My City By The Bay

I took this video at the San Francisco Zoo a couple of months ago and was looking at it today and reminded of the fact that these notoriously slow tortoises are actually faster than my computer.

I’m proud and a little giddy to announce that for 16 years in a row, my hometown, San Francisco has been named as the top US destination by over 30,000 choice award readers at Conde Nast traveler magazine.  That certainly says something about my city by the bay.

I sat here and thought if I were a tourist and were spending some time in this beautiful city what would I want to see and do.  Taking a walk along the Golden Gate would be one of the first things I’d do.  In fact I recently did just that, walked along the bridge and back snapping photos of the bay and the city.  It was so much fun and as a native allowed me to see what excites tourists when they visit.

Fisherman’s wharf would also be a must to grab some delicious seafood and take in all the shops, souvenirs and all.  Included in this jaunt I would also not miss Ghirardelli Square and have that chocolate earthquake sundae. Of course due to the sheer size of the sundae I’d have to bring a couple of friends with me just to polish it off.  Then I’d head over to Pier 39 which would only be about a 10 to 20 minute walk along Jefferson Street, the main drag through the wharf.  I’d check out all the shops which include many specialty stores like San Francisco Music Box Company, Crazy Hats, The NFL Shop, Le Beastro, Mud Wind and Fire and way too many more to list.  Yeah, there are souvenir shops like Only In San Francisco but they are outweighed by the diverse specialty stores.  I’d have to take some time to decide where my palate is going to take me since there are so many restaurants such as Bubba Gump Shrimp, Swiss Louie and even the Hard Rock Cafe which by the way make killer burgers and nachos.

After dinner I’d either hop a taxi or take a bus to North Beach and just walk around and take in the city beat.  I’d stop at Tosca near Columbus and Broadway and have a drink or two.  I’d  check out City Lights bookstore and grab some poetry books.  Of course City Lights delivers a cornucopia of books and is home to the beat generation.

Next day I would take a bay cruise and also check out Alcatraz which by the way if you want a cruise to Alcatraz it needs to be booked in advance and just a note that the night tour is awesome, maybe a little creepy for some but nonetheless it’s the one I would choose. 

From there I’d walk a few steps over to Bay street and catch the F Market going towards downtown and get off at the Ferry Building.  Check out the fantastic shops and eats there and then walk over to the foot of Market street and do some street artist shopping.  Handmade jewelry, paintings, photography, clothing and artwork line the area.  The prices are not too bad either.  If you want some serious shopping after that get on muni, either bus or underground streetcar or even walk up to Powell.  It’s not too far and a great walk on a nice day.  There you’ll find Westfield Mall which I’ve written about earlier and a couple of blocks away Macy’s at Union Square.  If you’re still not done shopping and want something different, grab a cab or walk over to Chinatown.  The San Francisco Chinatown is the largest in the world outside of Asia.  I love shopping and just hanging out there.  I actually do alot of shopping there as the prices are so low that I felt as if I were back in Hong Kong shopping.  It’s fun and different for the average tourist to explore.

I would also have to check out the DeYoung Museum, The California Academy of Sciences -Newly opened, The Botanical Gardens and the Japanese Tea Garden which are all in the same area and can be done in one day.  I do that all the time.  It’s one of my favorite places to be in SF.

These are just a few of many things I would do if I were a tourist.  San Francisco, contrary to popular belief is not that expensive.  Value for your money is the lay of the land here.  The top destination in the US for 16 years, so, over 30,000 travelers can’t be wrong.

Here’s the link to that article http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2008-10-20-readers-choice-awards_N.htm#Close