"San Francisco" a San Francisco Travel Page by cheap_tourist

San Francisco is my favorite city. Ever since I crossed the Golden Gate Bridge and saw the Bay for the first time, I was hooked. It was so alive and so beautiful, I wanted to stay there forever. I can't, however, so I just visit as often as I can. I already have a plan for the next time: Coit Tower, Alcatraz,...

July 2005

I returned...after being away for two years. I was there for only two days but I followed through on my plan. On my first day, I went up Coit Tower and had a breathtaking view of the city; on the second day, I visited Alcatraz. In addition, I saw Union Square for the first time and watched "Les Miserables" at the Curran Theatre. The next time I am in San Francisco, I will walk across the Golden Gate Bridge...

September 2005

I took advantage of the Labor Day weekend and returned to San Francisco. My main objective was to walk across the bridge. A friend offered to be my guide. With his help, I finally did it. I walked across the bridge from the north vista point to the south--and back. Before crossing the bridge, my friend convinced me to take a hike (literally). We did a 5-mile, moderately difficult hike at Muir Woods. I haven't walked that much in one day since I was a ROTC cadet. I am not making any more travel plans for San Francisco. I'll just play it by ear when I get there.

June 2006

I'll just have a rundown of where I went: Ferry Building, Yerba Buena Gardens, Church of Notre Dame Des Victoires, Chinatown, Union Square, Golden Gate Park (de Young Museum and the Japanese Tea Garden), Mission Dolores, Lombard Street, Maritime Museum, Ghirardelli Square, and Pier 39. I also took this "Duck Tour" on a refurbished WWII amphibious landing craft, which brought as near AT&T Park during a Giants game. It was fun.

September 2006

First day: Union Square, Yerba Buena Gardens, Fisherman's Wharf, and Sausalito. At night, I saw "Chorus Line" at the Curran Theatre; this production moved to Broadway soon after. On the second day, I met my friend early in the morning, and we had breakfast at Lucky Chances Casino in Daly City. We then walked the length of Golden Gate Park and even reached Cliff House before turning back. We had an early dinner at Jollibee in Daly City before parting ways. It was a tiring yet fulfilling day.

February 2007

First day: Union Square, Japantown, St. Mary's Cathedral, Chinatown (Portsmouth Square), and Transamerica Pyramid. Second day: Union Square, Chinatown (Old St. Mary's Church), Asian Art Museum, and Ferry Building. This was my first time to see Japantown and the Asian Art Museum. I was particularly thrilled to stumble upon St. Mary's Cathedral, which was near Japantown. When I first visited the city in 1998, I saw this church with my father and mother who has since passed away. I never did find out the church's name although I did have lots of pictures. When I saw it again, it was like coming home--"serendipity is beauty."

January 2008

This trip was very satisfying because I thought that I would be bored and I wasn't. I only made the trip to try out Megabus, which offers this ridiculously low fares for travel between L.A. and selected cities (including San Francisco). The bus ride was excellent; the terminal at San Francisco was not that far from Union Square. What made the trip memorable, however, was that my friend took me to Twin Peaks, which I have not yet seen because Muni buses don't go there. The next day, I spent a day by myself on Angel Island, walking its 5-mile Perimeter Road in the rain--an experience now etched in my memory. It was a magical moment.

Plans

Note that I avoided calling this section "future plans." My teacher said that "future plans" is a tautology--a redundancy. After all, all plans are for the future. But I digress. I plan on seeing the St. Peter and Paul Cathedral in North Beach because of the movie Dirty Harry. Mt. Davidson with its large cross is interesting (also because of Dirty Harry) but has underwhelming reviews; I may skip it. My friend may take me to Napa Valley. I may take a tour of Monterey or Yosemite Valley. We'll see ...