San Francisco: One Perfect Day

Last week, my family and I escaped the snow storm that hit Northern Virginia and returned to (strangely) sunny San Francisco. If you’ve ever been to the City, you know it is never sunny or warm. Except for one week in October.

For any of you thinking of visiting San Francisco, here’s my take on One Perfect Day.

9am: Wake up. Bug and I stayed at the Westin St. Francis while our kids stayed across town at our house with their grandparents. No kids = sleeping in 😀

10:30am: Walk through Union Square and down Market to meet up with my in-laws and kids for dim sum at Yank Sing in the Rincon Center. This is, by far, the best dim sum in San Francisco.

1pm – Walk over the Ferry Building to admire the farmer’s market and delicious inside shops.

2pm – 4pm – Walk. Walk. Walk.

The second, or third, or maybe forth set of stairs leading up to Coit tower. The stairs can be brutal if you aren’t used to it, but he famous Parrots of Telegraph Hill live in the trees, and it makes it worth it.

After making it all the way up the hill in the unusual heat, we were rewarded with a view of the Golden Gate Bridge.

After reaching Coit Tower, we walked down the other side of the hill and into North Beach. Since it was a gorgeous, sunny day, it was packed. If you like Italian food, this is the place to nosh.

We didn’t hang out in North Beach because I wanted to get to Chinatown. The two neighborhoods are next to each other and actually bleed into each other in some parts.

Grant Avenue

Our house in the City is near Clement Street, aka Chinatown West, so I don’t normally venture into this part of town. It’s a little touristy, to be honest. However, there is one reason to visit: UNCLE and Vital Tea Leaf.

That man in the picture with me is Uncle Gee and he’s almost 83 years old. Seriously. Right before this picture, he was Gangham style dancing with me. He is amazing. He owns a tea shop called Vital Tea Leaf in Chinatown, but you do not just go in and buy tea. Oh, no. You are invited into Uncle’s home. You sit at the tea bar and you are educated about tea – all while being poured glass after glass and being peppered by Uncle’s bawdy stories. His selection of tea is one of the best I’ve ever seen, and for loose leaf, very well priced.

After filling up on tea, make the short walk back to Union Square. From here, you can either shop (my choice), ride the cable car down to Fisherman’s Wharf, or hop on the 38 and head out to the Richmond District (my neighborhood) where you can visit Golden Gate Park or the Presidio. The whole walk, with stops, takes about six hours.

And for fun, here are the restaurants I love:

B*Star on ClementTroya on Clement

Umami on Webster

Roadside BBQ on Geary

Out the Door on Bush

Gordo’s

Pancho’s on Geary at Stanyan

Florio