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Watching the Giants in the open-air surrounds of AT&T Park is a must do at least once in SF experience.
Coupon Code for $5 off Giants tickets:
Here is a photo and a video from Opening Night, April 10th 2010:
Opening night offers a fireworks show after the game.
On a sunny weekend, take the opportunity to explore the North side of San Francisco's beautiful and rugged coastline. The Presidio is the area located just below the Golden Gate Bridge, encompassing beach front property on either side. Many trails are available - however, the Batteries to Bluffs Trail is particularly stunning with panoramic views to the West and the Golden Gate Bridge to the Northeast.
Recommended as a must-do-at-least-once experience.
General info:
http://www.presidio.gov/http://www.nps.gov/prsf/index.htm
Great trail map:(includes Batteries to Bluffs)
http://www.presidio.gov/NR/rdonlyres/A26635BC-AE79-4EDA-846B-BF5700B926A5/0/TOMap.pdf
Right, so it isn't technically in the city (the Muir Woods National Monument is located North of Golden Gate Bridge off the 101 off the Stinson Beach exit), but a visit to beautiful Muir Woods (aka Endor*) is certainly something I recommend for city dwellers and visitors to the area alike.
Muir Woods is nearly 300 acres of breathtaking scenery, huge ancient redwoods, flora and fauna. It's a magical place that thankfully was preserved by a local Congressman and his wife in 1905 when the surrounding areas were being stripped by the logging industry. See the National Park Service Muir Woods site for more information: http://www.nps.gov/muwo/index.htm
* Muir Woods served as a set location for George Lucas' Ewok Village in Return of the Jedi
Photographs taken by Jacklyn Franklin
Address is 540 9th Street. San Francisco, CA 94103. (between Bryant St & Brannan St). 415-431-9600. Store Hours: Thursday - Saturday 10AM - 7PM. Sunday 10AM - 6PM
They don't advertise and say they most store traffic is driven by word of mouth mentions online (!).
They look a little run-down from the outside and have a slightly chaotic system whereby you pick up a price list and have to match up items and pricetags.(Based on experience, there is some room to negotiate.)
But, saying that, they are well worth a visit, selling high-end couches, office chairs, table and chair sets, coffee tables, etc. for knock down prices. Why? Because apparently they:
Beautiful couches were the objective but we walked out with this comfy, brand new in box leather office chair:
There are a few other furniture / design stores around the area as well if you are going to make an afternoon of it.
Other reviews of 9th St Designer Clearance Center are also largely positive - 5/5 Stars in Yelp across 12 reviews and counting
Must do once experience: Martinis at the
Mark Hopkins
Perfect for pre-dinner drink (or even pre-Giants game drink as it happens).
Martinis are fairly reasonably priced at $13 at the time of writing. Also check out the story about WWII servicemen in the Cocktail menu
Apartment hunting in San Francisco can be a joy in three easy steps:
1. Check out my map. It's a bit messy ("MESS EHHH"), but it contains the unofficial truth about which neighborhoods are good, not so good and to totally be avoided as per:
Note: purple ticks and Gs are a good thing, dollar signs indicate more
expensive areas. Also, it's a bike map, so darker orange indicates
higher elevation.
2. Use PadMapper.com. Everyone tells you Craigslist is the only way to find an apartment in San Francisco. This is 98% true - however, this work of genius is a Craigslist and Google Maps mashup which marks the location of Craigslist listings on a map. Combine with knowledge gained from step one.
3. Ask the right questions. Just ask what they can do discount or otherwise if you are willing to move quickly. Offers received for this simple question included: 10% off annual rent / one month of free rent, 25% discount off parking, remodeling the bathroom, and free decorating (i.e. painting a feature wall). It's clearly a renter's market.
Gung hee fatt choi
Chinese New Year is celebrated in San Francisco with a colorful parade featuring floats and performances by a mix of participants, including Chinese performing artists, elementary and high school groups and members of local government. For example, during the 2010 parade, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom was walking along crowds of spectators, shaking hands and exchanging brief quips.
The parade is a free cultural event worth experiencing at least once. It takes place in part of San Francisco's Chinatown, of course, which happens to be the largest Chinatown outside of Asia. Because the celebration is based on the Chinese Lunar Calendar, the dates range between the end of January to the middle of February. In 2011, the year of the rabbit, the new year will be celebrated on February 3rd. See the relevant wiki article for future dates.
Official Chinese New Year Parade site
Pictures below courtesy of Jacklyn Franklin, photographer and advertising art director
Recommendation for an excellent bar with ambiance that teeters on the right side of dark SF street modern and that serves unique cocktails: Rye Bar on Geary at Leavenworth in the Tendernob. Full address is 688 Geary, San Francisco, CA 94102 (not that you're driving).
Must try: Basil Gimlet, Fireside (bartender Phil's choice) which contains tequila, spiced apple syrup, jalapeno, italian vermouth and lemon.Other people like it too: Average of 4.5 / 5 stars across 24 Google reviews and counting.
Rye is on Facebook too http://www.facebook.com/pages/San-Francisco-CA/Rye/49406035861?v=wall
The Ferry Plaza Farmers Market is a California certified farmers market operated by the Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture (CUESA). The market is open on Tuesday and Saturday.More
via www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com
The Farmer's Market on Saturdays and Tuesdays is a San Francisco 'must do at least once' experience. Offering excellent locally-sourced, organic and original products, the market is good for a shop or simply to look around and people watch. It is obvious who lives nearby - they make a bee line for a few choice items and quickly leave. Plan for a few hours there to take it all in and enjoy a champagne brunch or lots of small quick items (e.g. falafel with jalepeno hummus).
Must try:
Blue Bottle Coffee (really good, popular, not sure if it was worth the 15 mins I had to wait in line though. Good thing there were New York Times papers available to read)
Slanted Door. Apparently the Hamachi is amazing. Long line queuing for the lunch service.
My new challenge:
Shop more at the Farmer's market instead of Costco or Safeway. Only buy meat products if it is possible to confirm the animal had a happy life, and look for locally-sourced fruit and veg that is in season.
P.S.
You'll notice I bought pork sausages. More on the hunt for the perfect sausage later.
So I've been wondering what's available in terms of online shopping for British food stuffs. A Google search for 'British food' returns quite a few sites with the potential for being my future suppliers.
I will need some time to go through them and make recommendations. In the meantime, (in addition to the above) here are a few online British food stores that I found in my search:
- http://www.britishdelights.com/
- http://www.britshoppe.com/
- http://www.britishsupplies.com/
- http://www.englishteastore.com/british-store.html
Key: how are perishable items shipped and kept fresh?
To be continued.
