HIP TRIPS: 48 HOURS IN SAN FRANCISCO
48 hours in San Francisco may not be a long time to see all it has to offer but we hit the beaten, and unbeaten, tracks and compiled our favourite finds.
March in San Francisco offers up a mixed climate of torrential downpours and high winds (at least on our visit) to sunny blue skies and sea breezes. Whatever the weather it is a city with plenty to keep you occupied from the sightseeing, climbing of extremely hilly streets (make sure you are fit) to the shopping and dining.
Refreshingly the Californian city isn’t too fashion-conscious or hipster central and has a comfortable air with a seemingly welcoming attitude to visitors. If you are sitting in a bar locals will happily strike up a conversation – take the opportunity to ask where to go and what to see – they’ll only be too happy to tell you.
Eat
For Breakfast: The BEST pastries are served in the middle of Union Square at Emporio Rulli Caffe. This little eatery in the the small park is filled with the aroma of quality coffee. Sit outside and watch commuters, shoppers and business people pass by as you tuck in to a gorgeous handmade Italian artisan pastry, a fresh fruit salad and finished off with a morning Cappuccino. If you find yourself there in the afternoon or early evening (it closes at 7pm)you can also get a cool glass of Vino.
Emporio Rulli Caffe, Union Square.
For Lunch: Chinese Food in China Town makes sense but if you just want quick and cheap to keep you energised for walking up all those hills then don’t be scared to head in to what appears to be someone’s kitchen but is actually Sam Wo’s.
It certainly won’t rate as the friendliest (our waitress was a no-nonsense straight to the point kind of lady) or the prettiest (you’ll have to pass through raw chicken feet, up a dicey staircase to be seated at a rough table with even rougher decor) but you will get plentiful food in this cafe style eatery. It is busy with locals and tourists who sit politely watching as their food arrives in the dumbwaiter and is unceremoniously dumped infront of them.
Go for the experience, the value and to see if you can get a smile out of any of the staff.
Sam Wo, 813 Washington Street. Area: Chinatown.
For Dinner: It is touristy no doubt but the place to get San Francisco’s favourite dish; Clam Chowder, is down at Fisherman’s Wharf. You may pay over the odds for it around the Harbour that overlooks Alcatraz but its all part of the fun and is also where you get to pick up your tacky souvenir fridge magnets and I heart San Fran t-shirts. The restaurants pepper the seafront and are plentiful.
Bloodhound
Drink
Hobson’s Choice: Feeling the effects of the night before? Then a climb up the hill to Haight Ashbury will soon help clear that. When you are on the level again a quick dive in to Hobson’s Choice Victorian Punch House for a DIY Bloody Mary will definitely hit the spot.
A double Vodka from the bar will set you back about $4 – turn around and you’ll get to make up a Bloody Mary exactly how you like; tomato juice, Clamato juice (that is tomato juice with clam juice), celery, olives, spices, Worcestershire Sauce and Tobasco – along with plenty of other stuff we are sure shouldn’t go in a Bloody Mary – are on offer to get you back to the land of the living.
Find yourself there during the week then 5-7pm is happy hour where it is just $2.50 for a beer.
Hobson’s Choice, 1601 Haight Street, Area: Haight Ashbury
Lucky 13: If you feel like a little bit of rock music with your double Jack & Coke then Lucky 13‘s got the perfect Juke Box. It would be fair to say it has the feel of a dive bar but without the scary locals who look like they might want to hit you. Loud and brash mixed with dark and dingy you’ll find mis-behaving students, nonchalant locals and pool playing booze hounds. They like their beer in Lucky 13 with 26 varieties on tap – a good selection of which are Belgian and German.
Lucky 13, 2140 Market Street. Area: Near Castro
Bloodhound: A murder of Blackbirds on the ceiling and rustic raw wood throughout this SoMa hangout give it enough touches to make it look good without any over-styling. An extremely well stocked bar of spirits you’ll also get stout on tap. If you get hungry you are welcome to order in a pizza otherwise sit back and enjoy the arty crowd that takes over the space each evening.
Even the bar’s website is great offering a rolling juke box of songs including Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood’s version of Jackson – now you know that has to be good!
Bloodhound, 1145 Folsom Street. Area: SoMa
Shopping
Union Square is the shopping area of the city but it is pretty much the same as anywhere; GAP, Urban Outfitters and a Ben Sherman are all in situ along with Macys and a pretty substantial Westfield shopping centre. It’s great if you want high street or designer wear but there is little else on offer.
For independence, kooky and quirky head to the Mission district. Here you’ll get great clothes, vintage and thrift stores (with bric-a-brac and furniture) and gift stores. Candy Store (3153 16th Street) has a nice selection of contemporary up and coming designers mixed with cool gifts and accessories if you want something a little individual.
Similar to Mission check the area of Haight Ashbury. Once you get through the hippy tie-dye it too offers up a good selection of stores mixed with the cooler end of the chains. The stores in Haight also like to mix up their clothing offer with art exhibitions. A look inside RVCA (1485 Haight St) will include window installations (pictured above) and a gallery of visual art in the back of the store while Super7 (1427 Haight St) may sell designer toys, comics and apparel but also showcases illustration. And while you are in that direction just down the road Upper Fillmore Street has some nice boutiques that are certainly worth a visit.
Where to Stay
W HOTEL: The hotel with an amazing view is W. Located in SoMa (South of Market) its neighbour is the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art – a perfectly stylish partner.
W Hotel
W San Francisco has 32 floors and if you are lucky enough to be near the top you’ll be rewarded with a gorgeous vista of the city or the bay; a great place to have pre-dinner drinks in your room to watch the sun set and the lights begin to twinkle across the city on your cushioned banquette (or a vibrantly colored window nook that offers the perfect seating if you will – pictured below).
The rooms are large and gorgeously decorated. Clean lines and crisp white sheets are complimented with turquoise, hot pinks and lime greens. A large flat screen TV and of course an iPod docking station are standard – there is even a desk and a foot massager if the city walks get too much for you.
Each visitor is offered a free service to give them a lift to a place within a 4 mile radius but many of the fashionable crowd at this hotel will make good use of the lobby bar and the XYZ restaurant for some fine contemporary Californian cuisine.
W, 181 Third Street. Area: SoMa
HOTEL DIVA: Set just off Union Square Hotel Diva is as central as it gets. Opposite the beautiful art deco Geary Theatre it is surrounded by diners, bars and commercial art galleries. The front of house staff will tell you the best places to eat and sort out your reservations if you can’t manage to get in to the bustling Mexican bar and restaurant that is attached next door.
Hotel Diva
The rooms at Diva have been given an industrial but stylish edge; the sculpted steel headrests are contrasted well with the leather sofas and splashes of colour give the rooms an individual feel.
Throughout the hotel there are free to use Internet lounges with colour co-ordinated fixtures with complimentary tea & coffee.
Hotel Diva, 440 Geary Street. Area: Union Square
What to do
The tourist thing: Jump on a tram at Powell Street. But don’t queue at the terminal like everyone else – be a little cheeky and jump on a little further up the hill where there is no-one waiting.
Get the Powell and Hyde Tram so you can jump off at the famous bendy Lombard Street. Marvell at who lives in the houses with the great views but sympathise with them at “how annoying it must be with all these tourists hanging around all the time”.
From there it is downhill (thank goodness) to Fisherman’s Wharf where you can warm up from the sea breeze with a serving of hot and tasty clam chowder or catch the ferry over to the infamous Alcatraz Island.
City Lights
The Beat thing: Feel like emulating the beat poets of the 50′s like Kerouac and Ginsberg? Then head to City Lights Bookstore. The North Beach store published some of the defining literary works of the era like Ginsberg’s Howl and Other Poems.
Still a mecca for all things beat the store is opposite a saloon called Vesuvio. Established in 1948 it remains a shrine to the Beat Generation with images of the stars in the bar. The decor looks like it probably hasn’t changed much since it opened but that adds to its cosy charm.
Vesuvio, 255 Columbus at Jack Kerouac Alley – Area: North Beach
City Lights Bookstore, 261 Columbus Avenue at Broadway – Area: North Beach
Tips
You need to be decently fit to head to San Francisco to avoid the start of a heart attack when walking up some of the streets. The inclines are so harsh on some of the hills there are steps and railings to help you climb.
The homeless problem in the city is vast. Thousands of homeless live on the streets and downtown (around Union Square, SoMa, Tenderloin) and while they will have little to do with you it is hard to see so many unfortunate people living that way.
