Things to do and see in San Francisco
Out of the places I've been to in the US, San Francisco is definetly one of my favorites. I've been there 3 times, and I always seem to find something new to see or do every time I'm there. My recommendations for San Franciso are the following:
- Take a picture in front of the Golden Gate bridge (from the opposite side, with SF in the background)
- Ride the Cable Cars
- Visit Chinatown and it's novelty and heritage art stores
- Shop for food or eat in the Ferry terminal building
- Go to Alcatraz, but make sure you book your ticket well in advance. During tourist season there's a minimum 3 day wait, and that's the reason I've never been there.
- Drive down Lombard Street
- Visit a thrift store in the Castro neighbourhood (the gayer part of SF)
- Go shopping in North Beach
- Visit pier 39, but don't feed the seals (it's not allowed)
- Eat at Fishermans Wharf
- Go shopping at or around Union Square
- Eat at 21st amendment and try the home brewed beer
- Take ferry ride to Sausalito (a rich suburb, and very idyllic)
If you rent a car there are several other options aswell, like:
- Visit the Redwoods at Muir Woods (North of SF)
- Visit the UC Berkeley campus
- Shop at Great Mall in Union City (The biggest mall on the west coast)
Please write me a comment if you'd like more information on any of the tings listed here, I'd be happy to help. And now for some pictures!
Ferry terminal
Berlin for New Years 09
So this is an old happening, but I didn't have a blog at the time, and I'd still like to share the experience simply because it was a good one!
My friend Torstein's father owns an apartement in Berlin, and Torstein had courtly invited my girlfriend and I to stay there with him and his wife Hilde for new years. Personally I had never been to Berlin, hell I had barely been to Germany, so I was not about the let the chance pass! To add to the story, this is the same Torstein that has me hooked on foie gras and perversely delicious variations of shellfish. Naturally he planned a few restaurant visits along the way, from a fancy twist on Austrian cuisine, to the big blowout at Facil, a Michelin star restaurant well known for their awesome decor and equally awesome food!
During our stay we went shopping at B5 outlet mall, we visited all the sights like the Jewish Holocaust Memorial and right next to it the Myth Germania exhibit, showcasing Hitler's plans for the rebuilt Berlin after the war. Hitlers bunker is situated right next to the jewish memorial, but it's only marked with a small plaque to avoid neo-nazi pilgrimmers flocking to the site. Getting around was easy as Torstein and Hilde had been smart enough to rent a car for the duration. We used it quite alot, and I suggest anyone who goes to Berlin to do the same, atleast for a day or two.
We ofcourse visited some of the typical tourist places like Brandeburger Tor, the Berlin wall and Potzdamer Platz. We also went by the new Hauptbahnhof, the main train station, with trains in 4 stories, going everywhere in Europe.
That the Berlin people are free-spirited became evident during a visit to the the Badeschiff. The badeschiff are several barges turned into a bar and a swimming pool. During the winter they're covered and heated, but even then they have an outside area. As we changed I passed a woman walking out of what I thought was the mens dressing room, turns out it was uni-sex. Not only that, but when came down to the pool, we saw that we we're about the most dressed people there. Most of the guests we're nude, and luckily not 50+, but rather our age, in their twenties. We didn't quite find our inner nudist while there, but we didn't mind that the rest of the people did. Alas no, I don't have any pictures from here...
New years celebration in Berlin is a perverse thing! It was fckng cold (-20c by night). and we took to the streets to join the party. Short story even shorter, the Germans are quite friendly, and even more so when they have something to celebrate. On the tram we met two girls, Julia and Alexandra, who tipped us on where to go to really see the party up close. We ended up on a bridge, can't remember which one, but spirits we're high and fireworks flew low and it was just like blitzkrieg, except everybody was happy and incredibly enough, noone got hurt!
All in all we've got great memories and good pictures, which you can see the rest of right here!
Berlin for new years with Torstein and Hilde
15 Photos
Luna Café – Good lunch, fair price
Hedda and I decided to go out to eat sunday lunch and we ended up at Café Luna. Luna is a lounge style café with a turkish and middle eastern menu. They've got both traditional pizza, meze and sandwiches.
We decided to make it simple this time and just have a 1 course lunch. I ordered a lamb sandwhich, while Hedda had köfte, which is turkish style meatballs. The service was good and the food came reasonably quickly, and as you can see it was a solid portion for lunch:
Lamb Sandwich
Köfte
The lamb was served on a skewer over a foccacia style bread, trimmed with salad. It went well with the yogurt dressing. The price was also good, and for a total of kr.262,- (€28) it was a good deal.
The interior of Luna is modern but inviting. It's got a real lounge feel to it with wall decoration and frescoes on the walls. They mix old and new with some old style cushion seats in some sections, while having a neon light at the bar. The bar looks well stocked, although we did not go ape there on this occation.
La Luna
The bar
To sum it up, it's always nice to discover a good place to eat for the first time, and it's an added bonus when it's in your own neighborhood.
Luna Cafe
Darres street 2
0175 Oslo
http://www.lunalounge.no