"San Francisco: An Alternate Take" San Francisco by richiecdisc

San Francisco Travel Guide: 9,094 reviews and 19,127 photos

colorful Victorians in The Haight - San Francisco
colorful Victorians in The Haight

San Francisco is a hard city to not fall in love with. With an astonishing physical setting and a jumble of architectural styles from an assortment of eras, the former California Gold Rush capital captivates like few others. Surrounded on three sides by glorious water, this peninsular hill-laden marvel would be a candidate for National Park status if they'd never built a city here in the first place. In fact, much of what surrounds the man-made structures is part of the National Park system. Spacey modern skyscrapers and turn of the century relics intermingle effortlessly, salted generously with Victorian and Edwardian homes to add color.

San Fran is all about the neighborhoods
the colorful Castro neighborhood - San Francisco

the colorful Castro neighborhood

Ethnicity is at the forefront with the nation's most colorful Chinatown, a sprawling Hispanic neighborhood, and a taste of Italy right in the city center. So, you know there's food to be eaten in them there hills. But what you notice as you wander up and down the forty-five degree inclines, aside from a confluence of spectacular views, is the utter silence of this gem of a town. There are no honking horns and people seem to speak in whispers. Perhaps they're trying to keep a secret about the place they live in. Can you blame them? Because when cities dream, they dream they're San Francisco.

always love getting back to San Francisco
old & new intermingle effortlessly - San Francisco

old & new intermingle effortlessly

My first visit to San Francisco was back in 1994. I liked it so much I returned a few weeks later. It really has to be my favorite city in the world. My new wife and I came in 2005 as a belated honey-moon of sorts and she immediately fell in love with it too.

We returned in 2008 as part of a six-month camping trip around the Western US National Parks so it was a brief stop of only two days but we got to revisit some old friends and firmly establish our continuing affair with this great city. I've added a few new tips, updated others, and added some much improved photos thanks to going with a digital SLR before embarking on the trip. Enjoy!

  • Last visit to San Francisco: Jul 2008
  • Intro Updated Sep 16, 2009
  • Add to Trip Planner (?)
  • Report Abuse

Reviews (58)

colorful Chinatown mural - San Francisco to know her is to love her Favorites (3)

San Francisco's Chinatown is the best in the US and like walking right into an Asian city sans flight. We arrived... more travel advice

one cheap alternative in Chinatown w/o parking - San Francisco a good bet if you have a car Hotels (3)

Though we had enjoyed the USA hostel and it was a great deal, they did not have parking facilities and being with our... more travel advice

cask ale & artisan cheese - San Francisco The Haight Spot for Beer Afficionados Nightlife (4)

In the spring of 2008, we stopped in San Francisco as part of a six-month camping trip around the US Western National... more travel advice

scenic, atmospheric...oh, and wine too - San Francisco Head to the Sonoma Valley for some wine Off The Beaten Path (9)

Many people head to the Napa Valley to sample some of the finest wines produced anywhere but it’s become overrun with... more travel advice

Comments (26)

  • Reply
    Nemorino's Profile Photo
    Apr 21, 2010 at 3:17 PM

    Hi Richie, your page brings back great memories of the years I lived in Berkeley and often went over to San Francisco. My then-girlfriend's aunt owned one of those colorful Victorian houses, and we got to house-sit one summer. Hope all is well in Munich.

  • Reply
    toonsarah's Profile Photo
    Nov 18, 2009 at 12:42 PM

    "Because when cities dream, they dream they're San Francisco" - perfect :-) I fell in love with this city too - thank you for taking me back for a virtual visit at least.

  • Reply
    Bwana_Brown's Profile Photo
    Oct 21, 2009 at 11:36 AM

    Richie, a classic page on the delights of SF! The Transamerica/Sentinel buildings pic is an amazing contrast! I really enjoyed the ambiance of The Haight myself, but I wish I had been 'free' to tackle the Magnolia Pub/Brewery as well ! Great additions!

  • Reply
    Gili_S's Profile Photo
    Sep 19, 2009 at 1:37 PM

    All what I knew about this place is from the many movies. It was very nice to see it through your eyes and camera.

  • Reply
    Trekki's Profile Photo
    Sep 18, 2009 at 12:47 PM

    Oh wow, yes, your new photos are outstanding!!! I must watch "Vertigo" again this weekend, it is so much SF!! And I still would love to have one of these sourcrocs :-) ahh, is there clam chowder in a lobster bread?

  • Reply
    Jan 26, 2009 at 6:34 AM

    Great information in your San Francisco page

  • Reply
    jlw94102's Profile Photo
    Jul 6, 2007 at 4:15 PM

    INFAMOUS castro theater??

  • Reply
    RickinDutch's Profile Photo
    Mar 9, 2007 at 11:31 AM

    Great Tips! I put a bunch of them in my folder. Will use them in April. Thanks!

  • Reply
    Maggies's Profile Photo
    Mar 8, 2007 at 4:03 AM

    Did you know that this hostel have moved to different location? Anyway, we will probably be staying outside the city.

  • Reply
    sikorka's Profile Photo
    Dec 26, 2006 at 7:07 AM

    Nice pictures, useful info, very well done page!!!

richiecdisc's Related Pages

San Francisco Travel Guide

 
Explore the World
Travel Destinations
richiecdisc's Profile Photo

richiecdisc Visits Here Frequently!

richiecdisc

“fairy tales can come true...”

Online Now

Male

Top 1,000 Travel Writer
Member Rank:
0 0 0 0 6
Forum Rank:
0 2 5 6 0

Badges & Stats in San Francisco

  • 58 Reviews
  • 95 Photos
  • 0 Forum posts
  • 27 Comments
  • 10,858PageViews
  • See All Stats
  • See All Badges (116)

Have you been to San Francisco?

  Share Your Travels  

Latest Activity in San Francisco

Photos in San Francisco

See All Photos (95)

Top 10 Pages

See All Travel Pages (288)

Friends

See All Friends (41)

Travel Interests

See All Travel Interests (5)

Latest San Francisco hotel reviews

Argent Hotel
1168 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 19, 2013
Monticello Inn - A Kimpton Hotel
562 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 18, 2013
York Hotel
414 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 19, 2013
The Carlton Hotel
1247 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 19, 2013
Herbert Hotel
197 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 20, 2013
Parc 55 Hotel San Francisco
2227 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 19, 2013
Hilton San Francisco
2260 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 19, 2013
White Swan Inn
503 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 17, 2013
Motel 6 San Francisco Downtown
47 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Apr 19, 2013
Alexander Inn San Francisco
66 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Apr 29, 2013
Hotel Triton - A Kimpton Hotel
611 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 18, 2013
The Huntington Hotel
439 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 19, 2013
The Ritz-Carlton San Francisco
577 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 19, 2013
Hotel Kabuki San Francisco
686 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 19, 2013
Garland Hotel
59 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 17, 2013