Questions for San Fransiscan's

[caseysmom]

I know I have come on here begging for help before but I LOVE San Francisco but get hopelessly lost and confused!

I am taking my daughter and two of her friends tomorrow, we always do the pier 39 / fisherman's wharf thing.

This time my daughter wants to go to union square...so my question is am I going to be able to find parking? Where to have dinner? It will probably be an early dinner.

Any other ideas......

[GreyhoundGirl]

Sorry, I've never been :( . Not very helpful, am I? At least I can give you a wee bump. :p

[Catty1]

PM RedHedd....she lives there!

[caseysmom]

I just pm'd her...I dug up the thread I started last time we went and she had given me a lot of helpful info. I think we will park at union square, walk around there and if we want to go to fishermans wharf we can take the cable cars.

[Barbara]

Only thing I know is that the cable car station is very close to Union square- so that sounds like a good idea :)

[Killearn Kitties]

I just pm'd her...I dug up the thread I started last time we went and she had given me a lot of helpful info. I think we will park at union square, walk around there and if we want to go to fishermans wharf we can take the cable cars.
Just what I was going to suggest. I could suggest a couple of restaurants that I liked, but I was there in 1995 and they may not be there any more. :D

[RedHedd]

I PM'd you back - twice :D Parking will be INSANE. Try to get into either Sutter/Stockton or 5th & Mission. The Union Square garage will be impossible. DO go to the new San Francisco Centre - it's now a HUGE mall with Nordstrom's and Bloomingdales as the anchor stores and bazillion other shops on 5 levels of spiral escalators. As for food- the new food court at the new part of S.F. Centre looks scrumptious! I was in too much of a hurry the other day to stop and eat, but I wanted to.

If you get REALLY hungry, venture south of Market to Howard Street between 4th and 5th Streets. Buca di Beppo is a very fun family style Italian restaurant - I took LBaker there when she was in town and she can't stop talking about it.

The Powell Street cable car will take you down to Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39. You WILL have fun! I love this time of year in the City. There's so much to see and the new section of the shopping centre will take me days to get through, but I AM going to try! :D

[caseysmom]

We have a bucca de beppo not far from here but we have never tried it. I am voting for that...my daughter liked bubba gumps last spring when we were down there so she may want that...

Thanks for all your help San Francisco intimidates the heck out of me...

[Giselle]

You can never go wrong with the Cheesecake Factory. I love that place. However, you do have to wait for an eternity - literally. I don't think they take reservations either so have a nice game on hand if you decide to go. The Cheesecake Factory is also very unoriginal so you might just want to try something new like the restaurant RedHedd mentioned.

RedHedd hit the nail on the head. Union Square is always packed, and, this weekend, it will be a total killer. You will want to shoot yourself after the umpteenth time of circling the underground parking :p Trust me.. LOL. For that reason, I'm taking the BART. That might be an option for you if there's a BART station relatively near you. If your daughter is anything like me, you MUST head over to Forever 21. It's two stories and loaded with everything a young girl desires. Go up the street, and you'll see high end fashion like Gucci, Prada, Coach (around the corner from Nike Town), Louis Vuitton, etc. If you're not in for that, there's a huge Macy's right up the street. And like RedHedd mentioned before, you can't go to SF and not go into the Nordstrom's center with the new Bloomingdales. There's a lot of high-end fashion in Westfield (the official name for the new center, I think) like Juicy Couture and Marciano. Not up for that? Just hang out in the Nordstrom's section and you'll be sure to find something inexpensive and fashionable (i.e. Express). I could go on and on!!

Lastly, I'm going to Union Square tomorrow, too! Maybe we'll see you there?? :D

[RedHedd]

Giselle, I don't think there's a Cheesecake Factory in San Francisco - at least I've never seen one in the City - isn't it mostly a suburban franchise thing? Oops! Just looked it up - there's one right at Powell & Stockton. Might be good for shopping "relief." Cheesecake is one of my favorite food groups! :D

H&M is another favorite store of mine and I know many younger people - I just happen to be small and like their styles and the prices. There's one on Powell, one on Post and a new one in the new part of the Westfield Center.

I stayed away from Union Square today. Nob Hill shopping was just as insane, but I live in this 'hood so I was walking.

[Giselle]

RedHedd, I've never been to Nob Hill. I volunteered at one of the Tenderloin soup kitchens once and saw where Nob Hill *was* but I didn't know there was shopping there. Got any more info about that? Union square can get boring every now and then :p

[caseysmom]

Giselle...I am coming from the sacramento area so not sure where I could park and take bart...hopefully we will be able to park...Watch for me do you remember what I look like? I will be with 3 14 year old girls...light brown, medium brown and very dark brown haired.

[Giselle]

LOL! I'll just look for a bunch of brown haired ladies ;) I think I still have a pretty good idea of what you and your daughter looked like so I'll be sure to keep an eye out. I'll probably be there around 1-5PM. Hopefully, I'll see you there!

[caseysmom]

Well the brown haired girls will be chaperoned by a chubby blond lady :D

[RedHedd]

RedHedd, I've never been to Nob Hill. I volunteered at one of the Tenderloin soup kitchens once and saw where Nob Hill *was* but I didn't know there was shopping there. Got any more info about that? Union square can get boring every now and then :p
It's my 'hood. There's a Circuit City on Van Ness @ Post where I went printer hunting. There's also a Staples I need to check at Van Ness and Sacramento. There are many little shops, boutiques, lots of good restaurants and the usual Walgreen's, Starbucks, Peet's, Whole Foods, Cala Foods, a couple of pet stores, American Rag, some nice thrift stores. It's not really known for its shopping, but us locals who live here like the convenience of what we do have.

P.S. Enjoy your day, ladies! Sounds like fun!

[caseysmom]

Whew just made it back! It was a very fun day. I am getting better at the frisco thing every time I go. I was following directions to the 2 parking garages redhead suggested and I saw one on Sutter and something so I grabbed it...parked without a hitch...we got there right before 10...18 bucks for the whole day.

The cable cars had a line a mile long...we took the "f" bus to pier 39 that was definetely an experience...wall to wall people hanging on the rails..trying not to fall crazy guy gets on and cusses out the driver...just another day in the big city...hehe...my daughter wanted to eat at bubba gumps...she loves shrimp...it was very good. I really wanted to try the cream puffs but didn't see the place...I have never actually gone into the bloomingdales...nordstroms big shopping center...it was huge.

My daughter got a hoodie from hollister...she really like one at abercrombie but they didn't have her size...she got an "I love Bubba" hoodie at the Bubba Gump store next to the restaurant...(our dogs name is Bubba)



edit to add:

Sophie...I know you will get a kick out of this...all day I was looking for a cute young asian girls....really narrowed down my options!

[caseysmom]

Here's some pics from the day...


our bus
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v624/spumoni/sanfrancisco084.jpg
This was the adoption the San Francisco SPCA was puttin on in the Macy's windows...this kitten was too cute...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v624/spumoni/sanfrancisco092.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v624/spumoni/sanfrancisco175.jpg

[RedHedd]

Looks like you had fun! I'm glad you made it to Union Square AND Pier 39. Next time .... we'll have to meet! You got a deal on the parking - $18 to park all day in S.F. is almost unheard of. The F-line isn't a bus - it's a trolley. Trolleys are the ones with the wires overhead. Cable cars are pulled by a cable that runs underground. Looks like you got a ride on one of the historical trolleys. What fun!

[caseysmom]

Oh thanks for the info Redhead...I thought they tried to make a bus look like a trolley or something....

[RedHedd]

LOL! I just took another look at the pic with the kitty. I LOVE that leggy lamp! :D

As for the historical trolleys, San Francisco has a collection of trolley cars from all over the world. They've been restored to what they looked like in their native countries. There are even some old ones from San Francisco, that I remember riding on when I was a little girl. They are fun.

[caseysmom]

I didn't even notice that the lamp was a leg...that is pretty cute.

[Giselle]

LOL! I tried looking for a group of brown haired girls, but have I ever told you how hard that is during the holiday sales in San Francisco? :D I saw the kittens and puppies for adoption in the Macy's windows, too. There was an adorable little terrier mix but I didn't have the energy to push through the crowds to ooh and aah :p Mmm. My feet hurt now!

[caseysmom]

Gosh my feet hurt so bad last night....all of us took our shoes off the minute we got in the car. I had a tad bit of trouble finding my freeway but it took just a few minutes to get it straightened out.