San Francisco – Twin Peaks

The best views of San Francisco are from the top of Twin Peaks, the two hills that are located in the geographic center of the city. Only from Twin Peaks can you get a 360-degree view of the entire city. On a clear day you can see all four Bay Area bridges from the Golden […]

Tea Garden III

The Drum bridge, also called a moon bridge, was built-in Japan and shipped here in 1894 for the San Francisco Midwinter Exhibition .A moon bridge is a highly arched pedestrian bridge associated with gardens in China and Japan. The moon bridge originated in China and was later introduced to Japan. This type of bridge was […]

Tea Garden II

The grounds of the Japanese Garden also feature a series of koi ponds, elaborate carved wood gates, many stone lanterns, a five-story pagoda (dating from the Panama-Pacific International Exposition of 1915), a Zen Garden constructed of stones and gravel, a high-arching Drum Bridge (a relic of the original Japanese Village), and a tea house and […]

Tea Garden

The Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park is the oldest in the United States, created for the 1894 California Midwinter International Exposition as part of the fair’s Japanese Village exhibit. The garden’s lush, harmonious landscaping pays homage to the traditional Japanese art of the garden. Paths wind through its five acres of carefully chosen […]

Riding the Cable Cars II

The cable car system consists of 3 separate lines. The “Powell-Hyde” line, the “Powell-Mason” line and the “California” line. The California line runs along California Street and runs East-West from the Financial District, through Chinatown, over Nob Hill and stops at Van Ness Avenue. This cable car is taken by many locals. The two main […]

Riding the Cable Cars

The cable car was introduced to San Francisco on August 2, 1873. Wire-cable manufacturer Andrew Hallidie conceived the idea after witnessing an accident in which a horse-drawn carriage faltered and rolled backward downhill dragging the horses behind it. The first cable car to descend down Clay Street on Nob Hill was an immediate success. besides […]

San Francisco – Grace Cathedral Episcopal Church

Grace Cathedral is descended from the historic Grace church, built-in the Gold rush year of 1849, and the imposing structure on the corner of California and Stockton streets that was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake and fire. San Francisco’s Crocker family gave their Nob Hill property, destroyed by the fire, for the building of a […]

San Francisco – Union Square

Union Square is a 2.6-acre public plaza bordered by Geary, Powell, Post and Stockton Streets in San Francisco, California. “Union Square” also refers to the central shopping, hotel, and theater district that surrounds the plaza for several blocks. Our hotel was on Post, so it was a short walk to the Square and the cable […]

Rock ‘n Roll Landmarks

Janis lived here, the house with the white railing on the steps, at the height of her career. As Myra Friedman puts it in Buried Alive: The Biography of Janis Joplin: Janis’s Lyon Street apartment had a quaintly curved balcony that soaked up the rays of the afternoon sun … A tiny kitchen jagged off […]

Two Hotels

Nob Hill is one of San Francisco’s signature neighborhoods, renowned for its city landmarks and the famous hotels that border Huntington Park. The area’s reputation of privilege dates back to Gold Rush times, when cable car lines made the hilltop accessible and the railroad barons and bonanza kings built their mansions there, far above the […]