10 Things To Do In San Francisco

I know many of you have probably already been to San Francisco, and have done the usual touristy things (Fisherman's Wharf, Ghirardelli Square, Golden Gate...etc.) but thought it would be fun to provide you with a few of the lesser known things to do on your next trip that are a bit less touristy! Or, if you have never been, perhaps you can do a bit of both. This is obviously not an all encompassing list, but just a small slice of the many fun things to do! Everything on this list can be reached by public transportation or on foot, or there are many public bikes and scooters if your feet need a break (link to below map here). 

                   

1) Twin Peaks / Sutro Tower: My family has always called the tower Godzilla, and I am not sure why because I Googled it and can only find reference to it being called the Space Claw... It is kind of a monstrosity either way, and was built in 1973 (it recently had its 50th birthday) to help improve the television signal in the city. However, the real reason to go up there is the fun drive (or hike if you are feeling athletic; it is only a couple of miles depending on where you start) up and down and the great view you get from the top! 

View of downtown from Twin Peaks

(2) Golden Gate Park: This is a lot of ground to cover, but a favorite loop of mine is to go and ogle the bison in their paddock (2a), walk past the Dutch windmills and tulips (2b) (in bloom in February) and then end up at Ocean Beach (2c), where you can watch the (kind of scary) waves of the Pacific beat on the shore. If you like walking a lot, you can keep going and head over to the Cliff House (2d), an icon of the city, and the Sutro Baths (2e), where people used to bathe with a view of the ocean! For these places basically being in the middle of the city, they can all be surprisingly quiet. Tip from a local: bring a jacket, no matter what month it is. It gets chilly on that side of the city! 

Dutch windmills & tulips

(3) Land's End: If you keep walking after the Sutro Baths, you will get to Lands End, a dirt walking trail along the coast, which has some good views of the ocean and the Marin Headlands to the north. Also, this is right near the Legion of Honor (3a), which is worth a look-see (and if you don't want to walk so much, you can split the park and these two places into two groups). 

(4) Irving Street: Since we are already down near the park, we may as well go to Irving Street for something to eat! There is pretty much anything you could want between 19th St. and 24th St., but some of my favorite things to get are either pho, dim sum or Thai food (Marnee Thai  (4a) is a must and if you go, you have to try the kanom krok - even if you don't see it on the menu, ask for it). You also can't go wrong if you just wander, or stop when you are hungry (after your GG park walk you will be!) This guy has a fun map with restaurant names and notes. Oh, and if you feel like straying a bit for a good pizza or bread, check out Arizmendi Bakery (4b) on 9th and Irving. 

(5) Chinatown: Pick up some dim sum to-go from Delicious Dim Sum (5a) and sit in Portsmouth Square (5b) where you will have a view of the Transamerica tower, and watch the locals play their daily board games. They really get into it and it is fun to watch the competitions arise! Plus the area is just so vibrant; it is a great place to people watch. 

Delicious dim sum!

After that, if you feel like being a tourist, you can walk down Grant Street, or if you want to see how the locals shop, take a stroll down Stockton Street (5c). Local tip: You can get great prices on fruit and vegetables here. If you want to buy anything from the shops, there are not really proper lines. Just walk in, put your item on the scale next to the register and get your dollars out quick. It is a dog eat dog world out there and you need to be quick to win your right to pay for your goods! Also, I have never paid with a card, so I can't confirm whether they take them, but I would have cash on hand just in case. 

(6) Filbert Steps: These go from Sansome Street up to Coit Tower, so they are a little touristy, but it is also  fun to go up or down them. It is a stairway within a neighborhood and it is fun to check out everyone's gardens and at the same time you get a glimpse of the Bay Bridge and the San Francisco bay. If you feel like doing a loop, I like to go up (or down) Vallejo Street (6a) which is also steep but provides a nice view. If you like hidden staircases like I do, San Francisco has over 600 public stairways (map here) for you to explore; here is an article about 11 of them to get you started. 

(7) The Murals in the Mission: Head down to Clarion Alley (7a) and scope out the cool murals, and afterward, go and get a burrito. There are so many places to choose from, and you can't go wrong with most of them, but I often end up at either El Farolito (7b) on Mission & 24th or El Toro Taqueria (7c). And don't forget to eat the burrito properly, which I describe in this post. You can also find more mural locations in this article. 

(8) Crissy Field/Fort Point: If you feel like taking a nice walk along the water, you can go from Crissy Field down to Hopper's Hands (Fort Point) (8a), which is about 1.5 miles each way. If this is too much, there are options: you can park in the Warming hut lot (8b), which makes the walk only about half a mile, or you can drive all the way to Fort Point if the gate is open. Either way, it is a great way to get outside and get some fresh air, plus you have the added bonus of a view of the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, the water, the Marin Headlands and the city! Basically you can't go wrong. Don't forget to touch Hopper's Hands for good luck when you get to Fort Point! 

Fort Point

View from Crissy Field

(9) Fort Mason: You can go and watch the sea lions at Fisherman's wharf, or you can go to Fort Mason instead and watch them at the marina, swimming around and sunning themselves on the docks. Also, if you are looking for love, supposedly the Safeway (9a) across the street is frequently listed as one of the city's best pick-up spots and is affectionately known as the "Dateway." 

Fort Mason / Marina

(10) Biking the Embarcadero: Most people talk about San Francisco's hills and how scary they are when running or biking, but despite the rumors, there are a lot of flat options! The simplest one is to bike along the Embarcadero where you will have to climb a small hill to get to Fort Mason, but after that, you will go back down towards the Marina and Crissy Field where it is flat again. Of course, you can make this a multi-mile trip pretty easily: the Mission is also flat, Ocean Beach/Great Highway are gorgeous, you can even bike to Sausalito (and beyond)! Really the city is your oyster. 

Bay Bridge / Embarcadero

Well there you have it folks, a handful of fun things to pick from next time you are in San Francisco! Of course feel free to ask questions if you need more information! 

Have you ever been to San Francisco? Have you been to any of the places/done any of the things on this list? If not, what is your "local tip" for your neck of the woods? 

The Last Frontier

Alaska has been on my list for years; it is wild and untamed. It is dark and cold. It is  full of large creatures. It has very few roads. It is literally in the middle of nowhere. Well, I guess supposedly you can see Russia from some parts of the state, but I did not experience that myself. 

What I did experience were adventures, beautiful scenery and some challenging backcountry hikes. Here are some of the highlights from the trip. For context, I flew into Anchorage and planned most of the outings within a few hours drive of the city. I have noted the driving times below.

Denali NP – it is worth taking a bus on the Denali road (you can do an audio tour or just take the normal park bus depending on what you like. We just took the simple one, and you can see lots of animals and possibly Mt. Denali if the weather cooperates, which it did not do ☹). This is 3 hours north of Anchorage by car or you can take the train.  

There are a couple of short hiking options near the visitor’s center or you can get a permit and a (free) bear canister from the building by the bus depot and tromp around the back country (no trails), fording rivers, whacking bushes and fleeing bears, which is what we did (minus the bears). The park road is about 100 miles long and currently it is closed due to a landslide at mile 42 (supposedly to be fixed in 2025), but there are still plenty of hiking zones to choose from. 

Teklanika River

Hatcher Pass – great views and lots of hiking opportunities with different lengths depending on fitness level. This is about 1 hour north of Anchorage by car.  Note: it is a dirt road part of the way, but it is very smooth and we had no issues whatsoever. We also did the Bomber Traverse, a hike starting from the Gold Mint Trailhead and continuing past the Mint hut, the backdoor gap, the Bomber hut and the Snowbird hut (and many glaciers!). This hike is about 25 miles in total, with about 7 or 8 of them off trail, so we ended up doing it in two days. If you want to sleep in the huts, you can join the Mountaineering Club of Alaska (MCA), or you can just camp near the huts (or anywhere) for free. 

Pennyroyal Glacier -- Backdoor Gap -- Bomber Traverse

Seward – port city, gateway to Kenai Fjords and the start of the Iditarod trail; Great place for hiking, eating, and lots of walking along the water. Lowell point walk (about 2 miles each way), Sweet Darlings for ice cream and Firebrand BBQ for their pork belly are a must. We also hiked up the famous Mt. Marathon, which is a 3,000 foot climb in 1.5 miles if you use the official race trail or about 2.5 miles if you go via the hiker route. The views from the top are fabulous! 3 hours south of Anchorage by car.

View from Mt. Marathon

Kenai Fjords NP – The Exit glacier and Harding icefield are beautiful. The Harding Icefield trail is a 4.1 mile each way out and back which is about 3,000 feet of climbing, but the views of the glacier along the way as well as the icefield at the top are stunning. It is well worth the climb, but I suggest you start early as we were the first ones to the top and had the view to ourselves (around 8:30 am) but there were a lot of people heading up when we were headed down. 20 minutes from Seward by car. 

Harding Icefield

Anchorage – you can rent bikes and ride (or walk) along the coastal trail which goes from downtown to Kincade point, about 10 miles each way. It is a very pleasant and flat bike trail along the mud flats. I would recommend Snow City Café for breakfast/lunch, but be prepared to wait a little while (you can put your name in and walk around while you are waiting or you can grab a mug of coffee and sit outside and enjoy the weather). 

Chugach National Forest – there are so many hikes and so little time, but two that we did that I would recommend are the Lost Lake trail and Crows Pass. The Lost Lake trail is about 20 minutes from Seward and is about 7 miles each way, but it is only about 2,200 feet of gain, so it is uphill but not too strenuous. Again, I suggest starting early, as there were a lot of people on the trail on our way down. The Crows Pass trail is a 21 mile trail each way, but if you start on the south end near Girdwood (about one hour south of Anchorage), you only need to go about 4 or 5 miles before you see all of the good stuff (the Crows Pass cabin, the Raven glacier, great views) and can turn around and go back. After that it is very brushy, so save your energy for something else. Part of this trail follows the famous Ididerod trail too! 

Lost Lake

And just like that, the one week trip was sadly over. 

Have you ever been to Alaska? What was your favorite thing that you did? Have you been to any of the places on my list? 

Flying Solo

The first time I traveled abroad I went solo. Of course, these were the days when people could take you to the airport and sit with you while you waited, so my parents came with me and waited with me for part of the time. But then I was a free bird, flying east to France to seek my destiny. I arrived in Paris with two huge suitcases, which I had to drag around the city and then onto the train to Bordeaux, where I would be living for the next few months. 

Paris

Since that day, which was many years ago, I have spent a lot of time traveling solo. Sometimes it is nice to have a buddy to share time and experiences with, and usually when you are alone you can easily find a buddy to share with, but sometimes you just want to do things on your own. Also, sometimes nobody has the time or the money or the desire to do what you want to do, but I prefer not to let that stop me! I feel that although it is sometimes difficult and scary and strange, it has many benefits as well. 

Namibia

Things are hard. Yup, things are hard! You have to figure out in a different language how to get to your next destination or find a product that you need or ask a question. I was in Peru and I needed gas for my stove for a multi day hike and I went to the outdoor equipment store and was ignored at first and then stumbled over the words like a two year old (gas? gaso? fuego?) and then found the gas to be very expensive. I decided to take a pause and recollect my thoughts. I went back to my hostel and saw some gas cannisters at the check in counter and tried again. It turned out, they were half used cannisters left by other people and the guy gave it to me for free! After that, I felt like I was superman, just for something that at home would be a simple chore. 

Laguna Churup, Peru - 4,450 meters (14,685 feet)

There are sometimes scary moments. I was walking on a beach in Brazil when I was catcalled by a bunch of guys just hanging out on the shore. I don't think you need to understand the language to get what they were saying. However, I held up my head and walked past them and of course checked my back when I felt it was safe. On one hand, maybe they were just the "construction workers" of Brazil, but without knowing what they were saying or what the customs were, I knew I should be careful. When I was younger I was so embarrassed when this would happen at home, but while traveling I got through it, and was proud of myself for not just giving up and going to sit in my room alone. 

Barerrinhas Lencois Marahenses, Brazil

You are your own cruise director. There is nobody to help you with the planning, which is sometimes a bit daunting, but on the other hand, you are your own boss. If you want to pivot, you can, and you will not be beholden to anyone but yourself. I traveled to Sweden for a 12 day long hike and about six days into it, it started to pour down cold rain nonstop. By day ten I was wet and cold and tired of setting up my tent in the pouring rain, so I decided to get off trail two days early and go and get a hotel with a warm shower. Did I finish what I had planned? Nope! Did I still have a great time? Yes. Was I disappointed in myself? Not really. But if I had been with someone else I may have done things differently due to external influences. This has allowed me to be more confident and sure of myself and to learn to live up to and learn from my failures, manage changes of plans and deal with obstacles along the way. This also means that if you want to throw in the towel on one activity and go lay on the beach and eat bonbons, you only have yourself to answer to (and myself says, "I love bonbons!")

Sweden - beautiful, but rainy in September!

Even introverts can make friends. I can spend all day in a room by myself with my book and not be unhappy. However, I can also strike up a conversation about nothing with a stranger and soon have a fast friend. I stayed in many a hostel and made plans with a new to me friend to go and see the sights and before we knew it we had spent weeks together. In Rome, I arrived late and everyone in the hostel I was staying at was already asleep. The next morning, when I got up, there were all kinds of people, and I sat and chatted with them while eating breakfast and found out they were basically going to all of the places I had planned to go, so we decided to go together. I ended up not only hanging with this group of people for a couple of days but also went with one of them to my next destination of Naples and spent a couple of days together there. It is so easy to meet people and often when you are with someone else, you stick to yourselves. However, when alone, you are sometimes more open to meeting others! 

Frasier Island, Australia

Of course, being alone does have it's issues. For instance, when biking alone, when you need to go to the bathroom, there is nobody to watch your bike! The same thing goes for luggage, although I have learned a lot since my first two-suitcase-trip and I can usually carry my pack into the restroom with me. Hotels are more expensive when you can't share, and sometimes going out to eat alone is not super exciting (tip for this: sit at the bar and then you can talk to the bartender, the guy next to you, or nobody, depending on how you feel). 

Uyuni Salt Flats, Bolivia

One thing  many people have asked me is whether or not I feel safe, and I can resoundingly say that I do. There are less times than I can count on one hand when I have been bothered or felt unsafe; in fact I have felt less safe in certain places in the U.S. than I have in places like Africa or Central America. Don't let the fearmongers get you down; get out and fly! 

Have you ever traveled alone? Why or why not? Do you enjoy it? What do you consider the most challenging part of traveling / traveling alone?

Jets and Other Travel Stuff

I have had a few requests for travel tips. So I made a page. You can check it out HERE. It's a work in progress, so bear with me and please let me know if there are things you know about and I don't or things I should change, delete or add. I like hints from other travelers. This is what we are all here for.

But, if you don't feel like reading the whole travel page, I am going to give you the short version today.

- I use ORBITZ for most of my travel needs. I usually don't use them to book, but I always use them to compare prices. Then I go to the actual website of the company I am going to book with to book my final ticket. Note that if you do book a hotel on Orbitz, you may not get the loyalty points. 

- Don't be fooled. I stay in a lot of hostels, which are the cheapest option besides camping. You can find a good hostel in any country (even the US!) for anywhere from 5 dollars to...(in NZ, OZ and the US) 30 dollars a person (due to this, if you are in the US, I recommend Motel 6). You can find worldwide hostels at Hostelz.com or Hostelbookers.com.

- If you are going to book a car in the US, use Priceline! First, go to Orbitz. Find out how much they are charging per day for the cheapest car. Then go to Priceline and bid HALF that! Most of the time, somebody will accept it!

- For international flights, I use Kayak. It's basically similar to Orbitz, but on Orbitz, one of your cities has to be in the US. For Kayak, it can be anywhere. You can also book your car and hotel through them.

- I recommend getting a Frequent Flier number, even if you "think" you will only fly that company once. There are partners, so all you really need is the "Big Three" --- United, Delta, American. They are partners with many international airlines, so you can almost always get credit. Plus, you MAY get a FREE flight out of it. Why not do it? What do you have to lose? (the same goes for hotels and cars. You can see my travel tips page for website links)

- If you have not already checked out these travel related posts (packing etc), do it!

How to Pack Light For a Long Trip
Top 10 Essentials For Your Pack
10 Things You Will Be Glad You Lugged Around
10 Things You Want to Do Before Kicking The Bucket
10 Weird Things We Saw Abroad
10 Reasons Nepal Is Better Than India: A Guest Post

Now let's go somewhere! Where do you want to go?

This is an A-Z blogfest post. J is for Jets! You can see the rest HERE.

Essential Travel Items

I have written a bit about packing before. Last week I wrote about how to pack light. I have also written about 10 things every person should have in their pack for a long trip. For those two as well as additional travel tips, go HERE. Today I want to talk about my essential travel items.

- Wet Wipes: I use the Target brand face wipes. They come in a pack of 60 or a pack of 10. This pack of 10 just came out. Before I would buy the 60 pack and separate them into Ziplocs so I wouldn’t have to carry around 60 at a time. But now Target does it for me. Thanks Target. These are good for everything. Miss a shower, use one! Eat an orange on the bus, use one! Go pee in a questionable toilet, use one! There are so many uses for these things -- you can even use them for their intended purpose and wipe your face!

- My Paperchase Notebook: If you don’t know about this brand, you should. You can find them online or at Borders. The notebook I love the best is a travel notebook with dividers, pockets and one little Ziploc pocket in the back. There is plain paper, lined and grid. It is great for keeping track of my travel notes, budget and keeping stubs and mementos! This is the best notebook EVER.

- Earplugs: Yes, I use these A LOT. On the bus, in hostels and even sometimes when I just want to read my book and my boyfriend is watching TV (in the same room of course). They come in very handy.

- Money Belt: I don’t always wear this, but it is a handy place to keep your extra money and your passport. I do use it a lot, but even when I am not using it, I know where my important things are.

- Gold-ban Antibacterial Lotion: This moisturizes and cleans! And by golly, it doesn’t smell really chemically. It fact, it smells good! And doesn’t leave your hands all dried out like the regular Purell Antibacterial stuff.

- Shampoo: I know, you are thinking, “duh”, but really, shampoo can be used as shampoo, body wash, hand wash AND laundry soap. Really, you should always have some on you. It’s not just for hair.

- Ziploc bags: Can be used to separate laundry, to carry that shampoo I talked about so it doesn’t leak, to carry food if you buy any in bulk or to keep your camera in when you go to a place in the rainy season. Basically I usually bring half a dozen gallon sized ones and half a dozen quart sized ones. One tip, don’t buy the cheap ones. I did that, and they just all ended up splitting open anyway.

Okay, so now you have it, some essential travel items. I am sure I have probably left out several and I am sure that you guys have many more suggestions!

Let me know what I am missing. What do YOU consider an essential travel item?

This post is part of the A-Z Blogfest. E is for Essential. You can see my other “letters” HERE.

The Whole Pack-age

When traveling, you sometimes go through many different climates, especially when you travel from Northern to Southern hemisphere in a short period. So how do you pack for this? I mean, you get to Europe in the summer time, then you go south and VOILA, it is winter in South Africa. A month later you are hiking in the snowy peaks of the Himalayas. Different countries in the same region have completely different temperatures too. Sometimes it’s as if you go from Massachusetts in the winter to Florida in the summer, all in one week (or day sometimes!) This is especially hard when you are going to be on the road for a long period of time.

I am a light packer. I have learned this the hard way. On my first trip abroad, when I went to France for the summer (to do a work exchange), I had no idea what to pack. I didn’t know if the job I would have would require dressing up; I had no idea if the Frenchies would look at me funny if I wore my favorite pair of track pants; I wasn’t sure if they were more formal than us; I didn’t know if the apartment I was subletting would have an alarm clock; I didn’t know if they would have books in English!

So I brought everything.  I brought two, not one but TWO suitcases. Big ones. Back in the day, when I went to France, I was not blessed with a rolling suitcase. One had a little tiny strap, like you would have on a clutch handbag, and four tiny wheels. You wheeled it sideways (on the long side) and to do so you had to hunch way over and slouch backwards, causing you to be old before your time. Often, it would tip over, causing your whole production to come to a stop. My other suitcase did not even have the luxury of wheels, tiny or otherwise. I had to carry it. Have you ever seen Spaceballs? That is what I looked like; I had my industrial strength hair dryer, and I COULD have lived without it.

Now I am smarter. I have realized a few things which make life much, much easier.

- You are not going to the moon. They may not have Target, but you can probably find a store, even in the Heart of Darkness, that sells shampoo. Buy it on the road once you figure out how much you will need.

- Layers, layers, layers! A few tank tops, a couple of long sleeves and one heavier sweater will get you very far.

- Also black is always a good idea. If you have a black long sleeve and black pants, you can go from beach to restaurant in a snap. I have the most awesome pair of black dress pants that I got at Express that kind of look like Yoga pants. They can be used for running or for going clubbing (not that I do that!)

- A thin rainproof jacket (I got one at REI for about 40 dollars) that can fit into a really small package when you are not using it is a key ingredient to your featherweight pack.

- A sarong can be used as a towel, or a beach cover up, or a head wrap, or a skirt.

- Zip-off pants, although not attractive, are great for hiking or other activities, are lightweight so you can wash them in the sink and hang them to dry for the next day and they also double as an extra pair of shorts (or your only pair). Get these in black and you may have just killed two birds with one stone. A word to the wise, the more pockets the better. If you can avoid carrying a purse and instead stuff your pockets with your camera and wallet, you have one less thing to worry about.

- Unless you are doing some REALLY serious hiking, running shoes work for almost everything.

Do you have any travel packing tips? Are you a two suitcases kind of person or a throw a backpack on and go kind of person?