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    • Bicycling San Francisco: What Kind of Cyclist Are You?

    April 9th, 2013 · Bikes

    For a city known for its hills, I have no idea how or why bicycles took off as a major method of transportation in San Francisco. But, the San Francisco bike messenger is a city icon right up there with the Silicon Valley entrepreneur and locavore chef. Particularly within the past few years, though, it seems like everybody here is getting into cycling, and it’s particularly a great way for tourists to get out and see the real San Francisco.

    Of course, not all cyclists are created equal. Keep reading to figure out what kind of cyclist you are, along with my tailored-for-you recommendations for touring SF on two wheels.

     

     

    The Lycra Road Warrior

    This might be you if:

    1. Obviously, you own a lycra bicycle outfit.

    2. You actually did some research before buying your bicycle. And then went and paid real money for it.

    3. You care about things like drafting and electrolytes.

     

    You should consider renting from:

    The Sports Basement, The Presidio

    San Francisco Bike Rentals, Fisherman’s Wharf

     

    Where to go:

    Make like most cyclists in this city and head to Marin Country. Don’t be mistaken, this isn’t the bike ride over the Golden Gate Bridge into Sausalito that’s plastered all over the Blazing Saddles bike maps (even though that’s not for the faint of heart either). Serious cyclists take it to the winding cliff side highways of the north bay, making their way through seaside villages, dairy farms, and redwood groves. For a short ride, consider cycling to the Marin Headlands for dizzying views of San Francisco and the Golden Gate. If you want to make it epic, plan a trek to Point Reyes Station for lunch at Cowgirl Creamery or at the oyster farms on Tamalas Bay.

     

     

    The Urban Cyclist

    This might be you if:

    1. You’ve taken part in a Critical Mass ride. Or, you know what Critical Mass is and choose not to partake in it.

    2. You bought the cheapest road bike you could find on Craigslist and you plan on riding it into the ground.

    3. You cycle as an alternative to driving or riding transit.

     

    You should consider renting from:

    Streets of San Francisco Bike Tours and Rentals, Hayes Valley

    Bike Hut, South Beach

     

    Where to go:

    You could go to San Francisco’s Mission District and hang out with fellow urban cyclists. Or, if you want something a bit more interesting, I’d recommend heading over to the industrial waterfront of up-and-coming Dogpatch. This narrow slice of a neighborhood, three miles south of Union Square, is bordered by the mountainous Potrero Hill on one side and the working piers of San Francisco Bay on the other. You can cruise past desolate urban warehouses and piers, maybe catching the phenomenal sight of a 200 ft tall cruise ship docked for repairs, then head inland to 3rd Street for some of San Franciso’s best new restaurants.

    If you do make it down there, make sure to check out Warm Water Cove for wildflowers taking over abandoned industrial lots, crumbling warehouses, and impromptu public art displays.

     

     

    The Beach Cruiser

    This might be you if:

    1. You cycle when you’re on vacation

    2. You like to cruise nice and slow, preferably on a boardwalk.

    3. You don’t want any part of hills or rush hour roads.

     

    You should consider renting from:

    Parkwide Bike Rentals and Tours

    Golden Gate Park Bike and Skate

     

    Where to go:

    Of course, you could go bicycling along the Marina; it’s a favorite pastime for visitors to San Francisco. With flat streets and Golden Gate Bridge views and some of San Francisco’s finest restaurants only a few blocks away, the Marina is a no-brainer.

    But, if you’d like to do something a little bit more local but just as fantastic, head to Golden Gate Park and Ocean Beach. On Sundays, San Francisco shuts down JFK Drive, the park’s major thoroughfare, to auto trafic, and the entire city floods in on bicycles, roller blades, unicycles, and even tricycles. It’s pretty much the happiest place on Earth.

    After cycling through Eucalyptus groves and past the Golden Gate Park buffalo range and rose garden, you’ll come to San Francisco’s 10-mile long sandy beachfront: Ocean Beach. From there, you can cruise on the wide cement boardwalk, stop for lunch at the Beach Chalet, pick up sandwiches from nearby Safeway for a beach picnic, or head a few blocks north for an elegant lunch at the Cliff House or a ramble through the Sutro Baths ruins.

     

    Additional Resources

    Check out SF Travel’s Top Five Bike Rentals.

    For specific route information, check out Google Maps Bicycle Directions. Click on Get Directions and the Bicycle icon to see all of San Francisco’s bike lanes and bike paths.

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    Human Powered, Eco-Friendly Rides

    March 6th, 2013 · San Francisco Tours

    San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf area is a destination for a large majority of visitors, and many take advantage of the historic streetcar service along the Embarcadero.  The distance is enough for a very vigorous walk, but the streetcar is much more convenient.  Increasingly however, visitors find that the Muni public streetcars to *leave* Fisherman’s Wharf are consistently overfilled and with very long lines.  We’ve seen this personally and had similar feedback from many other San Francisco visitors.

     

    The good news is that there is a fun way to get from the Wharf (or any San Francisco destination) along the Embarcadero, including AT&T Park for Giants baseball!   Pedicabs are “human-powered” carts that take you around the City at rates that are generally similar to a taxicab.  The difference is that you get fresh air, some useful advice about the City, and help out someone to stay in shape and make some extra money.  It’s a unique and fun way to see the City, and particularly convenient along the Embarcadero’s stretch from Fisherman’s Wharf to the Ferry Building and on to the San Francisco Giants’ AT&T Park.

    Pedicabs can also offer tours, and provide friendly information on San Francisco, while enjoying an eco-friendly ride.  The typical cost to go from Fisherman’s Wharf to Embarcadero Center is approximately $20 for 2 adults.  The maximum a pedicab can safely carry is two adults and two children.  After that, you need a 2nd pedicab.  Typical areas for the pedicabs are along the Embarcadero – and you can also ride to most major hotels throughout Union Square, Chinatown, and around the City.

    One of the cooler companies to try out (all pedicabs are not the same) is Golden Gate Pedicabs.  Look for them around the Ferry Buiding and Wharf or better yet, pre-reserve a ride so you won’t have to wait at 415-777-6999.

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    City Guides – San Francisco’s Best Walking Tours

    March 1st, 2013 · San Francisco Tours

    What if you could get a tour of San Francisco – from a real resident – and (mostly) free?  It sounds too good to be true but that is exactly what San Francisco’s City Guides provide.  City Guides shares detailed walking tours of San Francisco neighborhoods and the only cost is a totally voluntary donation.  Tours are scheduled almost every day, throughout the day.   Some of the most popular tour locations (there are over 30 walks to choose from) include Coit Tower, Ferry Building, the Japanese Tea Garden, North Beach, Chinatown, and the historic Palace Hotel.  With an emphasis on San Francisco’s rich history back to the Gold Rush days, these tours are a step above the relatively generic tours offered by most bus companies.

    You don’t even need to reserve these tours – just show up at the meeting spot, unless you have a group of 8 people or more.  Larger groups (8 or more people) require an advance reservation to maximize the quality of the tour.  Tours are a combination of the popular San Francisco landmarks and off-the-beaten-path “secrets” of San Francisco.  The typical tour lasts 1.5 hours to 2 hours.  These are walking tours, so be ready for healthy exercise – rain or shine.  The one thing not allowed on the tour is your dog, cat, or gecko lizard!   Pets are not a part of the City Guides tours, please leave them at home during the tour.  City Guides is a non-profit part of the San Francisco Parks volunteers, and there are over 200 active guides that can show you the best of San Francisco.

    Past visitors to City Guides tours RAVE about the passionate tours, the tour guides who truly LOVE San Francisco, and the high level of detail in the tours.   SF Travel is a huge fan of City Guides and a strong supporter of their mission to inform visitors and locals on the history, beauty, and unique sights in San Francisco.

    Interested in other San Francisco tours?   Check out the complete SF Travel guide to tours here.

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    Kung-Fu Hustle: San Francisco Style

    February 26th, 2013 · San Francisco Tours

    One day per week, you can enjoy the most vigorous and unique tour to reach San Francisco’s Coit Tower.  San Francisco’s Shaolin Chinese Center offers a weekly opportunity to walk and jog from Chinatown up to the heights of Coit Tower views.  This cardio workout includes stops for Tai Chi, breathing exercises, and meditation and some of the most scenic spots in San Francisco.

    You’ll need to be in reasonable physical shape, as the hills and stairways up to Coit Tower can be quite steep.  The hustle portion is just one mile of the 1.5 hour tour priced at $15.  The walk / jog tour includes sweeping views of San Francisco Bay, Alcatraz, North Beach, and Chinatown.   Each tour concludes with compliemntary fresh fruit at the center in Chinatown.

    Shaolin is San Francisco’s premier kung-fu school and the weekly walk to Coit Tower is a unique event not to be missed.   Learn more on all of the tours across San Francisco with SF Travel.

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    Dylans Tours – San Francisco Reviewed.

    February 26th, 2013 · San Francisco Tours

    There are a multitude of tour companies offering paid tours of San Francisco, from huge bus operators down to individuals who will meet you for a walking tour.  Choosing the best tour company is never easy for your special trip to San Francisco.  One tour company that we recommend checking out is Dylan’s.  Dylan’s Tours is truly a family-owned business owned by two brothers who are both native San Franciscans.  The tour options include bicycle options, which are a great combination with the guided tours.  The primary tour is $65 for 10am to 3pm (5 hours).  You can be picked up in the North Beach or Union Square neighborhoods in a small bus that seats up to 14 passengers.  The tour includes Muir Woods which is an additional $7 entrance fee (not to be missed!).  The tour includes many of the best spots to see in San Francisco in a whirl-wind visit – with some stops ranging from 5 minutes up to a full hour:

    • Muir Woods
    • Painted Lady architecture homes of Alamo Square
    • Neighborhoods:  Mission and Castro Districts, Plus Marina District, Haight Street, and Pacific Heights
    • Golden Gate Bridge and Sausalito

    If you are in a hurry with limited time, a similar tour with a subset of stops is just two hours for $50 and includes a free bike rental.  One of the primary differences of the shorter tour is eliminating the trip to Sausalito and Muir Woods (over the Golden Gate Bridge) in Marin County.

    Dylan’s also offers private tours with a 3 hour minimum at $80/hour for up to 5 riders.  Reviews of the private tours are very positive and can be a great option for a family that wants to customize the visit.  You can rent bikes for $22 per day, which is one of the lowest costs in San Francisco, or $7 per hour.  Bikes include many add-on conveniences, including locks, helmets, maps, and a carrying pouch.

    Overall, people very much like Dylan’s tours based on feedback from real customers.  With so many tour companies operating from huge to tiny size – Dylan’s offers personalized service in a medium-sized company that has great feedback from customers.

    Learn more on every tour that San Francisco has to offer with San Francisco Travel.

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    Tastes of the City Tours – Reviewed

    February 25th, 2013 · San Francisco Tours

    Choosing where to have your culinary experiences can be one of the toughest decisions you have to make while on a trip to San Francisco. Luckily, the Local Tastes of the City Tours has taken the guesswork out of deciding on meals and snacks for you so each flavor and dish can simply be savored.

    These excursions cover a few city blocks and allow guests to the city to be lead around by season foodie experts, sampling an array of delicious local specialties along the way. For instance, get started over a freshly roasted cup of coffee, indulge in some freshly baked bread then have a sample of award-winning chocolates. Options for culinary neighborhood exploration include Chinatown, Little Italy and customized night tours that blend together the best stops of the day adventures. No need to worry about lunch of dinner afterwards, as the hearty food and drinks during the tour are all included and very satisfying.

    Not all culinary tours of San Francisco offer the wide array of options and possibilities that Local Tastes does. It can be easy to take the tourist route and settle on the most popular restaurants, but these excursions challenge visitors to brush shoulders with residents and support local artisans who have a penchant for pastries and other delights, With this leisurely style and wealth of information, taking one of the tours can be the ideal avenue to indulge when wanting to try a little bit of everything in this flavorful city.

     

    Learn more on every tour that San Francisco has to offer for your unique tastes, at SF Travel.

    , Copyright SFTravel LLC

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    Top San Francisco Places to Enjoy on Saint Patrick’s Day

    February 20th, 2013 · Holidays in San Francisco

    San Francisco is a mecca of fun events for St. Patricks Day. There’s something here for you whether your style is kissing the Irish at a local pub or visiting the historic St. Patrick’s church in the heart of town.

    The San Francisco St. Paddy’s Day Parade

    The most popular St. Patrick’s Day event in San Francisco is, of course, the St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Festival. The theme of the 2012 parade is Irish San Francisco: Past, Present and Future – and there’s a lot of history to celebrate considering that this year marks the 160th anniversary of this parade! The parade starts at 2nd street and market at 11:30 in the morning on St. Patrick’s Day and continues to Civic Center Plaza. The plaza itself is where the festival takes place. It runs from 10 – 5 and includes music, food and traditional Irish arts and crafts. Entry to the festival is free and all are welcome.

    Other Top Picks for a San Francisco St. Patrick’s Day

    • St. Patrick Historic Church. St. Patrick’s is a Catholic Church in the SoMA with a regular mass but it’s also a historic attraction worth peeking into regardless of your religious affiliations. The beautiful green and gold decor and large stained glass windows are awe-inspiring. There is a small display at the entry of the church explaining the history and architecture of the building since it was first created in the mid-nineteenth century. This church also hosts a special St. Patrick’s Day dinner and dance.
    • Crossroads Irish-American Festival. This is actually a month-long festival celebrating Irish-American heritage with a variety of different events. 2012 marks the ninth year of this event with activities beginning on March 3rd. There are no specific events on St. Patrick’s Day itself but there is an open mic on March 15th and a poetry reading on March 22nd as well as all of the other Irish celebration options throughout the month.

    Best Irish Pubs in San Francisco

    There are numerous Irish pubs in San Francisco and every single one of them is a jam-packed place of fun on St. Patrick’s Day. It’s tough to choose one but some of the best San Francisco Irish bars are:

    • Ireland’s 32. This bar has been serving up pub grub and drinks for thirty years and shows no signs of slowing down. It’s a little out of the way from the usual tourist crowd so you’ll find mostly locals here enjoying the happy hour deals, live music and other events offered here. A great place for a high-energy St. Patrick’s evening.
    • Kennedy’s. This off-the-wall bar in North Beach combines an Irish pub with Indian food dining. It sounds weird but it’s a really fun place that is also very popular with the locals and you’ll find plenty of people hanging out around the pool tables here on St. Patrick’s Day. From here it’s not a far walk to the bars on Grant Street; a popular choice there on St. Patrick’s Day is Maggie McGarrys.
    • The Irish Bank. If you want to go to a bar and restaurant that has a traditional Irish pub feeling then you’ll want to find The Irish Bank which is located in an alley in the Financial District. You’ll get to enjoy a little bit of history on display here while you celebrate the holiday. It’s a busy place on St. Patrick’s Day since it’s located not so far from the parade activities.
    • The Plough and The Stars. If you want to get down and dance to some traditional Celtic music for St. Patrick’s Day then your best pick is this hot spot, frequently voted a best San Francisco Irish bar. There is music here almost every night with a special event on St. Patrick’s Day itself.
    • Napper Tandy. The Mission is always a popular neighborhood for bar hopping. It’s not typically thought of as a place for Irish pubs but there are a couple of good ones down there including Napper Tandy where Irish drinking culture meets a Latin twist in a high-energy fun environment.

    Off-the-Beaten Path St. Patrick’s Day

    • Visit the United Irish Cultural Center of San Francisco. This is a place with a wide variety of classes and local events. On St. Patrick’s Day they offer lunch and dinner (traditional corned beef and cabbage) and a space to hang out to watch the Gaelic Games together on TV. The center is located close to Golden Gate Park and just a few blocks from the beach so it gives you a chance to see some sights while you’re in the area.
    • Annual Green Fest Block Party. The Irish Cultural Center also hosts this annual Irish-themed block party at 45th Ave and Sloat Blvd. Hear Irish music, see Irish dancing and enjoy the day near the beach at this family-friendly event. The 2012 event is on March 13th and runs from 11-4.
    • Celtic Music in Berkeley. Take BART across the bay to visit the historic Freight and Salvage Coffee House for a night of traditional Irish music. For 2012′s St. Patrick’s Day the performance is by the Black Brothers from “Ireland’s foremost family of song”. The band includes an Irish step dancer and accordion player as well as a fiddle virtuoso.

    The Right Hotels for St. Patty’s Day

    If you want to be close to the St. Patrick’s Day parade action then you should choose a hotel near the parade route. Top choices near the beginning of the parade include the Palace Hotel, the St. Regis Hotel and The Westin San Francisco. Top choices near the Civic Center festival include The Hotel Majestic, Queen Anne Hotel and Renoir Hotel.

    Are you more interested in being close to the nightlife rather than the daytime action? The Union Square and Civic Center hotels are still good but you might want to also explore your options in North Beach and the Fisherman’s Wharf area. That will put you close to Kennedy’s Irish Pub and within walking distance of the bars on Grant Street. Top choices here include San Remo Hotel, Hyatt Fisherman’s Wharf and The Marriott.

    Would you rather be out near the ocean for some of the family-friendly activities? Top choices there include Days Inn at the Beach, Oceanview Motel and Sunset Motel. Another good lodging option on the west side of town is Stanyan Park Hotel. It’s not as close to the beach as the others but puts you in fairly close proximity to the Irish bars in the Sunset neighborhood (such as Ireland’s 32) as well as the west coast family activities. Laurel Inn is another option in this area.

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    San Francisco’s Bold Italic

    February 19th, 2013 · Reviews, Travel News

    What words say and mean are important, but how they are presented with images and beautiful photos truly make them stand out. Such in the case with The Bold Italic – one of the web’s premiere sites for exploring what makes San Francisco tick. With a keen eye for graphic design, illustration and telling one hell of a tale, the approach this melting pot of San Fran culture takes is refreshing and a thrill to dive into. It’s perfect for an audience that appreciates humor, biting wit and bringing attention to the weird and wonderful.

    Three aspects in the city are highlighted, including stories shared by locals, crazy events taking place in the area and where to pick up some of the most interesting and well crafted souvenirs and goods. Each category is updated often to ensure everyone is getting the latest information, with each story usually paired with images created by city artists.

    Not only can users find fun places to shop, see art, hear music and more, the site offers a rare insight into the small idiosyncrasies that make San Francisco unique. Learn why there is a plastic bag ban throughout the city or how to best blend into the microbrew scene at a neighborhood bar. Besides what to try when traveling, intelligent and fresh contributors offer their takes on the latest news, phone apps and other tidbits to further explore the City by the Bay’s mindset.

    While the idea is to mostly appeal to a local resident crowd, sites like The Bold Italic are perfect for travelers who thrive on discovering gems off the beaten path. People can find the top five things to do in San Francisco anywhere, but to truly get a feel for the city and it’s special personality, diving deep through the quips, articles and advice will do a world of good for any adventurous visitor. The spirit of a destination is usually found not in it’s impressive architectural or historical landmarks, but more so in the locals themselves who call it their home. Through The Bold Italic, travelers can immerse themselves in the city and feel as if they’ve already met a group of like-minded friends willing to show them around.

    , Copyright SFTravel LLC

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    Chinatown Behind the Scenes: The Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory

    January 21st, 2013 · Activities

    San Francisco’s Chinatown is a sight to behold. And that’s true even if you’ve lived here a while. Once you get past the trinket shops on Grant Street and the grocers on Stockton Street, you might be wondering how else to tour around Chinatown. Well, it’s time to head for the alleys and stop in at the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory.

    Chinatown’s alleys and side streets offer a not-at-all-hidden alternative to getting around, with colorful traditional Chinatown architecture, Chinese temples, family association halls, and bakeries.  Even though the alleys may only be a block away from the throngs of tourists, they receive little to no foot traffic. You could spend an entire morning wandering through the mellow maze of streets, taking in the ornate ironwork and painted balconies.

    Tucked into one of Chinatown’s oldest alleys stands one of the only fortune cookie factory left in San Francisco: the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory. A dark, narrow gorge cut between city blocks, Ross Alley was once home to brothels, gambling houses, and billiard parlours. San Francisco Magazine once called it ““ronchiest [sic], most fetid, worst ventilated thoroughfare in Chinatown.”  Turning the corner onto Ross Alley’s grey, slick tunnel , its sordid past feels close at hand…except for the jarring and overwhelming smell of vanilla cookies.

    At the north end of the alley, with pagoda-inspired arches along its façade, you’ll see the sign for the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory.

    If you’re a fan of fortune cookies, you probably already know that they have very little to do with China, and more to do with Japan. Fortune-cookie-adjacent wafers have been found in bakeries outside Kyoto, and many of the first American bakers who’ve claimed to “invent” the fortune cookie were Japanese immigrants.

    Yeah, so who actually invented the fortune cookie is quite the controversy! (In addition to being another notch in the San Francisco-Los Angeles city rivalry.) In turn-of-the-century San Francisco, the landscape designer who created Golden Gate Park‘s Japanese Tea Garden, Makoto Hagiwara, began serving “tea cakes” (they weren’t folded but did contain fortunes) to park visitors. Meanwhile, in 1918 Los Angeles, David Jung handed out cookies filled with Bible verses to unemployed men. A few Japanese bakers in Los Angeles around the same time also claim to have invented the cookie. It is still a mystery.

    What’s not contested is that in the 1960s, Edward Louis, who ran San Francisco’s Lotus Fortune Cookie Factory on Pacific Avenue, invented the completely automated fortune cookie machine. It not only made the cookies, but used air to blow fortunes into each cookie before folding it.

    With the industrialization of the fortune cookie, its popularity took off. Now, more than three billion fortune cookies are made each year, mostly in the United States. The largest manufacturer, Wonton Food Inc in Queens, NY, attempted to market the cookies in China as “genuine American fortune cookies”. They didn’t take off. As the New York Times reported, Chinese reactions ranged from confusion to amusement to “Americans are so strange, why are they putting pieces of paper in their cookies?”

    The mystery continued as I faced the large Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory sign. Clearly, I was in the right spot, but I had no idea which unmarked door led to the factory. This is probably because I still had ideas about what a Fortune Cookie Factory would look like – something along the lines of what you’d see on the Discovery Channel. Conveyor belts shuttling sugar and vanilla then batter then wafers through cauldrons and between temperature controlled rooms. Workers in white uniforms. Maybe booties would be involved.

    Staring at two possible doorways, I very nearly opted for the one with steps leading down to a fluorescent lit basement, the word “OPEN” scrawled on a piece of paper above the archway.

    Luckily, I peeked into the other doorway and a woman sitting at a large black iron press urged me inside. With arms and hands rhythmically folding wafers into the familiar fortune cookie shape, she nodded towards a box of rejects and told me to take some.

    I munched away on the flat disks and took in the scene. There are two machines in the factory. Each is cylinder with small iron presses around the circumference — like tiny petals on a hulking sunflower. Each tiny press operates like a waffle iron. A tube drops a dollop of batter onto the bottom iron, the top iron clamps down around the batter, and the machine turns one click. When the iron disk has made one rotation around the cylinder, the cookie is ready and the bottom and top  presses separate to reveal a still-soft wafer. A worker peels the wafer off the press, inserts the fortune, and folds the wafer into the shape of a fortune cookie. She then places it on a special cooling rack to harden.

    You can stand there for as long as you like, but taking photos will set you back $.50. Once you’re ready to go, make sure to pick up a bag of fortune cookies to share. I opted for a bag of 6 for $1.

    Back in Ross Alley, I leaned up against a brick wall and cracked one open. “You will have a long life.” Uninspired, maybe, but I’ll take it.

    *************************************************

     Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory

    56 Ross Alley, San Francisco, CA

    Hours: 9am to 6pm everyday

    Admission: Free (but $.50 if you’d like to take photos)

     by Maria/Far Out City. Maria writes about San Francisco and urban travel over at Far Out City. All photos copyright by 2013 Far Out City.

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    San Francisco on the Blogs

    January 21st, 2013 · Reviews, san francisco

    As travelers wander on into the new year, the adventure-seekers in San Fransisco continue to flourish and thrive. Bloggers from all over the world are singing praises about this city and write to share their own exciting experiences while checking out the tourist hotspots, relaxing at trendy cafes and blending in with the local outdoor enthusiasts.

    Don’t Ever Look Back

    It’s not often you get the power and opinion of a dynamic duo in one post. But couple Amy and Kieron in their blog have tackled more than one dozen countries and plan to jet set a lot more in the future from their native home of Australia. When they visited San Francisco, they compiled their favorite things they did and saw as outsiders in this fun city. They recommend a day cruise through San Fran Bay, spending some time in the modern art museum and riding bikes across the Golden Gate Bridge, to name a few.

    Thinking Nomads

    This blog has found a way to highlight San Francisco’s European flair by pointing out some great hotspots to explore while traveling to this destination. They have especially focused on the city’s classic and elegant culinary delights that mimic styles from countries such as Italy, Spain, France and England. This is done by visiting tea rooms, bustling marketplaces and cozy cafes that all exude a European flair in Fog City.

    Easy Hiker

    Locals and visitors to San Fransisco can use this handy post written by Debbie for Easy Hiker to scope out their new favorite trails in and around the city. Not only is this area known for urban wonders and landmarks, but there is also plenty of nature to be admired as well. Specifically, she explains a trip on the Canyon View Trail in the Sunol Regional Wilderness, only a few minutes away from the downtown area. Hikers can spot plenty of wildlife and beautiful Californian vegetation.

    The Chronicles of Stu

    By taking a more visual approach, this post features some amazing shots of Alcatraz taken by Stu the Canadian. He and his partner take a boat over to the old prison and take a classic audio tour while snapping copious amounts of photos. It can give potential future guests a great sense of what to expect on their upcoming trip.

    , Copyright SFTravel LLC

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