THIS IS SAN FRANCISCO
San Francisco is a rush of flavours, history, innovation and alternative culture. With its vibrant food scene, contagious energy, openneness, myriad steeply hills, enchanting bay, stunning pastel hued Victorian architecture, and its iconic, misty Golden Gate Bridge, this is a city you just do not simply go sightseeing to, you soak into it.
From its early days of the Gold Rush, through 60s where in Haight Ashbury in the Summer of Love of 1967 the hippie movement and free love blossomed, and when in 1977, Harvey Milk’s - first openly gay official was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and SF’ Castro neighbourhood became a heaven for LGBT community, to today where in the Silicon Valley, the tech innovative companies ignite one after the another… it seems as San Francisco is a city where everything has its start…
WHEN IS THE BEST time TO GO TO San Francisco?
From September until November when the city is not flooded with hordes of tourists who as you come to fall in love with this unique city. The weather is in its best too - sunny and warm. But you might as well ignore this piece of advice. Simply come to San Francisco any time.
SO HOW YOU CAN HAVE A PERFECT WEEKEND IN SAN FRANCISCO?
DAY 1
INDULGE IN THE FERRY BUILDING
If you are a foodie, head to SF icon - the Ferry Building Marketplace. This a public food market that features a wide variety of food stalls, snack stops and grocery stores. Here you can find everything from creative croissaint and pastry (Vive le Tarte), seafood, burgers, a cup of freshly brewed coffee, cheese, oysters. This is a perfect place to grab a hearty breakfast or lunch. You better be hungry when you get here and I mean really hungry.
2. BICYCLE ACROSS THE GOLDEN BRIDGE
SF would not be the same without the Golden Gate Bridge. Regardless of the season and time of a day it never fails to impress. It is well known for its extraodrinary design. It took a little over 4 years to build it. International Orange was selected as the color of the bridge. The bridge appeared in many movies e.g. X-Men, Basic Instinct, Interview with a Vempire.
Bikes and cars are permitted access across the bridge 24-hours a day, and pedestrians can cross it using the east sidewalk between 5am and 6:30pm. It takes approximately 1 h to walk through the bridge, therefore renting a bike (Blazing Saddles) is not a bad idea. If you would love to see the Golden Gate Bridge from a less touristy spot and snap a perfect photo with no crowds around, the coastal walk up to the Marshall Beach is a fantastic way to do so.
3. Take a Cable Car to Fishermen’s Wharf
It might sound like a cheesy tourist attraction but you would not like to leave SF without riding a famous cable car (even if it might get very packed) at least once, am I right? The current cable car fee is 7 USD (one way) which means it isn’t cheap. You can purchase a daily pass which costs 17 USD. The tickets can be bought directly from a cable car operator or at terminals located at Powell & Market, Bay & Taylor, and Hyde & Beach Streets. There are 3 lines of cable car: California, Powell/Hyde & Powell/Mason.
4. EAT DUNGENESS CRAB AT FISHERMAN WHARF/PIER 39
San Francisco’s Fisherman Wharf is one of the finest neighbourhoods in the city. It has earned its popularity thanks to a wide array of fantastic restaurants serving fresh from the ocean sea-food. From November until the end of June, it is a season for a delicious Dungeness crab. You cannot miss it. If you visit SF outside of the crab season, do not worry. You can enjoy some best dining the city has to offer at any time. Just grab a bowl of chowder served in sourdough bread. Do not forget to check out the basking in the sun sea lions. Pier 39 is their home.
5. RELAX AT GOLDEN GATE PARK /palace of fine arts
6. HAVE A DRINK AT BOURBON & BRANCH
and 1920 is back. This is a bar unlike any other. Experience a real-life speakeasy and get your perfect cocktail. Do not be surprised if you are asked: “What is the password?”
day 2
1. eat a breakfast/brunch at zazie
2. SPEND SOME TIME IN CASTRO
It is 575 Castro Street, the “Castro Camera” that served as a campaign headquarters of Harvey Milk, and became a gathering place for the gay community. Castro neighbourhood is still considered as a gay mecca, where the rainbow banners are hanging from the streetlights and love is served with pride. Do not be surprised if you spot a nude ambling down the street. It is really not the most unusual sight in the city. Mission Dolores Park is where everyone goes to unwind so you might want to sit your butt down on the grass too.
3. GRAB YOUR LUNCH IN CHINA LIVE (CHINATOWN)
SF is a home to the largest Chinatown outside of Asia boasting impressive restaurants and China Live is your place to eat lunch. I will not lie - the food is divine. You might want to step inside the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory and get your own crispy crunchy and perfctly sweet treat.
4. SHOP AT UNION SQUARE
where you can find the major department stores (Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Saks Fifth Avenue) and the most exclusive designer boutiques. Once you shopping spree is over, just jump on the iconic SF cable car one more time. Because, why not?
5. TAKE A VIEW FROM TWIN PEAKS
This is your perfect place to catch a sunset in SF. The Twin Peaks offer the best view of the city. It is centrally located in the heart of SF. Here you can see the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, the Mission District, Haight Ashbury.
6. catch A GLIMPSE OF THE Painted LADIES
The Painted Ladies is a term used to describe a row of seven colourful Victorian houses located at 710–720 Steiner Street in SF. Have you ever watched a TV series “Full House”?
7. EAT BURRITO AT LA TAQUERIA
La Taqueria is SF classic and has been attracting crowds for decades and this is thanks to its exquisite burritos. The rumour has it, you can get here the best burrito in the city or even America.
the decline of san francisco
But San Francisco is not utopia, it might have fourty eight hights (hills) but it has its lows too. So many people go mad about the city but some really are losing their mind here. Just have a quick walk around downtown. Pee runs downs the sidwalks, dozens used heroin needles litter the streets. And as dusk fall, it gets really nasty and the darkness seems to emphasize it rather than covering it up. The hundreds (in fact approximately 10,000) shabbily dressed homeless people fill the streets laying or wandering around in different states of consciousness eating out from the garbage cans and shooting up. It does not sound like the top tourist attraction and a perfect weekend in the foggy city, right? Let’s hope this time in SF there is not a new start (different kind of) going to happen…Because we love this city.