BY JANET
STEINBERG
“Cities
are like gentlemen,” the late Will Rogers orated, “they are born, not
made. You are either a city or you are not. Size has nothing to do
with it. I bet San Francisco was a city from the very first time it had a
dozen settlers.”
are like gentlemen,” the late Will Rogers orated, “they are born, not
made. You are either a city or you are not. Size has nothing to do
with it. I bet San Francisco was a city from the very first time it had a
dozen settlers.”
 |
| THE 1972 TRANSAMERICA BUILDING IS A CITY LANDMARK |
The
fabled “City by the Bay” carries such an air of sophistication and
grandeur that it makes many a larger metropolis seem mundane. It is a
city that takes you for ride on a national landmark (the cable car) and
it is a city that lets you shop ’til you drop. The hub of the city,
Union Square, is one of the chicest, most beautifully groomed plazas in the
world and the people hovering around the square are among the chicest, most
beautifully groomed people in the world.
fabled “City by the Bay” carries such an air of sophistication and
grandeur that it makes many a larger metropolis seem mundane. It is a
city that takes you for ride on a national landmark (the cable car) and
it is a city that lets you shop ’til you drop. The hub of the city,
Union Square, is one of the chicest, most beautifully groomed plazas in the
world and the people hovering around the square are among the chicest, most
beautifully groomed people in the world.
 |
| THE CABLE CAR IS A NATIONAL LANDMARK |
Nob
Hill, once the fashionable residential district of the Gold Rush railroad
barons called “nabobs”, crowns this elegant city with four renowned hotels
including The Fairmont, the Mark Hopkins, the Stanford Court, and the
Huntington. From atop Nob Hill you can hop aboard a cable car as it
clatters along toward the waterfront.
Hill, once the fashionable residential district of the Gold Rush railroad
barons called “nabobs”, crowns this elegant city with four renowned hotels
including The Fairmont, the Mark Hopkins, the Stanford Court, and the
Huntington. From atop Nob Hill you can hop aboard a cable car as it
clatters along toward the waterfront.
San
Francisco has had a long-standing love affair with the sea. Situated on a
46.6 square-mile peninsula, it is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean, on
the north by the Golden Gate Strait and from the north to the east by San
Francisco Bay. The Bay is spanned by two landmarks (The Golden Gate and
the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridges) and pierced by four islands (Angel,
Treasure, Yerba Buena and Alcatraz).
Francisco has had a long-standing love affair with the sea. Situated on a
46.6 square-mile peninsula, it is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean, on
the north by the Golden Gate Strait and from the north to the east by San
Francisco Bay. The Bay is spanned by two landmarks (The Golden Gate and
the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridges) and pierced by four islands (Angel,
Treasure, Yerba Buena and Alcatraz).
A
boat tour to Alcatraz, the once infamous prison island in the tide-ripped San
Francisco Bay, is culminated by an award-winning audio tour in the prison
cell-house. On a clear day, from atop the craggy escarpment that rises
135- feet out of the bay, one can get a view of the city skyline that makes the
whole trip worthwhile. A word of caution, don’t attempt the tour if
you’re not in shape to take a long walk up a very steep
hill.
boat tour to Alcatraz, the once infamous prison island in the tide-ripped San
Francisco Bay, is culminated by an award-winning audio tour in the prison
cell-house. On a clear day, from atop the craggy escarpment that rises
135- feet out of the bay, one can get a view of the city skyline that makes the
whole trip worthwhile. A word of caution, don’t attempt the tour if
you’re not in shape to take a long walk up a very steep
hill.
 |
| TAKE A BOAT TOUR TO ALCATRAZ…”THE ROCK” |
The
waterfront, where fishing boats bob in Bay breezes, will send your senses
reeling. It’s a place to grasp and savor, touch and taste. Crabs
cooking in mammoth caldrons along Fisherman’s Wharf are irresistible.
Enjoy a walk-away crab cocktail as you stroll, or a more leisurely version at
the many restaurants that dot the waterfront. Bon Appetit !
You can eat in 27 different languages in the thousands of restaurants in San
Francisco.
waterfront, where fishing boats bob in Bay breezes, will send your senses
reeling. It’s a place to grasp and savor, touch and taste. Crabs
cooking in mammoth caldrons along Fisherman’s Wharf are irresistible.
Enjoy a walk-away crab cocktail as you stroll, or a more leisurely version at
the many restaurants that dot the waterfront. Bon Appetit !
You can eat in 27 different languages in the thousands of restaurants in San
Francisco.
 |
| FISHERMANS WHARF |
Pier
39, a 45-acre waterfront complex, was opened in October 1978. You can
spend an hour, or an entire day, snooping around the hundreds of specialty
shops, boutiques, restaurants, artisans’ workshops and the 350-berth marina.
Musicians stroll, jugglers juggle and mimics mime at one of California’s most
visited attractions.
39, a 45-acre waterfront complex, was opened in October 1978. You can
spend an hour, or an entire day, snooping around the hundreds of specialty
shops, boutiques, restaurants, artisans’ workshops and the 350-berth marina.
Musicians stroll, jugglers juggle and mimics mime at one of California’s most
visited attractions.
 |
| SEA LIONS AT PIER 39 |
In
San Francisco, old waterfront factories don’t die or fade away. They are
royally renovated. Ghirardelli Square (pronounced Gear-ar-delly), a
deserted 19th century chocolate/spice/coffee/woolen works at the foot of
Russian Hill, was transformed into a bayside landmark of shops, restaurants,
kiosks, fountains and people-pleasin’ plazas.
San Francisco, old waterfront factories don’t die or fade away. They are
royally renovated. Ghirardelli Square (pronounced Gear-ar-delly), a
deserted 19th century chocolate/spice/coffee/woolen works at the foot of
Russian Hill, was transformed into a bayside landmark of shops, restaurants,
kiosks, fountains and people-pleasin’ plazas.
The
Cannery at Del Monte Square now packs in people instead of peaches. This
historic structure, saved from the wrecker’s ball in 1963, has been preserved
and restored as “a place for people to detach themselves from everyday
hustle and bustle, in an environment reminiscent of the romantic marketplaces
of Europe.”
Cannery at Del Monte Square now packs in people instead of peaches. This
historic structure, saved from the wrecker’s ball in 1963, has been preserved
and restored as “a place for people to detach themselves from everyday
hustle and bustle, in an environment reminiscent of the romantic marketplaces
of Europe.”
How
about a narrated tour on a shiny red 1955 Mack Fire
Truck? Wearing authentic fire gear on an open air fire truck, you
will head from Fisherman’s Wharf to the Presidio, pass Fort Point at the
base of the Golden Gate Bridge, cross the bridge and travel to Sausalito, cross
back over the Golden Gate Bridge, make your way through the lovely Union Street
neighborhood, and return to your starting point at the Cannery. Fun!!!
about a narrated tour on a shiny red 1955 Mack Fire
Truck? Wearing authentic fire gear on an open air fire truck, you
will head from Fisherman’s Wharf to the Presidio, pass Fort Point at the
base of the Golden Gate Bridge, cross the bridge and travel to Sausalito, cross
back over the Golden Gate Bridge, make your way through the lovely Union Street
neighborhood, and return to your starting point at the Cannery. Fun!!!
 |
| TAKE A TOUR ON A VINTAGE FIRE TRUCK |
By
now you’re aware of a few things to do in San Francisco. Now it’s time to
tell you what NOT to do in the City by the Bay.
now you’re aware of a few things to do in San Francisco. Now it’s time to
tell you what NOT to do in the City by the Bay.
DON’T pack a tropical wardrobe; the mercury
hovers around 60-degrees even in summer.
DON’T wear a bathing suit to North Beach; it’s the cafe- studded Italian
quarter.
DON’T stand behind a cable car gripman;
you’ll get the wind knocked out of you when he jerks back on the brake
lever.
DON’T call cable cars trolleys; they’re
powered by the moving steel cable humming in the slot beneath your
feet.
DON’T refer to “The Mark”, on Nob
Hill, as “The Hopkins” and DON’T spell Nob with a
“k”.
DON’T miss a ride down serpentine Lombard Street, the most crooked street in
the world. (Speed Limit 5 m.p.h.).
DON’T color the Golden Gate Bridge gold…it’s red-orange.
AND, ABOVE ALL
ELSE,
DON’T Call San Francisco “FRISCO”.
JANET STEINBERG is an award-winning Travel Writer, and
International Travel Consultant with THE TRAVEL AUTHORITY in
Mariemont, Ohio. She is the winner of 41
national Travel Writing Awards.
International Travel Consultant with THE TRAVEL AUTHORITY in
Mariemont, Ohio. She is the winner of 41
national Travel Writing Awards.