Bev,
You keep mentioning this thread, so, although I already spend more than half my life on the net and swore I wouldn't browse this thread, here I am.
I thought I'd extoll the place where I live, since I returned like a prodigal son 10 years ago due in part to its many great attractions. However, be warned if you visit the area, that the traffic is about the worst of any you'll find. So much so that had I to do it over again, I probably wouldn't have moved back, but this is a vacation thread, not a "best places to live thread," so here we go.
SF Bay Area:
Things to decide before coming...Where do you want to stay? I don't know the prices for various accommodations, but rest assured they are all very high. SF, I would guess, is very high. I think I'd consider staying in the East Bay (e.f. Oakland, Berkeley) and taking B.A.R.T. (subway) to The City (S.F.) to save some $$ if you want to save $$) Besides, you might enjoy attractions outside SF and be better off not being in the city.
I have a friend in Berkeley who has an illegal bed and breakfast with a view of the Campenille at UC and I think there's a network of B&Bs like his. I'd much rather do something like that than stay downtown SF.
SF Attractions:
Alcatraz - actually quite interesting
North Beach- Italian area with lots of Italian restaurants, big hills, and the vestiges of the Topless Era nightclubs. Broadway St. is where Lenny Bruce, Phyllis Diller, Mort Sahl, and many others performed when they were getting known. Good wlaking area.
The Castro- Probably the capital of gay America. Walk around and see the weird people with pierced nipples french kissing on the street.
Union Square- with most of the expensive hotels nearby. Where they filmed a lot of movies including The Conversation.
Palace of the Legion of Honor- From the 1910 or something Int'l Exposition. Quite striking architecture. A hop, skip, and jump from...
Golden Gate Bridge - don't be one of the hundereds who have spurned Dr. Kavorkian and jumped off this span. You can walk across it. Near the SF base is Fort Mason which you can visit and Greens vegetarian restaurant is near that.
Golden Gate Park - Lots of stuff. Japanese Tea Garden, Buffalos, Imitation Kew Gardens Conservatory, Steinhardt Aquarium which I prefer to the trendier new aquariums popping up in every city. DeYoung museum.
Palace of Fine Arts- nice museum with a great view by the Presidio
Presidio- The military left - what are they going to do with this prime pty?
Downtown Area - SFMOMA Modern Art Museum. Worth a look. I haven't been to the new library at Civic Center, but it's supposed to be architecturally interesting. City Hall is nice.
The Mission- Mission Delores is one of the California Mission where Father Junipero Serra hung out. Weather is warmer in this micro-climate. Get the best burritos in this, the hispanic section.
I'm sure I"ve left out some major attractions. Check your AAA book.
Hmmm, maybe you're better off staying in SF if you want to take in all of that. But, lets move on to nearby attractions...
BERKELEY
Drive in the hills, up Euclid or Spruce, and check out the views of the bay and the nice California architecture. Get to Maybeck Twin Drive and see some Maybeck houses and great views. Pete Seeger grew up a couple blocks away. Visit the Rose Garden. Tilden Park is nice, but I guess you don' want to spend a lot of time there on your vacation. Drive along Grizzly Peak toward Oakland and check out the million dollar views of the bay and 4 bridges (on a clear day, that is)
Drive down toward campus from Grizzly Peak past the Lawrence Hall of Science and stop at the Botanical Gardens. The bastards are now charging admission (except on Thursday's, I hear). A very nice botanical garden with you guessed, it- good views from the top.
Keep going past the stadium, try to find a place to park (good luck!) and spend an hour wandering around UC's campus. There's the UC Art Museum and the Anthropology museum across the street from each other. Telegraph Ave., scene of 60s riots and life, is now kind of a slum, with lots of sidewald handiworks being sold, but walk down a few blocks and you'll find some terrific bookstores.
Hungry? There's no place like the Bay Area for foodies. Chez Panisse is in Berkeley. Clinton ate here. So did H.R. Haldemann and hundreds of other famous people. The upstairs is pricey but affordable for calzonne, a salad, or whatever. Downstairs is about $100 a pop for dinner only, with no choices on the menu. Probably booked up anyway. Check Zagat for good choices.
What am I forgetting??? 4th street in Berkeley is becoming the trendy shopping area. Lots of shi shi stores for the yuppies.
NAPA:
Rent a car if you aren't driving yourself and go up to Napa and Sonoma and visit some of the dozens or probably hundreds, now, of wineries. A lot are charging now for tasting, but a lot of good ones still don't rip you off. I don't know how to find out in advance which ones charge. Sonoma is less crowded, I think.
Running out of time. That's my view of some Bay Area attraction. And I haven't mentioned points south like the peninsula, Silicon Vally, Stanford, San Jose, Santa Cruz, Carmel (we're getting a couple hours away from SF now, though..)
TaTa.
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