Travel Traditions

One of my favorite things about traveling is when I get a recommendation from a friend or family member on something to see or somewhere to eat. Of course its fun to strike out on your own and discover things for yourself, but it’s also the neatest feeling to travel in someone else’s footsteps and continue a tradition in a foreign place.

For instance, two of my best friends studied in Paris one summer as part of a study-abroad program. While they were there, they fell in love with a restaurant called The Grizzli Café, especially charmed by its chocolate cake. When my parents and I visited Paris the next winter, my friends insisted that we eat there, so along with the Mona Lisa and Versailles gardens, the Grizzli Café and it's famous chocolate cake was added to our must see list.

Of course, we loved it, and when my parents visited France the next summer with friends, they returned to the cafe. Another friend of mine visited Paris this summer and posted Facebook pictures of herself outside the restaurant, 7 years after our other friends made the original discovery. I love that two college girls stumbling into a Parisian restaurant have created a tradition among so many.

Another example is Tommy Toys, a fancy Chinese restaurant in San Francisco. My parents found the eatery on a trip 11 years ago and have raved about it ever since. I mentioned previously that my brother and his wife took a trip to San Fran 2 weeks before Jonathan and me. Both of us knew that reservations to Tommy Toys would be included on our respective itineraries. Even though none of us were blown away by the food (apparently Tommy died a few years back and the restaurant has since changed management) it was still sentimental to get to share a travel experience with my parents even without them being there.

On a side note: If you are in San Fran, I do encourage you to visit Tommy Toys. You have to understand that my parents have seriously raved about this place for 11 years so our expectations were set unreachably high. Also, in general, I’m not a huge fan of Chinese food. The food was still above average, and the atmosphere and service were superb. There were a ton of locals eating there and I overheard more than 1 conversation where patrons remarked that it was their favorite San Francisco restaurant. It’s a unique experience with elaborate 7 course meals. You should definitely at least try it, even if you don’t go back.

Perhaps my favorite example of passing along travel traditions isn’t food related at all. While my parents lived in Scotland, they offered to fly each of my family members over for a visit. Since it was too hard to organize a time for everyone to go, we ended up taking 4 separate trips among us. My sister’s brood went first, followed by my grandparents and Aunt. Then it was time for me and Jonathan’s trip and lastly, my brother and his wife got to visit. Our itineraries all differed slightly so that our tour guides (my parents) didn’t get stuck seeing all the same attractions over and over. But there was one place that we all wanted to see, and it was all inspired by this photo of my nephew at Loch Ness.

We all made the trek to Inverness to take a picture with Nessie and stick our toes in the legendary (and freezing) lake. Even though we all experienced it separately, it’s still a fond memory that we share as a family. When your family is so spread out, it’s nice to be able to bond over common experiences, even if you don’t get to experience them at the same time.

I'd rather go to Alcatraz than walk over the Golden Gate Bridge.

Now in a previous post I mentioned that we walked pretty much everywhere during our stay in San Francisco. This of course was not true for our trip to Alcatraz Island. If it were, having a maximum security prison there wouldn’t have been so effective.

We did walk to the ferry which was about a 1 ½ mile stroll from our hotel and from there took a 30 minute ferry-ride to the Island. When you get to Alcatraz you first watch a 15 minute movie about the history of the Island. It wasn’t just a prison, you know. Here are some fun facts about Alcatraz:

Translated from Spanish, Alacatraces (Anglicized to Alcatraz) means Pelicans, so the Island was originally known as Island of Pelicans. The island currently serves as a bird sanctuary.

Due to the island's centrally located spot in the San Francisco Bay, it was also used as a strategic military base during the California gold rush.
The original prison on Alcatraz was a military prison, converted into a Federal Prison in the 1920s.

In 1969-1971, Native Americans claimed Alcatraz as Indian Territory and a large group moved to the island.

All of these are great trivia facts, but probably the most important thing you need to know about Alcatraz Island is: there is no food service. Our trip was drastically cut short by the appearance of Jonathan’s “hungry monster” about 15 minutes in. Now, since I didn’t pay $60 bucks and take a 30 minute ferry ride to watch a film about the island, Jonathan agreed to tour the cell house while munching on the gummy bears I had stashed in my purse.

I enjoyed speed walking through the audio tour of the prison and Alcatraz has a great view of San Francisco. I know it's not a hospitable place to live, but it sure beats the view from my front porch. It’s definitely worth the trip and if you’re ever a tourist in San Francisco, it’s like an American rite of passage. And now I can’t wait for the TV show to come on!
The only other site we didn’t walk to was the Golden Gate Bridge. We did however, walk across it. Those who know me know that I am a big fat scaredy-cat. I have a phobia of pretty much every cliché fear in the book. (Except for snakes. Somehow, I’m cool with snakes. Go figure.). But phobia of heights + even more intense phobia of water= phobia of bridges.

Lucky for me, I married an engineer who isn’t the least bit interested in anything that defies the law of physics. Yea, right. We were walking across that bridge even if I wet my pants in the process. My anxiety was in no way alleviated by 40 mph gusts of wind, huge 18 wheelers driving past, or bicyclists whizzing by me and the sidewalk. Oh, and did you know that the bridge moves?
But it really is no big deal to walk across. Locals actually run on the bridge all the time. But if you do have some hesitation, I would advise going early in the morning. We were finishing our trek at about 10:30 and the tourists were just starting to pour onto the bridge. Earlier in the morning, except for a few joggers and cyclists, Jon and I had the whole thing to ourselves which is more convenient for having a Panic Attack.
Now the bridge is 1.7 miles across, so round trip its 3.4. If I did it over again, I’d ask the cab to drop us off on the far side so that we could have just walked one way and caught another cab on the flip side. There is nothing like getting across the bridge, patting yourself on the back for your extreme bravery and bladder control and then realizing you have to turn around and face the whole terrifying ordeal all over again. But I did it. Now, I have a really cool fact to use in my next game of “I never”.
And by the way, I was truly impressed with myself over this tiny accomplishment until on this season of The Bachelor they made poor Emily climb to the top of the Bay Bridge on her one-on-one date. I would have been like “Sorry Ben F., but you’re hotness is no substitute for Xanax.” Of course, since Jonathan has a huge man crush on Ben and an obsession with all things terrifying, I’m sure he would have gladly taken my place.

If you're going to San Francisco

It’s been awhile, but man, have I been busy. One of the perks of working at a University is that you usually get some holiday time off around Christmas. This year I followed my week off by taking a week of vacation to Hawaii with my family. We celebrated my parent’s 30th wedding anniversary by renting a luxury house in Kapalua, Maui and it was glorious! I’d love to get into it, but then I’d be completely skipping over another vacation: San Francisco.

My brother and sis-in law went to San Fran about 3 weeks before Jonathan and I. They were pretty “eh” about it, so we weren’t sure what to expect. From what we’d seen on the Bachelor/Bachelorette franchises, San Francisco seemed pretty fantastic (and what better place to get travel inspiration than a reality dating show? Remind me to tell you the Portugal Panic Attack story. It’s a classic).

Well I will end the suspense and let you know that we absolutely loved San Francisco and take back every bad thing we’ve ever said about California. When comparing notes with my brother, I realized 2 big differences between our separate trips that could really make or break your stay.
(This photo of Orchard Garden Hotel is courtesy of TripAdvisor)

1: Location of Hotel. Jon and I stayed at the Orchard Garden Hotel which is next door to the gate to China Town. We were about ½ mile from the pier and a few blocks from Union Square. We could walk everywhere.
Which brings me to the number 2 difference: Driving. Jonathan and I didn’t rent a car. We took a cab from the airport to our perfectly located hotel and walked everywhere once we got there. The only time we took a cab was to the Golden Gate Bridge and back, and that was only because construction had closed down some of the pedestrian paths.

My brother rented a car and said driving and parking in San Francisco was confusing and stressful. Plus, driving cuts down on your ability to drink good wine. Plus, when you walk everywhere (I’m guessing we clocked about 6 miles per day) it lessens your guilt about eating all the fabulous food San Francisco has to offer.

So do your research on your hotel location and do not rent a car. The rest will take care of itself. We stayed at a boutique hotel called the Orchard Garden. The rooms were adequate, roomy, clean, and updated, but most importantly the rates were $100 bucks cheaper than anything else I found in the area. The location is prime. There are tons of bars and restaurants within a 2 block radius. My favorite thing about the hotel was the rooftop terrace. It’s a super romantic spot with a great view of the city. My second favorite thing was its location across the street from two super authentic French restaurants. We ate at Café de la Presse twice for breakfast and I seriously felt like I was smack dab in the middle of Paris.
(This photo of Orchard Garden Hotel is courtesy of TripAdvisor)

However, visitor be warned: other than the touristy spots, the city shuts down on the weekends. Our poor jet-lagging selves could find no French Breakfast when we woke up at 6 AM Saturday morning, and you can forget about finding anything open on Sunday morning either. By lunchtime, things seemed to pick up a bit and we were able to score some French Brunch, so don’t feel too sorry for us.

So to summarize: if you're going to San Francisco, make sure to stay in a central location and burn off that French Toast breakfast by walking everywhere. And of course, it wouldn't hurt to wear some flowers in your hair.