yfoluorwhearisr
Well I am.
You are what?
Going to San Fransisco.
Oh, why?
Family vacation.
Boring.
Do you know anything fun to do in SF?
No.
Oh well, lets ask the Teeming Millions.
Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair.
Carry lots of spare change for the panhandlers, drunks, and homeless people you will encounter (especially in and around the Union Square Area!
-wear old shoes-there’s lots of dog cr*p on the sidewalks!
Serously, SF is a beautiful city, with lots of great restaurants and plenty to see. But the place is being ruined by the homeless-they really are trashing the city.
Depends on what you enjoy doing. I live here. There is too much to describe doing in one post. Let us know what you enjoy, and we’ll throw out some suggestions.
A bit of solid advice. Don’t spend too much time at Fisherman’s Warf, it doesn’t have anything you can’t see in any other city (except for the sea lions, it’s worth taing an hour trip to check out the sea lions).
Hey, I know. Why don’t you organize a Dopefest. You can then offer free beer to all the native SF-Dopers all night long.
Just a suggestion. Does anyone wish to second the motion?
Stuff from movies:
The Birds
I know the village that the movie was filmed in is in Calafornia is it near SF?
Vertigo
Where is the art museum that is in the movie?
How far from SF is the chapel in the movie and is it open to the public?
Food:
mexican
asian
italian
Art:
Good galleries and museums?
Music:
Jazz/Blues/Folk clubs?
Etc:
Is it too late to get tix to Alcatraz? We are going next week.
We are also going north to the redwoods and south to big sur.
Thank You.
I dont know about the beer this is a family vacation.
But im sure the SF dopers would love any excuse to get together. I should be able to escape from the fam for a while and have a few.
I’m not sure how long you intend to be there, but the first time I went, I took one of those little bus tours. You don’t see much, but it gives you a idea about the city. Trust me. If there’s something you want to do, it can be done in SF. I agree with egkelly, though. The homeless are terrible and they seem to be everywhere. They tend to focus around the Union Square area, which unfortunately is where a lot of stuff you’d want to see will be. As for museums, the only one I’ve ever checked out is the Museum of Modern Art, and I wasn’t impressed. However, I’m not into modern art so am probably not one to listen to on something like this. Not much help, but good luck anyway.
If your WHAT is going to San Fransisco?
Sorry, Carl. Pet peeve.
– Baglady, putting away her literacy-police badge and riding off with a bicycle cop.
Try Lumbard, the winding street. Visit Polk street if you’re a guy & dress right by putting a brown hanky in your back pocket.
Try Violet street if you are a woman.
There is a good possibliity that you are too late for the Alcatraz tickets, but give it a try. It’s a very interesting experience, and I’d really recommend it.
As for the foods you enjoy, well you are coming to the right city. For great sushi that’s not too expensive try Godzilla on Divisadero Street. It gets crowded on Fridays, though. Some people also like Blowfish, on Bryant at um…20th I think.
For Italian food, almost any place in North Beach is great. I personally like Mona Lisa on Columbus Avenue. I wouldn’t say the food is the most authentic I’ve ever had, but it’s really good. For great high end, kinda expensive Italian try Baldoria, on Larkin. I’ve always had a great meal there. And after dinner, wherever you go in North Beach, go get a coffee and tiramisu at Steps of Rome, also on Columbus Ave. It’s quite an experience, and yummy too.
Finally, for Mexican, almost any taqueria in The Mission is gonna give you a great burrito. They are usually humongus, so go prepared with an empty stomach!
As for fun activities, be sure to take a walk across Golden Gate Bridge. But if you do so also be sure to dress warmly. Actually, be sure to dress warmly in general. Believe me they aren’t kidding about the fog. While it’s warm usually during the middle of the day, it’s really cold when the fog rolls in. It’s a local passtime to laugh at all the tourists who came here thinking it’s summertime in California, and are walking around in shorts and tank-tops in 50 degree foggy weather.
The redwoods are magnificent, you won’t be dissapointed! Unfortunately I’m not too familiar with Hitchcock’s films so I can’t answer your questions about The Birds and Vertigo.
Have a great time!
handy suggested: “Try Lumbard, the winding street. Visit Polk street if you’re a guy & dress right by putting a brown hanky in your back pocket.”
I believe you mean Lombard Street, “the crooked street in the world” or something like that. Full o’ tourists. I don’t know how the residents manage it.
As for the brown hanky reference, that is COMPLETELY gross!!! For an explanation see alt.sex-ubergod-everybody-wants-to-do-him Elf Sternberg’s Hanky Code.
The museum in the movie is the California Palace of the Legion of Honor and it is near the Golden Gate Bridge. You can also go to Fort Point, which is the place where Kim Novak jumped into the water. The apartment house where she lived in the movie is also still around, but I can’t remember exactly where.
The chapel is one of the California Missions, but I’m not sure which one. The only one in the city is Mission Dolores, which is (surprise!) in the Mission district. I think the restaurant they go to (Ernie’s) is also still around.
Food:
Italian: North Beach
Asian: Just about anywhere, but Chinatown is worth seeing.
Mexican: Not a particular specialty of San Francisco.
Galleries: Try Golden Gate Park, another star attraction. There is at least one big gallery there.
You should be able to go on an Alcatraz tour. I know that there are cruises on the Bay that leave every hour from Pier 39.
I kinda like the homeless in SF, if only for the fact that a whole lot of em sleep right out in plain view of the city govt. That makes me laugh.
**
Bodega bay. It’s north of SF. Also north is Pt. Reyes National Seashore, what I think is the most bautiful place on earth. I try to go twice a month. You can also go to several oyster farms near there and get absolutely fresh really cheap oysters. Here are some phone numbers of them, they can give you directions.
**
Anyplace in the Mission. Tommy’s on Geary as the best selection of tequila’s in the United States (literally). Taqueria Can-Cun has the best burritos in SF (constantly voted best of in all the weekly papers). Also, try some salvadorian restaurants.
**
We have every conceivable type of asian food here. My favorite is vietnamese, and Tu-Lan is considered one of the best for it. I would recomend picking up a San Francisco Bay Gaurdian, and using that to pick the restaurants. Try the Straights Cafe for good singaporean food.
**
North Beach is good, but there are a lot of bad tourist places there. My personal favorite is La Villa Poppi (in the mission, it has tuscan food). Again use the Bay gaurdian.
**
The asian art museum is the best asian museum in America. Rght now they have a huge showing of Chinese Archaeology. Legion of honor has a really good show going on too (Wayne theibaud), although mostly it consists of 15th through 18th century European Art. SFMOMA is always good. I would also rcommend Vorpal Gallery.
**
John Lee Hooker owns a place called the Boom Boom Room. It’s pretty good for blues. At a restuarant called the black cat, they have a bar called the blue room, they have very good jazz. Also check local weekly papers. Cafe Du Nord usually has good booking, it’s a fun bar too.
**
Don’t know, although I think you still can. This is one tourist area that is worth it in my mind. Also walking across the Golden Gate, going to Baker Beach, and Exploring the Sutro Baths are fun.
Let me know if you want any other suggestions.
Well, according to one movie site, the mission is supposed to be San Juan Bautista, which is about 100 miles south of SF. The problem is that San Juan Bautista doesn’t really have a tower like the one in the movie.
I also second Absynthetic suggestion of the Mission District for Mexican food. I’d forgotten about that.
Bodega Bay–the setting for The Birds, is about 60 miles up the coast, in Sonoma County.
I used to live in San Francisco - here are my suggestions:
Mexican: If you don’t want to go to the Mission for Mexican food: There’s a great tiny Mexican place on Market Street at 6th. Cheap.
Asian: I lived above Tu Lan (Vietnamese) and let me tell you that their food is horrible and the restaurant is filthy. Go to the place next to House of Nanking - I think it’s called Chef Jia or something. House of Nanking is rated the best, but the food is really salty and there’s always a line of tourists.
Italian: I loved Bocce Cafe on Green Street in North Beach. Beautiful outdoor patio, piano player or a quiet jazz group, cheap, good food, huge portions.
Other food: There’s a great Ethiopian restaurant called The New Eritrea on Irving Street. Amazing food.
My favorite place in the whole town in the Zeitgeist bar. They serve grilled food, too, and have tons of cheap, great beer. Beautiful patio, fabulous jukebox, pool table. God I miss that place.
I loved Cafe du Nord - it’s a great place to see a show. Bottom of the Hill has good stuff sometimes, too. Since I don’t live there anymore, I would do as Oldscratch suggested - get a Guardian.
-is LULU (restaurant) worth the big bucks?
-is the “Stinking Rose” restaurant (North beach) still in business?
-F Lloyd Wright designed a famous gift shop in SF - where is it (if it still exists).
Finally: does anybody ever actually swim off the beaches in SF? I understand the water is a bit chilly!
I found Lulu to be really greasy (I had their signature chicken) and wasn’t that impressed. The other people I was with loved their meals. The atmosphere is really swanky.
I don’t know if the Stinking Rose is still in business, but I hate that place. Once we got a loaf of bread with shards of glass in it. Our gums were bleeding and we had really upset stomachs and we proved to the waiter that there was glass in the bread (there was glass in the new loaf, too) but they forced us to pay for our whole meal. Watch out!!