Photographs of San Francisco
September 20, 2008
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Nightlife in San Francisco
September 20, 2008
still in good shape
well it was the city we expected to have the dullest nightlife of our whole trip. but somehow it ended up to be the best nights we had...
unfortunately we arrived on sunday, so we could only go out on weekdays...
we checked out a few area, but the union square seemed to be our best place for a weekday night out.
our 2nd night we checked out northbeach, because everyone told us there would be plenty of bars.
i'm not sure if we landed in the wrong streets. but as always the most packed bars were the irish pubs.
we met lots of weird people in the redlight district, where we really didn't want to go out. we were offered severaltimes bracelets to get into nightclubs... we went on, but couldn't find a "normal" bar in northbeach.
when it all started
where have gone all the italian women??? most people on the streets were asians... a local told us we should check out the bar called "CIRCA", when we arrived at 1 am it was closed, on weekdays it closes at midnight...the next day i checked it out on the inet, and seems to be good bar. too bad we couldn't make it to that one.
on our 3rd night we checked out "ZEITGEIST", i'm not sure, but i guess it was in the south-market area.
most customers stayed in its backyard. there were tables and benches...and it all looked like a cheap "oktoberfest" in san francisco... however without the party mood. we had a few drinks, not enough to get drunk.
noone was drunk over there... so we went to another location. but once again..we were out of luck. boring evening.
so on our last night in SF, we walked across the union square area.
down the hill
started drinking a few vodka cocktails...1,2,3,4,5... the good mood started. a group of marines, entered the bar 2 hours later. even though we didn't like them at first sight, because every customer in the bar started to worship them as soon as they showed their military presence in the bar. but somehow we ended up talking with them...and started drinking together...jaegermeister shots, jaeger bombs, irish car bombs... we got the marines drunk. it was funny. and it was a good evening. and we liked those guys... they made our evening. we had a shot with a bum on the street. we offered him a jaegermeister. he was happy, we were too.
the night was over at 2 or 3 am, when he had cheese fries at lori's diner...
however it was a bad ending. i threw up outside the diner, because i was disgusted by the 3 irish car bombs (guiness, whisky, baileys)...i can'd stand guiness beer! nevertheless...GREAT EVENING:)
still in good shape
when it all started
down the hill
at the end
up the hill
The Old Siam Thai Restaurant
As it was my second trip to San Francisco, i wanted to turn back to the best chinese restaurant i've ever been "House of Nan King" in the china town area. However my 2 friends were pretty lazy to walk that far just to have lunch. So we decided to have lunch at the "old siam" thai food restaurant, close to the union square.
I was really surprised, because the prices were quite fair. 10-13$ a meal. The decor and design of the restaurant left a clean and charming impression. The 2 waitresses were very friendly and charming;). The food was very nice, not as delicious as nan king, however it's worth turning back again. Their "thai ice tea" was yummi. I've never tasted it before, and it became one of my fav. drinks for this annual california trip.
If you like asian food, try both restaurant.
First head to Nan King in the china town area, however the next day, have a stop at "the old siam" :).
I was really surprised, because the prices were quite fair. 10-13$ a meal. The decor and design of the restaurant left a clean and charming impression. The 2 waitresses were very friendly and charming;). The food was very nice, not as delicious as nan king, however it's worth turning back again. Their "thai ice tea" was yummi. I've never tasted it before, and it became one of my fav. drinks for this annual california trip.
If you like asian food, try both restaurant.
First head to Nan King in the china town area, however the next day, have a stop at "the old siam" :).
outside of the thai resto
thai iced tea! yummi
dish 1
dish 2
Lori's Diner
As it says on their website "a san francisco tradition"...
well maybe not quite, but it's worth a try...
we had lunch, diner at 2 lori's diners. all in all they weren't bad, my burger was always very tasty. i'd compare it to a johny rockets burger. the prices vary from 12-16 $. i liked the retro decor in their restaurants...
there are lots of lori's diner in san francisco... if you want a good burger, check it out. there might be better burger restaurants in SF tough.
well maybe not quite, but it's worth a try...
we had lunch, diner at 2 lori's diners. all in all they weren't bad, my burger was always very tasty. i'd compare it to a johny rockets burger. the prices vary from 12-16 $. i liked the retro decor in their restaurants...
there are lots of lori's diner in san francisco... if you want a good burger, check it out. there might be better burger restaurants in SF tough.
Trieste Cafe - an italo-american coffee bar with charm
i read in a travel-guide that "francis ford coppola" wrote his script for the godfather movie in this bar. true? bullshit? no idea... but it convinced me to get in and have a coffee.
the bar looks nice and charming. it has more local customers than tourists in it, which surely is a good point. i'd say everything in the inside looked alike 30 years ago. the nostalgic touch brings you back in time.
we had a good coffee, with some cookies, and would always turn back again.
the bar looks nice and charming. it has more local customers than tourists in it, which surely is a good point. i'd say everything in the inside looked alike 30 years ago. the nostalgic touch brings you back in time.
we had a good coffee, with some cookies, and would always turn back again.
inside
outside
Coit Tower - San Francisco
my second time in SF, but the first time i've visited the coit tower...
you have to pay for the elevator to get to the top of the tower... i think it was 7$, but i'm not sure anymore... that's not big deal, but what pissed me off most, was that they had dirty plastic safety windows around the tower, they were pretty dirty, which isn't the best thing if you wanna shoot some nice photographs.
the views are quite impressing and pleasant.. you can see the whole bay area, downtown, the golden gate bridge.... but they should tell people that there are windows around the tower. depending on what camera you've got, you will see all the scratched and stains on your photographs....
you have to pay for the elevator to get to the top of the tower... i think it was 7$, but i'm not sure anymore... that's not big deal, but what pissed me off most, was that they had dirty plastic safety windows around the tower, they were pretty dirty, which isn't the best thing if you wanna shoot some nice photographs.
the views are quite impressing and pleasant.. you can see the whole bay area, downtown, the golden gate bridge.... but they should tell people that there are windows around the tower. depending on what camera you've got, you will see all the scratched and stains on your photographs....
Shopping on Haight Street
I really loved this street, because it reminded me of the Soho district in London and NewYork. It's a place that lives of grunge, punk, hippie oriented lifestyle. You will find lots of art influences people on the street, graffitys and drawings on every wall. Lots of pubs, bars, restaurants, and GOOD clothing shops.
They have lots of hip hop, urban clothing brands... skate shops, and of course the best CD-VINYL-DVD shop of San Francisco, called AMOEBIA.
lots of vintage clothing shops, tattoo studios, asian shops, ...
I guess my parents wouldn't like the street tough, but for younger ones it's definitely a must-see in San Francisco.
Apparently it's a also a good location of the SF nightlife, haven't been there tough at night, so i can't tell.
The "shopping" part starts from bucanon street, and reaches to the end of the street, where the golden gate park starts.
They have lots of hip hop, urban clothing brands... skate shops, and of course the best CD-VINYL-DVD shop of San Francisco, called AMOEBIA.
lots of vintage clothing shops, tattoo studios, asian shops, ...
I guess my parents wouldn't like the street tough, but for younger ones it's definitely a must-see in San Francisco.
Apparently it's a also a good location of the SF nightlife, haven't been there tough at night, so i can't tell.
The "shopping" part starts from bucanon street, and reaches to the end of the street, where the golden gate park starts.
Emma's Coffee House - San Francisco
while we were looking for the alamo square, after our visit at the golden gate park, we expected th alamo square to be closer than we expected, but it's still quite a distance to walk from the park to the square park...
so after walking uphill, we needed a cup of coffee...
we landed at emma's coffee house... and once again like the trieste cafe, her's looked very local too. and that gives a special charm to a cafe (for tourists, at least for me)... i'm not a big fan of overcrowded starbucks's.
the prices very pretty cheap, i paid like 4$ for a coffee americano, and a slice of cake.
you have free-wifi in it, and if you're bored, you can start reading a book, because there are plentys of them. the decor looked old-fashioned, which gave the coffee house a certain touch of charm.
the waitress was VERY cute :) go have a look!
so after walking uphill, we needed a cup of coffee...
we landed at emma's coffee house... and once again like the trieste cafe, her's looked very local too. and that gives a special charm to a cafe (for tourists, at least for me)... i'm not a big fan of overcrowded starbucks's.
the prices very pretty cheap, i paid like 4$ for a coffee americano, and a slice of cake.
you have free-wifi in it, and if you're bored, you can start reading a book, because there are plentys of them. the decor looked old-fashioned, which gave the coffee house a certain touch of charm.
the waitress was VERY cute :) go have a look!
Golden Gate Park - San Francisco
The Golden Gate Park is a beautiful place, if you're a local from San Francisco, and like to have a walk or go jogging. But for tourists in my opinion it isn't that amazing. Don't get me wrong, I don't regret having it visited, but it's just so big to walk around. We entered it from the height street side. At the entrance, were lots of junkies, bums, and weird people...
I really wanted to see the Japanese Garden ...
when we finally reached its entrance after walking for 30 minutes, we had to pay like 5$ to get in... well 5$ is ok... the garden is really beautiful but you can do the garden in 10 minutes... it's very small.
well who cares? we took some pictures. enjoyed the beautiful ponds and the green plants scenery...
so before leaving the garden, we went to the japanese "bar" where you could get some tea. there came the disappointment. the 2 japanese waitresses looked very shaby... their costums were dirty, and they weren't that friendly. we paid over 12$ for a bowl of tea. well it was enough to fill 5 cups of tea. the tea was a mess, cheap tea from the local store. a typical tourist attraction. avoid the tea thing at the garden, and have a tea at a local tea or coffee bar.
I really wanted to see the Japanese Garden ...
when we finally reached its entrance after walking for 30 minutes, we had to pay like 5$ to get in... well 5$ is ok... the garden is really beautiful but you can do the garden in 10 minutes... it's very small.
well who cares? we took some pictures. enjoyed the beautiful ponds and the green plants scenery...
so before leaving the garden, we went to the japanese "bar" where you could get some tea. there came the disappointment. the 2 japanese waitresses looked very shaby... their costums were dirty, and they weren't that friendly. we paid over 12$ for a bowl of tea. well it was enough to fill 5 cups of tea. the tea was a mess, cheap tea from the local store. a typical tourist attraction. avoid the tea thing at the garden, and have a tea at a local tea or coffee bar.
Mark Twain Hotel - Recommendable & affordable hotel in the union square area
Our travel agent was hardly working to find an available hotel in the union square area. Because of the "oracel" convention most of the hotels in SF were fully booked. So he got us a room at the "Touchstone" hotel, a couple of blocks west of the union square. When i entered the touchstone lobby we weren't really amazed at first sight. The lobby was as small as a hotel bedroom, not the cleanest one, and the 2 guys behind the desk were wearing their privat clothes... BUT we were lucky that day, because of the mentioned convention, also the "touchestone" was overbooked, so they sent as down 1 block to the MARK TWAIN hotel.
We were the winners for that day. Because we got a much better hotel, a cleaner one, a more luxurious one, ... well enough said, it was a good hotel! and we got it for the same price. We were 3 guys, and for 4 nights each of us had to pay like 200$ for those 4 nights, which would be around 50$ a night (150$ the room).
The room, as the hotel were pretty clean. The staff at the lobby was friendly and helpful. The area was kinda safe, BUT there were lots of homeless people in that area all the time, which doesn't mean that they'd caused trouble or make you feel unsafe. After a day or two we got used to it. There was a pretty delicious diner just next to the hotel, a doughnut shop just across the street, so in the morning you could have a cheap and yummi breakfast just as soon as you walk out of the hotel.
I would always turn back to the Mark Twain hotel, because of its price, its cleanliness, and location (union square area).
PROS:
+ room mini bar
+ flatscreen tv
+ ipod station
+ clean bathroom
+ free bedroom wifi / free lobby internet
+ location
+ price
NEG:
- lots of homeless people in that street
- the hotel bar was pretty small
- not too many young people in that hotel
- no bars in the area
We were the winners for that day. Because we got a much better hotel, a cleaner one, a more luxurious one, ... well enough said, it was a good hotel! and we got it for the same price. We were 3 guys, and for 4 nights each of us had to pay like 200$ for those 4 nights, which would be around 50$ a night (150$ the room).
The room, as the hotel were pretty clean. The staff at the lobby was friendly and helpful. The area was kinda safe, BUT there were lots of homeless people in that area all the time, which doesn't mean that they'd caused trouble or make you feel unsafe. After a day or two we got used to it. There was a pretty delicious diner just next to the hotel, a doughnut shop just across the street, so in the morning you could have a cheap and yummi breakfast just as soon as you walk out of the hotel.
I would always turn back to the Mark Twain hotel, because of its price, its cleanliness, and location (union square area).
PROS:
+ room mini bar
+ flatscreen tv
+ ipod station
+ clean bathroom
+ free bedroom wifi / free lobby internet
+ location
+ price
NEG:
- lots of homeless people in that street
- the hotel bar was pretty small
- not too many young people in that hotel
- no bars in the area
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Rasputin Music Store
ok...
not everyone might be interested in this review.
but the most important things to me during vacation are:
photographs, food, music, meeting people, nightlife
and as for the music part, san francisco is pretty important. it has a lot of good rock, indie, punk bands... IMO a good bands always reflects the culture and lifestyle of a city. like all the bands from l.a., san diego, they always have something in common, because they got the vibe of their city, and they're reflecting it through their music. and so do the bands from san francisco...
that's why i always like shopping cds in san francisco.
the lamest shop in SF is probably the virgin store. they have nothing. only the mainstream crap you get on every corner, in every store. and their prices are way too expensive.
Rasputin offers fair prices, and has lots of second hand cds, which are IN PERFECT condition. it has 4 or 5 floors. evertime i get in, i come out with a handful of cds or movies.
GREAT SHOP, GOOD PRICES
not everyone might be interested in this review.
but the most important things to me during vacation are:
photographs, food, music, meeting people, nightlife
and as for the music part, san francisco is pretty important. it has a lot of good rock, indie, punk bands... IMO a good bands always reflects the culture and lifestyle of a city. like all the bands from l.a., san diego, they always have something in common, because they got the vibe of their city, and they're reflecting it through their music. and so do the bands from san francisco...
that's why i always like shopping cds in san francisco.
the lamest shop in SF is probably the virgin store. they have nothing. only the mainstream crap you get on every corner, in every store. and their prices are way too expensive.
Rasputin offers fair prices, and has lots of second hand cds, which are IN PERFECT condition. it has 4 or 5 floors. evertime i get in, i come out with a handful of cds or movies.
GREAT SHOP, GOOD PRICES
