Published: October 26, 2007 12:42 pm      

Bay Area Bliss

San Francisco has many fun things to do; just bring plenty of cash

My wife and I recently spent a long weekend in San Francisco, flying in on a Friday morning and returning home Monday afternoon.  We were visiting my sister Dianne and her husband Jim, who have a nifty apartment in the Russian Hill section of town.

You can see the Golden Gate Bridge from their apartment and lots of prime tourist spots are within walking distance.  It’s fairly easy strolling down to Fisherman’s Wharf, Chinatown and Ghirardelli Square.  We visited them all.

But, oh my goodness, the walk back up to the apartment was something else.  Tony Bennett may have left his heart there, but I left about seven pounds.  Walking up and down those steep hills is a real workout.

A new tourist attraction, by the way, is a waterfront tour on Segway scooters, those self-balancing, electric transport devices.  They train you for about 30 minutes and then you glide around on a narrated tour, all for $75 per person.  If the scooters could levitate up stairs, they would be a bargain.

While the scooters are new, the venerable cable cars still clang and rattle about and there are also horse-drawn carriages for hire.  For just $130 per person, you can take the Foggy Bridge Wine Cruise on the bay, with wine tasting and a gourmet meal aboard the USS Potomac, FDR’s old presidential yacht.

Speaking of gourmet meals, the city by the bay is famous for cool fog and hot meals.  The vittles were simply superb.  Some of our favorite dining spots were Polkers, Rex Café and Pesce Seafood Bar, all on Polk Street, Scoma’s at pier 47 on Fisherman’s Wharf, Zarzuela on Hyde Street and Trattoria Pinocchio on Columbus Avenue.

Dotty’s favorite meal was at Rex Café, and included potato gnocchi and beet carpaccio; mine was at Pesce and included oysters on the half shell, Romano salad and seafood soup, plus a nice carafe of the house white wine.

According to the Zagat survey, average cost for a meal in San Francisco is $35.96, which I believe includes one drink and tip.   Be sure to bring money.

There are free attractions in the city, however, including Boudin at the Wharf, a 5,000 square foot bakery that offers tours; the Anheuser-Busch Hospitality Center on East Bay, offering a tour with “brewing product sampling”; and Strybing Arboretum at Golden Gate Park.

Not free, but definitely worth the money, is the day tour of Alcatraz. Part of the fun is the ferry ride over to the island, with departures from pier 33 at Bay Street.  Cost is $23.25 for seniors over 62 and $24.50 for adults.  Night tours are $29.25 and $31.50 on the same basis. 

I found the place creepy enough in broad daylight — definitely glad we weren’t permanent guests in those cramped little cells.  A park ranger gave us an orientation talk and then we picked up audio headsets for a 45-minute tour of the prison.  The audio tour – available in seven languages – features voices of former Alcatraz inmates, correctional officers and residents who reminisce about life on the Rock.

You are warned the walk up from the boat dock to the cellhouse at the top of the island is equivalent to a 13-story climb.  But compared to some of the steep hills in San Francisco, it’s an easy stroll.  An electric shuttle is available for the mobility-impaired.

Alcatraz served as a military installation from 1850 to 1933 and as a U.S. penitentiary from 1934 to 1963.  The Indian occupation of the island in 1969-71 provided impetus to turn it into a national park.

Weather during our visit was quite pleasant.  It rained heavily Friday evening, there was brilliant sunshine on Saturday and Sunday started out with fog, but cleared nicely.  It was cloudy when we departed Monday afternoon.  Temperatures were in the mid-60’s during the day and low 50’s at night.  Black was the color of choice in clothes and most everyone wore a sweater.

We really enjoyed the visit; it was quite special to have morning coffee looking down at the iconic Golden Gate Bridge while hearing fog horns in the bay.  We only hit a few of the city’s top tourist attractions – Aquarium on the Bay, the zoo, Presidio National Park, and Golden Gate Park  are just a few we missed.  Maybe next time.