
The focus of this post is for those who haven’t been to San Francisco or those of you who like exploring and want to know a great way to see a lot of the city in one day. My friend Georgeanna and I set out on foot and little did we know that we would end up walking over fifteen miles. We didn’t take a single mode of transportation other than our feet because that is what most all tourists do and we wanted to do something different. If this is something you would want to do then read on.
Georgeanna lives in what’s referred to by locals as the Tender-Nob. It’s between the Tenderloin District and Nob Hill. Your point of departure might be different than ours but the main thing is to get a bearing of where you are and work your way around the city in a logical fashion so you aren’t wasting time crossing back over areas you have already been to. We started at 10am, but I would suggest leaving earlier since most of the well known breakfast eateries will be crowded and require waiting.
Taking this approach you really get to see the city. Driving through the Haight on a bus will not give you the feel that we got walking through all the unique neighborhoods. Driving down Lombard Street and taking a picture from your sunroof will not be the same and climbing a light post and getting a unique shot that others don’t have. It’s all about the experience and I think you will look back and be very glad you did this versus taking any of the typical tours.
Here is our path:
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Went to:
- Breakfast at Dottie’s True Blue Cafe in the Tender-Nob
- Union Square
- Chinatown
- The Embacadero from The Ferry Building to Fisherman’s Warf (jump off around Pier 23 if you want to visit Coit Tower)
- Coit Tower ($5 gets you to the top for amazing 360 views of Golden Gate, Alcatraz, Bay Bridge and the city)
- Lombard Street
- Lunch somewhere in Lower Nob Hill (We ate at Sliders)
- Walked down Polk Street and Filmore Street
- Golden Gate Park – Visited the Botanical Gardens and Japanese Tea Gardens
- Upper to Lower Haight Street
- Walked down Market Street to Van Ness Avenue
- Civic Center (good night photo)
- Dinner at Sudachi in the Tender-Nob
The snow is coming down so let’s take a little trip to Lake Tahoe. Sound good to me! As of this writing Squaw Valley has received 32-38″ in the last 24 hours, 56-62 in the last 48 hours, and the storm total is up to 82-96″. I always seem to get lucky when I’m out west but this is just unbelievable.
So far San Francisco in February is rainy mess, but that’s not going to stop me from exploring this 7 mile wide city. Today started off with a stroll through Chinatown and let’s just say there were plenty of those cat figures, swords and other random stuff that nobody needs. Then we went to hell on earth, the California DMV. This place is run by a group of donkeys and that’s being generous. My friend needed to do a simple little task of paying a $55 fine, but they do not allow you to pay online. Two and a half hours later and 5 or more trips from the counter to our waiting chairs we had accomplished what seemed impossible. We got out of there just in time because she was about to go postal up in there. It definitely would have made the news that’s for sure.
Next up was the Westfield Mall. It was incredible the amount of stores and eateries inside this mega-mall. One cool thing was their curved escalators that wrapped around a massive foyer. We didn’t really go there to shop so it was just a pit stop.
Today I made my first visit to San Francisco. I have never heard anyone say a bad thing about it so I am very eager to explore. When we landed it was nasty outside, but I was extremely because my friends are I are going to Lake Tahoe tomorrow to go snowboarding. Rain in San Francisco means snow in Tahoe. And by snow I mean 3-5 feet of the white stuff. To use to classic snowboarder term, it’s going to be epic.








