LIVE24SEVEN // San Francisco
Travelling BusinessFirst with United ensured that we arrived refreshed and well-oiled thanks to very comfortable seating/flat beds and delicious food and Champagne on tap! Airplane food doesn’t tend to have the best reputation, but if I tell you that a dedicated ice-cream trolley with everything from strawberries, whipped cream, chocolate toppings and caramel sauce so the wonderfully attentive air stewardess can create you your very own bespoke ice-cream sundae is offered on board, you’ll understand why this airline is set apart from others for this reason alone. A short stopover at Newark, their dedicated New York hub, saw us landing in San Francisco on Thanksgiving – perfectly timed.
Sir Francis Drake Hotel
They have a great night club upstairs and host a very famous ‘Drag Sunday Brunch’. Yes, Drag Queens and Sunday Lunch – a wonderful
combination. Located right on Union Square, the shopping Mecca.
www.sirfrancisdrake.com
San Francisco is an incredible city at any time of the year, but on Thanksgiving, Union Square, where our superb hotel the Sir Francis Drake, was located, was awash with lights that decorated everything from the palm trees to the giant Christmas tree and even the holiday ice-rink housed in this shopping mecca area. Some of the coolest shops and brands around to include Macy’s (that was open 24 hours for the Thanksgiving holiday thanks to the dedicated and haggard looking staff!) right through to Tiffany’s, Bulgari and Saks to name just a few, are all located here. I dropped my bags off in my deco-inspired room, nodded to the giant Beefeater that decorated the hotel bar and swept down the ornate staircase deciding that jet lag wasn’t for me. Macy’s, Thanksgiving and San Francisco hospitality was the order of the day – who can sleep when they’re in San Francisco?
Getting around SF is so easy; vintage cable cars, as seen in Mrs Doubtfire (and probably stacks of other films but I love this one), take you from top to bottom, left to right and a City Pass makes it so cheap to get around! I couldn’t help but cling to the side of the cable car for a selfie – that was on my to-do list as well! Despite it being late November, the weather was lovely and made our hectic schedule all the more easy and enjoyable.
Can you believe that San Francisco is the foodie capital of the states – make that the world – with more restaurants per head than anywhere else? Each district or area has an offering all of its own from Chinatown, which was like something straight out of a Jackie Chan film, to North Beach, the unmistakeable Italian district of SF. There are up and coming areas that are finding their feet too with new money and you’ll catch Serena Williams and other celebs munching on Burritos at sidewalk tables.
Each district or area is easily identifiable, if not by its style and shops etc., then by the ornate street lighting that’s decorated, for example, in the colours of the Italian flag in Northbeach.
What to see when you’re there? It would be easier to highlight what not to see or do as SF has it all! The obvious is Alcatraz, which was so much more than I expected. Take the guided tour with headsets as the stories narrated by actual Alcatraz former inmates tell you what life was like in their own words and it’s seriously too cool and spine tingling to miss. Alcatraz has a vibe all of its own, eerie to say the least, you can’t possibly imagine life here despite the fact you’re stood in solitary confinement taking a selfie! Take the night time tour for added drama and great views of San Francisco’s shore by night. The boats leave regularly from Pier 33, but be warned, book tickets in advance to ensure you get the time you want as you have a lot to fit in.
Alcatraz by Night
Experience the beauty, history and infamy of Alcatraz from Pier 33
(approx. 15 mins by boat).
For those who are good on two wheels, you can do a bike tour that takes you from Fisherman’s Wharf, along the National Park Bike Path through Aquatic Park, Fort Mason, across the Golden Gate Bridge and into the seaside town of Sausalito. I decided to walk it with one other journo to take in the bridge close up which is just magical, immense, awe inspiring really and the views are very special across the bay and to Alcatraz. Whilst I wouldn’t recommend you walk all the way to Sausalito like we did, the views are lovely if you do. Save some energy for Sausalito itself, as it’s like a mini Monaco, all pretty with an abundance of tourist shops and eateries and boats to take you
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