Leaving your heart in San Francisco - part 2 - Planning · Friday September 2, 2011 by colin newell
There are a lot of places you can visit in Canada and America if you have 1 week to play with – or, heck, even 3 days.
And I think that San Francisco comes up as a primary choice a lot because of the multitude of things that are there to do.
As destinations go, San Francisco has sports, arts, culture, food, a multitude of cultural happenings. It has an incredible history – part of how the West was won, the Gold rush, the Earthquake, a rebuilding and architectural renaissance and an approach to city planning that should be the envy of any great city on planet Earth.
We picked it for a week for a variety of reasons. One of them is proximity. From Victoria, it is as little as a 2 hour flight away via American Airlines. We also had the option for some great accommodations at the Fairmont on Nob Hill.
The Fairmont survived the great Earthquake, has hosted every U.S. President since President Taft – how cool is that? The U.N. was chartered in 1945 at the Fairmont in San Francisco. Damaged by fire after the great earthquake, the Fairmont became one of many symbols of the city’s resilience. Opera singer Enrico Caruso, who was hold up at the Fairmont, calmed crowds of panicked folks by singing to them.
So. There is a ton of history in San Francisco – yes, lots of ghosts, but plenty of great energy and a myriad of diverse neighborhoods, all entirely trek worthy on foot or in combination with the transit system.
Music and art: We discovered that there was a wide variety of art and music things happening while we were there. Plan ahead for any number of shows or concerts – It was a coincidence that there were some important gallery events happening – so we lucked out.
OK – so here are the parts of the planning process that we felt were important.
Flights – Thankfully, Victoria and Vancouver have some great direct options for flights to San Francisco. We picked West Jet because we have had good experiences with them. They are reliable as heck and fun. And by flying West Jet we get around having to deal with Vancouver International Airport – for us, it gets a tad too hectic. When we go to Hawaii every year, we always fly out of Seattle because it is the superior airport (in our opinion).
Hotels – There are more sleeping options in San Francisco than you can possibly imagine. Narrowing options include Fodor’s, Frommer’s, Lonely Planet, Trip Adviser online and the like. Pick your location and price point and go. One of many San Francisco guide books will clue you in on possible centers of activity; Union Square, Nob Hill, Russian Hill, Fisherman’s Wharf, etc. They are all close to cable cars or transit – as are a dozen other neighborhoods. You need to get an advance sense of how the city is laid out and what you want to do with your time. Read and plan.
Clothing – Do not be fooled by the California part of the equation. San Francisco is parked next to an ocean. As a result, it is often foggy and often cool (not not really cold) – a tour bus driver pointed out: “For every mile you drive inland from San Francisco Bay, the temperature goes up X degrees (I do not know the exact number…)
So it can be a pleasant 18 degrees in San Francisco and 27 to 29 degrees in Sonoma or Napa wine country. San Francisco is actually slightly warmer, on average, in September and October. The bottom line here is: layer!
You can start the day with fog and a cool breeze and by mid-morning, you are peeling down to a T-shirt and shorts only to put it all back on by 4 in the afternoon.
Coupons and passes – doing things in San Francisco can be a bit pricey when you start tackling the tourist things – that everyone does; street cars, cable cars, harbor tours, galleries and entertainment. I suggested the City Pass in the previous chapter – it is terrific value. Buy it. If you want to see Alcatraz (we didn’t, lots do…) you have to book that trip in advance. Failure to book in advance will result in disappointment. Get the 3-hour Grayline tour in advance as well. They pick you up at your hotel and drop you off pretty much anywhere.
Next chapter – Arriving!
Leaving your heart in San Francisco - part 1 - 2011 · Tuesday August 30, 2011 by colin newell
San Francisco, California – established as a Spanish fort in 1776, experienced a gold rush in 1849, a devastating earthquake in 1906 – has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in North America and, arguably, the world.
Picture at left – Street Cars – they are historic and you should learn the basics of the San Francisco transit system if you are going to maximize your experience – click on photo for bigger view.
We had the great pleasure of visiting San Francisco for 7 days in August 2011. And as it turns out, many people that we know are either heading to San Francisco or planning on going there in the near future. Fact is, it is a readily accessible city – and it’s close… a mere 740 miles or 1200km – we flew via West Jet but there are other options like United and Air Canada.
What was important, leading up to the trip, was a bit of planning – based on our personal preferences.
Whether you are going for 1 day, 3 days, a week or a month… it is very important to get some books in your pocket, some online resources bookmarked and a few key things purchased (apart from air fare of course!)
The Ferry Building (photo left) – great food, water access, farmers market and Blue Bottle Coffee!
Here is the thing: Unless someone is driving you and yours around in a limo all day long you might want to get acquainted with the transportation infrastructure – and it’s a great and efficient one.
As cities go, San Francisco is eminently walkable – but mind bogglingly hilly. Nob Hill, where we stayed, is 402 feet above sea level – and only 1.3 km away from the water! If that sounds like “straight up”, it seems like it. Thank heavens for cable cars! More on those later.
Photo left – The Golden Gate. If you are going to San Francisco, get over it or go under it. Andrea and I did both! All photos on my Panasonic Lumix.
Hot Tip! Before we went we bought a couple of things online. And I will classify these as very important – must have items if you are staying more than 3 days.
Number 1 item! San Francisco City Pass – Do not leave home without it!
For starters, you are going to want to ride the cable cars. And you are going to want to ride the historic electric street cars along the “F” line that start at Fisherman’s Wharf and zip through the Embarcadero to the Ferry Building and onto the terminus in the Castro district.
Photo left – Ritual Coffee! We went to this place, Sight Glass, Blue Bottle, 4-Barrel and the Tartine Bakery… All amazing!
And if, like us, you are staying at any hotel on Nob or Russian Hill, you are going to need a cable car pass – because individual rides are $5 (according to the website – I think they may be $6 a ride now – which is amazing even to the cable-car grips.) With the city pass, you have “all access” – so you do not need to carry change or dollar bills. You can buy the MUNI-Cable Car pass separately, but this represents great value (more on that subject later too!)
The City Pass, in addition to giving you hop on / hop off access to the cable cars, and the MUNI and the classic electric rail in the city, you get a 1 hour water tour into San Francisco Bay (under the Bay bridge and around Alcatraz Island) – called the Blue & Gold Fleet Bay Cruise It is a fun filled and informative guided tour of some of San Francisco’s colorful history. The boats are big, safe, fast and equipped with a bar and food items… Yes, a booze cruise. It’s San Francisco after all!
With the City Pass, we also took in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) – yea, not everyone is an art fan – but while we were there, there was a comprehensive Picasso exhibit and some great photo galleries + plus a lot of contemporary American art. Check the gallery schedule of course.
Consider the city pass – for $69 for adults and $39 for children (San Francisco is a very child friendly and pet friendly place)
Hot Tip #2 – Buy a couple of travel books on this city a minimum of 30 days in advance to absorb some of the things you might want to do.
Farmers Bakers Market at the Ferry Building three days a week!
We got Frommers San Francisco A very good read with good sections and apparently some fairly honest and bias free reporting. The Frommers San Francisco Day by day was also a very useful resource – especially for carrying around.
Jump to chapter two – The planning phase!
WCCCS 2011 Audio Podcast roughcut · Sunday August 28, 2011 by colin newell
We interviewed a variety of great people at the 2011 WCCCS in Victoria at the beautiful Crystal Gardens Event Center. Have a listen to our near-30 minute chat with some of coffees movers, brewers and shakers! – if you cannot see the audio thingie below, click here for the mp3.
Talking Western Canadian Specialty Coffee in Victoria – 2011
The World of Mysterious Chinese Coffee Culture: Part 2 · Sunday August 28, 2011 by colin newell
Alright, I’ll go out on a limb here by assuming that the Chinese roasters were targeting a specific sociodemographic layer of our modern society by calling this brew DINKEY COFFEE. DINKY stands for Double Income, No Kids Yet. But if this rather technical brand name lacks convincing emotional-suggestive shelf appeal, so the tag line tries to make up for it: Swellish coffee takes you into the classic leisure romantic life. Of having plenty of dough, but no kids, I guess.
The eternal struggle of many Asian language speakers with the rolling guttural sound of a western ‘R’ is clearly documented in the bold fashion statement on this T-shirt, themed COFFEE BLEAK! However, it may also be worn to quietly protest the meek caffeinated offerings in your office canteen.
The highlight of this presentation are without any doubt these two gender specific coffee packs. Let’s first look at the MEN’s COFFEE. Sturdy packaged in a tin can are 8 × 12 gram coffee powder sticks. Whenever, wherever the need for such a, no doubt strong, substance may arise, it’s there to help. A golden tanned, muscled, shaved, oiled caucasian dude straight from the ‘80s grins at me encouragingly from behind a layer of coffee beans. SUPERIORE written on a banderole over his chest. I appreciate the hint of Italian-ness here.
“BO HELP THICKENING”, he says. Hmm, the dude maybe named BO, but he sounds more like Sylvester Stallone. “DELAY SPERMITIGENIC”. Sounds a bit scary, but coffee in its chemical contents is still full of wonders even to scientists. And maybe the Chinese one-child rule requires ‘spermitigenic’ qualities from all coffees now.
Then there’s this claim: SPONGIFORM ACTIVATED, THE SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION TO REMOVE ALL KINDS OF TIRED. THE SECOND MOST POWERFUL ERECTION. Wonder what causes the first powerful erection? Maybe they should reduce the ‘spongiform activation’ a tad? It’s BIO and 100% Natural, but…only now I saw the cup handle!!! This is some really strong stuff when it can arouse even a harmless coffee cup…
Yet for a proper date what does a girl want when you invite her for coffee upstairs? A cup of WOMAN’S COFFEE of course. A caucasian blonde stripped to a thong & garters shows that it’s not the usual Starbucks fare being served here.
The KEEP IT AWAY FROM CHILDREN warning verifies it’s effectiveness on adult females. The BIO sticker from the male version is not present here, so some chemical additives can be expected. But ladies are more difficult in the erogenous department, so we shouldn’t hold that against the makers.
IT IS AMERICAS MASTERWORK OF SENTIMENT SPICE WHICH CAN MEET YOUR EVERY NEED AND IMAGINATION AND GIVE YOU UNLIMITED SURPRISE AND UNEXPECTED SATISFACTION. Now if this doesn’t get the gal to hit the sheets with you, what else could?
Coffee—the American Masterwork of Sentiment Spice. Not for all the tea in China, fellas…
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