San Francisco | Nancy D Brown

Entries in ‘San Francisco’ Journal

Visiting San Francisco with Kids

Saturday November 10, 2012 at 5:05 AM | 0 Comments

Visiting San Francisco with kids or a romantic escape, my hotel & museum picks.

Having lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for almost my entire life, I am often asked about the best things to see and do in “the city.” My answers to people visiting San Francisco depends on if this is a romantic weekend escape; a girlfriend getaway, a family vacation with kids or perhaps you are interested in where to eat cheap in San Francisco.

San Francisco is not an inexpensive city to live or vacation, yet it is one of my favorite cities. Once you book a flight to San Francisco, you’ll need to find a place to stay. If you are a regular reader of this blog, you’ll know that I review luxury hotel and resort properties. In fact, I just wrote an Insider’s Guide to San Francisco for a Canadian travel search engine. Below are some of the places I recommended:

Best Luxury Hotels in San Francisco

Fairmont Hotel, 950 Mason Street, San Francisco

Four Seasons San Francisco, 757 Market Street, San Francisco

Intercontinental Mark Hopkins, One Nob Hill, San Francisco

St. Regis, 125 Third Street, San Francisco

Westin St. Francis, San Francisco

W San Francisco, 181 Third Street, San Francisco

Best Museums in San Francisco

deYoung Museum

California Academy of Sciences

Exploratorium

Legion of Honor

SF Moma

Walt Disney Family Museum

Best Things to See and Do in San Francisco

There’s more to San Francisco than a boat ride to Alcatraz, eating dungeness crab at Fisherman’s Wharf, throwing tortillas in the air and watching runners in crazy costumes at Bay to Breakers or seeing every color of the rainbow at the Gay Pride Parade – although these are all fun things to do in San Francisco.

Do you have a favorite hotel in San Francisco? What are your favorite things to do with or without children in San Francisco?

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Tags: California, San Francisco, Travel

Discover San Francisco’s Best Museums

Monday November 5, 2012 at 5:05 AM | 2 Comments

Take the kids to The California Academy of Sciences; one of San Francisco’s best museums

Welcome to the Neighborhood, A Series About San Francisco Neighborhoods

One of San Francisco’s best museums; the de Young Museum

Autumn is upon us, a time of year that always puts us in the mood to expand our cultural lives and to seek out mental stimulation. Must be all those years of heading back to school at this time of year that makes us want to get those neurons firing. Now that we’re in charge of creating our own curriculum, we choose something much more fun than the three R’s – we head out to San Francisco’s museums. Art, history, cultural studies and even cartoons await at our favorite spots.

The following “Big Six” museums are the most well-known and popular museums in San Francisco:

de Young - This museum has been a cultural destination in San Francisco since 1895, and has located in its current home on Tea Garden Drive in Golden Gate Park since 2005. Besides the art of course, the two things we really love about this spot – one is the observation tower from which you can see panoramic views of San Francisco, the Pacific & the Marin Headlands. The other is the sculpture garden with works by Joan Miró, Louise Nevelson, Isamu Noguchi, and Claes Oldenburg. Both of these spots are free of charge and are a good way to get a quick museum fix.

Pop in for tea at San Francisco’s Japanese Tea Garden

California Academy of Sciences - Across the street from the de Young, you’ll first notice this museum’s living roof. Don’t miss the Aquarium and the rainforest habitat. After you’ve “done” both the de Young and the Academy – you can pop over the Japanese Tea Garden to contemplate your experience.

SFMOMA- Visit San Francisco’s Museum of Modern Art and unleash your creative imagination.

Visit San Francisco’s Legion of Honor European paintings collection and pretend you are in Paris.

Legion of Honor - We love the Rodin sculpture ”The Thinker” at the entrance of this museum. Combined with the European paintings collection, we feel like we’re in Paris (our second favorite place in the world!). Plus, the views out the Pacific and the Marin Headlands from the grounds are amazing. Oh, and if you’re a fan of the Hitchcock film “Vertigo”, then you’ll recognize this spot as a location in the film.

Asian Art Museum - Since Asian cultures have had a big influence in San Francisco is only natural for San Francisco to house the most spectacular Asian art museum in the country.

Exploratorium - We know people who have had to drag their kids out of this place, so plan to spend a decent amount of time here. Best for kids under the age of 13.

And here are a few spots that are less well-know, but we love them just as much!

Close to SFMOMA, the Contemporary Jewish Museum is worth a trip

Contemporary Jewish Museum - The building is AMAZING! The exhibits always provocative and often humorous. Located a couple of blocks from SFMOMA, you can combine the two for a v. contemporary day.

Cartoon Art Museum - With the rise of the graphic novel, this museum is particularly relevant.

Wells Fargo History Museum - One of our favorite spots in the city! There is an original stage-coach as well as a replica that you can sit in to figure out whether you would have been comfortable traveling across the country with only 15 inches of space to occupy. If you’re in the financial district, this is totally worth a drop in. And it’s free!

Musee Mechanique - Okay, we’re stretching the definition of museum with this one! Get a roll of quarters and plan for about an hour of old-time amusements.

If you are in San Francisco’s Financial District, Wells Fargo History Museum is free!

Museum of Craft and Folk Art - We really love the Craft Bar with Etsy Labs at MOCFA, where you can learn to make art – the most recent session included teaching participants how to knit with old VHD tape.

What are your favorite San Francisco museums?

Things to Do in San Francisco, California

This is a guest post by Dianne Admire. All photos contributed via Facebook or company website.

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Tags: museum, San Francisco, San Francisco museums

Streets of San Francisco Insider Tips

Friday July 27, 2012 at 10:10 AM | 6 Comments

There’s more to San Francisco than a trip to Alcatraz, visit the less crowded Angel Island in Northern California

Welcome to the Neighborhood, A Series About San Francisco Neighborhoods

Try A16′s Burratta in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood

About the author. Dianne Admire is the co-owner of San Francisco company Carried Away. Carried Away offers private, custom, experiential tours of San Francisco and the Bay Area for up to 4 people. Dianne and her business partner Vikki Garrod (a.k.a. The Ladies of Carried Away) are known for their insider’s knowledge of the Bay Area, especially San Francisco and Marin. To book one of their sights, food, wine, or shopping outings you can contact them at www.CarriedAwaySF.com.

If you’re visiting San Francisco, you may find that many of the “must-see” places are packed with people. Summer is usually a very busy season here, but to us, it feels like this year is even more crowded. As such, we offer up alternatives to the usual tourist spots. We love getting off the beaten track, and hope you will too:

Shopping in San Francisco’s Union Square is great, but have you tried Filmore Street?

Shopping, beyond Union Square

For many visitors to San Francisco shopping means heading to Union Square. IF you’re looking for an alternative to the well-known stores of that area, we suggest exploring Fillmore Street in Pacific Heights where you’ll find 6-8 blocks of boutique shopping for homewares, fashion, books, art and more. Also lots of great places to stop for a bite to eat (check out the newly-opened Troya a fab Turkish restaurant)

We also love Grant Avenue in North Beach – a super local neighborhood vibe, with unique shops. One of our favorites is Park & Pond, a perfect place to pick up a souvenir. If you still have more shopping in you, head over to Hayes Valley where – we kid you not – every single store is good. Kids stuff, fashion, food, shoes, homewares. Stop for a glass of wine and a nibble at Two Sisters Bar and Books, and say YES to the deviled eggs!

Grant Avenue in North Beach, San Francisco has a super local neighborhood vibe

A day on the bay, without escaping to Alcatraz

One of the bet things to do in San Francisco is to get on a Ferry and explore around the Bay. For a lot of people this means going to Alcatraz. But there’s another, lesser-trafficed, beautiful island out there called Angel Island. Pack a picnic or plan to eat lunch at the cafe or cantina, put on your walking shoes and board the boat for Angel Island. A natural world awaits you out there, and the 360 degree views all around the bay are stunning.

Dine at Flour + Water in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood

Mangia, Mangia!

Really, really delicious italian cuisine is one of the things that San Francisco is known for. Most visitors head to North Beach – our Italian neighborhood – to get their Italian on. If you don’t feel like following the crowds – and can plan in advance – you must try Flour + Water and/or A16. Two of our best Italian restaurants in the entire city (it is so hard to pick our faves, there are so many!). Both require reservations. And not a red & white checkered tablecloth in sight.

Pleased to meet you, Sam

Everyone’s read about Muir Woods and some days it seems like everyone is there. All at once. If you want a majestic and serene redwoods experience, drive a little further and check out Samuel P. Taylor State Park. The redwoods there are actually taller than the trees in Muir Woods, and it would not be unusual for you have the place to yourself, except for a few deer and foxes.