04.09.2002 - Just returned from my holidays in Scotland with Ciaoer Mike (Aspen). A handful of trave...
04.09.2002 - Just returned from my holidays in Scotland with Ciaoer Mike (Aspen). A handful of travel ops are in preparation. See ya soon.
Member since:17.02.2001
Reviews:61
Members who trust:143
San Francisco is argueably the most beautiful city in the whole United States, and the gate to the Bay Area, California's richest area by culture and nature. Here comes your travel guide for extensive excursions in the Bay Area. And, as you would expect from me, I have included some hidden treasures which you won't find in any travel guide on the market.
I won't write about San Francisco itself. There is already an opinion by wiggglypufff which is so comprehensive and beautifully written that I don't want to add a single word to it. But set your feet outside the city borders and you wont get around reading this review.
Let's start in the Northwest. Most tourists cross the Golden Gate Bridge, stop at Vista Point to take a photograph of the bridge and the city behind (if it's not too foggy), and go straight back to SanFran. Of course they have all missed the best part. Instead you should continue on Highway 101 until the next exit (Horseshoe Bay). Follow Conzelman Road which takes you right through the
Golden Gate National Recreation Area. This beautiful area with its green hills, forests and cliffs offers so many beautiful views that you will want to stop for a photograph (or better a short nature walk) every five minutes. The Road finally goes downhill and leads into Bunker Road which you follow all the way west to your final destination: Rodeo Cove. This is a small bay with a beach and a lagoon - the Pacific Ocean as seen from a different spot. If you are lucky, you can find little Jade stones on the beach! On your way back you may like to visit a whale and dolphin research center, set up there by an environmental NGO.
Back in San Francisco, cross the whole city and onwards Interstate 80 to San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge. Once that lies behind you, you have arrived in Oakland, hometown of famous writer Jack London, on the southeastern side of the bay.
I probably wouldn't mention Oakland, if it wasn't for the most outstanding person I have met in my life, Slobodan Dan Paich, and his creation, ARTSHIP, which has put Oakland on the center stage of the United States for the initiated culture seeker. Slobodan, a former painter, architect, drama director, producer and professor at Berkeley University, arrived in the United States some thirty years ago from Serbia, with only two paintings under his arm and nothing in his pockets. Nowadays, as director of the grassroots Artship Foundation, he convinced the US Congress and Bill Clinton to donate the former USS Crescent City to Oakland. This naval wessel is now being turned into an intercultural arts center and the American campus of the International Peace University. Visit the Artship on the seaside (103 10th Avenue) and explore a different world with theatre stages, arteliers, workshops, lecture rooms and project offices. One of their projects is called Windows and exhibits ethnical art in the empty storefronts around Broadway and Jack London Square. To date they have exhibited hundreds of artists from the whole Bay Area. Artship can be found on the internet at www.artship.org for programme details and contacts. Oh, and they do accept donations.
On to Berkeley, well known as the home to one of America's finest universities. Coming from Oakland, you shouldn't go by the seaside, but follow Claremont Avenue. This will lead you directly to the Claremont Resort Spa, one of America's most famous hotels which pretty much resembles Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany. (If that doesn't ring a bell, this was the castle which inspired Disney World's Magic Kingdom.) From Claremont, drive through a forest into the uphill (and upmarket) residential area. Here you will find the homes of various famous singers, artists and movie stars - excellent pieces of architecture, some of which were designed by -guess who- (see paragraph above). You can sidetrack all of Berkeley in the hills, coming down on the northern end, passing the UCB's Botanical Gardens. Going downtown again, you may like to visit the UCB's campus and extensive library. Berkeley is also a good place to stop for lunch. The city is extremely ethnically diverse, and you can find food from all ends of the world.
A worthwhile detour from Oakland and Berkeley are the Upper San Leandro Resort and Berkeley Hills. A beautiful spot of nature with perfect views over the whole San Francisco Bay. You can expand this tour to your own liking, anything from two hours to a whole day.
Another (2 hours) detour takes you around twenty miles north of Berkeley, to Crockett. To get there, simply follow Interstate 80, direction Vallejo. Situated at the very northern end of San Pablo Bay (the northern half of the San Francisco Bay), on the Carquinez River, Crocketts main sight is Carquinez Bridge, a picturesque steel bridge (looks much better than it sounds). In Corckett Harbour, you will find several small restaurants which serve excellent seafood at very reasonable prices.
So much for my little Bay Area discovery tour. I could go on and on about places like San Jose, Palo Alto / Silicon Valley, Sacramento, and Napa Valley, but that would belong into a different category: Northern California. Maybe some other time.
One more advise on how to get there: Oakland Airport (OAK) is a cheap alternative to San Francisco International. OAK is served, among others, by Delta, United, America West, Southwest and Alaska Airlines, connecting it with almost all parts of the USA. There are also direct fligths from Brussels and Amsterdam, operated by Belgian Citybird and Dutch Martinair respectively.
Copyright 2001 by Hansjörg Gebel, Witten, Germany
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A Very good review. I have visited S.F. several times and have not been disapointed. I have even flown UNDER the Golden gate Bridge in a helicopter. One of my favorite cities in the world.
spooks 15.07.2001 16:58
great op, i went to there a few years ago and loved the relaxed atmosphere, though my favourite place was alcatraz, no i am not a maniac i just found it incredibly intresting! did u visit? spooks xx
docrt 25.03.2001 04:16
Very comprehensive op. Because the ops on SF are of such a high standard I've had to dig deep for a few tips of my own.
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Advantages: A very tourist-friendly metropolitan area Disadvantages: None, except that you really have to stay longer
digitalenvironmentalist 01.04.2007 (01.04.2007)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of San Francisco (California)
Feb 23rd, 2001
(Feb 24th, 2001)
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