Daily itineraries for a week in SF

OK, so you'll need to juggle this calendar according to your arrival dates and the weather, but:

Tourist Orientation Day - Driving Tour/Cable Cars/North Beach
Start off with my two hour driving tour of the city, then ditch the car for the rest of the day.
From Union Square, ride the cable car to Ghiradelli Square.  Get a free piece of chocolate just for entering the gift shop.
If it's nice, have lunch/oysters at McCormick & Schmick's which has a great bay view.
If it's crappy, park the kids at Starbucks with some hot cocoa while Mommy & Daddy get an Irish Coffee at its birthplace, the Buena Vista Cafe.
Walk along the waterfront from Ghiradelli down to Pier 39.  Fair warning: this is a giant tourist trap and no local goes here.  So if you want to skip it, kudos to you.  But we won't judge if you feel compelled to visit it at least once.  The sea lions are on the far left end of Pier 39.  If you didn't eat at Ghiradelli, get some chowder at Boudin.
To get back to Union Square, you're going to walk to the OTHER cable car (at Bay & Taylor) and ride it through North Beach and Chinatown. 
If you want, hop off at Washington Square in North Beach, stroll the neighborhood, and get dinner.  Depending on the time of day, you may have a tough time getting back on the cable car.  Give it a shot, but if the first one that comes by is packed, give it up and hail a cab.
Dining recos for North Beach are here, but at least get some gelato at Gelato Classico.

Saturday/Tuesday/Thursday - Farmers Market & Downtown Art/Shopping:
Start at the Farmers Market at the Ferry Building.  Read my advice about it here.
Couple of options from here depending on your interests:

• Catch the F-line up Market to Union Square for shopping.
• Catch the F-line up Market to Kearny/3rd St and hit some museums in SOMA (south of market).  The SFMOMA is closed, but there's the Jewish Museum, Yerba Beuna Arts Center, Cartoon Art and more - google SOMA and museums.

When you're done, get back on the F-line up Market to Zuni Cafe (book asap) - nom nom nom, so good!

Winery Day - - since it's winter and the days are short, you'll want to get an early start:
If you need it, get breakfast at the Lighthouse Cafe in Sausalito (or my Dad likes Mel's Diner on Lombard or Geary)
Drive north to wine country.  Lately we've been hanging out in Sonoma at Dutcher's Crossing, Truitt

San Francisco local favorites, part 2

Locals drive up 101 to Sonoma for wine tasting and leave Napa to the tourists.  We leave SF by 10:30 to beat the traffic, and we get sandwiches at Safeway (or splurge on the Oakville Grocery in Healdsburg). 

We go to Farmers Markets.  Lots of neighborhoods have them now, so Google is your friend here, but the biggest and prettiest for visitors is the Ferry Building's Farmers Market.  Get there before noon if you can, and you'll find all the fixings for a lunch on the spot, and dinner at home.  Just remember, SF is now a BYOB (bring your own bag) town.  I like to make the outdoor circuit first - start at the north end of the front, walk south along the Embarcadero, follow the people around the south end to the back - wander the several aisles on the back lot, then head inside.  Take time (they don't do to go cups) for some Blue Bottle Coffee - the line is shortest at the cart hiding just south of the main front entrance, under the portico.  Pick up some Mt Tam cheese at Cowgirl Creamery inside, a salumi cone at Boccalone (look for the sign that says "Tasty Salted Pig Parts"), and a loaf of whatever floats your boat at Acme (look for the daily special).  Now turn around and get yourself an empanada at El Porteno.

We go to the movies.  If everyone's over 21, we pay extra to see movies at the Sundance Kabuki so we can have a drink and (Fri/Sat only) tater tots while sitting in our reserved seat.  But we also like to check the Castro Theater's schedule of classics.  Thanksgiving week, for example, was the Sing-Along Sound of Music!  If you want dinner and a movie, check what's playing at Foreign Cinema, which is primarily a very good, lively restaurant in an old movie theater - but they still project a movie onto the wall in the outside garden area.  Very Cinema Paradiso, but with food.

San Francisco local favorites, part 1

OK, I know I'm missing a TON of stuff, but these are the highlights that first spring to mind.   

Favorite restaurants & food stops:

• Zuni Café - So freaking good.  Rezzie required - book asap.  I prefer to be on the ground floor or overlooking the bar - but upstairs in the back can be nice if you prefer quiet - ask for that when you book online.  The roast chicken is totally worth the wait - so go ahead, get some oysters first, then get the caesar salad.  For dessert, at least one person should order the gateau victoire. 

• Chez Panisse - dinner upstairs is prix fixe, formal and expensive.  The cafe is informal and less expensive.  Both are worth making reservations as soon as you know you're coming to San Francisco. 

• For steak or just a nice dinner especially after spending the day in wine country, Muir Woods or Point Reyes, the Buckeye Roadhouse in Mill Valley.  If you know which day you're going north, do make a rezzie asap for dinner at the Buckeye (upstairs gets noisy, so ask for the first floor, most preferably in a window booth table).  They do steak and cocktails right, and have smokehouse entrees.  Get the Oysters Bingo.

• Nopa - You'll need a rezzie, unless you get there right when they open up for dinner and grab a spot at the bar or community table for drinks and food.  Rustic, wood-fired foods is their claim to fame.  I can't tell you how good the pork chop is - you have to try it for yourself.  Apparently, many people are now skipping dessert to get in line for Bi-Rite's ice cream next door.  

• Bix - Located down a nondescript alley on the fringe of the Financial district.  A classy, well-heeled joint with a great bar, delicious food, excellent service - on the pricy end of the scale.  We've celebrated many birthdays/anniversaries here. 

• Chapeau - French.  Feels classier/fancier and more delicious than the price.  Not sure why, but parking requires a little extra time/walking in this neighborhood (Clement St/Inner Richmond). 

Things tourists like to do, but that locals are pretty meh about

Alcatraz – you know, it’s an empty jail.  But it’s a nice boat ride and pretty view back to the city, so that’s nice.  If you want to go, buy tickets ASAP.  Bring a jacket, hat, scarf and mittens - even in summer.

Pier 39 – we avoid this tourist trap (in fact, I avoid from Pier 39 to Ghiradelli Square) like the plague except to bring visitors to see sea lions and ride the cable cars.  If you're taking kids, my advice is to focus on the sea lions and carousel, and set a time-limit and budget.  If you want to sit and eat by the Bay, the locals go to:

• On the pier, the only place I'd bother eating is Boudin's because it's cheap and basic. 
• Greens over at Marina Green for great vegetarian food that even meat-eaters like
• Pier 23 to sit outside and eat burgers and drink bloody mary's or whatever
• The Ferry Building - grazing the farmer's market on a Saturday is awesome.
• Red's Java House or the High Dive (conveniently across the street from Ben's new office) on the piers just south of the Bay Bridge. 

Union Square - I'm torn.  I come here myself to shop - but when I do, I set aside half a day and I plan in advance where I'm going because the shopping is scattered over 6 square blocks, so it's really easy to run yourself ragged.  I see a lot of tourist families wandering around, looking tired.  My advice is to consult a map and plot out in advance which specialty shops you want to hit that aren't in your hometown (because most of them are available at your local mall or big city, so why waste your vacation time here?).  

Union Square itself is pretty, and a lot of people stop through here because of the cable cars.  If you just want a bite and to rest your weary feet, try:

• Emporio Rulli at the east end of the Union Square park
• A drink at the Westin St Francis (sadly, you can no longer ride the elevators for a great view without a guest keycard)
• Cheap eats in the Macy's Cellar 
• Indulge just a little eating under the stained glass at the Rotunda at Neiman Marcus.
• 54 Mint is tucked away but worth seeking out for a nice authentic Italian dinner.
• Sears Fine Food has a good breakfast.  Sometimes there's a line, but it usually moves quickly.

My "can't-leave-Paris-without" list

Les Nymphaes in the Musee de l'Orangerie, © 2012, Joan Klau

• Musee de l'Orangerie houses Monet's waterlily series as they were designed to be displayed - in 2 big oval rooms, with 4 paintings per room. What's most incredible is how sunlight from the skylights of this old greenhouse influence the colors of the paintings. If a cloud passes over, it completely changes how you view the paintings. Amazing. Everytime I go to Paris, I easily spend an hour or two in just those two rooms.  It is one of my happy places.  The basement has non-Monet stuff worth visiting if you have time.  More about why I love it here.
• Even if you aren't a museum person, the design of the Musee d'Orsay is pretty cool - the inside of an old railway station. But, if you do like art, it has a great collection of Impressionist art. 
• The amazing stained glass windows in Sainte Chappelle are best lit by morning light.  They're in the processing of cleaning and restoring the stained glass at Ste Chappelle, and it's quite amazing to see the difference between clean and dirty.  Just a tip: you can't really see the church from the street - it's tucked behind the wall around La Concergie so just south of the ornate black and gold gates that show off the French supreme court, look for a line forming and going into an arch on the west side of the street.
• A block away is Notre Dame, which you could easily spend an hour inside and out.  If you want to tour it, I recommend going first thing in the morning:  get in line for the tower stairs to see the gargoyles about 15-20 minutes before they open - that'll be the shortest wait all day.  Then tour the inside (I found the audio tour worth it).  Outside, don't forget to walk around the south side and eastern back end to appreciate the famous flying buttresses.  For the prettiest pictures, come back at sunset - in fact, I highly recommend that once you're done snapping shots of sunset's glow on the front facade, walk around the back and over the bridge to Île Saint-Louis and toast sunset with a glass of champagne at one of the cafes facing Notre Dame.
• My favorite Paris stroll is from Notre Dame to the Tuileries, detailed here. 
• I also love to stay in and wander around the Marais.  My favorite long lazy walk through the Marias is mapped out here.
• I love to make a pilgrimage to Montmartre for interesting sights (church, carousel, park), amazing city views, and a nice walk through an interesting neighborhood – all detailed here. If you're a fan of the movie Amelie, this was her neighborhood.  
• La Maison Angelina has the best hot chocolate (called l'africain), a pretty wonderful nicoise salad, and some insane pastries. #226 Rue de Rivoli, across the street from the Tuileries.
  
• Le Petit Zinc is a romantic art deco brasserie throwback to Paris 1920; service is great without being obsequious; and every last bite was delicious. The Fruits de Mer plats are hay-uge. It's right around the corner from Cafe de Flore and Les Deux Magots, 2 classic Parisian cafes - all of which are right at the St Germain des Pres metro. 

You'll find more favorite wanderings here. 

Shaklee 2013 Paris Trip Advice

Congratulations to all the hard-working Shaklee people who, simply by sharing what they love about Shaklee, earned the Shaklee International Luxury trip to Paris this fall.  They each earned first-class tickets for two to Paris for a week at the Westin Place Vendome, including a private after-hours tour of the Louvre.  Since Shaklee picks up the tab for the trip, a lot of my usual Paris-penny-pinching advice won't be needed for those folks, so this post is specific to their stay.

This advice still applies:

• My must-see/do list. 
• My favorite walk in all of Paris.
• My other favorite walk.
• Other sights and walks I love.
• Restaurant recommendations - both splurgy and simple. 

Specific to your stay and neighborhood:

Les Bateaux Mouches

Paris sunset cruise, © 2012, Joan Klau

I strongly recommend taking a bateau mouche tour along the Seine a) on your first night to orient yourself, and b) at or just past sunset to truly appreciate why Paris is called the City of Light. The sun sets late in Paris (9:30p in early May), so eat dinner first (sit outside to enjoy the golden hour light bouncing off buildings and filtering through the plane trees), then stroll along the river to your bateau mouche. Every hour on the hour, the Eiffel Tower does a 2 minute light show, so time your ride accordingly. Fair warning: in warm weather, students like to hang out, drink and sing along the riverbanks from Notre Dame east, so you may get flashed.

There are several companies that run river cruises, and some offer dinner cruises. I've only done the Bateaux Mouches down at Pont d’Alma because they run the latest rides, but it requires a cab ride there, and a long walk up to either the Metro or a long line for a cab home. Next time I’m in Paris, I’m going to try the Vedettes du Pont-Neuf, which have a much more convenient location, and cheapest fares.