Travel
I love to travel, plain and simple, and I love to photograph new places. I hope to see as many places on this list as I can.
Preparations
I rely on lists to keep me organized and focused, especially while in new situations. Here is one I devised after years of trial and error. Perhaps it will help you, too.
Fairly Generic Packing List Template
- trip stuff: passport, tickets, maps and guidebooks, photocopy of passport and traveler’s cheques (kept separately from originals)
- camera stuff: camera and case, battery charger, CF card and/or USB cable
- clothing, basics: socks, underwear, bras, pajamas, “little black dress” that doesn’t need ironing (mine is from Travelsmith)
- clothing, bottoms: jeans, pants, skirts
- clothing, tops: t-shirts, sweaters, long-sleeved shirts
- clothing, outer: light jacket, hat, gloves, scarf, shoes
- toiletries: toothbrush, toothpaste, mouthwash, floss; glasses, contact lens case and solution; shampoo/conditioner, brush, hair ties, body soap, face soap, toner, cotton balls, makeup, makeup remover, body lotion, essential oil, razor
- jewelry: watch, necklace, rings
- etcetera: reading material (books/magazines), notebook, pens, ink, reading light, alarm clock, international power adapters
Destinations
Barcelona
Chicago
Dublin
Edinburgh
London
Vancouver
San Francisco
What follows is the text of an email I wrote on 30 May 2009 about visiting San Francisco for a friend of a friend.
So I found it hard to believe that I have never written a proper email documenting some of my favorite things about San Francisco. I think this is because I generally try to tailor emails to the person, or what I think I know of the person, and what they’d enjoy about visiting San Francisco. Pushing all of that people-pleasin’ stuff aside, here goes:
SIGHTS
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I like museums. I could easily spend all of my vacations in restaurants, museums, and parks. So if you hate museums, skip the first part of this section.
One of my favorite museums is the de Young, which is in Golden Gate Park, which means you can do two things at once! The collection is eclectic and well-curated, and the grounds are lovely.
Also in the Golden Gate Park is the newly-reopened California Academy of Sciences, which is a fairly good science museum but not on par with someplace like the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, so you can skip it if you’re not terribly into Californian ecosystems or albino alligators. (The latter look fake, but they are real, I am assured by my beloved. He has seen them move; I have not.)
The Legion of Honor is another favorite of mine, with an impressive collection in a gorgeous Beaux-Arts space. It is close enough to the Park to be paired with a visit to the de Young, but if you are a hardcore museum-goer, that’d be your day: half at the de Young and half at the Legion of Honor.
Please, whatever you do, spend a moment in Golden Gate Park. There is so much to do that you could spend a whole vacation exploring it. I especially love the arboretum and the Japanese tea garden. I am skipping over everything else because I could write a whole email just on the Park. Okay, back to museums …
In Civic Center, you’ll find the Main Library (where I work, so I am a bit biased, but it is a lovely building) and right next to it, the Old Main, which is now the Asian Art Museum, and quite a treat. I don’t think so highly of SFMoMA, but it is worth a visit if you really enjoy modern art. I have not yet been to the Museum of the African Diaspora but I hear nothing but great things about it.
OK, moving on to other subjects … the iconic Golden Gate Bridge is fun to walk across, and for this reason many visitors incorporate this walk into their schedule. That is a nice way of saying that it is going to be crowded no matter when you go, but most crowded on weekends.
I also like the Alcatraz tour, but it is almost always mobbed.
Coit Tower is neat, but pretty much just a big tower.
I have not yet been to the Musee Mecanique, but so many people I know say it is terrific. How can it not be? It is “one of the world’s largest privately owned collections of mechanically operated musical instruments and antique arcade machines.”
Skip Pier 39 if at all possible. I know that some people visit SF and get TOLD by their families that they have to go to Pier 39. It is a fallacy. Pier 39 is just like every other touristy part of any other big city.
One of the neatest things ever (in my opinion, of course) is the Mechanics’ Institute Library in the Financial District. The Mechanics’ Institute is a not-for-profit open to the public for membership. If you are a library professional or a chess player, this may be an interesting place for you to visit. I think they still have free tours for the public.
I am skipping over the non-SF parts of the Bay Area, but it is worth mentioning that you can take a ferry to Marin County from the Ferry Building (located at the Embarcadero and Market Street). There are ferries to both Sausalito and Larkspur. Marin County itself would require another email, and I’ve already spent hours on this one. Suffice it to say that there are many things there including redwoods, beaches, headlands, a small mountain, and lots and lots of rich people. O, and my beloved’s most awesome game store, Gamescape North, in San Rafael. It is the best game store ever, and I am not paid to say that.
FOOD
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Where to begin? Eating is one of my favorite things to do, so I have a LOT to say on this topic. I’ve modified this section from an email I wrote about six months ago. I would recommend Urbanspoon and Goodrec for checking out each of these before going.
I must also sadly note that Bong Su has closed. DAMMIT.
My top recommendations for uniquely Californian cuisine (or at least fusion) restaurants in San Francisco are, in no particular order save for #1:
- Citizen Cake, Hayes Valley
- Bar Crudo, Western Addition
- Chez Spencer, Mission
- Slanted Door, Ferry Building
- Alembic, Haight
- Maverick, Mission
- Range, Mission
- Zuni Cafe, Upper Market
- Slow Club, Potrero Hill
- Pisces California Cuisine, Sunset
For other cuisines, here are my top choices in each category I feel I can speak with some authority on:
Asian
Thai: Thep Phanom, Haight
Vietnamese (traditional): Anh Hong, Tenderloin
Vietnamese (French): Le Colonial, Nob Hill
Vietnamese (in between): Cordon Bleu, Nob Hill
Vietnamese (pho): Pho Vietnam, Nob Hill
Chinese: Eliza’s, Potrero Hill
Japanese: Ino, Japantown (I have many other sushi recommendations!)
Indian/Pakistani: Shalimar, Nob Hill
Korean: So**, Outer Sunset
Nepalese: Little Nepal, Bernal Heights
European
Italian (northern): Pesce, Russian Hill
Italian (southern): A16, Marina
French: Rue Lepic, Nob Hill
German: Suppenkuche, Hayes Valley
Spanish: Alegrias, Marina
Catalan: B44***, FiDi
Other
Seafood: Bar Crudo*, Union Square; Hog Island Oyster Company, Downtown
Mexican: Maya, SoMa (really this is Latin-American, but we go to one of the bajillion awesome taquerias for Mexican food anyway)
Soul/Comfort Food: Q, Inner Richmond; Farmer Brown, Tenderloin
Please note that I have separate lists for brunch places. This is dinner-only.
* This is on this list twice by no accident. It is that good.
** This restaurant is now closed, so I need to do more research. I hear that Oakland is where it’s at, Korean-food-wise.
*** The service is so appalling here that I would be hard-pressed to return, but the other restaurants in the city that claim to be Catalan are definitely not.
SHOPPING
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I suck at shopping. Therefore this section will be very short. My favorite shops are:
Flax Art & Design, Upper Market — for fountain pens, stationery, and all things crafty.
Borderlands Books, Mission — all the science fiction and fantasy books you could ever wish for, as well as the hairless cat, Ripley.
Green Arcade, Upper Market — books and goods focused on green issues like the environment and sustainability.
Rare Device, Upper Market — beautiful and strange jewelry, clothing, handbags, and other intricacies.
Flight 001, Hayes Valley — the coolest travel goods store ever.
Fluevog, Haight — Fluevog shoes and boots. If you haven’t seen these styles, they’re worth a look. Very pricey, however.
Camper, Union Square — Camper shoes and boots. Ditto what I wrote for Fluevog.
Cocoa Bella, Fillmore — chocolate boutique, featuring local chocolatiers as well as international ones.
Dish, Hayes Valley — pretty clothing boutique that also carries scents from my favorite local perfumer, Yosh.
Ferry Building, Downtown — local and organic treats, plus the Farmers’ Market on Saturday mornings.
Wow, it kind of seemed like I knew what I was talking about there. I don’t! For “shopping neighborhoods” I recommend the Fillmore and Hayes Valley. I would be remiss if I did not mention the pirate store at 826 Valencia in the Mission. Because, you know, it’s a pirate store.
LOGISTICS
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If you can manage it, don’t rent a car for your entire trip. Getting around the city (and even outside the city, if you’re willing to be patient) is quite simple on public transit. Plus, parking in the city can be difficult to just plain ridiculous. Even locals can get frustrated with the experience, so why put yourself through that? If you venture outside the city much for day trips, a rental car will be a necessity.
We have two main transit systems in the city itself: BART and Muni. Muni is the public transit system of the City and County of San Francisco, and contains buses, streetcars, and light-rail vehicles (referred to as Muni Metro in this Wikipedia article, but locals usually just call them “trains” or by their line names). BART is a heavy-rail, rapid-transit system that connects San Francisco with portions of the East Bay and Peninsula. BART and Muni trains overlap in 4 downtown stations, from east to west: Embarcadero (Ferry Building and the Bay), Montgomery (Financial District), Powell (Union Square shopping and theatre district), and Civic Center (City Hall, Library, Asian Art Museum).
You can buy a short-term transit pass called a Muni Passport, which I recommend, since at $2 a ride the cost can add up.
Dress in layers! There are many microclimates in the Bay Area; no matter where you end up, it will likely be a layer of clothing colder or warmer than where you started.
That’s all I have to say on that. For now.
