Climbing San Francisco

Walking through Chinatown is like traveling to another country.

Touring the Castro Neighborhood and checking out the wonderful Castro Theatre is a must for movie Palace/architecture fans Plus, you get a gratis organ recital before every show!

Golden Gate Park is one of the best city parks I have ever visited.

Ride the cable cars and visit the cable car museum. What a treat, and to think, the city actually discontinued service back in the 1970's. What were they thinking???

Quick Tips:

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Best Way To Get Around:

Public transportation is the way to go. The city is too large to see on foot and driving is confusing and difficult. Parking is a freaking nightmare so hop a cable car or take a ferry and leave the driving to them.

The Location was excellent. Powell street is about a block from Union square and about 4 blocks from Chinatown. The Powell street Cable Car stops right outside the door. Doormen wear funny looking Beefeaters costumes and are good sources for resturaunt recommendations. The lobby is gorgeous and first class. It is like stepping into a posh 1930s hotel. The rooms are a nice but a little small and our bathroom was a little outdated. Try to get as high as possible for a nice view and to avoid traffic noise. Scala''s Bistro, right off the main lobby is excellent.

This was a really fine restaurant. The interior is gorgeous. Warm tones, linen on the tables, open kitchen in the back and great ceilings/ lighting make for a very pleasant atmosphere. The food was very good and very nicely presented. Request a table by the huge windows overlooking Powell street or a cozy booth toward the back. You won't be sorry you went here.

For movie palace fans, the castro is a dream come true. This 1920's deco/spanish/baroque theatre is an architectural marvel and it is sad that so many of these fine movie houses are gone forever. Before each show, the original organ rises from the orchestra pit and an organist plays a few old silent movie scores to the apreciative crowd. This is a majical place, especially when it is full. I ususally try to go to movie palaces in every city I visit. This is one of the best. Check it out!

Also, have a sip of water from the wonderful deco drinking fountains in the lobby.

The Hill up to Golden Gate Bridge is tough. But once on top of the bridge the work is all worth it. The views are incredible! It is often windy and cool up there so pack a sweatshirt or windbreaker. Take a right after crossing the bridge on 101 to Sausalito, which is a cute little bay town. But don't whimp out there! Keep going to Tiburon. The scenery is really wonderful and the ferry back is oh so nice. We spent an hour or so walking arond Tiburon's quaint shops and had a couple of slices of pizza before heading back. We saw more golden retrievers there for some reason. Must be a rich folks thing!

Going to Alcatraz was a really fun time. I am fortunate to have never been in prison and this was about as close as I want to come! At the bottom of the hill where you disembark from the ferry, there is a small movie theatre that gives and introduction to the history of the island from its time as a military base to a prison and including its time as an American Indian Protest in the early 1970s. This is a great way to get acquainted with the island before heading up the hill to the prison. For those of you who are organized crime buffs Alcrataz housed a who's who of amarican criminals. Al Capone, the Birdman of Alcatraz, George "Machine Gun" Kelly all spent time on the rock. I heard in the audio tour (which I highly recommend) that Al's mother came out to visit him but was turned away when they found that she did not speak English and therfore the guards would not be able to monitor what she would be saying to him.

Don't miss the barber shop or the dining hall. The audio tape interviews some of the inmates who were imprisoned at Alcatraz as well as a few guards. The Audio tour will tripple your enjoyment of the rock.

For those of you that have trouble walking be forwarned, you have to walk up a big hill to get to the prison. Take it slow and enjoy the views. It is ultimately worth the effort.

Designed and built in 1873 by Andrew Smith Hallidie, the cable cars are still running strong over a hundred years later up the huge hills of San Francisco. It is quite a San Francisco treat to hop on one of these old relics and be transported up over Nob Hill while taking in the breathtaking views of the San Francisco Bay. If you are lucky you can sit on one of the outside benches and hope that your conductor is in the mood to play the bell as the car rolls along. It is amazing to me that the city actually stopped using the cable car system in the 1970's. They came to their senses, however, and other than the Golden Gate Bridge, they are the most recognised and beloved landmark in this great city. We took the cable cars to Russian Hill from Powell street and also went down to Fisherman's Warf.

If you are really into seeing how the whole system works, go to the Cable Car Museum which is housed right in the operating wheel house where the cables are replaced and the huge motors that pull the cable along are located. The museum has detailed descriptions on how everything works and displays old cable cars, ticket machines, signposts and photographs of the cars in action all the way back to its beggings. There is a very good video that you can watch that explains how the whole thing works. We really enjoyed this museum.