Please Don’t Call it ‘Frisco’

I just thought I would offer up some words of advice if you or someone you know will be coming to San Francisco this summer (or at any other time). Follow these simple steps and you can sound ultra cool, hip and with it during your visit.

First, whatever you do, do not call it ‘frisco.

Directing your attention to the previous sentence, I ask you to please note the absence of ‘please’. This is not a request. It is a directive.

No one who lives here calls it that (execrable name). Doing so will instantaneously mark you as someone from someplace else.

It is irritating to the residents. Like nails on the blackboard irritating. Like pure undiluted lemon juice without sugar on an open wound irritating.

It is The City. As in, I have a meeting in The City. I work in The City. I’m attending a … (fill in the blank) in The City.

If you are in the Bay Area, anywhere, and say The City everyone within earshot will know whereof you speak – and you will sound important. Like you know what you’re doing.

Second, those loud clanky things that roll up and down the hills are not ‘trolley cars’. They are cable cars. They are driven by a cable under the street. The gripman who has muscles that would make the Incredible Hulk green with envy (if he wasn’t already green), uses that long stick thing he pulls back and locks to grip the cable to control the speed of the car.

It is actually a very cool system and I recommend, if it’s not already on your itinerary, that you allow about an hour to visit the Cable Car Museum at 1201 Mason Street. It is hub central for the entire system and is an interesting place to go.

Third, it has been reported that Mark Twain once said, “The coldest winter I ever saw was the summer I spent in San Francisco”. This hasn’t been proved to be from Twain, or even about San Francisco, but it’s fitting. Therefore, I suggest that you do not come to San Francisco in the summer without layers of clothing. Lots of layers of clothing. Including jackets.

It’s freezing here because the Central Valley heats up, pulling in the fog which also makes it windy. While it might be 90°+ inland, it might be somewhere in the 50s and windy in The City. Having layers available to pull on or shed will make your life bearable as you wander around outside. Particularly if you’re enjoying a cable car ride or are out and about around Golden Gate Park.

Other really cool places to go are AT&T Park – if the Giants are home it’s even better. Easily one of the most beautiful ball parks in the country. If you can catch a game and enjoy baseball, your day will be complete! Just be prepared because it's rather spendy, although one of just about anything will probably feed family of four for two days.

In Golden Gate Park I recommend the Japanese Tea Garden. When I was little, it was always a special treat to go to the Garden, wander through the flowers and neatly trimmed shrubberies and then sit down in the tea house for a pot of jasmine tea.

There are also the DeYoung Museum and the Academy of Sciences, which includes an aquarium and a planetarium. It’s a very good way of spending an afternoon because once there, if you have any interest in the sciences, at all, you’ll find something to fascinate you. My favorite exhibit, aside from the snakes, was the Foucault pendulum clock. I would stand for long minutes waiting for it to go around and knock over one of the pegs that line the outer ring of the circle. Of all the times I went there, I think I saw one peg fall.

The best part of these three places is that they are within easy walking distance, less than 1/4 mile, across the Spreckels Music Pavilion Bowl.

If you're more active, you can rent bicycles. The Park is big - but watch out for the traffic around the main attractions - people are gawking, looking at things and for parking. But many of the minor roads are quiet and the scenery is gorgeous.

A little farther to the west is Stow Lake where you can rent paddle boats or climb Strawberry Hill. It used to be that the area immediately around Stow Lake was closed off to cars on Sundays. I once went rollerskating there on a Sunday and it was marvelous!

To the east from the Music Pavilion, if you follow one of the paved paths, is the Strybing Arboretum. It’s now ‘officially’ called the ‘San Francisco Botanical Garden’ but to anyone who lived here before the name change it will always be the Strybing Arboretum.

A less well-known place to go is the Legion of Honor fine art museum in Lincoln Park at the north edge of the City overlooking the Golden Gate straits and bridge. Even if you don’t like museums, the setting is extraordinary – and there’s a public golf course!

East of the Bridge are the Presidio, which is an interesting place to explore, and the Palace of Fine Arts – which is stunning rococo architecture around a reflecting pond. For years, the exhibition hall was the home of the San Francisco Exploratorium. Since then, the hands-on, interactive museum has moved to Pier 15, but the Palace of Fine Arts is still a place to see. Perhaps even spend a little time over a picnic lunch (just watch out for the bird droppings, because it’s popular with the birds, too).

Fourth, get a map that delineates the neighborhoods, it will do you a world of good. Lots of residents refer to places like: 'Noe Valley', 'The Castro', SOMA*, 'The Marina', 'North Beach'...

*South of Market

I suggest that you go to see Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf, but don't waste time or money eating there. Overpriced and mediocre are the best descriptors of most places, because they cater to the tourist trade and don't expect much in the way of repeat business. The best thing to do is to find little out of the way places where the residents eat. North Beach is full of good restaurants, mostly Italian.  It's close the the touristy places but far enough away that the food is generally good.

Chinatown is another one, but stay away from the bright flash and side streets. Look for places where the locals go and try that. If the clientele are more Caucasian than Oriental, mmm. Probably a place that caters to tourists.

Around the Financial District and SOMA are any number of good restaurants that cater to the denizens of Wall Street West and the business hub of The City. Check the hours on these because their primary clientele tend to dissipate early-ish, so they may close early.

Cow Hollow, the Marina District, Castro, Noe Valley, Potrero, China Basin, all worthy places to check out.

Oh! And it's Gear-a-delli Square and chocolate, no 'juh' sound in sight - another setting apart thing.

Hope you’ll come. Hope you have a lovely visit if you do. If not, I’m sorry, but I hope you still have a wonderful day!

Best~

Philippa

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