SF Day Four - Palo Alto
After arriving at Matt’s Saturday night I met his friend Brian and we went to a bar in Palo Alto for a few drinks. My impression of the people here is upper class and little bit overly concerned with how they look. I think that anywhere people are friendly once you get to know them.
Sunday morning I intentionally slept in because I needed a little recovery from the past few days. The previous three days I did a ton a walking. It was especially a lot for a guy who usually spends his day sitting at a computer. The general theme of recovery persisted the entire day… but this is a vacation afterall! Matt showed me around campus a little bit and we grabbed some food in the local campus restaurant called the Treehouse. Then later in the afternoon we borrowed a car and drove around the city. We did a little shopping and found some ice cream at a 50’s diner. It rained on and off during the morning and by the afternoon it was raining pretty steadily. Several of the people I talked to told me it is hardly ever this cold. Just my luck… Oh well, at least I had some beautiful weather in San Francisco.
In the evening Matt and I went to see Capote. The movie was well done and it kept my interest but overall it just wasn’t my type of movie. After the movie we stopped and got late night takeout from a Thai restaurant.
A day of rest was needed and I am feeling a little more energetic now, although the weather may put an end to that. My general impression of Stanford is that it is very well laid out and the students here are quite diverse, friendly and very interesting. I think that a school with a reputation like Stanford’s attracts people with strong personalities and this can lead to an interesting environment. The surrounding area and Palo Alto specifically are much smaller and more suburban than I was anticipating. This does make sense though now that I think about it. These communities aren’t far enough from San Francisco to be independent and I’m sure many people commute to San Francisco. I have yet to see most of the campus and plan on taking a tour. Hopefully it won’t be in the rain.
SF Day Three - Golden Gate
Saturady the weather was still nice and Shannon had several ideas for some things to do in the city before I left for Stanford. We headed out mid-morning and walked down to grab a cable car to the farmers market at the ferry building. We rode the entire Line C cable car east down California street, past a few famous churches and Chinatown to Market street. The Powell line is more popular but it was nice to have a seat and not be completely squished. The cable car was pretty neat going up and down the steep hills with the operator controlling the cable tension and brakes. Ding, ding! Rice-a-roni anyone?
We grabbed breakfast (or maybe it was lunch) at the farmer’s market from a crepe vendor and then walked to Coit Tower. The weather was very pleasant, around 60 degrees and sunny. We had to walk several steep flights of stairs to get to the tower area and saw some quaint houses tucked into the hillside. I can’t imagine living in a place like this - I think it would be very cool. Coit Tower is known for its excellent view of the city and the entire bay. I went up to the top and snapped some photos. The bay seemed hazy the entire time I was there and apparently this is normal. In my opinion the haziness gives the scenery more depth and makes the views look even more impressive.
After visiting Coit Tower, we continued a walking tour of the North Beach neighborhood. I saw Saint Peter and Paul Church across from Washington Square. There were a few people relaxing and playing volleyball in the square despite the fact the weather was cold for Californians. We then decided that we’d rent bikes for a few hours and bike closer to the Golden Gate bridge. I walked fairly close to it the day before but was really considering a bike ride across. Shannon wasn’t sure if she’d ride on the bridge but was nice to brave the cold wind and bike to the base of the bridge with me. The wind along the park was really quite cold. I had on three layers but my hands and ears chilled easily. I just kept telling myself that it is warmer than Minnesota.
The bike ride across the bridge was very enjoyable but at the same time a little nerve wrecking. First of all let me say that I’ve always had a small problem with heights. Standing on the edge of a scenic overlook or the edge of a tall building even with a guard rail has always made me nervous. My heart rate, respiration and perspiration all increase a little bit. I think you get the picture. The wind was fairly strong on the bridge and the ride to the north side wasn’t so bad. About 3/4 of the way across I was the most nervous because I felt a long ways from land. I also soon realized that on the way back I’d have to bike along the outer railing of the bridge. It was fun and and scary at the same time and I survived without incident. The views from the bridge were great and I think my aprehension heighted my senses and made the ride even more exhilerating.
The bike ride back was more enjoyable with the sun and wind at our backs. We grabbed a bite to eat for dinner and I think it was about 5:30pm when we got back to the apartment. After talking to Matt I decided to head down to Stanford that evening. After I figured out how to time the trains so I wouldn’t be waiting too long I said goodbye and hit the road. By 10pm I had arrived at Stanford via the BART and Caltrain.
I really enjoyed my time in San Francisco. My impression is that it is a very dynamic city, with lots of people coming and going here and there. It seemed a little less friendly than the midwest but I expected that. However that isn’t to say it was unfriendly. People were very friendly but I think a large percentage of them aren’t even locals so that makes it seems a little less amiable. The neighborhoods are very compact and self sustaining. It seemed like no matter where I found myself I wasn’t far from a place to buy groceries, order a meal or do some shopping. Although I knew I wouldn’t have time to see and do everything I did a lot more than I even hoped. For my next visit here are a few sights I’d try to see:
- Eat a burrito in the Mission
- See the Haight and Castro districts
- Visit a museum or two
- Hit up more bars and clubs
- See the north side of the bay (Sausalito and Tiburon)
SF Quick Photos
I’m at Matt’s now and had time to look through my photos and upload some on Flickr. I have yet to write an entry about yesterday but as you can maybe tell from the pictures I biked across the Golden Gate bridge.
SF Day Two - Alcatraz
Today I slept in a little later than I wanted but oh well, I am on vacation after all. I left and walked down to Polk street at around 10:30am. There I grabbed some food and found the #19 to take down towards the bay. The bus took me close to Hyde Street Pier where I walked around and got my first good glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz. At the pier they had several ships on display which I took in but didn’t go onboard. Too much other stuff to do today.
From this pier I headed east to Fisherman’s Wharf, passing lots of souvineur shops and fresh fish restaurants and markets along the way. Matt and I had decided to meet down here and take the ferry tour to Alcatraz. The Wharf was rather crowded but I can imagine that it gets down right packed during the busy season. We grabbed some a bite to eat and I had some “must have” clam chowder before we caught the ferry to the island. The ferry trip is very short and if you ask me the island is closer than it looks. We were at the prison from about 1:30 until 4:00pm. The tour itself was good but nothing spectacular. I would recommend doing it if you are visiting. Not surprisingly the tour content was a little depressing (again as I expected).
Once the ferry returned Matt went and stared at the lounging sea lions for a few minutes. They are just loud, lazy, fat sea cows but fun to see sleeping in the sun. Ah what a life of leisure. After this Matt and I parted ways and I headed towards Fort Mason park to get a better view of the Golden Gate Bridge. I caught the #10 to Fort Mason (back near Hyde Street Pier where I started). From here I began a long walk west keeping the bridge in my sights. Park area stretches for Fort Mason all the way to the bridge and there were a lot of people running, biking and playing with thier dogs. Just before I reached Crissy Field I took some time to dip my toes in the Pacific. The water was very cold but it felt good on my tired feet. After a few more pictures I headed south by the Palace of Fine Arts.
The palace is home to the Exploratorium and outside is a garden and sanctuary. I think this would have been much better in the summer, but nonetheless there were some flowers in bloom and a few birds in the water. It started to get much colder so I caught yet another Muni line, this time the #41, back through Pacific Heights to the apartment.
For dinner we had Peruvian cusine at a place called Fresca. We all had seafood and the food and service was great. Like most San Francisco restaurants the venue is small, cozy and loud with chatter. Tomorrow Shannon and I are going to try and get to the Farmer’s Market and see the view from Coit Tower. If I end up waking up early I may also try to rent a bike for a few hours since I wanted to do that but didn’t have time today.
So after two full days, seeing the sights has been great although my feet are little sore. My face is a little wind and sun burned but it’s better than frostbite.
SF Day One - Berkeley
After Shannon went off to work early I got ready and headed out a little after 9am. I took the #1 bus back towards downtown and got off near Grant street to explore Chinatown. I wasn’t all that impressed which is consistent with the attitude of many of the locals here. It was rather early in the morning so many of the stores and restaurants were just opening, so I’m sure I saw the quiter side of Chinatown. I wondered in a few stores selling souvineers but for the most part it was all cheap junk. I took a few photos and sat in Portsmouth Square and watched some of the men and women playing games for pennies. I tried to get creative with a few photos rather than just taking shots of the general scenery so we’ll see how they look when I get back. This is also the place where the Chinese sit and meditate. I forget what it is called, I’ll have to look it up when I have some time.
My plan was to wonder downtown perhaps do some shopping and then head to UC Berkeley on the BART. I walked around the Transamerica Pyramid building and found a bakery where I could get a breakfast snack and then started looking for the BART station entrance where I got off the night before. I ended up walking across Embarcaradero and took some more photos on the pier near the Ferry building. There was some other tourists around but much like Chinatown it wasn’t very busy. So by around noon I was on the Richmond BART headed to Berkeley.
The trip was about 20 minutes and the downtown Berkeley station is only 2 blocks from campus. By the time I got there the weather was really starting to be nice. It was sunny all day and probably peaked at around 65 degrees. I also think Berekely tends to be warmer than San Francisco because it isn’t completely surrounded by water. I didn’t have any specific plans for what to see at Berkeley. This was nice but also made my visit a little less satisfying than I would have liked. The EECS department was having an annual research symposium and I thought I might try to see an open house or two. I did find a room where one was going on but it seemed to be rather formal and more of a presentation than an open house. No problem though since by the time I did a lap around campus and found the place I was ready to head back. Before getting back on the BART I spent a few minutes lounging in the grassy park off Oxford near the west entrance. The sun is really much stronger than in Minnesota in February and I found myself thinking I could really get used to it!
Cameraphone pic of Layfayette Park
On my way back to Shannon’s apartment, I took a different route via the Civic Center and the #21 in order to see the Painted Ladies and Alamo Square. This scene is commonly called postcard row because it is supposedly the most photographed in San Francisco. I made it just as the sun was casting a shadow on the first house and took what I hope will be a few great pictures. From here I caught the #22 north back to Jackson. It was several blocks walk back to the aparatment and I hiked up a hill and saw a great view of the north part of San Francisco from Layfayette Park.
Phew! Finally at the apartment I just sat on the couch for a good half hour. After Shannon got home we went out for pizza and a few drinks to a place called The Front Room. It was nice and low key, which was perfect because I wasn’t up for anything more. Tomorrow’s plan is to see Golden Gate, Fisherman’s Wharf and Alcatraz. Matt has decided he is going to come up for the day and join me. I’m excited to have someone else to tour with so I don’t have to take pictures of myself!
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