Chinese New Year in the Rain
by atufft
Chinese New Year is usually during February, normally the rainiest month of the year in San Francisco. Although there's a low chance of a heavy downpour on the Chinese New Year celebrations and parade, parade participants often plan for the worst by wearing clear plastic rain gear, having weather proof canopies where possible, and then the streets become overly crowded with umbrellas. Actually, along narrow Grant Avenue, the main thoroughfare in Chinatown, can be navigated without an umbrella much of the time because of the overhanging canopies of the shopkeepers. A hooded jacket is more practical than an umbrella for the street faire activities, but an umbrella will serve nicely to watch the parade, which goes along the broader avenue of Kearny Street.
General Tips
by krisfromthevalley
Palace of Fine Arts- absolutely beautiful. It is located in the Marina and has been in several movies. The Rock, The Bachelor--right next to the beach and it is surrounded by the most extravagant houses in the city.
It was built for the purpose of the World's Faire in the early 1900's and has been restored. The bad part of it is that it has been fenced off, so some of your pictures will have a fence. But it is still definitely worth it. The architecture and the lagoon is amazing. It is also right next to the Exploratorium (kids science museum). Best memory of San Francisco..I live here and sometimes I think about it and say, "I can't believe I live here". Fondest memories consist of hiking and spending time in Marin County in the lush green areas and hiking in Muir Woods
Golden Gate
by rickyvilla81
Driving from the northern wine country, through Marin County (home of Skywalker Ranch), you clear a hill and there it is: the Golden Gate Bridge, red and bold, shrouded in wispy mist rolling in from the Pacific, linking two green hills on either side of the Bay. San Francisco's skyline, though not as expansive and conquering as New York's (but where is?), lies beyond, crowned by the sharp Trans Am Pyramid but adorned with rolling city hills. That is a great view, one of the most famous in the world.
my favourite areas of san...
by melancholia
my favourite areas of san francisco are the haight-ashbury and golden gate park. you can experience both in the same day as they are in close vicinity to eachother. in fact if you walk to the end of haight st, it goes directly into golden gate park. i would advise though to be wary of a lot of homeless folk and people offering drugs. i was offered marijuana by 3 different people, and i was simply walking around the park minding my own business. they weren't trying to sell me drugs, just offering for me to join them in their drug use. (and if you are curious, no i did not smoke with them)...people do tend to be quite friendly here though, and that's quite a nice change. i also had a guy in the park offer to be my tour guide and take me around the city. i took his phone number, but never called...it's hard to measure ones true intentions, eh? as everyone warns, i figured it'd be better 'safe than sorry'...i suppose i got a bit sidetracked into golden gate park..more on haight-ashbury...haight st is full of a variety of hippie shops, you'll see a fair amount of tie dye and bright coloured shop fronts. there's also a bit of punk and gothic type stores mixed in. if you're a fan of music i would suggest to check out the 'amoeba record store' it's located at the end of haight, before mcdonalds, and the entrance to golden gate park. it is a HUGE building with a lot of people..but there's also a very large selection of music and posters, and a sizable section for clearance cd's. you can find a lot of new music here as well, not only music no one ever wants to buy. prices in the clearance range from $1.00 to $4.99. check it out. http://www.amoebamusic.com/. as for transportation to this area i took the N-Judah muni(metro/subway like system) from powell and market st station. you are dropped off 4 blocks north of haight st at carl and cole streets. out of all the interesting sites and whatnot..i'd actually have to say when i think of san francisco i will mostly remember the people i met. i made some new friends that i wish i had more time to get to know in person. other than that, once again haight-ashbury, golden gate park, and also chinatown will be remembered.
See the nighttime skyscraper...
by MissyWQ
See the nighttime skyscraper lights while driving along the Embarcadero. The sight is imprinted in my mind. Wish I had a photo of it. My new scanner will have other photos soon. Not soon enough. I left my harp in Sam and Fran's Disco - Joke
(I left my heart in San Francisco!)
Loved hearing that song played by the U.S. Army Band at the Presideo of SF overlooking the Bay blue water in 1971.
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