Category Archives: San Francisco

California, San Francisco, Travel Photography

San Francisco: Golden Gate Park, Mission Dolores and family fun

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It’s hard to believe that it’s already two months ago that I was anticipating the arrival in San Francisco of my dear friend Heather. The wonderful thing about blogging after the event is that it gives me a great way to remember every laugh, every bit of sight-seeing and every glorious glass of California red drunk!

There are many fab things to do in SF and I would put The Japanese Tea Garden right up there near the top of the list. It’s a glorious little corner of delicate loveliness. To get there, we walked up through Haight Ashbury, as we had to have a little look at the ‘hippy’ area.

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It was a really bright day, so my pictures of the Japanese Tea Garden aren’t brilliant but hopefully these will give you an idea of how nice it is.

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We also sauntered around the Botanical Gardens. I like the way the gardens are divided into the world’s regions, so that you step from one type of flora to another.

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The next day’s sightseeing was to Mission Dolores and to see the Mission district murals. The first is San Francisco’s oldest building. It’s thick adobe walls mean that it has withstood all the earthquakes. It’s a wonderful chapel with a cathedral next door and I’m glad I visited.

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The murals are great. We didn’t have much time, as we were heading off to meet my Aunt and Uncle, flying in from Atlanta that morning, but what we did see were wonderful.

And then it was time to reunite. I have the most welcoming family imaginable in the states and they all ‘re-adopted’ my friend Heather in super quick time (it had been many years since she had visited Boston with me).

Niece and Aunt reunited.
Niece and Aunt reunited.

Thursday dawned bright and clear again. No San Francisco fog for us at all! After a morning at the Asian Art Museum, we headed off for Sausalito, for gorgeous ice cream and a very hospitable bar, The Wellington Arms pretending (and failing in the best way possible) to be an English pub!

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Friday was Dave’s birthday and it was off to Alcatraz for us. I had underestimated how interesting it would be. The culture snob in me couldn’t figure out what could be so fascinating about a prison. I stand corrected. It was superb. Great location with amazing views back to the city and an audio tour that immerses you in the prison stories. I highly recommend going. Alaz (see what I did there?!?!), I forgot my camera.

The day finished with an undoubted highlight of the trip; supper in a private dining room at Restaurant Gary Danko. Great food, pretty place and the best company.

Private dining room at Gary Danko
Private dining room at Gary Danko

The menu was mouth-watering.

Gary Danko - menu
Gary Danko – menu

I started with Lobster salad, moved onto the scallops, main course was seared tuna, then cheese and finally a lovely dessert that I failed to snap!

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A fantastic night and one to be remembered.

Tomorrow, on tour in Napa!

By Carole Scott

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California, San Francisco, Travel Photography

San Francisco: museums, pinot and back to the bridge

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San Francisco has some exquisite museums. SFMOMA, the De Young, the Legion of Honor and the Asian Art Museum were the ones I visited on this trip. I enjoyed all three, although I think the Legion of Honor just pips the others to the post.

SFMOMA is now shut for a few years for extensive work, so I’m glad that I visited when I did. The building is a fantastic example of modern architecture; shapely, colourful and light. The highlight of my visit there was the superb Garry Winogrand exhibition. His work is raw street photography at its best and it was a wonderful reminder of why I love this art form. It’s touring to Washington, New York, Paris and Madrid and I may just have to have a weekend in Madrid to see it again!

The day was hot and lovely and after our early start for Glide (an absolute must if you’re visiting San Francisco – see my blog about it here), we were exhausted. Couldn’t resist this snap with Mr Cohiba as we walked toward a sunny spot.

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We sat for a while in the Yerba Buena gardens to people watch.

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That evening, we hooked up again with my cousin, who works at the new and rather fabulous San Francisco Jazz Center. Andrew’s friend Yoni was with us and we started the evening with Pinot Noir. As Andrew commented ‘You guys have a real problem saying no to Pinot’. It’s true. Very little really good Californian wine is exported to the UK and I really do enjoy the Pinot Noirs that small batch producers create in this sunny state.

We had a great evening, watching banjo player Bela Fleck whilst keeping up to date with his wife in labour via his mobile phone. It should have felt distracting but in fact it was a privilege to be part of it!

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The Jazz Center won’t be in any guide books yet, as it’s new. I recommend checking it out  if you’re heading to SF. Even if there isn’t a gig that interests you, the food and drink in the bar are superb and the staff are that wonderful breed of U.S. people – truly customer-focused, delivering friendly and attentative service. Okay, I’m biased, as my cousin is a barman there, but…

Monday morning dawned bright and sunny again. We headed off early, intending to visit the Legion of Honor before walking to the Golden Gate Bridge. Alas, we hadn’t read our guide books accurately and the museum was shut but it didn’t matter, as we had intended to hike from Land’s End to the bridge and over anyway. I had walked part of this route with my cousin on the previous Sunday but from the bridge to Sutro Baths. This way round was so much better – each corner we turned gave a new view of the bridge and the coastline is beautiful. Here’s the pics, so you can judge for yourself. The paths are clearly marked and once again, I’d factor this in as an absolute must.

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I’m glad we decided not to hire bikes for our bridge visit. Walking over meant that we took our time to take in the architecture, the glow of the ‘International Orange’ paint (note that one down for trivia quizzes!) and the views. It’s only 2km across, so a walk there and back is a breeze (literally – do take something warm, even on a sunny day!)

I would love to showcase Heather’s pictures here, as they are heaps better than mine but you’ll have to make do with what I have!

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Over the next couple of days, we visited three more musuems. The de Young is in Golden Gate Park and is a controversial building, as it was resisted by many locals. I’m a fan of modern and striking architecture in unexpected settings but I struggled to see the beauty in the design. However, inside it really works. We went round with a wonderful docent called Lenore, who introduced us to art we simply might have glossed over had we wandered around unguided. It’s worth considering if you go there. Oh, a do make time to go up to the viewing platform – more great views of the city!

We successfully went back to the Legion of Honor, which has the second largest collection of Rodin sculptures in the world. It was exquisite and I very nearly missed it – all thanks to H for spotting that this was something we definitely should get to.

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Our third museum was the Asian Art Museum, filled with a mouth-watering array of treasures from all over Asia. Again, we joined a docent, who took us round some of the highlights. As in many museums, Heather and I challenged each other to pick just *one* item that we would take home if we could. We squabbled over this gorgeous rhinoceros and she won.

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As I couldn’t snaffle the rhino, I went for a delicate Japanese figure. His enigmatic face makes me happy. I don’t ‘do’ ornaments but if I could lay my hands on something like this, perhaps I would!

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By Carole Scott

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California, San Francisco, Travel Photography

San Francisco: Part one of a great holiday

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I’ve had a busy few weeks, so my poor little blog feels rather neglected. I was expecting sun today but as it hasn’t appeared, I’ve finally had a chance to stay in and do a wee bit of editing.

My trip to San Francisco began with the first of many superb brunches at Kate’s Kitchen, just round the corner from my cousin’s apartment. I don’t have photos but I can tell you that if you’re in the area, it’s a must visit. Featured on the front of Jimmy Smith’s ‘Home Cookin’, it’s a great little place with the best scrambled eggs I’ve ever had.

Food related Blue Note cover no. 1
Food related Blue Note cover no. 1 (Photo credit: tristanf)

Fuelled up, we set off for Marina Green to begin a six mile walk up round by the Golden Gate Bridge, round the coastal path to Land’s End.

The walk gave us a chance to catch up on a few years’ of gossip. It doesn’t matter a jot that I’m 19 years older than Andrew; we have heaps to talk about. I did manage to look at view after view of the bridge, though. I’m sure someone has written a great book about the psychology of bridges, investigating why they have such an impact on us? It’s not just the fantastic engineering; there’s something that goes much much deeper than that. Whatever the deep-seated fascination, the Golden Gate really does have a visual pull and I took too many photos. Here’s my gallery:

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Our end goal was Cliff House, the bistro complex on the site of the old Sutro Baths. It’s a stunning location. With spectacular views of the setting sun, we had a hoot of an evening. A friend of Andrew’s works there, so we sat at the bar, noshing on really rather gorgeous food including a scrummy tuna tartare. Entertainment was provided by a very good-looking guy who ‘races powerboats’. I missed a cue early on in the conversation (old age; getting deaf) and thought he meant speedboats, actual boats that people sit in. Nope. We’re talking remote controlled boats; the kind that sad whiskery guys put on park ponds on Sunday mornings. I’m sure it was all BS, as believe me, I had a wee look around the internet and couldn’t find any evidence of him or the well-paid professional circuit he was ‘leading’ in. But it was entertaining stuff, particularly when he said I could ‘take’ his number in case I wanted to hook up later in the week. I didn’t laugh. I played nice.

A fun end to a superb first day of sight-seeting. The hike was the perfect way to start a San Francisco trip – it cleared the jet lag and gave me heaps of views of that international orange bridge.

Join me next time, when I’ll be off to get back to the Land in Humboldt County.

By Carole Scott

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California, San Francisco, Travel Tips

Top tips for San Francisco

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English: Japanese Tea Garden, San Francisco
English: Japanese Tea Garden, San Francisco (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I’ve been so busy since returning from California on Monday that I’m not geared up for blogging with pics yet.

So I thought I would share my top tips before I forget them, as some are quite small but useful.

Number one recommendation: Go to Glide on Sunday morning.

Glide Memorial SF - Easter Celebration - 19
Glide Memorial SF – Easter Celebration – 19 (Photo credit: chrisheuer)

Inspiring, moving and downright uplifting. I’m an atheist and I can tell you that it didn’t matter one bit. It’s the living example of compassion, tolerance and community I’ve ever seen. Marvellous singing from a choir as diverse as you would expect from San Francisco and some of the best voices singing Gospel I’ve ever heard. My friend Heather and I walked passed the Glide community centre to get to the church and it was sobering; some of the most desperate people you will see all queueing to get a shower and some breakfast. But it was real testament to the superb work this community does. Give generously when the collection comes round – these people deserve it. They podcast each week’s celebration, so here’s the one I went to. 5/19/2013 GLIDE Sunday Celebration

And the rest, in no particular order but just as I remember them:

  • Buy a visitor passport for the Muni, which is the system that runs all the buses and historic cable cars. A week’s pass is $28 and includes unlimited rides on the cable cars, which otherwise cost $6 a pop. You can buy the passports at Walgreens as well as Muni terminals.
  • On that note, don’t attempt to get on the Powell/Mason or Powell/Hyde cars anytime after about 11 a.m. You will queue. For a loooong time. Instead, ride them early OR ride the Van Ness/Market line up and down California. This passes by Grace Cathedral, so comfortably on the tourist routes but nowhere near as busy.
  • Grab a BART transfers booklet when you’re waiting for the BART (the underground system) at San Francisco airport. It has every single bus route in it and was 100% foolproof when planning how to get around. You are unlikely to use the BART itself again but the booklet is brilliant.
  • Enjoy your conversations with strangers. Everywhere we went, people were so open, welcoming and friendly in a way never experienced in Europe. Embrace it, enjoy it.
  • If you’re staying in Nob Hill (Miranda-like snigger permitted at any time), it’s worth going to MyMy for breakfast on California and Larkin. Don’t go after 9.30 on the weekend, as there will be the obligatory queues but weekdays or early it’s the perfect breakfast. Mind you, you don’t have to go far to get a great breakfast in San Francisco!
  • The Jazz Center won’t be in any tourist guides yet, as it opened a couple of months’ ago. Do go, even if you’re not going to a gig, as the bar has great staff, gorgeous wine and lovely food.
  • Don’t try to save dollars by seeing The Legion of Honour and the de Young in one day (you get a discount if you do). These are two fantastic museums, jam-packed with gorgeous stuff (including the biggest collection of Rodin sculptures outside Paris). They need time.
  • The Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park is spectacular. Even if you have just a couple of days, don’t miss it.
  • Oh, an finally, go visit the bar my cousin works in – 15 Romolo. In the alleyway right next to the Beat Museum, it’s a real find. Unusual cocktails and great bar food.
15 Romolo Menu
15 Romolo Menu (Photo credit: atl10trader)

I’m looking forward to spending Sunday editing photos…when a holiday starts with one’s bartender cousin making the perfect Mai Tai, you know it’s going to be lively!

By Carole Scott

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California, San Francisco

San Francisco here I come

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San Francisco sky
San Francisco sky (Photo credit: davidyuweb)

San Francisco is just a week away. I have long wanted to visit the city and I am now getting excited. My experience of the States has all been over on the Eastern side. My Aunt lived in Boston for years and I loved visiting. From there I branched out to Maine, Nantucket and Cape Cod on various trips – beautiful places all.

So now the West Coast beckons. I have a couple of great guide books and I’m beginning to get an idea of the neighbourhoods and highlights. What I really want to know are some of the ‘best kept secrets’ or hidden away delights. I would love that feeling of having stumbled on something that I might have missed had someone not tipped me off.

Any thoughts, lovely people?

p.s. watch out for a huge number of blogs when I get back! I’m hoping for some great photos if I’m lucky.

By Carole Scott

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