Nov 1-4 Trip Report

All in all, a wonderful time in San Francisco! The weather was fabulous!!! Here is our trip report. FYI, we were celebrating our 2 year wedding anniv, we are in our early 30%26#39;s from Chicago.

Nov 1- arrived, stayed at the Chancellor. There was a bit of a check in %26#39;snaffu%26#39; but after about 10-15 min, the general mgr handled it and all was taken care of. They also had our room ready way before check in, which was nice. Checked in to a nice corner room, we are probably used to a bit nicer, but it was probably good considering San Fran hotels and how expensive they are. We got a good rate at the Chancellor for the weekend we stayed ($175). Everyone at the hotel was nice and the restaurant food was suprisngley delish! Would definitely recommend the hotel to others on a budget. Walked through Chinatown, it was fun to see, but nothing to rave home about.

Nov 2- rented a convertible and drove to Napa Valley. What a gorgeous trip! Went to Sterling Vineyards, Coppola (Rubicon), and Del Dotto. Sterling was cool because of the aerial tram, but that was about it. Coppola was fabulous! The grounds are amazing and the tour/wine was fabulous. Would highly recommend. The also had a place to picnic. (We stopped along the way first at the Model Bakery, 1357 MAIN ST., St. Helena for a picnic take away lunch). Would HIGHLY recommend, fabulous food! Del Dotto was great, the cave tour was very cool and different, plus LOTS of wine to taste, but all reds. Ended the day with dinner at Brix. It was okay, my husband enjoyed his, my steak was just so-so, but dessert was yummy.

Nov 3 - Took the Alcatraz tour, it was great!!! So much fun! Would highly recommend. We did the morning tour so we could leave when we wanted, which was nice. Caught a ferry back and walked to Pier 39, saw the sea lions and at at Boudin%26#39;s (the restaurant upstairs) across from Pier 43- it was way overpriced, but good. After dinner, we walked to the historic bar for some irish coffees. A good time! Took the cable car back to hotel which was very cool. Did some shopping - a great shopping town! Rested up and had dinner across the street at the Sir Francis Drake restaurant. They were packed at 8pm, but the food was WELL worth the wait!

Nov 4 - headed back to the airport for Chicago.

Summary - I liked the Chancellor, but I would probably try another hotel next time, if in the same price range. Maybe the Sir Francis Drake? I was surprised walking around seeing all of the hotels I had priced, so many seemed very nice. The food was wonderful in SF!!! Kudos! Also, I%26#39;m sorry, but I have to say, many people in SF were so rude! I couldnt believe it! Maybe it is because people in Chicago are nice, but there were lots of rude people. I noticed clerks at stores weren%26#39;t friendly (just cold) and when/if people knew we were tourists, they were downright rude. I%26#39;ve been to Europe and all over where people usually say tourists are unfriendly, and by far, SF takes the cake. Sorry guys! I know its not everyone, but I had to give a fair trip report of my experience! Would highly recommend going to Napa and SF all in all, was great for this first-timer.

J.R.

Nov 1-4 Trip Report

Sounds like a nice trip, thanks for the report! The convertible sounds like a really fun way to see the wine country. :)

Nov 1-4 Trip Report

Sorry about the rudeness. Most people have the opposite experience and remark how friendly the natives are. I guess you just hit the wrong people at the wrong time. That can happen anywhere. Plenty more culinary delights to discover on your next trip. Next time give Sonoma a shot as well.

Yeah, we%26#39;ll definitely be back, so hopefully we will have a better experience with the locals next time. I miss the food/wine already! ;)

Thanks!

Julie