Marya and Mark's Wedding!

Hello everyone!

Mark and I are getting ready to travel to Ireland tomorrow, and trying to wrap up a few wedding-planning related before we go. We know some of you are already making plans for the fall, so we thought we’d offer up our humble suggestions about where to stay, what to do, and how to buy the best tacos in the Bay Area and around. First, some suggestions if you’re planning to come early or stay late in San Francisco. At the end, some suggestions if you’re planning to spend some extra time in Santa Cruz (the biggest city near our wedding venue).

SAN FRANCISCO:

Lodging –

We don’t have much experience staying in hotels here in SF, but many visitors stay in the Union Square neighborhood. It’s central, walking distance from the waterfront, and close to all kinds of public transportation, including BART (which you take from the airport). Civic Center, an adjoining neighborhood, is also close to all those amenities, but because the neighborhood is developing (not the kind you want to be waving around your iPhone in the middle of the night, but totally fine during the day – full of tourists and business people), hotels there tend to be less expensive. People have had good experiences with Hotel Whitcomb, a lovely historic hotel on Market Street near Civic Center BART.

Activities –

1. If you go to Fisherman’s Wharf and Pier 39 (which everyone does once, I guess), look for the sea lions and stop by Musee Mechanique. It’s not my favorite part of town because it’s really touristy and sort of chintzy and all the food is overpriced, but I love that museum.

2. Ride the cable car. It’s really fun! I did it with my mom and aunt. There’s always a huge line at Powell Street turnaround, so we got on at the other end, Ghiradelli Square by Pier 39, and the wait was better. If you’re interested in cable cars, there’s a free cable car museum downtown, I forget where, but the Internet knows. You get to watch people working on the actual cables.

3. Go to Alcatraz – it’s an amazing place, with an audio tour narrated by a former guard and several former prisoners. I’ve been twice.

4. Rent bikes downtown by the Ferry Building and ride them down the Embarcadero and across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito, then take the ferry back. We’ve done this trip a lot since it’s so much fun. You don’t have to be an expert biker to do it – tourist grannies do it all the time! If you prefer not to bike, you can take a bus to the GG bridge. It’s a cool place. You can also explore Fort Point, a Civil War fort underneath the bridge. It’s free and interesting, and you get a really unique vantage point of the bridge. Also, in Vertigo, Fort Point is where that blonde woman tries to throw herself into the water.

On top of Fort Point

5. Take a tour of murals in the Mission, especially Clarion Alley or some further south on 24th street. The Mission District is an interesting place. We lived there for 3 years. Mission Street itself, especially by 16th street, can be really seedy, but there are excellent thrift stores (like Thrift Town or Mission Thrift) and our favorite taqueria, Taqueria Cancun on Mission and 19th. Running right next to Mission Street is Valencia Street, which is a hipster paradise, full of book stores and overpriced cafes and artisan boutiques. It’s a nice street to stroll down. The weather in the Mission is the warmest in San Francisco – it’s almost always sunny there, even when it’s not in other parts of the city. Dolores Park is nearby, and you can wait in line at Bi-Rite on the corner of Dolores and 18th to to try their famous ice cream. The Mission District is also the place to be at night if you like bars and late night tacos.

One of the murals in Coit Tower

6. Climb up Telegraph Hill to Coit Tower. The walk is beautiful – sort of semi-tropical – but you can also take a bus to the top. Be sure to look out for the flocks of wild parrots. Once you reach the tower, you can walk around the first floor for free and see all the Depression-era murals. If you feel like going to the top, you can pay the fee and take the elevator up. It’s a pretty nice view.

7. Walk from North Beach/Little Italy down into Chinatown. Things to see: City Lights, this little coffee shop that gives you a free truffle when you buy a tiny coffee, all the amazing little shops in Chinatown, Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory (it’s this tiny little building with one lady churning out fortune cookies, but it’s interesting and you can eat them while they’re still warm), people selling strange fish and stranger vegetables.

8. The Exploratorium is our favorite museum in the city. They just moved locations to be on Embarcadero by Pier 17. The California Academy of Science is also cool, and it’s right inside Golden Gate Park.

9. City Hall is a lovely building and it’s right downtown near Civic Center BART. The inside is beautiful too. The stairs outside hover a few inches off the ground because the whole building is protected against earthquakes (or something like that… I haven’t done my research, but they really do hover!). Also, they filmed the last scene of Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark on the front stairs.

Sutro Baths at the turn of the century

10. Drive (or take a bus or bike) to the Marin Headlands, just north of SF across the GG Bridge. We almost had our wedding here. It’s a really interesting and beautiful landscape, and there are great views of the GG Bridge and SF.

11. Take a trip to the Sutro Baths in the north-western part of the city. They’re like Roman ruins one the shores of the Pacific Ocean. Public transportation to get there can take a while, but it’s super easy by car.

Restaurants –

Basically, all our favorite places are in the Mission. They’re delicious, affordable, and when we lived there, they were all within walking distance.

1. Sunflower – 16th and Valencia, Vietnamese – the vegetarian Vietnamese vermicelli is spectacular, and the vegetarian pho is famous

2. Alhambra – 16th between Valencia and Mission, hole-in-the-wall Indian

3. We Be Sushi – on Valencia between 21st and 22nd, hole-in-the-wall Japanese

4. Udupi Palace – 21st and Valencia, vegetarian Indian

5. Taqueria Cancun – 19th and Mission, great vegetarian burritos

6. Doc’s Clock – Mission between 21st and 22nd, our favorite dive bar – they have shuffle board!

7. Latin American Club – 22nd between Valencia and Mission, they make the strongest drinks ever. Try the margarita if you dare…

SANTA CRUZ AREA:

Lodging –

Santa Cruz has a million hotels, some closer to the beach than others. We’ve always stayed in the Santa Cruz Hostel. It’s cute, central, and every Friday, Trader Joe’s gives them all the food that’s about to expire, so if you time it right you can feast on chocolate mousse and cartons of blueberries.

Activities –

1. Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk – Ride the rides or just walk along the beach at this local amusement park.

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

2. Take surfing lessons, or just walk out and watch the pros.

3. Drive up and visit the Mystery Spot. You have to reserve your spot on one of the tours. They’re cheesy but fun, and you get a free bumper sticker.

4. Take a self-guided tour of giant old-growth redwoods at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park. The main entrance is off Highway 9 (different than what google maps will sometimes tell you).

5. Drive north up Highway 1 and hike or picnic at any of the lovely state beaches, like Wilder Ranch or Ano Nuevo.

6. Go rock climbing at Castle Rock State Park or take a hike at Big Basin Redwoods State Park, both north of Santa Cruz.

7. Drive south to Monterey, and visit the amazing Monterey Bay Aquarium or walk around Cannery Row. If you love Steinbeck, the National Steinbeck Center is in Salinas right nearby. If you go, take me! I haven’t been there yet.

If there’s anything we’ve forgotten, please comment and add your own suggestions. We’re always excited to try something new. Can’t wait to see everyone here in September!

Love, Marya and Mark

September 14th, 2013

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Save the Date! September 14th, 2013