Layover: San Francisco

by Alison Brick on


Because of its location on a peninsula, San Francisco is confined within a space of about 7 miles wide by 7 miles long–which makes for an easy taxi-ride from San Francisco International Airport (13 miles south of San Francisco) to anywhere in town. But even if you have plenty of time to spare between flights, your best bet is the cheap and easy commuter train–BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit)–which you can pick up directly at SFO.

Longer layovers (4+ hours)

To make the most of your layover, take BART to either downtown or the Mission district. A ride to downtown (Embarcadero Station) takes 32 minutes, and costs $5.35 one-way, while a ride to the Mission district (24th Street Station) takes 23 minutes, and costs $5.20 one-way.

Downtown:

One option is to take BART to the Embarcadero Station, and spend some time in the Ferry Building Marketplace. If you’re there on a Tuesday or Thursday (10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.), or Saturday (8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.), you’ll find yourself at the best farmer’s market in town. The shop and restaurant list truly is a composite of the best of the best in premium local and organic food, from Frog Hollow Farm to Cowgirl Creamery. The Slanted Door offers up grand views and Zagat-awarded Vietnamese food if you want a sit-down meal. Or, if you need to stretch those airplane-confined legs, you can take a walk along the Embarcadero–north for a view of Alcatraz, south for a view of the Bay Bridge and the “Cupid’s Span” sculpture by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, or west up Market Street–the Financial District’s thoroughfare–for a little urban hustle-and-bustle.

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Or try this itinerary for a good mix of shopping, views, meditation, food, and a good uphill climb to get your heart pumping. Get off BART at Powell Station, and follow the crowds north toward Union Square, the city’s central shopping area. Then keep following the cable car line (but don’t bother waiting in the long line for a ride) up Powell Street to Nob Hill, taking in the views of the Bay Bridge to your right. At the tip top, you’ll find Grace Cathedral. Take a look at the grand, bronze doors (a replica of those from the Duomo in Florence, Italy), then walk one of its two labyrinths (indoor and outdoor). If you’re up for a splurge, you could order a drink or bite while taking in a 360-degree views at the Top of the Mark. Otherwise, for a more ethnic experience, dim sum at Four Seas Restaurant in neighboring Chinatown is always good, too.

Mission district:

The Mission is another great area to meander if you’ve only got a few hours to sample San Francisco. Its Latino roots are on display along Mission Street, and its hipster side is a few blocks away along Valencia Street. Hop off BART at the 24th Street Station and stop at a taqueria that strikes your fancy. Or pick up a cone of Bi-Rite ice cream (it’s organic, so that negates the calories) and take it across the street to people-watch at Dolores Park. (As one of the sunniest neighborhoods in foggy San Francisco, odds are in your favor.) Swing by Balmy Alley to check out the plethora of colorful murals, or pick up an eye patch at the city’s only independent pirate supply store at 826 Valencia. If you’re in the neighborhood at night, drop in for a play at The Marsh, live music at the Elbo Room, or the latest oddball event at The Make-out Room.

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Shorter layovers (2 hours)

If you confined to the airport grounds, you don’t have to rely solely on following changes on the arrival/departure board to pass the time. Try these out:

Roam the airport and find a piece of artwork from the SFO’s collection that inspires you. You’ll have plenty of opportunity throughout the terminals.

Need a massage or pedicure where you’re heading next? Stop at XpresSpa. Its hours are friendly to early and late departures, too. The one in the International Terminal (Boarding Area G, near Gate 100, post-security) is open 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.; and the one in Terminal 3 (Boarding Area F near Gate 68, post-security) is open 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.

Restaurants are the usual lot, with the exception of a few standouts. Go to Boudin Bakery for San Francisco’s famous sourdough bread–maybe as a bowl with clam chowder inside? (Terminal 3, Boarding Area F, food court at entrance to Gates 80-90, post-security) Grab a cup of the local’s favorite brew, Peet’s Coffee, which first started percolating in the area in 1966. (Several locations in Terminals 1 and 3) And for a different type of coffee altogether, head to Buena Vista Cafe. The cafe’s original Fisherman’s Wharf location is proud to have made the first Irish Coffee outside of Ireland in 1952. (Terminal 3, Boarding Area F near Gate 82, post-security)

And for the best shopping in SFO–hands down–head to the SFMOMA Store. You’re the only one who has to know that the creative gifts from there were bought last-minute at the airport. (International Terminal, Main Hall, pre-security).

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Hydrogen fueling station coming to San Francisco Airport

by Tom Johansmeyer on

If you drive a fuel cell vehicle, you’ll be able to recharge at San Francisco International Airport. The hydrogen station that is planned will also be used for a fleet of airport shuttle buses and San Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority hybrid buses. This project has been funded in part by a $1.7 million grant from the California Air Resources Board (ARB).

Linde North America, an engineering firm, has been engaged to design and install the system. “At the heart of the station is the Linde MaxFueler 90, a dispensing system whose fast-fill technology makes hydrogen fueling quick and easy, creating a similar experience to what motorists now get at their local service station,” says Mike McGowan, head of hydrogen solutions for Linde North America.

John L. Martin, San Francisco International Airport director, said, “The development and installation of a hydrogen fueling station at SFO is just a further extension of the Airport’s commitment to being a good steward of the environment. Whether it be the expansion of solar or wind energy systems, the continued use of CNG and biodiesel fueled vehicles, or being part of cutting-edge systems such as hydrogen fueling facilities, SFO is fully committed to reducing its carbon footprint in our community.”

The project is set for completion in early 2010.

Galley Gossip: SFO airline museum, LAX airline show & a request for photos!

by Heather Poole on

Here are two different letters I recently received from two different guys named Ken concerning two different airline themed topics you may be interested in – the San Francisco airline museum and the airline show that is now on tour…

Heather,

Thanks so much for your blog and Galley Gossip, I’m a regular reader! As a matter of fact I gave your blog info to a pilot I met today (through my regular course of work) who actually has flown with and knows Kent Wien (and his brother) but was unaware of Kent’s Cockpit Chronicles on Gadling, which is where I found your site. Since you have a mini airline museum perhaps I will email you a few things from my Pan Am collection some day that would be suitable for framing! Don’t worry, no pictures of me! If you ever get a long layover in SFO check out the Airport Museum in the non-secure part of the International terminal. It’s pretty impressive and free!

All the best and I will continue to read and enjoy your work.

Warmest regards,

Ken A.

Ken A.

Thank you for reading my blog! And thank you, thank you, thank you, for telling me about the San Francisco airport museum located in the international terminal. I went to the website and found myself amazed. The museum is so cool, in fact, that I don’t know how it is I’ve never heard of this museum.

“I told you about that museum!” my husband exclaimed when I mentioned it in passing.

I looked at him like he was crazy. “You did?”

“Don’t you remember when I told your friend Stephen he should donate a couple uniforms from his collection to the museum?”

“Oh yeah!” I exclaimed. As for Stephen, he’s a flight attendant who has an amazing collection of flight attendant memorabilia that may just rival any museum in the world.

Anyway, next time I find myself at the San Francisco airport I will definitely make the extra effort to visit the exhibits on display. I’m bummed that I missed Take Your Seat, A History of Passenger Airline Seats, as well as Cathay Pacific Airways, Six Decades of Service, but I do hope to catch Cabin Comforts: Photographs of Airliner Interiors, which will be running until May 2009. And to think something so amazing is actually free!

Like you mentioned above, Ken, most airline enthusiasts have a mini airline museum of their own. I’d love to see your Pan Am collection. As you already know, I have my own collection of anything and everything airline related located in my guestroom closet. Gadling writer and pilot Kent Wien apparently has a pretty big collection, too, and my guess is a lot of his memorabilia has his name on it due to the fact that Wien Air, which folded in 1985, was the second oldest airline in the United States. So what do you say we – me, you, Kent, Stephen, and anyone else who has a collection – take photographs of our personal airline museums and share them here on Gadling? I’ll create the gallery. All you have to do is take a photo, just one photo, and email it to me at the address posted below.

Thanks for writing, Ken!

Heather Poole

Heather,

I just thought I’d let you know, that the airline memorabilia show will be held Sat. Jan.24th 9:00a-3:00p. It will be at the Hacienda Hotel on Sepulveda just south of LAX. I know you’re in NYC this month on reserve but i thought I’d let you know just the same. Hope you make it through reserve!!! UGH!!! Keep well. Fly Safe!!!!

Ken J.

Ken J.

Thank you for the reminder. I’ve been meaning to check out that airline show for two years now. After five scheduled days off, I’ll be on-call in New York on the 25th, so I’ll be commuting from Los Angeles to New York on the day of the show. Just my luck. But I did go to the website and saw that the show will be in New York at the LGA Marriott hotel on March 21st, so perhaps I’ll catch it then. Are you going to the show in Los Angeles? If so, let me know what it’s like, and more importantly, what is sold, because as you know I’m interested in anything with a flight attendant theme that I can add to my own airline museum, the one I will be photographing for the gallery I mentioned above. My husband recently boxed up my museum and put it in storage while I was away from home on a layover. Hey, that’s okay, just means I have more room for more stuff! Thanks again for the reminder.

Happy travels,

Heather Poole

Email photos to Skydoll123@yahoo.com

All photos courtesy of Telstar Logistics – flickr.com

Budget Travel: San Francisco

by Alison Brick on



Summary: Frequently at the top of the best US cities lists, San Francisco is many visitors’ favorite, but might not be the first on the mind for cheap travel. But this easy-natured, west coast city, known for its counterculture, sourdough bread, and colorful Victorian homes, boasts just as many quaint neighborhoods and other understated gems as it does tourist landmarks. Easy on the eyes, easy on the heart-strings–now consider it easy on the budget.

Getting in: All of the major airlines fly into SFO, including JetBlue and Southwest. You should find ample options from United, since the airport is one of the airline’s hubs. If you’re staying outside of the city proper, consider the two other airports in the area: Oakland (OAK) and San Jose (SJC).

From SFO, the local commuter train (BART: Bay Area Rapid Transit) is your best bet to your hotel or hostel. It can drop you off at eight stations within the city itself. A one-way trip to one of the downtown stops is $5.35. Otherwise, a door-to-door shuttle (such as QuakeCity or SuperShuttle) costs $15–17.

If a slower pace is more your style, catch a Greyhound bus and disembark right in downtown San Francisco. Amtrak also stops nearby, but you’ll need to make your way ten miles from the closest stations in Oakland and Emeryville, in the East Bay.

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Where to stay: Hostelling International offers reliably inexpensive options with their downtown and Fisherman’s Wharf hostels. Downtown is all about the location–just a block from Union Square, it’s in the heart of the city that’s renowned for capturing ours. The Fisherman’s Wharf location is more peaceful and removed–housed in the historic buildings of park-like Fort Mason. (It’s a bit of a misnomer: walking to Fisherman’s Wharf will take about 15 minutes.) Both come with free wi-fi and breakfast, and free or low-cost tours. But it depends on what you’re looking for–stores and nightlife outside your doorstep, or sprawling lawns and views of the Golden Gate Bridge? Either way, at about $25-27 for a dorm, and $69-75 for a private room, the price is right.

At hotel price, but still relatively reasonable is Good Hotel. It’s a new addition to the City by the Bay, and a new premise to the hotel world–it’s been billed as “the first hotel with a conscience.” What does that mean? Their decor is made of recycled goods, amenities are made of sustainable materials, and the hotel can link guests with philanthropic “voluntouring” events while they’re in town. Prices seem to range from $76–230, but they’re offering a winter sale right now–20% off a 3-night stay through March 5, 2009.

What to see: There’s only one reason to head toward Fisherman’s Wharf–to take the ferry to Alcatraz. The infamous jail-island is one landmark that lives up to its reputation. Self-guided audio tours lead you through the prison cells (and back in time) with stories of inmates like Al “Scarface” Capone and the “Birdman” Robert Stroud. As an extra bonus to the $26 cost, the ferry ride also makes for excellent bridge- and skyline-viewing.

Don’t let the hills fool you–San Francisco is a walkable city. If you’re up for an urban hike, you can join a free walking tour by San Francisco City Guides, or embark on your own. Choose the natural setting of Golden Gate Park, or ramble through any of the neighborhoods for distinctly different walks. A walk through North Beach (the Italian district) could include everything from perusing poetry at City Lights Bookstore and taking a cappuccino at Caffe Trieste to watching the wild parrots circle overhead at Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill. See what sights, sounds, or people pull your interest to linger or change your plans. At the very worst, hop on a cable car or one of the vintage street cars to bring you back where you started.

Who says all of the good things have a big price tag? The Saturday farmer’s market at the Ferry Building is as bustling as any other event in the city, and it’s ripe with the season’s best produce–grown on local, organic farms. Sampling is encouraged!

Just as exhibitions rotate in and out of the city’s museums, so do free days. Once a month, the admission fee is waived for many of the city’s art and cultural museums. That means the first Tuesday of every month at the de Young, which greets you in the entry courtyard with an Andy Goldsworthy sculptural installation. Then again, you can always enter the observation tower for free–you’ll get a great 360° birdseye view of the city. Or else, be one of the first to visit the new California Academy of Sciences, which reopened in September 2008 and features a four-story rainforest, planetarium, and a living roof that grows native plants. Stop by on the museum’s free day–the third Wednesday of every month.

If you find yourself needing to indulge a bit after all of the walking and skimping, consider Kabuki Springs and Spa for a relatively cheap afternoon ($22-25) at the communal bath and sauna, Japanese style. Just be sure to check the calendar before you go: the baths are designated solely to men or women on alternating days, and Tuesday is the only co-ed day. Or for a big (in all ways: hats, costumes, voices, fun) San Francisco experience, splurge on a ticket to Beach Blanket Babylon, a music review that spoofs the latest in pop culture–now in its 34th year.

Man sues United, claiming alcohol service caused him to beat his wife

by Josh Lew on

A man on a flight from Osaka to San Francisco had too much to drink. Soon after landing, he started beating his wife. After he ended up in police custody and sobered up, he didn’t sheepishly apologize to his wife. Nope. He decided to sue United for serving him too much alcohol, which, he alleges, caused him become violent. The man, Yoichi Shimamoto, was arrested by police at a customs checkpoint after he struck his wife in the face half-a-dozen times. The suit alleges that United’s cabin crew served him wine at 20-minute intervals throughout the flight and that he was so drunk that he could not control himself. Shinamoto and his spouse are seeking $100,000 from the airline as well as more money for pain and suffering.

United responded to the suit, saying “We believe that a lawsuit that suggests that we are somehow responsible for the consequences of a passenger’s physical assault on his own wife is without any merit whatsoever.”

[via Today in the Sky]