San Francisco - Alison Bing [235]
Japantown Kinokuniya Books & Stationery, Super7 Click here and Sundance Kabuki Cinema.
Clement St Genki and Park Life.
Valencia St 826 Valencia and Ritual Coffee Roasters.
Babysitting
Licensed childcare can be found through American Child Care (Map; 415-285-2300; www.americanchildcare.com; Suite 1600, 580 California St; California) for $20 per hour plus gratuity, and a four-hour minimum. Major hotels often offer childcare for $15 to $30 per hour through providers with solid references. Otherwise, you can choose from the dozens of nanny and babysitter listings daily on Craigslist (http://sfbay.craigslist.org/kid), but be sure to check references and credentials first.
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CLIMATE
Don’t believe the hype: Mark Twain never actually said ‘The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco,’ although legend has it that he caught a mean case of hypothermia here. To avoid a similar fate, always bring layers of clothes with you to brave wind whipping along Downtown streets at up to 30mph, fog in the Richmond and Sunset even when it’s sunny in the Haight, and a clammy noir-novel chill that tends to settle over the city at night.
The best times to visit San Francisco are in spring (March to May) after the winter rains have ended, and in the late summer or early fall (August to November) when the city enjoys long stretches of warm, dry weather. The winter rainy season (December to February) can be wet and gloomy, but temperatures never go below freezing in town. For more on ideal times to visit SF, Click here, and for the latest forecast, see www.sfgate.com/weather.
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COURSES
Inspiration is a given in San Francisco – the question is, what are you going to do about it? There’s great raw material here for creative minds: farmers markets (see the boxed text), Britex Fabrics, industrial excess at SCRAP Click here and art supplies at Flax. To get schooled in SF, see the Sports & Activities chapter Click here for classes in aquatic exercise, croquet, flamenco, fly casting, hang gliding, kite boarding, lawn bowling, Lindy hopping, printmaking, rock climbing, sailing, trapeze, windsurfing and yoga.
Museums and local universities also offer lecture series and short courses. The following venues are among those offering hands-on workshops:
Asian Art Museum Calligraphy, woodblock prints and other hands-on art demos.
California College of the Arts Fashion design, visual arts and art collecting.
Cav Wine Bar Wine tasting and pairings.
Cheese Plus Cheese tasting and pairings.
Real Food Cooking courses.
San Francisco Center for the Book Bookmaking and binding.
San Francisco School of Bartending (Map; 415-362-1116; www.sfbartending.com; Suite 833, 760 Market St; & Powell St) Cocktail making and shaking.
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CUSTOMS REGULATIONS
Each person over the age of 21 is allowed to bring 1L of liquor and 200 cigarettes duty-free into the USA. Non-US citizens are allowed to bring in $100 worth of duty-free gifts. Should you be carrying more than $10,000 in US and foreign cash, traveler’s checks or money orders, you need to declare the excess amount – undeclared sums in excess of $10,000 may be subject to confiscation.
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DISCOUNTS & CARDS
The Go Card ( 800-887-9103; www.gosanfranciscocard.com; adult/child 1-day $49.99/39.99, 2-day $79.99/54.99, 3-day $89.99/71.99) offers unlimited access to the city’s major attractions, including cable cars, the MH de Young Memorial Museum, Exploratorium, SFMOMA, Aquarium of the Bay and more, plus discounts on packaged tours and waterfront restaurants and cafes. Do the math on entry fees at your desired destinations, and think about how much you reasonably can do in a day; there’s no sense tuckering yourself out just to sweeten your Go Card deal.
It pays to be green in SF, with special discounts on Bay Area green-friendly businesses from the Green Zebra guide ( 415-346-2361; www.thegreenzebra.org). Some green-minded venues also offer discounts for ticket-bearing