Postcard: San Francisco

I heart San Francisco as you may have noticed from the numerous mentions of it during the short existence of my blog.  It is one of my favorite places ever.  I lived there from September 1997 to August 2001, which covered the pivotal self-discovery ages of 23 to 27.  I think those years there have had a lot to do with the person I am because this was the period after college when I was learning to support myself and live away from my parents but before 30 when the realities of adult responsibility began to hit me.  It's hard to cover that impact in one blog post, so I'll keep this postcard entry to my favorite touristy things to do in San Francisco.  The list is not all encompassing as I could go on and on about the city, but I picked some of the more interesting to me.  The photos are from my last visit there in June 2007 when my husband and I covered much of my list since it was our first trip there together.

1.  Ride the Cable Car.  Walk downtown to Powell and Market Streets so you can take the route from start to finish.  There are two lines and the one we took - the Powell-Mason line - runs from downtown up and over Nob Hill (my old neighborhood) and down to Bay Street at Fisherman's Wharf.

Hang off the side like this guy, a Sox fan.  We are everywhere!

And enjoy the views.

2. Drive down Lombard Street.  Lombard Street is America's crookedest street.  Because this area of the street between the cross streets Hyde and Leavenworth is so steep, the brick paved road was created with sharp curves to prevent accidents.

Apparently, my family drove down Lombard Street on my first birthday.  We were visiting the Oakland area, perhaps as a precursor to our move to northern California when I was 2.  My family owned our first motel in a little town called Sonora that was on the drive from San Francisco to Yosemite National Park.  By the way, I have two regrets from the time I was living in SF - (1) I did not make it to Yosemite and (2) I did not visit Hawaii.

3.  Take the Alcatraz audio tour.  It is well worth it.  Book ahead and early morning with Alcatraz Cruises, so that you can spend as much time as you'd like there.  There is a short ferry ride from the wharf and then you must climb a steep hill to the top of the island where the prison lies.

My brother and I went to Alcatraz when he lived in San Francisco for a year before I moved there.  I went to visit in December 1996 and we did the tour.  This day was memorable to me because the audio tour provides a rich history of the prison and its inmates.  Also, I did not bring my walking shoes on the trip and thus had to climb up the steep, steep walk-up to the prison wearing Mary Jane block heels.  I will not forget that torture.

4.  Walk around Fisherman's wharf, aka Pier 39.  This is a touristy shopping marketplace and restaurant area.  The street is lined with souvenir stores and street vendors.

This is the city's worst tourist trap area but I still recommend it mostly because I always got a fresh crab salad sandwich and clam chowder in sourdough bread bowl there.  I am a New Englander and I love seafood. While there, see the seal lions on the dock or sign up for the tour to Alcatraz.  My parents went to the Bubbagump Shrimp Company when they were there.  I said tourist trap.

5.  Go to a service at Grace Cathedral.  Grace Cathedral was only a few blocks from my old apartment.  It is one of the city's oldest landmarks and is of the Episcopal tradition. 

No matter what your faith, it is a beautiful building and it is enlightening to attend services. My friend and I attended Easter services once when I lived there.  We were two open minded people who thought it would be a great experience to try it out.  We weren't the only ones who thought so because the church was packed and we had to stand for an hour.  I was impressed that the sermon was open-minded and inclusive of all people and even all faiths.  In fact, we were encouraged to follow our own spiritual path.

 On my last visit, I acted for the camera.

6.  Dip your feet in the frigid San Francisco Bay water. 

I always laughed when tourists arrived in San Francisco with their shorts and summer clothes.  It is California, but northern California is cold.  I never wore shorts once and always carried at least a light jacket.  I would not go swimming at the beaches.

7.  Drive across the Golden Gate Bridge even if it is covered in fog.  The Golden Gate Bridge has become the symbol of San Francisco and is recognized by its red color.  When built in 1937, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world.  It spans the Golden Gate, the opening between the San Francisco Bay onto the Pacific Ocean.

Another thing visitors do not know is that San Francisco is foggy all summer long.  The nicest weather months are September and October.  Of course, I moved to the city during the year of El Nino and carried an umbrella for the first 4 months straight.

8.  Visit Coit Tower.  Coit Tower lies atop Telegraph Hill.  It resembles a fire hose nozzle although the designers claim that is not the case. It is, however,  beautification project for San Francisco that was built using money left by Lillie Hitchcock Coit, a wealthy socialite.  The area offers fantastic views of San Francisco including Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge, Lombard Street, and Nob Hill.  There are murals painted in fresco inside of the tower by local artists.

When I had lived in San Francisco, I had bought into a myth that the tower was built to honor the firemen of the city because the daughter of the wealthy family who bequeathed it had been saved by the firemen.  This is why I liked the site and I am disappointed to find out that this story was untrue.  Alas, I'll leave it as a favorite because a friend of mine proposed to his fiancee at the top of the tower.

9.  and 10.  Leave time for two day trips out of the city

These were two of my favorite trips when friends visited town.  I would almost always head north to Napa and Sonoma Valley and do a wine tour.  Mondavi was a must stop because the tour guides gave a great intro to wine making there and I enjoy the sweet dessert Muscats.  I also liked Beringer, Sterling, Gundlach-Bundschu, and Benziger.  Once in while I would drive south toward Monterey and Carmel.  This is a longer drive but much prettier along the way.  I am a big fan of the Monterey Bay Aquarium.