Street Wedding San Francisco Style!
I left my heart in San Francisco
Walking San Franciscosan francisco
° California Wines ° Marin ° Museums
° San Francisco (Sailing and Kayaking) ° The Giants
° Napa and Sonoma ° The Peninsula: Half Moon Bay
° Mendocino County ° Shasta County ° Yosemite National Park
Outdoor adventures to try in the San Francisco Bay Area include Kayaking San Francisco Bay.
San Francisco has been the home of both sides of the family since 1851 when Captain James H. Blethen, our great-great Grandfather, sailed from New York in a Vanderbilt steamship around the Horn and into San Francisco Bay.
Even though we have travelled the world, and are intrigued or charmed by cities on every part of the globe, San Francisco draws us back. There is truly nothing like this City by the Bay. In addition to a vast range of amenities, it is considered on of the world's best walking cities. The only city ranking higher is New York, and Boston follows right behind. However, given San Francisco's year-round pleasant climate (which means NO snow), we give San Francisco First Place as the most walkable city in the United States.
It has world-class everything: theatre, opera, ballet, shopping, restaurants (with fresh seafood caught along California's coastline), waters superb for all manner of water sports: sailing, motoring, surfing, tremendous kayaking, rowing, etc. For a special treat, book a tour on the Champagne Brunch Cruise
It also has the 80,000 acre Golden Gate National Recreation area, which is twice the size of San Francisco itself. Across the Bay in Marin rises Mt. Tamalpais, home of world class Mountain Biking. Gary Fisher developed his famous Fisher Mountain Bike in Fairfax, which is about 25 miles north of San Francisco and sits at the base of some of world's finest mountain biking trails up the mountain. There is so much open land in Marin that it is possible to get up on the ridge and ride all the way to the Pacific Ocean without encountering anyone else.
A Walker's Paradise
Along with New York, Brisbane (Australia), London, Oxford (England), Paris, Nice, Rome, Tokyo and Kyoto, San Francisco is one of the greatest walking cities in the world. Because of its condensed size, it is possible to walk across the City along Mission Street from Daly City to the Bay in one day. Or from Ocean Beach to downtown San Francisco following Golden Gate Park and the Panhandle in one day.Along these routes, you will see a variety of neighborhoods, architecture and various ethnic groups that have settled in the neighborhoods since the Gold Rush. Most areas have changed dramatically, but still hold vestiges of the cultures that lived there. The Mission was at one time greatly Irish; it is now home to the city's growing Hispanic population, but it has also opened up to artists in the past ten years or so because of its somewhat lower rents, lofts and available warehouse spaces. Many Russian immigrants quietly lived in the
Outer Richmond for decades . . . the elegant Russian Orthodox Church at 6210 Geary Street is well worth a visit. The Italians established themselves in North Beach and still have many restaurants and shops along Columbus. To truly cover the city, consider starting at Mission Street near Daly City and walking to Fisherman's Wharf (about 12 miles away). Follow Mission for about 7 miles to 5th and Mission (location of The San Francisco Chronicle newspaper building). Like many cities, demographics change: the area near Daly City was inhabited by San Francisco's Italian families for decades, and the middle of the Mission District was home to thousands of the City's Hispanic families. However, the center of Mission was "discovered" by artists because rents were somewhat lower and the weather is among the best in the City so that demographic has changed. As fog swirls through the outer Sunset and Richmond districts, the Mission denizens bathe in the warmth of sunlight.
From 5th and Mission, walk over to Grant Avenue, which stretches from Market Street and runs north east through some of San Francisco's finest shops (including fine boutique shops on Maiden Lane), through Chinatown—San Francisco's Chinatown is the largest in the world outside of China—then through North Beach, originally setteld by Italians who retain their culture with great restaurants and coffeeshops and restaurants with outside seating on warmer days, then to Ghirardelli Square and Fisherman's Wharf.
Of course, you'll want to "window shop" throughout and talk about whatever books you are reading or about your dreams. When we were younger, we didn't have funds to eat in any of the fine restaurants on Fisherman's Wharf; let's hope you do. But if not, there are always crab stands with delicious low-cost walk-away shrimp and crab cocktails.
If you have time, dine at McCormick & Kuleto Seafood Restaurant in Ghirardelli Square. It is a fine restaurant, excellent service (even when it's very crowded during the summer months), great wine list, wonderful French bread, fish from around the world, lovely ambiance, and sublime views of the Bay.
Literary Hills of San Francisco, Luree Miller
San Francisco's history includes some of the more famous writers of the past 150 years.
The tour in this book takes you through five neighborhoods that have inspired voices as varied as Mark Twain (who lived in San Francisco during the Gold Rush era), Oscar Wilde, Rudyard Kipling, Jack Kerouac, Maya Angelou, and Amy Tan. The San Francisco Bay Area is still home to thousands of noted writers; I had the privilege of working at the San Francisco Chronicle as Assistant Book Editor with Bill Hogan and meeting the likes of Richard Brautigan, James Clavell and my absolute favorite William Burroughs . . . I actually spent a day with Mr. Burroughs interviewing him for the paper and won an award for that piece. It was absolutely splendid!
If you're going to San Francisco, you will surely want to see plays, the symphony, the ballet, and before leaving home, pick up sports tickets for the Giants, 49ers, the Raiders in Oakland, the Sharks in San Jose. . .
The San Francisco Bay Area does have it all! Best to book in advance to be sure you don't miss anything!
The Museums of San Francisco
- Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
200 Larkin Street - Civic Center. The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco is one of the largest museums in the Western world devoted exclusively to Asian art. Travel through 6,000 years of history across seven major regions. Has an excellent museum store. This is one block from San Francisco City Hall and San Francisco's Main Public Library, both of which are worth visits. - Wells Fargo History Museum
420 Montgomery Street. Excellent collection of artifacts from California's early days. Wells Fargo was the company that moved gold around the world for miners. - Cable Car Barn and Museum
1201 Mason Street - Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
151-3rd Street
- Contemporary Jewish Museum
736 Mission Street (across from Yerba Buena Center) - Museum of the African Diaspora
685 Mission (near Yerba Buena Center). Since it opened in December 2005 MoAD has become an anchor with its neighbors, the San Francisco MoMA, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Zeum, and the Contemporary Jewish Museum, in making this dynamic cultural corridor a premier cultural destination. - Museum of Craft and Folk Art
- Contemporary Jewish Museum
- San Francisco Ferry Building and Marketplace
- San Francisco Railway Museum
The San Francisco Railway Museum packs a great experience into a compact space, just across from the famous Ferry Building. The museum is designed to complement the historic rail vehicles of the F-line and cable car lines by serving as an information and interpretation center for them.
- San Francisco Railway Museum
- Golden Gate Park
- California Academy of Sciences: Steinhardt Aquarium, Planetarium, Natural History Museum
- M. H. de Young Memorial Museum
- The Conservatory of Flowers
- Japanese Tea Gardens
If you were lucky enough to be raised in San Francisco, and if you had freedom to roam the city's streets (which we did), you probably spent time playing hide and seek in the lovely Japanese tea garden. We quietly sipped tea in the little tea house, and were as polite as possible, but small winding paths provided shelter to those playing seek and tag. - Strybing Arboretum and Botanical Gardens
- Crissy Field and the Presidio
- California Palace of Legion of Honor Fine Art Museum
Lincoln Park (100 34th Avenue). - Cartoon Art Museum
- San Francsico Maritime National Historical Park
Near Fisherman's Wharf and Ghirardelli Square. A wonderful way to spend a day in San Francisco. We have travelled the world and always wandering the San Francisco waterfront. Dining at almost any of the restaurants is a pleasure; we do have favorites, though, the first being McCormick & Kuletos for it's fine dining, extensive wine list, and views of Aquatic Park. Touring the historical ships and wandering through the little curio shops is still a favorite pastime when we're near home. - Pacific Heritage Museum
608 Commercial Street. Established in 1984 by the Bank of Canton, the museum features Pacific Rim art, culture and historical exhibits.
A variety of temporary exhibits features works originating from places such as the National Palace Museum in Taipei and the Center for the Pacific Rim at the University of San Francisco. - San Francisco Museum of Craft and Design
The Museum of Craft and Design is an environment for experiencing innovative contemporary work that engages the community while stimulating the creative potential in peoples' lives. In the fall of 2010, the Museum launched a series of pop-up museums - exhibitions, programs, and store - in temporary locations throughout San Francisco, while we seek a new permanent home.
Pick up a Go San Francisco Card, which gives you free entry to over 45 unique attractions and tours in the San Francisco Bay Area and surrounding towns, including Napa Valley wineries. You'll receive discounts and special offers on shopping, dining and activities, plus a guidebook to help you plan your San Francisco vacation. These cards are priced for 1-to-7 day use and are an excellent value. Or treat yourself to a Brunch cruise on San Francisco Bay on one of the city's classic vessels.
Changes in Latitude, Changes in Attitude