San Fransisco trip

kneifl

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Hey guys,

I'm going to San Fransisco for a short trip in mid September. Never been to that area of California before. I was curious to know if there are any must do's, bars/restaurants I must visit, or places I need to go? Staying downtown in Hotel Monaco on Geary Street. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!

kneifl
 

Betone

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Wife and I were in SanFran a few months ago. You will be able to walk from your hotel to pier39 , lot's of restaurants and shops. Little Italy and China town (before sunset) have good restaurants. I would defer to wine guy on the upscale restaurants.....
We took a helicopter tour of the city, golden gate and Alcatraz .... Amazing views, took a ton of pictures.
Salsaulito is beautiful with great bars and restaurants. You guys will have a blast as there is so much to see and do. Enjoy:0008
 

Nole

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Deb and I are partial to the Stinking Rose. Best damn garlic restaurant I tell ya!

Smell it a block away.

Have fun! Fav city in the USA.
 

kneifl

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Thanks for all of the replies, I will be sure to check some of these places out. Definitely will check out a lot of the bars and nightlife when I am in town because this is a guys trip. Thanks again!

kneifl
 

ImFeklhr

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The weather during the dates you will be here should be gorgeous.
I highly recommend a trip to the Golden Gate Bridge if you enjoy scenery and want a good view of the City and the Bay.
Take a drive or walk across . Especially if it is clear out.

I personally avoid the Pier 39 area, as it is mostly a tourist trap. However a cable car trip up Powell over Nob Hill and down to the bay is great. But if you are adventurous I find it even more enriching to walk that same trek, so you can stop and look around every once in a while.
If you are a museum and park type person the De Young Museum and California Academy of Sciences are in a very nice part of Golden Gate Park.

I know the area you are staying very well, I live about 6-7 blocks away. You won?t encounter any problems, but if you like to be aware of your surroundings, the area between your hotel and Union Square is fine, and the area up the hill from your hotel (north) gets nicer and nicer with each passing block. The area south and west (slightly downhill) from your hotel gets grittier as you go. The neighborhood just to the west of Union Square is the most dense concentration of humans in the US outside a few zip codes in Manhattan.

As for restaurants and bars, there are so many it?s hard for me to recommend just 1, but if you are looking for a particular kind of food (upscale, hole in the wall, particular ethnicity etc.), or particular atmosphere in a bar (from drag shows, to sports bars and anything in between) I could definitely make a few recommendations.
 

kneifl

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The weather during the dates you will be here should be gorgeous.
I highly recommend a trip to the Golden Gate Bridge if you enjoy scenery and want a good view of the City and the Bay.
Take a drive or walk across . Especially if it is clear out.

I personally avoid the Pier 39 area, as it is mostly a tourist trap. However a cable car trip up Powell over Nob Hill and down to the bay is great. But if you are adventurous I find it even more enriching to walk that same trek, so you can stop and look around every once in a while.
If you are a museum and park type person the De Young Museum and California Academy of Sciences are in a very nice part of Golden Gate Park.

I know the area you are staying very well, I live about 6-7 blocks away. You won?t encounter any problems, but if you like to be aware of your surroundings, the area between your hotel and Union Square is fine, and the area up the hill from your hotel (north) gets nicer and nicer with each passing block. The area south and west (slightly downhill) from your hotel gets grittier as you go. The neighborhood just to the west of Union Square is the most dense concentration of humans in the US outside a few zip codes in Manhattan.

As for restaurants and bars, there are so many it?s hard for me to recommend just 1, but if you are looking for a particular kind of food (upscale, hole in the wall, particular ethnicity etc.), or particular atmosphere in a bar (from drag shows, to sports bars and anything in between) I could definitely make a few recommendations.

Excellent, thanks Feklhr!

Was hoping you would reply as I know you know the area being a local. Will do the Golden Gate bridge thing for sure. Was thinking about seeing Alcatraz as well as I have heard that is very cool. As for the nightlife, here we go: I was thinking more sports type bar for me, I'm sure I'll want to watch some football. However, my friend is newly single and divorced so he'll want to go to the best bars for hot chicks. I'll gladly go with him (he gave me a kidney) and see some of the scenery but not hook up as I'm happily married. Anyway, any more info would be greatly appreciated!!

kneifl
 

fatdaddycool

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Excellent, thanks Feklhr!

Was hoping you would reply as I know you know the area being a local. Will do the Golden Gate bridge thing for sure. Was thinking about seeing Alcatraz as well as I have heard that is very cool. As for the nightlife, here we go: I was thinking more sports type bar for me, I'm sure I'll want to watch some football. However, my friend is newly single and divorced so he'll want to go to the best bars for hot chicks. I'll gladly go with him (he gave me a kidney) and see some of the scenery but not hook up as I'm happily married. Anyway, any more info would be greatly appreciated!!

kneifl

The best part of this post is that you are asking ImFeklhr, a gay man (not that there is anything wrong with that), where the best bar to pick up hot chicks is....................but the funniest part is that he will probably know better where to do that then most straight guys that live there.
 

jhawksoon

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Deb and I are partial to the Stinking Rose. Best damn garlic restaurant I tell ya!

Smell it a block away.

Have fun! Fav city in the USA.

I was about to suggest not going to the Stinking Rose. It seems like a tourist trap to me and I didn't think the food was any better than I can get at any old Italian restaurant. Of course just one man's opinion.
 

Nole

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I was about to suggest not going to the Stinking Rose. It seems like a tourist trap to me and I didn't think the food was any better than I can get at any old Italian restaurant. Of course just one man's opinion.


I can see your side. It's just a neat place. We order their spaghetti sauce on-line. It's pretty damn good!
 

jhawksoon

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I'm always looking for a really good red sauce. I can't really remember what the wife and I ordered when we were there just our opinion of the place. Awesome city though, and I would agree probably my favorite in the country.
 

Nole

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I'm always looking for a really good red sauce. I can't really remember what the wife and I ordered when we were there just our opinion of the place. Awesome city though, and I would agree probably my favorite in the country.



The sauce is on-line only. They don't even serve it at the restaurant. It's garlic-heavy of course but it's great!
 
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