San Francisco, CA with Angela

San Francisco

Hotel: Galaria Park Hotel, 191 Sutter Street, nice beds (angela loved the pillows), in the financial district near union square (shopping) and china town, long walk to the bay but we made a day of it and saw the sites along the way.  Avoid the tenderloin district, drug haven.

Sites in Down Town San Fransisco:

·         Fisherman’s warf is along the water Piers 39 to 45, with attractions and restaurants

o   Pier 39 is where you can see seals sunbathing and you can look out on Alcatraz

o   Walking towards Pier 45, you pass Boudin Bread, a stand along building where you can get delicious Clam Chowder in a bread bowl.  You can also get it on the street.

o   Near Pier 45 is the Musee Macanique, a cool museum fulll of old carnival attractions that you can look at and play with

o   Ghirardelli Square, a few blocks from Pier 45, is a famous chocolate factory, they have amazing chocolate sundaes that are pretty expensive but can be shared.  Nearby are old school cable cars

o   In & Out Burger – famous west-coast burger chain, much better than mcdonalds

·         Coit Tower is a look out over the city, you pay to go up and you’re behind plexi-glass. Not sure I’d go up again unless it was a really clear day out or nice sunset

·         Walk through China Town to see the Gate, or Little Italy, for the feel of how they fit in the city

·         Lombard Street is a famous zig zag street that shows up in movies

·         Great Mexican Restaurant: Mamacita (higher end, not burritos), 2317 Chestnut St., in the Marina district

Other areas of the city you should check out:

·         The Mission District: famous for Mexican food, nice near the Mission park but seedy

o   Amazing burritos at Taqueria, on the corner of 18^th and Valencia

·         Haight Street: trendy hippy area with cute shops

·         Golden Gate Park

o   Japanese Tea Gardens – nice, tea with cookies, not very big

o   See buffalo grazing

o   A Dutch Windmill

·         Golden Gat e Bridge (take a bus there, its not a close walk despite who tells you)

Sonoma:

Hotel: Sonoma Inn – very cute bed & breakfast, good breakfast, full of teddy bears, wine and cheese tasting during the afteroon [directions from Galaria Hotel to Sonoma Inn – 1 hr]

·         On the way into Sonoma, stop for fresh delicious strawberries sold right out of the patch on West Watmaugh Road off of Arnold Drive, it’s a little stand you just pull off the road for

·         Great Restaurant: Girl & The Fig, 110 Spain Street, near Sonoma City Park

·         Whole town collects for a Farmer Market every Tuesday in Sonoma City Park Plaza

·         Hiking trails to outlooks overlooking Sonoma; follow 1^st St. West north of the city

·         Wineries we went to:

o   Kunde Estate Winery – huge estate designed to create numerous climates to develop varying styles of wine, including carves carved into the mountainside

o   Ledson Winery – A giant castle with a market inside, great stop for lunch

o   St. Francis Winery – Merlots and Chardoneys produced in an old Cathedral

o   VJB Vineyards – a small boutique with wines sold exclusively onsite

Napa Valley

All we did here was visit Sterling Vinyard.  It’s way north on the road through Napa, maybe 1.5 hrs from Sonoma, but it was a unique experience.  You take a gondola up to the Winery high up on the hills, so you get a pretty cool view.

Muir Woods

Right on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge is Muir Woods, a relatively small but easy to access Redwood Forest.  It’s popular because it’s so close to San Francisco, but you can spend as much or as little time as you want following various hiking trails through the giant Redwood trees.  A great stop on the way back from Sonoma. [driving directions from Sonoma Inn to Muir Woods – 1 hr]

Point Reyes

An option if you have time is to take a detour from Sonoma West to Highway 1.  This is a highway that follows the coast along the Pacific Ocean.  It’s a beautiful drive but it makes the drive over an hour longer.  Additionally, if you take Highway 1, you’ll pass Point Reyes National Park, which is supposed to have a beautiful lighthouse and view, which we didn’t see due to fog.  Driving into Point Reyes is a long detour as well.

Santa Cruz

Cute Restaurant:  Gabriella Café, 910 Cedar Street

Santa Cruz Beach with amusement park on boardwalk

Natural Bridge State Park near Santa Cruz Beach

Drive south towards Monteray on Highway 1 to get to the 17 mile drive, a famous drive with 21 outlooks of varying degrees of interest, including Pebble Beach