California II: Fisherman's Wharf
Written: Mar 15 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Plenty of Shopping and Great places to Eat
Cons: pushy people, dirty
The Bottom Line: If you love shopping by the beach and ocean, you have to check this place out.
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| mix-master's Full Review: Fisherman's Wharf |
If you have tuned into my previous review you will notice that I have already told you a little about Fisherman's Wharf. What I didn't mention was that there is too much to say in a little paragraph. Since my last trip to San Francisco I have made another. Although this one was only for 2 days I got to relive the wonders of Fisherman's Wharf and enjoyed the nightlife down there.
Fisherman's Wharf is traveled by people of all different races and religions. You name it, San Francisco has it! Fisherman's Wharf is where it is all at. You will find Chinese people from China or just from a couple blocks away in China Town! I loved hearing all different people talking to each other in their native tongue while I stared astonished in how far from home they are.
The Shopping
San Francisco alone is notorious for its great shopping and scenic streets. Down at Fisherman's Wharf you will find some of the best shopping around. All along the street and sidewalks you will find street side vendors. They sell paintings all the way to jewelry. The cool thing is you can see them make them, but sometimes they won't go on without some tip. Sometimes they get too pushy for money and in that case you just leave.
All along the Wharf you will encounter many street vendors. The most interesting one I ran into was 2 men dressed up as prostitutes and where you can get your picture taken with them for money. It really is quite a sight. Another really interesting one I saw was my last night there my second time there. I saw a many spray painting amazing paintings of the Golden Gate Bridge with planets and pyramids in the background. It was amazing and I wish I had bought a picture.
Well enough about the street vendors. Along the wharf they do have some real stores. The big chain stores are mostly downtown but there are a few out on the Wharf. They mainly have tourist stores with t-shirts and souvenirs. One of my favorite things I bought down there was a foot long cigar that said San Francisco on it. I can't wait to use it on the golf course.
In addition to the tourist shops there are those electronic stores you see in every big city. You can find them in New York City, Boston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. They mostly sell you out of date merchandise and try to rip you off. I just recently watched Dateline which featured a story about the stores. The electronic stores sold them grey items, meaning they don't always work and they either changed the merchandise or refurbished them. That isn't a good thing and can screw over tourists who have to go back to Europe or Asia or anywhere. The sales associates also tend to be really pushy. Of course my information doesn't apply to all of these stores. You will find some truthful ones that really do give you a good bargain.
Restaurants
Down on Fisherman's Wharf there is tons of great restaurants. They mostly all serve great food. You will find a lot of the restaurants that are seafood places and where you pick your dinner out of a tank. These are fresh lobster, crabs, and shrimp from the Pacific Ocean and taste yummy with some lemon seasoning or butter.
One place that I especially liked was Pompey's Grotto. They are towards one end of the Wharf where Ghiradelli Square is. They had great food, although it wasn't too healthy for you it sure tasted good!
They have a lot of cafe's and breakfast places too. Breakfast all day is big down there which is good because a lot of people like breakfast all day like me! So I stopped in at a few of these great places. Although I stopped at many places to eat I do not have any negatives about any place.
Cautions
Since my experience at Fisherman's Wharf is more then you had if you haven't gone there yet, there are some things I learned from my trip. If you are traveling alone do not walk around at night. There are a lot of weird people out at night and you might get mugged. If you are a night person hang out at the clubs near Russian Hill and check into other places. Make sure if you DO go out at night you are near a lot of people.
When you walk around down at Fisherman's Wharf watch out for the homeless and street performers. They do get really pushy for money and sometimes can get a little too pushy. Never let them intimidate you into giving them more money. You should occasionally give some change here and there but don't stop at each one. A lot of them appreciate the change while some get mad that you didn't put in more.
Stay tuned for further additions to my set of California reviews. I spent just about a month down there and I have plenty of information to share.
Recommended:
Yes
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mix-master
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Location: Connecticut
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