San Francisco's Latino Mission District has been described as being 'Brooklyn on steroids' with its bustling hipster scene. On a brief stop in the Golden City recently I was steered towards the hip neighbourhood to delve into its restaurant and bar scene. It was a Tuesday night and I walked from San Francisco's more manicured city centre with its high rises and sharp looking store fronts to the ramshackle warmth of the Mission District. Think electric shops, twinkling lights and a motley bunch of characters from all walks of life. LASZLO Reaching 2526 Mission St I came across Laszlo, a ...
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A flight layover is never fun but I always try to make the most of it. And if you're looking to make the most of it during a brief stopover in San Francisco, then I present YOTEL as a top option. I had just over 24 hours to burn in the Golden City on the way back to Europe from Fiji and I was recommended the hotel for its central location. On landing into San Francisco I found the BART train, which is an affordable and quick way of getting into the city straight from the terminal. It was just $10 for a ride to the Civic Centre BART stop, which is where the YOTEL San Francisco is located....
Read more →San Francisco is a city that makes its own rules and is known for its fog, hills, clam chowder and of course the Golden Gate Bridge. It's also fast becoming “the best food city in America right now,” according to Bon Appetite (2015), and Eater (2015) called the Bay Area the country’s “top fine dining destination.” With such accolades we had high expectations for this cool, quaint, breezy city and a very short time (four days) to tick off as many boxes as possible, including a visit to the said bridge, the famous Fisherman's Wharf, Alcatraz and of course sample some amazing food...
Read more →San Francisco is a beautifully vibrant and diverse city that has it's own rules and sets its own standards. It's known mostly for it's boutique hotels and we found that luxury hotels seemed to be scarce - fortunately there is The Clift. Designed by Philippe Starck and Ian Schrader, it's immediately alluring with an artsy furniture collection in the lobby; a giant chair which is predictably popular with guests (us included), a wonderful fireplace (quite possibly our personal favourite and the centrepiece standing high at thirty-five-foot with a Bronze chimney sculpture by Gerard Garouste) and a...
Read more →Having arrived in San Francisco, we wanted to see and do so much more than the usual tourist attractions, though we had planned on covering a few of those too. After some research we came across Tam Hiking Tours and set about planning our urban adventure with a difference. We caught up with Mill Valley resident and lifetime hiker, Debra Schwartz, (founder of Tam Hiking Tours an outdoor recreational service on Mt. Tamalpais and surrounding areas) and set up plans for our hike - settling on a private tour for flexibility (Debra hosts private and group hiking tours for people of all ages).
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