San Francisco

Gaz wrote: - Stay as close to Union Square as possible - I did 2 tours of Alcatraz when I was there, the day tour and the night tour. Both excellent - Hire bikes around Union Square and cycle over the Golden Gate bridge all the way across to Sausalito and have lunch there before returning with the bikes - Do the open top tour bus which is pretty good - They have Broadway shows (didn't go to one but a decent way to spend an evening) - Spend a couple of hours walking around Fisherman's Wharf - loads of bars and restaurants etc around and it's the same area where you get the boat over to Alcatraz. Loads of sea lions randomly hand around a certain spot there too and is mad to look at - Jump on a cable car and get dragged up the huge hills in the city Loads to do there - we did 4 nights and it was perfect. Enjoy

Why in god's name would you bother posting on here if you are on holiday in that fcked up country my good man, switch off and enjoy the dillusional yanks

nvidic wrote: SByrne24 wrote: Denis Irwin wrote: Got you Sham. So what your saying is there is nobody posting with a New York IP address Go on check now. This is why I don't post my rostering routes I'd literally get stalked. It's really strange, and creepy. As strange and creepy as building a fake persona on ybig pretending to be your mate?

Personally, I wouldn't recommend staying around Union Square. There's a few bars and lots of shops but that's about it. It's a long haul down to fisherman's wharf from Union Sq. Instead I'd recommend staying somewhere around Washington Square Park (the southern part of North Beach). Put on a good pair of walking shoes and wander. Washington Square Park is roughly half way between union sq and fisherman's wharf. The area around the Park is fantastic with an authentic Chinatown on one side and little Italy on the other - tbh the two intertwine a lot. Lots of restaurants, cafes etc and you get a feel of what it's like to live as a local in San Fran.

The Liguria bakery is a must. It's a family run business which has been around for generations. They specialise in focaccia and foccacia only. We came upon it one morning by accident. There was just us and a couple of cops buying breakfast. I love the place and can't wait to go back there.

Hotel wise it's very expensive and for your budget you may struggle. We stayed in a motel on the junction of Van Ness and Lombard Street as we had a car and needed to park it somewhere. The location was ideal for us and walked to Union Square in 40 or so minutes and about 10-15 minutes to fisherman's wharf. We could have used public transport but preferred to explore on foot. If you find yourself there and fancy a drink then head to a place called Black Magic Voodoo Lounge. A great little bar where the locals hang out and watch sport. We were the only tourists in the place.

For breakfast I'd recommend the Hollywood Cafe. Get there early as it's very popular. They do serious breakfasts or else head to little Italy for a bite.

Didn't do Alcatraz and wasn't pushed to be honest (we had covered close to 2000km on the road trip by then and just wanted a few hassle free days). We walked almost as far as the bridge and would highly recommend to walk out to it or cycle. If you walk then just get a bus back. It's a long walk from fisherman's wharf...circa. 7 to 8km but the views the whole way are fantastic with views of beautiful marinas, parks, multi million dollar homes facing the sea, the bridge and of course Alcatraz.

Coit Tower in North Beach is also worth visiting. It has a great 360 degree view of San Fran.

It's a great city for walking especially from Union Square to fisherman's wharf and from there to the bridge. I just hope the weather is good because it can be a bit iffy in the summer. The best time to go - weather wise - is March and April.

https://www.google.ie/maps/place/Liguria+Bakery/@37.8008473,-122.4121624,17z/data=!4m12!1m6!3m5!1s0x808580f1a98e88a1:0x24c815888a8a9ff0!2sWashington+Square+Park!8m2!3d37.8009182!4d-122.410111!3m4!1s0x0:0x9d8666f032d52799!8m2!3d37.8015276!4d-122.409271

Edited by colemanY2K - 28 Dec 2016 at 5:27pm

100 bucks a night will get you a wheely bin.

I paid $868 for 3 nights.

Although I was on my toblerone and it was August.

Edited by Gary McKay - 29 Dec 2016 at 6:28pm

Well lads hows things....been offered a visa recently to go to the US for the year....my field of work is in Accounting/Business/Finance....mulling at the moment where to go however San Francisco really appeals to me the weather, lifetsyle, location, food, sports, outdoors.... seems to be good pay for internships and plenty of jobs only problem seems to be the price of rent which seems extorionate...if anyone could provide me with any tips re jobs, accomodation, where to look etc. it would be a great help and much appreciated cheers !

I met a yank that works in San Fran over Christmas, he has an Irish wife and she is now working over there as well. He wasn't too enthusiastic about the place, and like Bhob says the rents are really expensive.

If want a good spot go to the Piano bar beside Johnny Foleys in Union Square had a couple of great nights there.

rossieman wrote: pre Madonna wrote: Bob Hoskins wrote: I met a yank that works in San Fran over Christmas, he has an Irish wife and she is now working over there as well. He wasn't too enthusiastic about the place, and like Bhob says the rents are really expensive. Personally without knowing too much about San Francisco I'd give it a go, if the accommodation issue wasn't a problem.  But it's so bad over there school teachers and headmasters are been forced to move miles out, people with jobs live in caravans, and then there are the new favelas that are appearing. So the greatest country in the world at the epicentre of the tech world and all that brilliance can create is a Brazillain favela is f**ked up, and just shows how bad inequality is getting.  That is ridiculous, I must have a google. There has been a shortage of housing in SF for 20+ years.The city council have very strict rules/regs with planning and I think around 60% of applications get turned down. They have the most expensive rental market in the US and with all the tech jobs in the area there is a huge shortage of accommodation. I was reading a article a while back about google employees living in the company car parks mostly in camper vans and trucks,they have access to their work place 24/7 so use that to wash,eat etc. mate of mine lived over there for a year in 2015 and there was around 10 of them in a 3 bedroom house ,it was the only way they could afford to stay within a commutable distance from the city. f**king crazy .