California I: San Francisco
Written: Mar 10 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great people and city, a lot to enjoy in little time
Cons: lots of homeless and greedy people, dirty, fog most of the time
The Bottom Line: You have to see San Francisco if you want to see the West Coast.
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| mix-master's Full Review: San Francisco |
Have you ever been to San Francisco? If you haven't been it is definitely a place you should put on the priority list. I have recently been gone for almost a month touring the Californian coast and inland (mostly the coast). This is my first review in a long time so I need to get back into the habit.
Well any ways there are a lot of sites you need to see in San Francisco alone. There are family spots and spots for everyone! I tried to see it all but my attempts were halted by the work of maintenance or other tourists (although I do not consider myself a tourist, I am). In San Francisco you will see the biggest variety of people you will ever see. San Francisco's diversity is much larger then any other place I have been too. Meet African Americans, Chinese, Japanese, Mexican, Russian, Gay, Homeless, and German people. In fact I think that you might even find every country there. One thing that I did notice is that you will see the most beautiful people you will ever see (well maybe not ever but still, there are a lot of beautiful people). While I was visiting San Francisco alone I had a lot of trouble deciding in where I was going today and what I was going to see.
The Sites
One of the main sites people go to San Francisco is for the bay and ocean. San Francisco is located between the bay and the Pacific Ocean and has almost an awesome view from everywhere. The only problem with viewing the water in the Summer is the fog. I never knew San Francisco was plagued with such horrible fog but I rather thought it was smog. Boy was I wrong. The fog would roll around in the morning and would disappear for the afternoon and then come back. This changes the temperature in San Francisco rapidly. Don't think you can wear shorts and a t-shirt all week for it gets in the 50's at night and the 60's during the day. One other thing I noticed was the speed of the fog. You could have seen the fog way off in the distance thinking you were okay but before you knew it, the fog was on top of you. Another thing I noticed was that the fog never left the Golden Gate Bridge alone. I never once got a clear view of the Golden Gate Bridge due to fog laying a blanket over it. The one advantage of this was a lot of awesome photo opportunities. It was eerie driving along on the GGB because you couldn't see the top of the towers and couldn't see over the edge. It was just white.
Another great site to see are the streets of San Francisco. They all basically run parallel to each other and run straight up the steepest roads I have ever seen. It's like the movies in the sense if you speed down them you will get airborne but probably never land correctly. If you want to experience this and San Francisco to it's fullest you have to jump on the cable cars. These metal wheeled vehicles trek up and down the hills stopping at every intersection. It is quite a thrill going up Powell Street on these massive heavy vehicles. The only thing to watch is the line to get on it. It tends to make a 10 minute wait depending on how long the cars take to get back. This is not a tour so don't get me wrong. The cable line I took takes you right down to Fisherman's Wharf.
Fisherman's Wharf is a great shopping, scenic, and fun places in San Francisco. Shop your bank account dry buying all kinds of souvenirs and memorabilia. For example I bought quite a big cigar measure to be a foot. Hey, it will look good on the golf course! Another thing you will find down on the Wharf are the street-side jewelry vendors. The women love them so this is a nice spot for them. The Wharf also has a lot of great seafood and other great places to eat. Most of the food is great but there are those few places that aren't too great. If you go down to Fisherman's Wharf most of the action is at Pier 39. I was pretty slow of figuring this out but I eventually got there and saw why. There are tons of street acts going on, plenty of stores to see, an arcade, tour movie theater, and plenty of seafood restaurants. The movie theater they have at Pier 39 shows tour films that make it sound like it's a IMAX screen and that it is the greatest film ever. Take my advice, the movie theater is okay, they have a great sound system but the movie itself really, really stinks. It is a waste of time and money. Just go buy some souvenirs or something.
Near Fisherman's Wharf there is Ghiradelli Square. This is home to the best tasting chocolate I have ever had. But beware it is a very rich chocolate and will over-satisfy you quickly. Across the way I went to a ice cream parlor where they put Ghiradelli chocolate on as hot fudge. It was so hard to eat the ice cream because I ate the hot fudge first! You can find plenty of chocolate souvenirs and bars to bring home for others to enjoy. I think Ghiradelli Chocolate originated in San Francisco but I am not sure.
Out in the Ocean there is Alcatraz Island. This was probably one of the places that I wanted to see most. That is because my favorite movie, The Rock, was filmed there and I want to refer to it all. Well my dreams we not answered. To my dismay I found out that you have to call ahead and reserve tickets for the ferry out. This was disappointing to find out because I never knew whether I was going to be in San Francisco or where ever so I could not get tickets for it. You can get tickets around in Fisherman's Wharf for the multi tour but that is just a waste of time and money if you only want to see Alcatraz. So I basically only got some good pictures of it with my 3x zoom camera. I only wish I had a really high powered lens so I could have gotten closer pictures. So if you are going to San Francisco and you want to go to Alcatraz you need to call ahead first. I would give you the number but I have seem to have lost it.
Some random places to visit are the Coit Tower which gives you a great view of everything in San Francisco (on a clear day). I again couldn't go to this because of some Jazz festival being held around it. Another place for a great view is the Twin Towers. It is a windy trip around the base of the mountain but you do get a nice view from the top. Other places to visit are the parks.
The Parks
There are multiple parks in San Francisco and there are a few I suggest you get to and run or walk in. First there is the biggest one Golden Gate Park. This has the most trails and paths and has a lot more to offer then just coastline. It is packed with museums and ponds as well as it features, an aquarium, a planetarium, and a conservatory. The next park I suggest you visit is the Lincoln Park. This park has the most coastline compared to all the others. It also holds an old army base and well as most of the city. All around San Francisco's coast you will find gun emplacements and gunner's nests. This was all from World War II due to Pearl Harbor. Next you probably want to see Presidio. You will see this if you cross GGB but it is still a nice place to see on your feet. A bike would be good for all of this and I only wish I had one with me the whole time.
This is as much of San Francisco I can really describe right now. There will surely be another addition to this review as well as many others about other parts of California so stay tuned!
Recommended:
Yes
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mix-master
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