San Fran

Here are some pics from my visit to San Francisco. I went with my family a couple of summers ago. We drove from Los Angeles, which was about 6 hours going and about 12 hours coming back. We took the shorter, non-scenic route when we were on our way north because we wanted to get there as fast as possible. But coming back, we took the scenic route via Pacific Coast Highway, and man was it beautiful. It was kind of scary with all the turns in the road, but totally worth it. I stayed at Hotel Nikko which is located downtown. It is a 4 star hotel and as such very pricey (of course parking was very expensive as well). It is close to Union Square and all the shopping areas. I was able to either walk or take the taxi to most of the places that I wanted to go. I wasn't able to take the cable car anywhere because it was always full.

The first thing I did was go across the Golden Gate Bridge. I had walked acrossed it when I was younger, but this time I drove across it with my family. We were on our way to Sausalito. It is a beautiful town on the other end of the bridge. It is a very cozy city, with a lot of art stores and little stores here and there with hand-made products. There is a great view of the city as well from this side of the bridge. You should for sure stop there if you ever make a trip to the bay area.

Another big thing that I did was visit Alcatraz Island (aka The Rock). In 1934 it became a federal prison. It is best known for holding notable criminal Al Capone. I took a tour of the island and the prison. You are able to actually go into the jail cells and see how the most dangerous criminals lived in the prison. The tour I took included a recording that gave the history of the prison. It got kind of creepy when the narrator talks about the criminals that were there and what they were there for. It was a decent tour and the boat ride to the island is worthwhile as well. For sure book your tickets a head of time because when you get there the tours are usually sold out for the same day. There are many tour companies that will take you to most of the historic places and the places that you should see. I would recommend doing the tours because there are some places where if I didn't do the tour, I would not know to go there, and I most likely would not have the time to. So when you get to your hotel for sure ask the concierge what they would recommend you purchase or look it up online ahead of time because there are a lot of deals online.


If you are driving to San Francisco, make sure to drive down Lombard street. It is the most crooked street in America. It is a very scary drive up the hill to get to the street. I was in an SUV and felt that any minute I will lose control and it will go backwards. But once I made it to the top, I realized that there was an even bigger challenge awaiting. It was bumper to bumper traffic going down the hill. The winding street had people all over taking pictures and shocked that the cars are even able to make it down it. It is like a rollercoaster ride, so make sure to visit it.

There are a lot of great restaurants to experience as well. I really loved the Stinky Rose. It is a restaurant that makes everything with garlic. They bring out a bread with a garlic tapanade that is always on the table. My dad that isn't a big fan of fresh garlic couldn't get enough of the tapanade. When I got home I tried to make something like it, but of course it didn't come out the same way. If you are not a garlic fan, you will still like this place. But never fear, there are other great restaurants, so you won't have to settle.

Anyway, San Francisco was a wonderful city. I would love to be able to live there, but it is way to expensive for my taste. The houses are too close to each other too. I don't know how people get any privacy. I would love to be able to just have a vacation home there and visit it once a month. The shopping and food is great and the night life exciting. It is a city I woudn't mind being near if I were to move back to California.