You see, here was the point of starting this blog - show people my experiences living in a new place. I really love hearing people not from New York talk about New York. It makes me see certain things in a new way and get all nostalgic about when I found those things to be weird too. (In Cincinnati, when someone doesn't hear what you just said, they'll often say "Please?" instead of "Could you repeat that?". I say "Come again?" and people there look at me like I'm crazy.)
It was also going to be an excuse. A beautiful excuse to get out and explore the city and do all sorts of... whatever. You've heard this before.
And I have done none of it. I moved to the mission, like an idiot, and I have no excuse to leave my neighborhood, ever. I break a collar bone and can't ride a bike. I decide to freelance instead of getting a real job so I never leave my house. I get an on-site job and it's at 3rd & Folsom, a 15 minute bike ride from my house and a commute that involves not one single degree of difficulty.
Now? Now, I have lived here for over two months, and my mother and best friend are coming to visit me for Thanksgiving. They have never been to San Francisco before and it is my job to make their week worthwhile.
They are exactly like me - pool, dive bars, burritos. Yes. All of it. So I'm not worried about what to do around my apartment. I know those answers. What I don't know is where else to take them. We have no desire for the overly-touristy, though going to see the bridge might be nice. But where are all those beautiful hilltops that everyone takes the touristy pictures at? I don't even know how to be a tourist in my own city. I have failed myself, and I'm about to fail them.
Nothing expensive, nothing that involves a wait line. (Ice cream from Bi-Rite excluded.) When Mom came to visit me in NYC, there was no Empire State Building. Violates both rules, so it was out. Both of them claim that they couldn't care less about sight-seeing, but the fact remains that they are in this amazing city for the first time and I'd like to give them a couple of experiences to write home about.
The Roommate recommends Sutro Baths, and I agree. I recommend seeing the bridge from somewhere high up and pretty and accessible by MUNI. They will eat burritos and do dive bars in my neighborhood. There's probably going to be a Market St. shopping trip, but we have no money and I'm not sure what there really is that's super unique to this great town of ours.
Help me not look like an asshole, guys. What am I missing out on? (Probably taking them to Boudin, and somewhere with chocolate. Side note.)
Oh, and P.S., you crazy liberals, thanks for Tuesday. I sincerely hope it was as good for all of you as it was for me.
6 comments:
Alamo Square's the Painted Ladies/skyline view.
If you/they can walk a while, you can hike along Land's End from Eagle's Point (with a great bridge view) to Sutro Baths. (Link.)
Oh, and Robin Williams' house is near there, just above China Beach. :)
walk across The City.
start at The Ferry Building, head up Market/Mission to 17th, right on Stanyan, left on Parnassus/Judah, all the way out to Ocean Beach. bring a camera.
it will take 4-7 hr, depending on how slow/fast you walk. it will cost about $5-$10 for snacks/water along the way.
of course, there are 100s of variations of the route, above is how i did it last time.
Buena Vista Park has some great views and is over in the direction of Golden Gate Park, which is also worth checking out. Also... Seward Street Slides!
I love all the walking ideas. My mom has some pretty serious knee problems, so the cross-city plan might be too much. (Hell, it's probably too much for me - but that won't stop me from doing it sometime. Sounds awesome.)
Thanks so much for your suggestions. I know she'll have a blast no matter what I take her to do, but I don't know if I'll get many more chances at this trip and I just want to make sure I do it right.
for chocolate, go to the recchiuti shop in the ferry building or chocolate covered in noe valley. blue bottle coffee and $2 bahn mi sandwiches might make civic center/hayes valley a nice little trip. dim sum in the richmond, if they're into that, maybe on the way back from sutro cliffs. 9th and irving (you can take the N there) in the sunset is a cute little neighborhood and real close to gg park.
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