VIDEO | 5 original activities in San Francisco

After a two-nighter on the California Zephyr we arrived at San Francisco. I saw San Fran as a 7 year-old boy, but now I have other interests. As with Chicago, San Francisco is too long ago to write an ‘journal entry’. Luckily Swarm helps me remind me what we did.

There are some obvious sights to see in San Francisco.

The Golden Gate Bridge;
The sea lions at Pier 39;
Lombard Street;
Fisherman’s Wharf;
The Palace of Fine Arts;
Chinatown;
Ride a cable car;
The Presidio.

Don’t avoid them. They’re absolutely worth seeing up close and personal. We used a hop-on-hop-off service which was very practical. It included a night tour.

So what do we recommend doing?

Hawaiian dinner at Japantown

Japantown is centered around the Japan Center Mall at 1737 Post St. It’s a place where you’ll find real Japanese cuisine by Japanese people.

But we had Hawaiian food. Because why not. It resembles Japanese cuisines, but it’s more friend. You have a list of Hawaiian dishes here. Try Pa’ina Lounge & Restaurant at 1865 Post St (Fillmore Street).

Clam chowder

A typical dish of SF is the clam chowder served in a sourdough bread. We had one at Bistro Boudin on 160 Jefferson St (btw Mason & Taylor).

San Francisco Cable Car Museum

Consider visiting the San Francisco Cable Car Museum. Not only is it a museum, it also is the beating heart of the cable car system. You will see the cables at work.

San Francisco Railway Museum

If you can’t get enough of public transport, visit the small San Francisco Railway Museum at 77 Steuart St (at Don Chee Way) in the Financial District. It’s very small, but step inside and have quick look. Its close to the Ferry Building Marketplace.

The Castro

I can’t not mention The Castro. This gaybourhood breaks rainbows per square foot records. Even if the concept of a gaybourhood is getting a bit outdated, it’s still a historic place for the modern LGBTQI+ movement.

Highlights include the Harvey Milk Plaza with a humongous rainbow flag, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Store where Castro Camera used to be.

Castro Camera was Harvey Milk‘s shop. Who? Harvey Bernard Milk (May 22, 1930 – November 27, 1978) was an American politician and the first openly gay elected official in the history of California, where he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. He and mayor George Moscone were shot and killed by Dan White, another supervisor.