We just got back from a trip to San Francisco. I went there once on a family trip before the 4th grade, but that is about it. I have to say that I love that city now. Our friend Chris has always raved about it – now I see why. We biked over the Golden Gate to Sausalito and had lunch. We walked everywhere. We took a night tour of Alcatraz. We walked by one of my favorite buildings in the world every day (it was a block from our hotel). We took a fascinating walking tour of Chinatown. We ate some great Italian food in North Beach, aka “Little Italy.” We say Chewbacca at one of those restaurants (for real – just not in costume). We walked up and down the hill to Coit Tower (I loved the walking tour of the murals, Katie not so much). And we spent a lot of time on Fisherman’s Wharf (or, more specifically, getting ice cream at Ghirardelli Square :).
I’ve noticed that America tourists get a bad rep anywhere they go. I am now thinking that tourists are just bad anywhere they go, no matter what country they are from. Or maybe non-Americans just don’t know how to walk on sidewalks. Everywhere we went, if we ran into a group of people speaking some non-English language, they were always hogging the sidewalk – and would not move over! Even if they were four people across. Kind of frustrating. but just in the touristy areas.
Other than that small gripe – it was a great trip. And iPhones are an incredible tool to have on trips like this! I’m going back there to present at a conference in June – can’t wait!