearing t-shirts on Thursday and it rained like mad yesterday afternoon.
I'll bookmark this and check back later. Please feel free to post any questions and I'll be happy to answer them. San Francisco is a really fun place to visit.
Amy H

lauren-roxy · 04-23-2005, 07:32 PM

You guys have brought back so many good memories!! I just love this city!! It is just so beautiful!!

DISNEYGOOF · 04-24-2005, 03:38 PM

Thanks for the quick replys! Wow, what great suggestions. Amy, we will arrive Friday at 11:30am and will be in town till Monday(flight at 2:30pm)My DH is more of a golfer than I am. I mostly go for the scenery

I'm just so excited to be on a trip with DH

I've been trying to get an early tee time at Lincoln Park but the automated tee system requires you to give your social security number and I don't want to do that so I might try getting us a tee time when we get there. They told me you can get a "day of" tee time over the phone. I also thought of Presideo, they were $108. a person

or maybe we could do Golden Gate park if my DH would want to do a 9 hole. Amy, also thanks so much for the sites, I've been pouring over websites for info.

Tink, walking the Golden Gate bridge is something I want to do, thanks for reminding me. Have ya'll heard of La Taqueria for Mexican food? I read somewhere online they have good food. We LOVE mexican food. OK, do you really just jump onto the Cable cars? or is that a joke pulled on tourists?

Lori, I'm glad everyone is bringing back good memories for you. I hope we can make a few. OK, I've got to get back to my research. You guys are great thanks for the info!

lauren-roxy · 04-24-2005, 03:46 PM

Have a really wonderful trip Kelly!! Can't wait to hear about it when you get back!! ENJOY!!!!!

DISNEYGOOF · 04-24-2005, 10:13 PM

Thanks Lori, I'll let you know how it goes.

Jillybean · 04-25-2005, 02:42 PM

Kelly,

Have a fantastic time! We honeymooned in SF, Sonoma and Napa 5 years ago and I dream about going back one day. We didn't do a lot of touring while we were there - - mainly just shopping, walking around and eating! We did eat one night at the rooftop restaurant at the Hyatt that was mentioned above - - that was incredible! If you like Irish coffee, don't miss the Buena Vista! Yum!

We stopped in Sausalito on our way back from the wine country to SF and had lunch - - great little town. We also took a ferry to Tiberon one day - - another neat little town.

Have fun!

Jill

**Colexis Mom** · 04-25-2005, 04:47 PM

We love San Francisco

Have a great time, and have an ice cream at Ghiradelli for me

RobDVC · 04-25-2005, 04:51 PM

Alcatraz.
Fisherman's Wharf.
Haight-Ashbury
Golden Gate Park.
Coit Tower
Chinatown
Cable Cars
Lombard Street
The Embarcadero
Have an ice-cold Anchor Steam. (beer)

...can't wait to go back.

boosmom96 · 04-26-2005, 12:21 AM

[ QUOTE ]
We usually don't drive while we're there. We park the car, and use the terrific MUNI system which is easy to figure out, even for me. I've never ridden busses before.

[/ QUOTE ]
Kelly,
I don't recommend MUNI for the unsuspecting. If you transfer wrong you can end up in a REALLY bad section of town. Take taxis. It may cost you more, but it's safer. Parking and driving can be really frustrating!! Get good directions from your hotel.
I've never heard of La Taqueria, there's alot of restaurants with that in their name. Do you know if it's in "The Mission" district? (That would be my guess for good mexican food.)
If you are up for a splurge dinner (and dressy, to boot!) you want Julius' Castle - http://www.juliuscastlerestaurant.com/ . It is a great place with amazing food, very old school San Francisco. It's one of the only restaurants in the city that you need to dress up for. (Think V&C in the GF at WDW. Although, maybe not a tux.)
If you've been web searching you've probably already found this website - http://www.bestofsanfrancisco.net/
If your husband feels 1/2 as strongly about golf as my father did, I don't think he'll be impressed with anything other than The Presido. Lincoln is okay and I've never heard of a course in GG Park. (You peaked my interest, so I ran a google and there is indeed a 9-hole course in the park!) I've pasted a link for SF Parks and Rec., they're in charge of all public courses in the city. http://www.parks.sfgov.org/site/recp...ge.asp?id=1863
As far as the cable cars, I haven't been on them in years. The last I remember, they stopped for you to get on. I can't really imagine City Hall would want the liability of having a bunch of people hopping on and off the cable cars all day! What a nightmare!! I think someone is pulling your leg on that.
If you want a different view of city drive across the Bay Bridge and get off on Treasure Island (ask you hotel for specific directions). You can park and have a great view of the Embarcadero and downtown. If you ever watched the show "Nash Bridges" they did this alot.
As you can tell, I really love SF. Both my husband and I are natives. (This is getting more and more unusual out here.) Hope you have a great trip.
Amy H

Tinker-Tosh · 04-27-2005, 09:00 AM

When we were there we bicycled accross the GG Bridge and had a blast! Have a great trip and Happy Anniversary!

Tosha

DISNEYGOOF · 04-27-2005, 10:02 AM

[ QUOTE ]

I've never heard of La Taqueria, there's alot of restaurants with that in their name. Do you know if it's in "The Mission" district? (That would be my guess for good mexican food.)

Amy H

[/ QUOTE ]Amy, the La Taqueria restaurant I read about is at 2889 Mission St. Thanks for the links. I'm checking out Best of San Francisco right now.
Tosha, thanks! I want to walk the GG bridge or maybe ride a bike. Can you rent them?

Tinker-Tosh · 04-27-2005, 01:19 PM

Kelly,

Yes, you can rent bicycles - that is what we did. We used Blazing Saddles (what a name!). Here is their web address: www.blazingsaddles.com They are located down in the Fisherman's Warf area.

My best friend and I had the best time. Once across the bridge we spent the day in Sausalito and then took the ferry back across the Bay. I am pretty sure that the rental for the bicycles included the charge to take the ferry back, but I am not certain.

Wishing you a great time,
Tosha