Leaving your heart in San Francisco - part 3 - arrival orientation · Saturday September 3, 2011 by colin newell
When you land at San Francisco International airport (assuming you land there and not at Oakland [which is a viable alternative]) – you have a handful of transportation options for getting downtown to your hotel:
Taxi – There are a row of legit cabs waiting to take you downtown to your hotel. Cost is around $30. For $20 more or so you can get a limo… but why? Travel time: 20 – 30 minutes – generally closer to the lower number. Cabs travel at the speed limit on the Freeway so do not be alarmed when you are zooming along at 70mph in a Prius!
Shuttle van – Vans can make their way downtown to your hotel – they are around $17-19 per person – and take a bit longer doing the hotel milk run. Do the math. Want to save a few bucks, this is one way to go.
Rapid Transit – If you are traveling light and want a bit more adventure and keep a few more dollars in your pocket, take the BART. It is fast, clean and safe and will get you to a location near your hotel downtown within 30 minutes.
Photo left – have your Gold card handy if you are staying anywhere near Union Square shopping!
If you are arriving mid-day (always the best way to arrive), it gives you time to check in and start exploring your surroundings. We stayed on the very top of Nob Hill – which is a combination of nice hotels, luxury small homes, and by appearances, some international embassies – oh yea, and some great restaurants.
There are some primary centers of action in San Francisco; Union Square, Powell Station, Ferry Building, Embarcadero and Fisherman’s Wharf. Chances are you are going to be staying near one of these. One of those travel books I suggested talks about these neighborhoods.
We stayed in tony Nob Hill so it was “all downhill” from where we were staying. Literally. First thing we did was make our way to the Visitors Information Center (900 Market Street) to validate our City Pass – they are open til 5 PM sharp on weekdays so make sure you arrive a few minutes earlier like we did! And we got in. Last customers of the day!
First meal in San Francisco that afternoon: Sears Fine Food – nothing to do with the Sears chain of stores – that is their name – and they have been serving up gravity reliable grub since 1938. Old school and Blue Plate specials. And it’s the perfect comfortable place to have that first meal when you are feeling somewhat discombobulated from air travel. We became acquainted with The Nob Hill Cafe which had a very comfortable eating space and great menu. The pasta is great and we visited twice.
If you have come to San Francisco for some of the great coffee culture (Photo above left) you will not be let down. Most people who love coffee know that San Francisco is coming into its own – names that come to mind; Blue Bottle at the Ferry Building (a great attraction all by itself), Sight Glass – Four Barrel and Ritual, etc etc. More on these in the next installment.
Leaving your heart in San Francisco - part 2 - Planning · Friday September 2, 2011 by colin newell
There are a lot of places you can visit in Canada and America if you have 1 week to play with – or, heck, even 3 days.
And I think that San Francisco comes up as a primary choice a lot because of the multitude of things that are there to do.
As destinations go, San Francisco has sports, arts, culture, food, a multitude of cultural happenings. It has an incredible history – part of how the West was won, the Gold rush, the Earthquake, a rebuilding and architectural renaissance and an approach to city planning that should be the envy of any great city on planet Earth.
We picked it for a week for a variety of reasons. One of them is proximity. From Victoria, it is as little as a 2 hour flight away via American Airlines. We also had the option for some great accommodations at the Fairmont on Nob Hill.
The Fairmont survived the great Earthquake, has hosted every U.S. President since President Taft – how cool is that? The U.N. was chartered in 1945 at the Fairmont in San Francisco. Damaged by fire after the great earthquake, the Fairmont became one of many symbols of the city’s resilience. Opera singer Enrico Caruso, who was hold up at the Fairmont, calmed crowds of panicked folks by singing to them.
So. There is a ton of history in San Francisco – yes, lots of ghosts, but plenty of great energy and a myriad of diverse neighborhoods, all entirely trek worthy on foot or in combination with the transit system.
Music and art: We discovered that there was a wide variety of art and music things happening while we were there. Plan ahead for any number of shows or concerts – It was a coincidence that there were some important gallery events happening – so we lucked out.
OK – so here are the parts of the planning process that we felt were important.
Flights – Thankfully, Victoria and Vancouver have some great direct options for flights to San Francisco. We picked West Jet because we have had good experiences with them. They are reliable as heck and fun. And by flying West Jet we get around having to deal with Vancouver International Airport – for us, it gets a tad too hectic. When we go to Hawaii every year, we always fly out of Seattle because it is the superior airport (in our opinion).
Hotels – There are more sleeping options in San Francisco than you can possibly imagine. Narrowing options include Fodor’s, Frommer’s, Lonely Planet, Trip Adviser online and the like. Pick your location and price point and go. One of many San Francisco guide books will clue you in on possible centers of activity; Union Square, Nob Hill, Russian Hill, Fisherman’s Wharf, etc. They are all close to cable cars or transit – as are a dozen other neighborhoods. You need to get an advance sense of how the city is laid out and what you want to do with your time. Read and plan.
Clothing – Do not be fooled by the California part of the equation. San Francisco is parked next to an ocean. As a result, it is often foggy and often cool (not not really cold) – a tour bus driver pointed out: “For every mile you drive inland from San Francisco Bay, the temperature goes up X degrees (I do not know the exact number…)
So it can be a pleasant 18 degrees in San Francisco and 27 to 29 degrees in Sonoma or Napa wine country. San Francisco is actually slightly warmer, on average, in September and October. The bottom line here is: layer!
You can start the day with fog and a cool breeze and by mid-morning, you are peeling down to a T-shirt and shorts only to put it all back on by 4 in the afternoon.
Coupons and passes – doing things in San Francisco can be a bit pricey when you start tackling the tourist things – that everyone does; street cars, cable cars, harbor tours, galleries and entertainment. I suggested the City Pass in the previous chapter – it is terrific value. Buy it. If you want to see Alcatraz (we didn’t, lots do…) you have to book that trip in advance. Failure to book in advance will result in disappointment. Get the 3-hour Grayline tour in advance as well. They pick you up at your hotel and drop you off pretty much anywhere.
Next chapter – Arriving!
Leaving your heart in San Francisco - part 1 - 2011 · Tuesday August 30, 2011 by colin newell
San Francisco, California – established as a Spanish fort in 1776, experienced a gold rush in 1849, a devastating earthquake in 1906 – has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in North America and, arguably, the world.
Picture at left – Street Cars – they are historic and you should learn the basics of the San Francisco transit system if you are going to maximize your experience – click on photo for bigger view.
We had the great pleasure of visiting San Francisco for 7 days in August 2011. And as it turns out, many people that we know are either heading to San Francisco or planning on going there in the near future. Fact is, it is a readily accessible city – and it’s close… a mere 740 miles or 1200km – we flew via West Jet but there are other options like United and Air Canada.
What was important, leading up to the trip, was a bit of planning – based on our personal preferences.
Whether you are going for 1 day, 3 days, a week or a month… it is very important to get some books in your pocket, some online resources bookmarked and a few key things purchased (apart from air fare of course!)
The Ferry Building (photo left) – great food, water access, farmers market and Blue Bottle Coffee!
Here is the thing: Unless someone is driving you and yours around in a limo all day long you might want to get acquainted with the transportation infrastructure – and it’s a great and efficient one.
As cities go, San Francisco is eminently walkable – but mind bogglingly hilly. Nob Hill, where we stayed, is 402 feet above sea level – and only 1.3 km away from the water! If that sounds like “straight up”, it seems like it. Thank heavens for cable cars! More on those later.
Photo left – The Golden Gate. If you are going to San Francisco, get over it or go under it. Andrea and I did both! All photos on my Panasonic Lumix.
Hot Tip! Before we went we bought a couple of things online. And I will classify these as very important – must have items if you are staying more than 3 days.
Number 1 item! San Francisco City Pass – Do not leave home without it!
For starters, you are going to want to ride the cable cars. And you are going to want to ride the historic electric street cars along the “F” line that start at Fisherman’s Wharf and zip through the Embarcadero to the Ferry Building and onto the terminus in the Castro district.
Photo left – Ritual Coffee! We went to this place, Sight Glass, Blue Bottle, 4-Barrel and the Tartine Bakery… All amazing!
And if, like us, you are staying at any hotel on Nob or Russian Hill, you are going to need a cable car pass – because individual rides are $5 (according to the website – I think they may be $6 a ride now – which is amazing even to the cable-car grips.) With the city pass, you have “all access” – so you do not need to carry change or dollar bills. You can buy the MUNI-Cable Car pass separately, but this represents great value (more on that subject later too!)
The City Pass, in addition to giving you hop on / hop off access to the cable cars, and the MUNI and the classic electric rail in the city, you get a 1 hour water tour into San Francisco Bay (under the Bay bridge and around Alcatraz Island) – called the Blue & Gold Fleet Bay Cruise It is a fun filled and informative guided tour of some of San Francisco’s colorful history. The boats are big, safe, fast and equipped with a bar and food items… Yes, a booze cruise. It’s San Francisco after all!
With the City Pass, we also took in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) – yea, not everyone is an art fan – but while we were there, there was a comprehensive Picasso exhibit and some great photo galleries + plus a lot of contemporary American art. Check the gallery schedule of course.
Consider the city pass – for $69 for adults and $39 for children (San Francisco is a very child friendly and pet friendly place)
Hot Tip #2 – Buy a couple of travel books on this city a minimum of 30 days in advance to absorb some of the things you might want to do.
Farmers Bakers Market at the Ferry Building three days a week!
We got Frommers San Francisco A very good read with good sections and apparently some fairly honest and bias free reporting. The Frommers San Francisco Day by day was also a very useful resource – especially for carrying around.
Jump to chapter two – The planning phase!
Big Island Hawaii Travel Series Chapter 6 Condo · Monday March 21, 2011 by colin newell
We have been going to the Big Island of Hawaii for a few years now – and we have happily gotten into the rhythm of the Islands pretty quickly.
Our routine is pretty straightforward – we fly Alaska Airlines out of Victoria B.C. (via the Horizon Air partner) into Seattle-Tacoma (SEA). The departure is early (just after 6 AM) so it is an early rise. Our flight out of Seattle (to Hawaii) after a very brief flight from Victoria to Seattle is mid-morning putting us into Kona, Hawaii at around 1:30 PM local time. Grab the rental car and the first stop is Kona Brewing Company for a relaxing lunch and brew while we chill out from the flight.
From there we hop over to the Kona CostCo for a quick shop the cover the first week or essentials and anything we think we might need a supply of – generally we buy a bit too much but it all gets used. Because we are staying in a full featured condo, we have a full gourmet kitchen and access to an outdoor BBQ – so it is pretty much like home, so we shop accordingly.
Our Condo, no secret folks, is the Hale Kona Kai We have spent around 90 days there – and we are sold on it. We have heard expressions like “We have been to the Big Island a few times and stayed at a few different places – and when we find the Hale Kona Kai, we stopped looking…” Comments like that are gold and it’s not surprising – but it is how we feel. On our last visit we got to tour around 4 or 5 other units – they are all good but ours is the clear gem. You can look up Hale Kona Kai on TripAdvisor.com and you will find, year after year, that the Hale Kona Kai is the #1 most favorably rated condo on the Big Island of Hawaii – look it up.
Now there are lots of great places to stay on the Big Island – like I alluded to in a previous chapter – but we find that a good condo affords a level of freedom that is not really matched with any other style of accommodation; come and go as you please, eat out or cook in as you wish and the level of affordability is generally unmatched – they are simply cheaper than comparably sized hotel digs.
The Hale Kona Kai is also a smaller unit – so it is quieter and more intimate. It is also one of the few places hanging right over the water. Our unit is so close to the ocean, you can fish right off the balcony. The sea wall, in case you are wondering is around 12’ – and during the tragedy of the Japan tsunami, the ocean surge did not breach the Hale Kona Kai sea wall – like it did with some Alii Drive businesses.
The Hale Kona Kai is very popular with Canadians for some reason – that is not saying that you will not meet a diverse collection of folks… We did and during our last visit formed some life long friendships. During one afternoon as the sea side pool (yup, a sea side pool…) there was a couple from Calgary, a couple from Sooke and a family from Vancouver.
The Hale Kona Kai is on a quiet side street (waterside) that includes the World class restaurant Huggos – and The Royal Kona featuring Don the Beachcomber – home of the Worlds first (and arguably best) Mai Tai!
The Hale Kona Kai is a 7 minute walk from an ABC Store – but then again so is virtually everything in Hawaii! The main Kona village in Kailua Bay (on Alii Drive) starts 6 minutes away on foot and the heart of the village is a good 15-20 minutes to town center. In the next chapter, we will start talking about food and drink!
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