City of ups and downs. San Francisco. Traveling with kids
The first breath of air as you step outside the plane describes the place. Whether it is humid and wet or dry and sunny, it is something that stays in your memory, a careful detail. Everyone who has been in California knows its magic. Misty and cold mornings that worry – will it stay like this forever? – but later turn into a day with the brightest sun and warmest weather. The ocean is so grand that the surfers look so tiny that you could mistake them for birds. San Francisco – its Golden Gate bridge and streets winding up and down like unpredictable snakes ready to attack and knowledge of which streets to walk and which to Uber. California is a land of plenty. Fresh organic produce, local wines, unbelievably good food, fruit orchards, almond plantations, majestic redwood forests, and nature like nowhere else. The state of all that’s gold.
It was early May, still cold in Latvia, when we decided to spend the 4th of July this year under an American flag soaking up American patriotism, eating burgers, ice cream, and watching fireworks. It was at the same time that I realized that we have to drop this idea so late in the year and do something else. I still wonder how the Turkish Airlines team (well, one person actually) talked to me for many days of back and forth WhatsApp messages to set the date – Halloween in California.
We are not strangers to California. After two trips on our own, this, the third, was going to be something different – a family trip involving not just long walks and fancy restaurants but much more, including the many staples one has to try when in America, especially if you’re a soon-to-be teenager. We made a plan and kept it secret to be revealed the day we left - “Hey, you are not going to school today but flying to California instead.” The hardest secret I ever kept. With the fear that someone will probably get sick, most likely me (life likes to test my strength), with a fever or stomach flu, I woke up five times the night before listening to hear if someone was crying for help. Only after we stepped on board that Turkish Airlines plane, the door closed, and they poured us the champagne, did I let it go. We were about to embark on a journey we all have never had before.
Two days, a few glasses of champagne, some turbulence and several meals later, the door finally opened. We stepped out, and just like every other time, I took a moment and inhaled the air. The burning Californian sun, although it was already the end of October, welcomed us. It was good to be back for us, and it was incredible to be there for our kids. With windows down, the sun setting, and traffic at its peak, we slowly approached our hotel (www.tildenhotel.com). Sleep was slowly crawling into our brains, but if there's one thing you have to do, you must stay awake as long as you can, so we went out. It was Wednesday but felt like Friday with cars beeping, some rushing for their dinner reservations, and others coming home from a late evening at the office. We walked up the hill, introducing the girls to the first night's most beautiful view on the corner of Mason and Sacramento overlooking the bay through the houses. As the evening had just arrived, the city was dressed up with lights making it even more magical to fall in love with. Our reservation at Del Popolo pizza (855 Bush Street, San Francisco) was only an hour later, so we walked through the city, pretending to be awake when all we wanted was a soft bed and even softer pillow. The stretchy potato and taleggio pizza, accompanied by olives, local IPA, and roséwine, was finished with soft serve and sorbet. Then we headed home to have a good night slept that came in precisely 3 minutes.
Museums
It is surprising how you can think you know the city when you actually don't. Two trips to SF showed us the long streets, good food, foggy mornings, and hot days (we were there to write articles), but that is not all one wants to know about a city of art, music, and enjoying life. It was museum after museum that made us feel more local as we went from one to another, starting with the dazzling Ice Cream Museum of San Francisco (read more here), continuing with the Luxurious Presidio Walt Disney Family Museum (read more here), and finishing with the remarkable family adventure museum - Exploratorium (more). Each is located in different parts of the city offering unseen riches on our way, but the museum themselves – more surprising than we expected.
Places to see
San Francisco can be intimidating. With so much to see in such a small city, the best thing to do would be to stay for a month, but all we usually get is a few days or a week maximum. It hides alleys, stairs, and streets of unimaginable beauty. You can be on one hillside overlooking the city where the bay shimmers in the sun, and slowly turn around to reveal another city, where the setting sun and falling leaves dance in the air. It feels like you’ve seen everything when suddenly you find yourself going up the Greenwich steps with the most panoramic view of bay just behind you, unplanned beauty. San Francisco is all about ups and downs –bicyclists speeding down the hill as if it was their last trip ever, while the tram slowly tries to pull itself up. The art of parking is something I admire, just as the mothers walking up the hill with kids in their stroller and full of one, two, and more shopping bags.
Nevertheless, you have to start somewhere, and I had a few places in mind. Heading to the Mickey Museum or the Golden Gate is best done by starting with a visit to the honorable and beautiful Painted Ladies, having breakfast at The Mill or coffee at Sightglass, and then moving on towards the view you want to see – at the top of the Lyon Street steps. One may stay up the hill and not go down, but if you go down, prepare to head back up as there is a way to stunning Lovers Lane; paths in the woods right next to an asphalt road have no lovers but a coyote during the season can be spotted. The walk leads closer to the world of Walt Disney Family Museum and then later to the Golden Gate Bridge. Although people like to take bikes there, it is a pleasure to walk – all the way over or to the middle, slowly absorbing the city, houses, the bridge itself, and the not too far off Alcatraz. Be ready for the breeze to blow your hair and lift the short skirt. The walk should not be abandoned as the magic starts when you go down the Battery E trail to the beach and walk where the locals run, picnic, and walk their dogs. Its a wonderful feeling to run barefoot in October, trying to take in every little bit of the Golden Gate bridge behind and the city in front.
A visit to the Ferry Building’s Saturday market calls for a walk afterward, as the food there just seems to pop in your mouth, whether you want it or not. So, a few hundred steps along the pier lead you to Levi’s Plaza Park and up the Greenwich steps to Coit Tower, a treasure not everyone finds. It leads you to the most brilliant view of the Golden Gate Bridge, the bay and the east-west side of the city leading to Lombard Street, eight hairpin turns, and the most winding road in the world. This place needs time – not only because of the stairs but the moments you want to picture in your memory.
Another overwhelming gem of the city is nothing other than Golden Gate Park with its long roads, bicycle paths, zoo, polo fields, lakes, picnic areas, museums, and barbecue pits. It also hosts the most enchanting thing of all – a Japanese Tea Garden and Rose garden. Locals gather here to celebrate life, stay fit, walk with kids, and have romantic moments. The Rose garden is not only gorgeous, it is an award-winning spread of 60 different heavenly varieties and shapes of roses. It consumes every rose fanatic for a time that tends to fade, as does the luxurious and mystical Japanese Tea Garden. With its small lanes, the Teahouse and its pavilions are not only romantic but a magical place for kids to explore the beauty of another culture.
And last but not least, there's a place called Lands End. The Land stops there only in the form of soil as it continues with the waves of the ocean connecting the bay. It is an astounding scenic point to visit and is even more special if walking from the center after visiting Arsicault bakery, the Saturday market around the corner, and picturesque Lincoln Park steps leading closer to Lands End. From there, it is a way down to Cliff's house overlooking Seal Rock and the small dots surfing in the water. It can all be done also by bike if traveling as a couple. It is a day trip with kids, and all they see will stay in their memories – from the Chinese shops in Richmond and Little Russia to the colorful houses in Outer Richmond and Lands End views to feet stepping into the cold ocean. The Outerlands, just 15 minutes away, is a must if you've succeeded getting there – even if you have to wait an hour in line for your table, the time melts the same as the ice in your drink that you sip outside.
* Taxi drive from the Airport will cost you around 50 dollars.
** You are expected to leave a 15 - 20% tip, apparently, no matter what the service is.
Story and pictures: Signe Meirane
Camera: Sony Alpha 7s
In partnership with Turkish Airlines Latvia
