When Company Comes to San Francisco: The Basics

UPDATE: This post was the beginnings of a list of things I'd want visitors to see in San Francisco.  As I write about them in greater detail in later posts, I am deleting them from this post.  So this is more of a leftover list that I haven't gotten to yet.

If you have a car, geocaching is a super fun thing way to explore the city’s sights!  

I need to write a post about spending the day (or two) in Golden Gate Park, but the highlights are:

• Rent a segue and tour off the beaten path in the park!  We did this, and it was great! 
• Set aside time to explore the Academy of Sciences.  Grownups dig it too - in fact, on Thursday nights, they have 21+ admission so there are no ankle-biters but there are cocktails. 
• The de Young museum has interesting exhibits, but even if those don't appeal to you, at least visit the observation deck right before closing for pretty sunset views
• Conservatory of Flowers
• Paddle boats
• The carousel and slides (southeast corner of the park, near Bowling Green Drive, MLK Drive and Kezar)
• Stop by the bison paddocks

The Exploratorium just moved to a new location at Pier 15.  It's amazing.  Go. 

From dusk to 2am, the Bay Lights, the world’s largest LED light sculpture (8 times bigger than the Eiffel Tower's light show), will dazzle you with a never-repeating light show across the west span of the Bay Bridge.  It's another great excuse for an evening stroll or dinner reservation along the Embarcadero.  Click here for a map showing the public and restaurant viewpoints.
Mrs Doubtfire's house at 2640 Steiner St.  Great article here about the current owner living in the famous house.  

Other pretty (pack your camera!) views of the city:

• Coit Tower - Great views from the parking lot, and interesting WPA murals inside the tower.  Paying to go to the top of the tower is up to you.

• Lands End trail in the Presidio

• Top of the Lyon Street steps on Billionaire's Row of Broadway

• Gingerbread houses along Alamo Square (best viewed from the south side of park on Hayes between Pierce and Steiner, looking east) 

• Walk across and/or under the Golden Gate Bridge:

• Fort Point is directly under the bridge on the San Francisco side – it’s a nice destination for a leisurely walk down Chrissy Field, and an interesting perspective on the bridge.

• Then drive up the hill and across the bridge – you can go the Visitor Center on the Marin side, or you can drive west up into the Marin Headlands for the classic photo op of you with the GG Bridge and city skyline behind you.

• Top of Corona Heights at 16th & Moraga

Go to a Giants game.  After Sunday games, kids can run the bases for free.  If you can't get affordable tickets, you can watch up to 3 innings for free in the Portwalk arcade on the south side of the park. 

The sights of Paris (video)

This is the second Paris promo edited from the 3 days of filming we did in May 2011.  The DP was Wes Dorman, and we shot on a Canon 5D.  Enjoy!

Paris hotels

In general, Parisian hotel rooms are small, like NYC hotels.  Personally, I like to stay in the Marais (4eme) district - the Jewish/gay/fashion district. It's also the only Parisian quarter that did not have its streets redone by Haussman, so it's a lovely warren of old, narrow cobblestone streets in which to get happily lost. It's a lively neighborhood of locals (vs tourists) convenient to many sights and the Metro.  Here's where I like to lay my head in the Marais:

2nd floor view from Hotel Beaubourg, © 2012, Joan Klau

Hotel Beaubourg: Every room is decorated differently, and the ones facing on the street are bigger than the ones in the back. If you’re so inclined, they do a nice simple breakfast in the basement cave.

Looking west from room #53, Hotel Vieux Marais, © 2012, Joan Klau

If the Beaubourg is sold out, then Hotel Vieux Marais is just one block away for the same price. Fair warning: this place has been under construction for the last four years - and truth be told, the rooms are pretty basic.  Some can be tiny with thin walls, and a little chipped around the edges, but they are clean, in a great location, and the staff is INCREDIBLY kind if you are friendly. Definitely email ahead to request a room overlooking the street (otherwise, your view will be of an airshaft), particularly one of the doubles overlooking the street on the 4th or 5th floor.

We didn't stay there, so I can't say for sure, but we looked into Hotel de la Bretonnerie and it seemed cute, with similar price/location/reviews.

The first time Ben and I went to Paris, we stayed at the Hotel Colbert, in the Latin Quarter - a bit nicer, but twice the price as the Marais.

Also, I found if you can find a reason to have a friendly email exchange with the hotel, even if just to confirm your reservation or arrival/departure dates, they will do their best to accomodate your requests - including putting you on a waitlist, or a room with a view - although instead of asking for a room with a view, I usually ask for a room on the top or upper floor, overlooking the street or courtyard (depending on the property). If you can speak/read French (or can fake it with translate.google.com), people tend to be much friendlier (and accomodating).

love letter to Paris (video)

In May 2012, I had the unbelievably good fortune to film Paris for 3 days to promote the 2013 Shaklee Top Achievers International Trip. I had just gone in September 2011 with my parents, so I had a really good idea in my head both of the classic "must-see" sights we needed to cover and of the quotidienne Paris life I wanted to capture. The DP was Wes Dorman shooting on a Canon EOS 5D Mark III, and the editor was Tom Meyer.  This video is the first fruits of our labor - we plan to do shorter videos around different themes, like beauty, art, sights and cuisine. For now, enjoy this one!

Sorbet in Seguret

During our day-long ramble along the Côtes du Rhône loop, we stopped in lovely Seguret.  More highlights/ideas about the area are here.

Strolling Seguret, © 2012, Joan Klau

Shady streets, warm walls, © 2012, Joan Klau

Une porte, © 2012, Joan Klau

sorbet à la fenêtre, © 2012, Joan Klau

Provence highlights

I liked wandering around Avignon, and seeing the amphitheater in Orange, and I’m curious to explore the art trail in Aix-en-Provence, but these are all bigger towns – and I prefer rambling the backroads between the villages north, south and east of Carpentras much more.  Definitely read some Peter Mayles before/while you go.  These are just my brief highlights of Provence so far - I'll do some more detailed posts soon.

Markets:  Almost every village has its own market day. You’ll find a list of who has one when here. Some are very small – for example, Le Barroux had just 3 vendors. Bedoin had 2 blocks worth.  Carpentras is a bigger town, and has the biggest market – get there before lunch to do the full long stroll along the city boulevards, up into the city center’s old alleys and plaza, before they start packing up during the lunch hour.

Carpentras is sort of the western gateway to the Vaucluse (Provence). It’s the biggest town of notable size and services – everything east of it is more a small, rural village. So gas up and get supermarket groceries here.  Carpentras also has, by far, the biggest Provencal market on Fridays.  They start packing up by lunchtime, so plan accordingly.  Allow two to three hours to stroll the entire market.

South of Carpentras:  Isle-Sur-La-Sorgue and Pernes-les-fontaines are famous “water” towns. Isle-Sur-La-Sorgue has a cute downtown (antique) shopping and dining district along the river’s many little switchbacks. And Pernes-La-Fontaine has a ridiculous number of fountains scattered around town. Gets a little overrun with tourists. Further south is Cavaillon, famous for their melons.

Côtes du Rhône loop, © 2012, Joan Klau

Northern villages: The Côtes du Rhône loop is perfectly sized for a lovely day-long ramble through the Dentelles mountains and their vineyards with picturesque hilltop villages, and interesting Roman ruins and churches (Vaison-La-Romaine). Pack your camera and don’t hesitate to stop on the side of the road for pictures or tasting wine. I like to make the circuit counter-clock-wise from Carpentras to Malaceune, Vaison-La-Romaine, Seguret, Sablet, Gigondas, Vacqueyras, and Beaumes-de-Venise. The wines in Sablet and Gigondas are great with a steak or grilled lamb, and Beaumes-de-Venise is famous for its sweet white muscat.

On our last trip, we rented a house in the vineyard flats of Le Barroux, which was lovely.  Nearby at the Abbaye du Barroux, we attended Mass conducted by Benedictine monks, who are silent except for chanting. The church itself is fairly modern (70s), but it’s really interesting to follow along in silence using three mass books – one Latin, one French, one English. And the chanting is beautiful. In the hilltop village, Les Geraniums has delicious food overlooking the vineyards at sunset. 

L'Abbaye de Senanque, © 2012, Joan Klau

Lavender is mostly grown in the more arid flats of Provence just east of the Cotes du Rhone loop, and it’s harvested in July/August. I keep missing full bloom, but the nubby gravel fields in Sault and Senanque are still pretty. On your way to Sault from Bedoin, look for words of encouragement chalked/painted on the road – they’re for the Tour de France riders.

Central/south villages:  Rouissillon is famous for its natural ochre pigments which were mined for paint and textiles use until the 30s. The Sentier des Ochres is a short, pretty walk through an old ochre quarry with pretty views of Provence and other hillside towns. It’s also a good place to feel/hear the mistral winds, and notice the effect on vegetation.

On the Sentier des Ochres, © 2012, Joan Klau

A borie outside Gordes, © 2012, Joan Klau

Gordes is apparently where the rich helicopter in for the  weekend.  The view of and from the village in the late afternoon light are stunning.  Look for the “bories” on the south-westerly way out of town.
Bonnieux, Lacoste and Menerbes are classic, small, picturesque hilltop villages. These are the towns that Mayles wrote about. 

Things I need to explore more:

After we dropped Ben at the airport in Marseilles, we had lunch in Cassis and drove along La Ciotat, one of the highest maritime bluffs in Europe. I’d like to go back and take a boat tour of the calanques – inlets sheltered by steep cliffs – and swim in the ocean. I’d also like to explore further east of Cassis, along the Mediterranean.

La route de Crête above Cassis, © 2012, Joan Klau

• I’d like to see the Camargue marshlands with its wild horses.
• Dad and I really wanted to see (and float under) the Pont du Gard, just outside of Avignon. Sadly, our car’s onboard navigation took us the wrong way into a 2 hour freeway nightmare which ate up all the time we had before our train back to Paris. I guess it just gives us a good excuse to go back.

Photos of Paris & Provence, 2011

Here are some select photos from my 2011 trip to Paris and Provence with my folks.

Madrid & Barcelona

My first trip to Europe was in 1998, when we went for a week to Paris/Loire Valley/Normandy, and then flew to Spain for a week in Madrid and Barcelona. Here's my journal of the Spanish itinerary:

MADRID:

• Saturday night: fly from Paris (CDG) to Madrid. Encounter many Metro stairs with our bags and Halloweeners before arriving at Hotel Anaco.
• Sunday: sleep in. Metro to Prado where Sundays are free and we visit the Goya rooms. Follow the Fodor's guidebook for stroll from Prado to Puerto del Sol (pastry shop) to Plaza Mayor to Palacio Real (picnic of bocadillos). Sun/warmth/ease of language/quaint beauty puts us in better moods. 2 hour nap at hotel. Dinner at locals' hangout, Restaurante Pozo Real (yummy veggie stew, rosemary lamb & flan).
• Monday: walk to Opera Metro (stop at Puerto del Sol pasticerria for warm pastry) and take train then bus to Segovia. Walk thru medieval walled city with moorish exteriors and Roman aqueduct built 300 BC. Yummy cookies in Plaza Mayor. Walked around old Gothic spired cathedral, bought moon art, walked to Alcazar and toured it from top to bottom. Bought more cookies and sandwiches for the long bus ride home, watching Mission Impossible en Espanol. Bocadillos to go from Pan and Co. for in-room picnic.
• Tuesday in Toledo: Metro to bus to Toledo. Walked up hill to Plaza Zocodover, where we eat stand up tapas lunch at the Bar Parilla. Bought tour book and wandered around Toledo, where we saw: El Greco painting, ancient synagogue, various churches, post office, and bought scissors before heading back to main cathedral, which is very impressive (especially Transparente). Catch local (ugh) bus home to Madrid, where we eat Pizza Hut (oops) and go to bed.
• Wednesday: Catch bus to El Escorial. Tour it, including basilica and biblioteca. Try to order bocadillas in bar outside bus stop, but are ignored so leave in time to catch bus to Valle de los Caidos, Franco's fascist inside-out basillica containing 50K dead from Spanish civil war. Cold and spooky. Bus back to Madrid, where we change for tapas stroll: Las Bravas for "patented," original "patatas bravas;" then on to Casa Alberto (first tapas bar in Madrid) for croquettes jamon and chorizo. Back to hotel for short evening on the patio.
• Thursday: last day in Madrid. Wake early to be at Prado by 9:15. Tour almost whole Prado by 12:15 (including cafe con leche break in cafe). Walk through thru Retiro Park, where we see Crystal Palace and Alphonso XII's monument in the Estanque. Metro to Puerto del Sol, where we walk to Plaza Mayor, then Palacio Real's Plaza de Oriente, where we grab lunch at the Cafe de Oriente. Tour Palacio Real with Pharmicerie, then Metro to Reina Sofia to see Picasso's "Guernica" and other modern art. Metro back to hotel, pick up bags, then metro to train station for overnight train to Barcelona.

BARCELONA:

• Friday: arrive by overnight train from Madrid at 8am. Drop bags off at our hotel, Meson Castilla, where we have a little patio off our room. Stroll Las Ramblas. Stop at St Josep's Mercateria - an explosion of butchers, fishmongers, cheeses, bakeries, and more - where we assemble a picnic lunch. Tour Gaudi's Palau Guell, then eat on dock at the end of Las Ramblas, opposite the Christopher Columbus monument. Metro back to hotel, just in time to meet Colleen for coffee at a cafe around the corner! Shower and naps before meeting Colleen and Aaron onboard Redwings for cava, cheese and jamon. Walk to Calle Merce for tapas (ham and salted potatoes, tinto) at La Jarra, and octopus at La Polporia. Finish with pizza in Placa de George Orwell, then home to bed.
• Saturday: walk to Picasso museum, lunch at 11 Caffe de Roma near Jaume metro, walk back through Gothic quarter. Dinner at Siete Puertas with Colleen and Aaron, then night stroll to Gothic Quarter's cathedral to Las Ramblas, then to bed.
• Sunday: hotel breakfast. Walking tour of Moderniste Eixample buildings, including tour/museum/roof of Gaudi's Casa Mila Pedrera. Metro to Sagrada Familia - tour, museum and elevator to tower, where I experience vertigo for the first time). Metro to hotel, with stop for patatas bravas at Cervecas d'Or. Pack for return home. Stroll down Las Ramblas for flowers for Colleen, because we are having dinner onboard Redwings. Good food, great company!
• Monday: Up at 5am, taxi to airport for 7:20am flight to Paris, where we catch a noon flight home to San Francisco.