Memorial Day Weekend in San Fran

I used to wonder why someone would live in a city so prone to quakes, and then I went there. Now I’m hooked--quakes, what quakes??

With too much to see and do, even on a long weekend, here are some of my favorite areas and neighborhoods.

CHINATOWN, centering on Grant Avenue, is nonstop hustle and bustle. Souvenir after souvenir, tea sets, shoes, and kimonos are available. The place is packed with people, and along Stockton there are all the grocers' shops and butchers, with fish swimming merrily in tanks, just waiting to be bought and eaten. It’s colorful and hectic. Unless you have a restaurant in mind, give it a miss after dark--everything else shuts down and goes home.

You know when you are close to the CASTRO area, as the street flags all become rainbow shades. The main centre for all the action is Market and Castro, though Castro street became more residential as you walk up. By day this area is shady and a great place to walk and grab a coffee. By night, the bars come alive. It’s predominantly a gay area though you will see plenty of couples and families.

The Haight and Asbury intersection brings you smack bang into the middle of the 60’s hippy trail with a neighborhood just known as HAIGHT.Here there are shops selling hippy clothing, vintage stores, incense burning, plenty of colorful characters and plenty of pubs to sit and watch them all pass by. Don’t leave without a crepe or two.

Between Castro and Haight sits the beautiful BUENA VISTA PARK. If you are walking between these two neighborhoods I would highly recommend you take this route. It’s a steep climb through pine trees and younger redwoods but well worth the effort, and the views from the top, before you begin your decline towards Haight.

Much as I will loose my ‘cool factor’ now but I also love the FISHERMANS WHARF area. San Fran residents will tell you that it’s not really a part of them. It’s the tacky cousin that they try to pretend doesn’t exist but. It’s all good harmless fun; from the seals on Pier 39, the seafood along the docks, to the numerous shops selling "reject from Alcatraz" T-shirts. This is a seaside city after all. I’m from England so believe me the Fisherman’s wharf area is about as seaside as they come.

Quick Tips:

• Beware of the BUSHMAN who lurks around Fisherman’s Wharf (see photo). He sits behind a shield of twigs and jumps out at tourists. I had read other reports about him so knew he existed and he still managed to scare me to death.
• San Francisco is not huge, but distances are longer than they look, and the hills are steep. Walking shoes are essential.
• Wander off the beaten path. The houses and neighborhoods around town are stunning with old Victorian homes.
• Try as many different areas as you can. Other than my highlights, I strongly recommend; North Beach (little Italy) for awesome food and pastries. Ocean beach, a huge expanse of yellow sand that is great for kids. We also found a Pet Cemetery on our walk through the Presidio area. It’s just down from the military cemetery. Very sweet inscriptions with great views of the bay. Also, Fort Point which was a small Spanish Fortress, was later used by the U.S. army. Now you can look around it and also stand on the roof for the best views ever of the Golden Gate Bridge(you are almost underneath it here).

Best Way To Get Around:

I found the taxis to be quite expensive, so we never bothered to use them. Between walking, Bart, Muni, and cable cars, we got along just fine. If you arrive at the San Francisco International Airport, you can very easily follow the signs to the BART and be downtown in 30 minutes or less for just .95. It’s very easy, and you can get off along Market Street, and depending on where your hotel is, walk from there or catch a muni bus. Try BART.

We used the cable cars and the buses. But the ones along the tourist’s routes can get packed pretty quickly, so be prepared to walk.

Many people use bikes here but stick to the Bay area unless you are an expert as traffic in the city is crazy and the hills are steep. We saw them renting for about a day.

If you plan on exploring the wine regions you will need a car otherwise don't bother. Parking is a pain, and it's not worth the hassle.

I was searching Travelocity for last-minute deals. The flights to San Francisco were all between $300-400, as it was Memorial Day weekend. Then I happened upon a flight with hotel for 3 nights for just $380 (from Dallas). Thinking all this was too good to be true, I booked straight away and then panicked about the state of the hotel we would get.

Not to be confused with the H.I .Fisherman’s Wharf, which is actually a youth hostel, the HOLIDAY INN FISHERMAN'S WHARF was really quite nice.

I had read bad reports on this place before going, but in my opinion, it was a great hotel with a superb location, just one block back from the Wharf, where there are many shops, bars, and restaurants. It's tacky but fun.

I could be a tad biased, because once the clerk realized we were on an anniversary trip, she upgraded our room to a business level. For this, we got a special card to use in the elevator to get to the top floor. We have never had business level before, so it was a constant source of amusement to get this card out in front of the other elevator riders and place it in that slot with a slightly smug look!

The hotel is advertised as all rooms having a "bay view", but we only just had a view past the building in front of us, so I can’t possibly see how the other rooms could have one.

We could see the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz, though, so this was great, especially as it was bright and clear during our visit.

As the hotel was so close to all the action, it was also very noisy. The was no nieghbour noise, but as the windows were the floor-to-ceiling kind, you could hear music from the nearby Dirty Martini bar and street noise. The bar across the street was open and hopping until 2am, so if you are not night owls, this could well be a problem.

Not sure how the regular rooms were, but ours was big, with huge windows and a giant bathroom. Oddly enough, there were no closets, and we couldn’t figure out why, unless the business class rooms just have everything taken away and hung or something?? It's something of a mystery to us budget travelers.

They had a Starbucks coffee inside and a breakfast area. The Holiday Inn Express across the street had a Denny’s, but we didn’t use any of the restaurants in the hotel, as good food was too close at hand in the streets

For a great local breakfast, we walked across the street to PERGAMINOS for some waffles or omelets; all fresh-made with homemade jams. The black guy who works there is quite a character and will tell you all you need to know about San Francisco.

The prices for the Holiday Inn, if booked independently, seemed pretty steep at $80-$129 a night.

In the middle of North Beach, (no, there’s no beach here), otherwise known as Little Italy, there sits the STINKING ROSE RESTAURANT.

As you enter, a sign says, "We season our garlic with food," and that’s the truth. Don’t bother coming here if you don’t like garlic, though the menu does feature two or three items with a cute little vampire face for those garlic haters amongst you. Let it be known, though, that the place reeks of garlic, so it’s really best avoided if you don’t like it.

On waiting for our table, we passed on the garlic shots at the bar but did eat the wonderful free garlic chips.

We got seated in the more romantic section, which was dimly lit and cozy, with candles on the tables with corks hanging from the ceiling, as well as Chianti bottles. It sounds odd, but it works.They brought us out bread rolls with a great garlic dressing whilst we browsed the menu.

There are plenty of vegetarian choices, and I opted for the Neon Ravioli, which was, of course, stuffed with garlic (as well as Ricotta) in a delicious basil cream sauce. All the pasta dishes are just $13.

The forty clove chicken roasted to the bone with garlic mashed potatoes ($18) looked good, but that will have to wait until next time. A menu item that made me laugh was the Silence of the Lamb shank served with fava beans.

There are a lot of tacky touches, but as the food was so good, you just have to love them. On leaving, there’s even a mini store of sorts to stack up on all your garlic needs, including a garlic room fragrance. They had great desserts, but in an area surrounded with pastry shops, I would save some belly space!

If you take the F-line Muni all the way to the end, it turns round at Castro, and here you will just be a stones throw from CATCH.

This restaurant is amid all the bars, coffee shops, and action along Market and Castro. This is a predominantly gay area, so bring an open mind and you will be richly rewarded by the vibrant scene that is Castro

We ate on the covered patio at Catch, which had random heat lamps on to keep the temperature pleasant. It not only has that, but a fireplace in the middle of this "room" added a romantic ambiance.

I started the evening with a couple of mango martinis (expensive at $11 each) and then quickly moved on to the mojitos, which were superb. Me and me husband shared a starter of mussels cooked in pernod sauce, which, funnily enough, were the same price as the aforementioned martini.

The menu was mainly seafood, but there were also chicken and cheeseburger options. We both picked the special, which was a seafood grill of three different fish (ahi tuna, scallops, and a sea bass). For $23, it was the most expensive thing on the menu, but as this was one anniversary dinner we weren’t counting pennies, it was lovely.

Catch is a very trendy little restaurant with flamboyant waiters and really cool/obscure artwork on the indoor walls, as well as aquarium. The poor fish have no idea what's happening to their distant cousins. Everyone was very friendly, and service was quick and helpful.

After stuffing yourselves, walk the food off around the area. It’s very safe at night, and there are lots of little cafés for periodic caffeine stops.

The Beach Chalet was in our "must-do" list, as I'd read glowing reports about it. Being a beach fan, I really didn't need any other excuse to head to Ocean Beach.

We reached the Chalet at about 2:30pm, after an adventurous day and many miles walking (pretty much from Fishermans Wharf). I recommend instead taking the muni to the end of Golden Gate Park and walking through there. It's still a good walk but not as crazy as the one we did. If you are driving, it's right along the Great Highway that runs along the ocean, and it looked like they had plenty of parking.

The Chalet is advertised as "where the park meets the Pacific," and that's pretty much the way it is--as the Golden Gate Park ends and Ocean Beach begins, there's the Chalet.

Originally a tea house, this restaurant is now split into two, with the Beach Chalet being on the top floor with a stunning view of Ocean Beach and the Park Chalet in the back, half-indoor (with big fireplace) and half-outdoor, with picnic tables and the backdrop of the park.

Beach Chalet is also a brewery, and all the beers are handcrafted right there on the premises. With choices like Ocean Beach Octoberfest, Playland Pale Ale, and Riptide Red, you can't go wrong.

I did have a beer but then moved on to the Bloody Marys. The food was simple, with an emphasis on the seaside. I enjoyed a portabella mushroom, grilled and used as a burger with all the fixings. It was huge and just $11.

In the evening both restaurants have live music, anything from Jazz and Blues to local bands. Check out the website to check out what's going on at THE BEACH CHALET.

Ruby Skye is a gorgeous nightclub downtown just a few blocks from the Powell Street BART stop (on Market).

It used to be a Victorian Playhouse, and the building is stunning inside and out. If you are into clubs, this one is very similar to Webster Hall in New York. Ruby Skye is advertised as winning the top-five club list by Dance star.

There are fire breathers, go-go dancers, and trapeze artists. That night, we went had a guest DJ (USA DJ Christopher Lawrence), so the club had a more edgy/techno feel than I think was the norm.

We paid $20 each to get in, and it was well worth it, as the DJ rocked. The main dance floor was heaving with a mass of clubbers, and we could hardly move, let alone dance, so we went up the big curving staircase to the wrap-around balcony, where we could look down and dance more freely. You could see how this was a playhouse, with the DJ set being the stage and the dance floor the main seats. We were up on the balcony, and the VIP rooms would have been the box seats back in 1890s.

The decor included big hanging chandeliers with gold and deep reds, plush couches, and carved marble details. Another room that was equally exotic looking and crowded was the back hip-hop room with a separate DJ spinning to a better-dressed crowd.

Big red velvet couches were scattered around the entry for a chill-out feel. They had plenty of fliers lying around, telling of other great nights to come, such as Ferry Corsten, Donald Glaude, and the Mambo Ibiza Tour.

We stumbled upon the Farmers' Market by accident and spent a few hours eating our way through the various stalls.

It's operated by the CUESA (Centre for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture), which supports regional and smaller family farms.

It’s situated at the foot of Market Street on Embarcadero in the Ferry building. I think it was the F-line trolley that stops right outside.

Even if the weather is bad, most of the stalls are inside the Ferry building, so it would still be a pleasant experience. However, we were lucky and had a sunny, warm morning, so, after procuring foods and fruits, we headed out the back doors to the ocean and sat on one of the many benches to enjoy our purchases.

For a full list of all the vendors, check out the markets own website HERE. Don’t expect the usual cheap produce - this market has all the best suppliers, such as Acme Bread Company, Trinidad Fishing, and Noe Valley Bakery.

One unusual place I liked was the Delica rf-1, which was actually a Japanese deli. For just a few dollars, I chose a fried scallop and a crab croquette. Grabbed a chai iced coffee from Pete’s coffee and an organic peach from another stall, there was a quick snack to enjoy on the pier.

The hours vary depending on the time of year, but these were the hours when I went. However, they were advertising a late-night Thursday beginning soon.

10am to 6 pm Monday-Friday
9am to6 pm Saturday
11am to 5 pm Sunday

The MAGNOLIA BREW PUB sits on the intersection of Haight Street and Masonic in the hippy Haight district. This is the only brew pub in this section of town, and they are very proud of their beers and the cellar below.

Dating back to 1903, this Victorian building was first a drug store, then later owned by the strangely named Magnolia Thunderpussy, who sold ice cream and other desserts in (I read this) bizarre shapes !?? In 1997, the place became the brew pub that it is today; they use English pale malt from Norfolk in their beer-making as a base malt. During the day, they serve food, and most of this is from the local farms

It’s a great location, and plenty of colurful characters will come in and out whilst you are there. We got a window seat, which was perfect to keep an eye on the street life. My husband ordered a sampler of beers, which had six or seven different brews for tasting. He assured me that they were all good!! The hours are:
noon to midnight Monday to Thursday
noon to 1am Friday
10 to 1am Saturday and 10 to midnight Sunday
Their 10am to 2:30pm brunch on the weekends is wonderful.