Hi everyone! I just wanted to thank all of you for your suggestions, recommendations and advice on my first trip to San Francisco. We had a great time and I think me telling you all what we did, will just wear me out again :) Some of my friends have been quite amazed at everything that we accomplished while we were there.
Arrived Aug, 8th late morning. Took Lorrie%26#39;s shuttle service to the Chancellor hotel in Union Square. Checked in to hotel and got our room (early by the way so we didn%26#39;t have to worry about storing our luggage until a room was ready). We took our luggage up to the room and got settled. We then left the hotel with our maps in hand and cameras and went to the Ferry Building. We walked around there and had a late lunch at Taylor%26#39;s. Great food, their California chicken sandwich and onion rings were awesome. We then took the cable car back toward Chinatown. We checked out the Fortune Cookie Factory as well as gift shops. Then proceeded to walk up the steep hill to Nob Hill. We checked out Grace Cathedral and toured that. By this time it was early evening, so made our way back to the hotel to get ready for the night. We went to the Top of the Mark on Nob Hill for drinks/appetizers, then we asked around and were suggested a place called Nob Hill Cafe on Taylor and Sacramento. It was faboulous Italian food with a great atmosphere! We really enjoyed that. We were so full and tired from that day that we headed back to the hotel.
Tuesday, Aug 9th-Got up early and had breakfast at Sear%26#39;s Fine Foods next door to the Chancellor. Excellent breakfast food! We then headed for Pier 41 to catch our ferry to Alcatraz. We got there a bit early and talked with people in line. Thank goodness that we booked our tickets early because there were tons of people waiting in line or stand-by. We left the dock around 9:30 am, got to Alcatraz and spent about 2 1/2 to 3 hours over there. We really enjoyed that and the history behind it. We got back to Pier 41 around 12:30 or so. We walked down and around Pier 39, looking in shops, and watched the Sea Lions for a while. Then made our way through Fisherman%26#39;s Wharf walking around and checking out places for lunch. We ended up eating at Boudin Bakery, having the famous Clam Chowder in a bread bowl. We ate outside on the patio, which was nice. We then looked around the bakery and watched a very young girl making an alligator out of the bread. When walked along looking at shops and picking up a few souviners there. Then we made our way to Ghiradelli. We stood in line for the famous Ghiradelli sundae%26#39;s. My friend and I started out saying that we were going to split one but then decided to get 2 different ones and split them. We had the warm brownie sundae and the Domingo sundae (which was like a banana split). THEY WERE OUT OF THIS WORLD!!! We then knew that we needed to walk it off so I very strongly convinced my friend that we should walk up the steps of Telegraph Hill to Coit Tower. When we got over near the steps and she saw how tall they were, she said there was no WAY that she was climbing those steps. I encouraged her and thankfully she did. We climbed to the stop and went to Coit Tower. The views there were awesome! She was glad that she did it afterwards.
Wed, August 10th-Slept in a bit, took the bus to Alamo Square to see Postcard Row. Then stopped and saw the Opera House and City Hall, etc. Then took another bus to Haight-Ashbury. We walked around and checked out shops, jewelry, etc. I was quite surprised at the people smoking something other than cigarettes out in the open. We left there and went to Pier 41. We took a ferry over to Sausalito for a few hours. Had lunch at Scoma%26#39;s and walked around. We had to head back to the hotel early because we were going to see Beach Blanket Babylon that night. We got cleaned up and ready and took a cab to North Beach. We stood in line started at 7pm for good seats, doors opened at 8. We saw the show and it was funny! We had a good time laughing and carrying on at their spoofs of people. After the show we had a late dinner at Calzonie%26#39;s on Columbus. Wonderful Italian food! We were so stuffed, that we needed to be rolled to the street to catch another cab back to the hotel. HA!
Thursday, Aug 11th-Woke up early and had rental car pick us up at the hotel at 8am. We went to the rental car place to get our car and sign paperwork. We left there shortly after. Driving to Lombard street, and then driving down Lombard street, also stopped to take pictures. We left there and headed over the Golden Gate Bridge to Napa/Sonoma. Never stopped for breakfast so just stopped in Vallejo at a McDonalds for a quick breakfast. Tried to catch the first tour at Beringer at 10:45 am but got there at 10:49 and was too late. We got behind several people that were driving slow and we couldn%26#39;t pass on the 2 lane road. So we just walked around there grounds ourself, and did the wine tasting. We left there and headed north to Sterling. We rode the tram up to Sterling, toured and did the tasting. Absolutely beautiful views!!! We were then feeling the wine so we stopped at V. Sattui for lunch. We had a nice picnic outside on the picnic tables, then walked around and did their tasting. We left there and went to Neibaum-Coppola. We walked around the museum there but the lines were too long for tasting so we skipped that. We left there and went to Robert Mondavi, tours were already sold out, so we walked around ourselves and did the tasting there. By this time is was 4:30. We were planning to head to Sonoma and walk around the Plaza but we decided on the way that since the traffic was getting worse that we would head back to the city. We got back into San Francisco around 6, we drove through Golden Gate Park and then had the rental car back to return by 7.
Friday, Aug 12th-
We were so tired that we slept 10 hours this night and slept in. We got up and had a late breakfast at Lori%26#39;s Diner in Union Square, then walked around looking at shops and window shopping. Then after our breakfast settled we were bad and went to have a piece of cheesecake and the Cheesecake Factory. Of course, we started out saying we were going to split 1 piece and but that ended in us both getting a piece. HA! We then went back to the Chancellor and check out, then waiting on Lorrie%26#39;s shuttle service to pick us up and take us to the airport.
So we survived. I thought the weather was nice. I was definitely prepared and carrying around my backpack to take clothes off as I got warm or put them on as I got cooler really helped. Everyone for the most part was really nice and helpful. I will say that we had 1 waitress and 1 waiter at Sear%26#39;s Fine Foods that was rude, especially the waiter. I ended up telling the checkout girl to tell the manager, now whether she did or not was another story. I already have almost 200 pictures from my trip!
Back from San Francisco to the Texas heat!!Wow! I am worn out just reading everything you did. Thanks for the run down.
Back from San Francisco to the Texas heat!!very detailed review, outstanding, A plus.
Great job, Aggoe! Sounds as though you made good use of all your tripadvisor advice. It also sounds as though you weren%26#39;t too inconvenienced by not having a car, and renting one just for the day worked out well.
BTW, I thtink Sears FIne Food kinda has a reputation for snarly wait staff- sort of like that famous place in Boston where they just throw your food down onto the table. gues it%26#39;s part of the atmosphere! However, I hope we were all, as a whole, nice polite folks, and sorry I can%26#39;t send you back some of our temperate weather!
Hi Aggie00,
Sounds like a great trip! I actually have some Texan sized questions for you! We are heading out to Dallas next April for a family wedding. We have three boys (12, 7, 3) and hope to see everything in Texas that we should! We are there for the entire week! What do you suggest for an itenerary with kids? We are HUGE sports fans and hope to catch an Astro game...have heard that San Antonio is nice, and would probably like to visit NASA. Any dude ranches that you could suggest? Anything else we should see?
Nabincalifornia-
Do you realize how big Texas is? If your wedding is in Dallas, then you should pretty much stay here for that whole week. There is plenty to do. San Antonio is a 5-6 hour drive from Dallas, and Houston is a 4-5 hour drive. You would be spending most of your time in the car.
There are lots of things for kids and yourselves to do in the area. I actually babysit kids that are around the same ages from time to time, so I can help with that. Let me know other than sports what else you all are interested in.
Aggie- great review. Compared to Texas weather (as I%26#39;m from New Orleans and have similar weather) what do you suggest to pack? I%26#39;ll be there in a month.
Also, to the person planning on going to Dallas- there is a Major League team in Arlington, which is in the Dallas metro area- The Texas Rangers! :)
If you%26#39;re only in Dallas for a short time....I hear The Hideaway Ranch %26amp; Retreat is a great place to visit. It%26#39;s a great place for families and there are lots of animals that you%26#39;re kids might enjoy seeing. Just a thought. I think it%26#39;s listed on TripAdvisor.
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