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[liptonrm_backup]

The Year of the Wedding continues on. My weekends for the past month, at least, have been filled with both wedding things and classes. They've been very busy weekends. We fly out to San Francisco this coming Tuesday and then the Wrestler and the Philosopher will finally be married on Friday, with a reception to follow. And then, two weeks later, there'll be another reception back here in MI. The fun times just never end.

But! I get to spend nearly a week in San Francisco! It'll be great! And please let me know if there's something that you think I totally have to do while I'm in the city, seeing as I've never been there before. I want to have as much of the SF experience as it's possible to have in 4 or 5 days!

Have been feeling a little worn down this week. Okay, that's a lie, have been feeling very worn down this week. I have my fingers crossed that all of this will pass in a timely manner. Stupid MI and it's stupid cold, wet weather. But, you wanna know what the sad thing is? I actually don't want to leave the Cold White North. I totally do these things to myself, on purpose, don't I? *facepalms*

And now I will go find something to do that involves sitting on the couch. It'll be awesome!

Comments

[elendiari22.livejournal.com]

San Fran for a week! Lucky!! You definitely should check out the Barbary Coast Trail, and definitely go shopping in the Haight (Haight-Ashbury). And eat at ike's in the Castro: they make the best sandwiches in the City. Try to take the bus or MUNI as much as you can, because finding parking is hell.

And I'm totally going to put a plug in for visiting the Winchester Mystery House. It's a short train ride south in San Jose, and it's so worth the trip.

Geeze, if this weren't a family trip for you I'd have to come up and drag you around the city myself!

[liptonrm.livejournal.com]

Oh, man, I wish you could come up to San Fran for a day and drag me around! Except my mom has gotten weirdly jealous of time I spend with friends, and since it is a family vacation-thingy blah blah blah. Family. *eyeroll*

Thanks for the tips! I'm definitely going to make it out to the Haight and Castro districts. And I'm going to make a concerted effort to go down to the Winchester Mystery House (I've wanted to go there for years).

Yay San Francisco!

[shanghai-jim.livejournal.com]

If the weather's nice go to Crissy Field, the former air station that's now this beautiful bayside/shore walk with restored wetlands and herons and stuff, with glorious views of the bridge and Alcatraz. It's a nice 2-mile walk or so along the bay all the way to Fort Point directly underneath the bridge. Also, from Crissy Field you can explore the Presidio, the former Army base (and future site of Starfleet Headquarters) which the Veterans' Cemetery and the brand-new Disney Museum.

Go to Golden Gate Park and take in the California Academy of Sciences; it's a bit pricey for a science museum, but c'mon, live sharks and indoor rainforest and a roof made of plants? Golden Gate Park has miles and miles of walking trails; there's a paddleboat lake, and a bison paddock, and it ends at Ocean Beach -- not the prettiest beach in the world, by far, but hey, it's the beach, on the Pacific Ocean. If you've read my chapter "Chrysopylae" you know all about it.

On Ocean Beach, well, up at the north end of it, the touristy Cliff House is a marker for a more austerely beautiful sight: the ruins of the great Sutro Baths, an ornate bathhouse palace from early in the 20th century that's now this waveblasted henge of grass-covered walls and deep dark pools. Next to it is this diner that's been there since before WW2 which has some pretty tasty pies.

Just north of the downtown shopping mecca known as Union Square is the tiny Little France district, really a block around the French consulate, which features an exquisite French Catholic church, Notre Dame de Victoires.

Just south of Market Street is lovely Yerba Buena Gardens, the downtown's front lawn, and St. Patrick's Church and the brand-new Contemporary Jewish Museum, built out of an old power plant shell by Daniel Libeskind. On another side of Yerba Buena Gardens is SFMOMA, the Museum of Modern Art.

If old European masters are more your speed, in the general vicinity of the Sutro Baths (the Land's End/Presidio area) is the Palace of the Legion of Honor, with Rembrandts et al.

Go for a walk in the Castro. Really. I know, SF is more than teh gay, but hey, c'mon, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are there for a reason.

I like You's in Chinatown for dimsum. Ton Kiang in the Richmond district is famous but it's quite a ride away. The Stinking Rose in North Beach is known for its 40-garlic-clove dishes. If you're willing to go all the way to the Richmond District anyway (like to go all the way to Ocean Beach and Sutro Baths and the Legion of Honor), feel free to investigate Green Apple Books, this huge and delightfully musty crazy used bookstore on Clement Street and 6th Avenue. My old stomping grounds; USF is a short distance away, you can't miss the tower of Lone Mountain or the giant Neoclassical/Baroque church that's our school chapel.

Fisherman's Wharf is SUCH a tourist trap, but hey, if this is your first time in SF, why not? Eat cioppino if you're not allergic to any shellfish: it's a trademark SF seafood stew kind of like bouillabaisse. Also, down amongst the crap are these cool old ships, and the Mechanical Museum, and the SS Jeremiah O'Biren and the Pampanito. The Mechanical Museum used to be near the Cliff House and contains all these mechanical toys and carnival attractions, queen among whom is Laughing Sal, a clown woman (just slightly terrifying.) This is one of the three vestiges left of the oceanside Playland amusement park; the other two are the carousel now at the Zeum near Yerba Buena Gardens, and It's It ice cream sandwiches, which you MUST eat.

The SS Jeremiah O'Brien is a WW2 victory ship. Her lower decks house an exhibit all about her campaigns; I believe she was in North Africa and Asia. The Pampanito is a WW2 submarine.

Note: SF is silly with crazy bums. I mean crazy bums. They can get a little aggressive especially near major shopping areas and tourist areas. Just keep that in mind.

Finally two things: AT&T Park's playground area is open even when the Giants are not playing, and it is simply a beautiful place to go.

Second, you can always try walking across the bridge. It's quite an experience.

-- and yes, try to get down past San Jose while you're here and go explore the Winchester house. Because, well, you gotta.

"Our Struggle"

[shanghai-jim.livejournal.com]

Just saw this on the SF Chronicle: the Contemporary Jewish Museum is hosting an exhibit of pages of a French translation of Mein Kampf on which the artist has invited people all over the world to respond to Hitler by drawing/painting/making art on the pages. It'll be here thru June, so I think you might want to take a look! I know I do.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2010/02/17/ellia.DTL

Re: "Our Struggle"

[liptonrm.livejournal.com]

Wow, way to provide the tourist guide hook-up and then some. Thanks so much! There's so much to see and do! I feel kind of overwhelmed. Well, I guess that just means that I'll have to go back again one day.

And that exhibit at the Contemporary Jewish Museum sounds excellent. This is really great. I can't thank you enough.

CA here I come!

[andi1235.livejournal.com]

Don't know if you'll get this comment before you get back, but HAVE FUN!!! :)

[andi1235.livejournal.com]

Oh, and new Year of the Wedding announcement -- my MOTHER is getting remarried!! :) :) May 22 (practically your birthday, if I recall correctly?) :)

[liptonrm.livejournal.com]

OMG your mom's getting remarried!!!!! That's really awesome. And more awesome. The awesomest. And May 22 is practically my birthday. May's a good month, I highly approve of the date.

YAYZ