Vancouver/Seattle/San Francisco Trip

ConorKavanagh

Hello there good brothers and sisters.
Myself and my better half are going on a trip from Ireland to North America in March. We are wondering if anyone in any of the cities I have named could perhaps give us a heads up on what's cool to do, i.e are there any cool shows/festivals that will be happening? Are there any unique spots that we should see or visit? We've already planned a tour of the Seattle musical landmarks, an orca watching tour, the Twin Peaks tour, and plan to visit Aberdeen one day. Also, the Sound Garden is on our list too, along with Bruce Lee's gravesite. As for Vancouver and San Francisco we don't have as much on the agenda.

We're going to be in Vancouver - March 16 - 18th
Seattle - 19th - 25th
San Francisco - 26th - 30th.

So if anyone knows of anything that's happening in any of these locations during these dates, please do let us know! Also, if there's any cool restaurants or bars that you would recommend we'd be very grateful! We'll pay it back to y'all when Pearl Jam play in Ireland again, If that ever happens......!

Conor

FactoryMan93

Judging by your name I would stay away from San Fran, the Diaz brothers live in nearby Stockton. Just playing...

I travel to San Fran a few times a year for work, and always check out the sites when I am there... Alcatraz, Palace of Fine Arts, the Haight. I love San Fran. You must try the clam chowder. A site seeing bus is an easy to see everything, do not use the trolley. Its a nice touristy thing but its a waste of time, money, and your sites are limited. Coit Tower is a must, and has great views of the city, and I would walk along the Presidio Park trail towards the Golden Gate. Something I have been negligent of... dress in layers while in San Fran. It may be in Cali but it is always chilly and foggy. Sounds like you have Seattle down pat, and I've never visited Vancouver. Some cool bars... the Vesuvio on Columbus, a regular beat hangout.

PJ_Soul

I would say that March isn't the ideal time to visit Vancouver, since it will most likely be raining, lol. However, you might get lucky and see some fine weather. Either way, I suggest you rent kayaks at English Bay or wherever around the seawall and paddle around the inlet - that is a really fun way to check out the city near the water. Looks like you'll be here on a Sunday, which is good, because that's a good day to visit Granville Island Market - more going on there on the weekends. It's not high season or anything, but still... That is, if you're interested in public markets and shit like that. It's basically Vancouver's Pike Place (although better IMHO, since it is directly on the water, and you can take little ferry taxis to and from it and everything, and you can walk around outdoors a lot.
And of course there is Stanley Park - if you walk all the way around it on the seawall, that's a good 12km walk, and very nice. You can also walk all the interior trails through the forest. Very nice. You can't not go to Stanley Park if you visit Vancouver (unless you hate the outdoors). English Bay is where the Stanley Park seawallgoes to eventually (or comes from) - beaches and just up from the beach on Denman are a lot of little restaurants and stuff for after your massive, hours long walk around Stanley Park, lol. All of this is right there next to the downtown core btw. You don't have to go too far to pretty much do whatever there is to do in Vancouver. Oh, and hey, if there happens to be a Canucks game while you're there, maybe do that! Could be fun for you to see an NHL game in the flesh - it's certainly a very Canadian thing to do, lol.

ConorKavanagh

FactoryMan93 said:

Judging by your name I would stay away from San Fran, the Diaz brothers live in nearby Stockton. Just playing...

I travel to San Fran a few times a year for work, and always check out the sites when I am there... Alcatraz, Palace of Fine Arts, the Haight. I love San Fran. You must try the clam chowder. A site seeing bus is an easy to see everything, do not use the trolley. Its a nice touristy thing but its a waste of time, money, and your sites are limited. Coit Tower is a must, and has great views of the city, and I would walk along the Presidio Park trail towards the Golden Gate. Something I have been negligent of... dress in layers while in San Fran. It may be in Cali but it is always chilly and foggy. Sounds like you have Seattle down pat, and I've never visited Vancouver. Some cool bars... the Vesuvio on Columbus, a regular beat hangout.

Fuck the Diaz Brothers. Lol. I'll beat them with the Stockton Slap myself.
Thank you for getting back to me. Haight Ashbury is definitely something I want to see, although an older friend of mine told me some years ago that it has become very commercialised and tourist-y in recent years, but I guess that goes for any historical location, where there's people there's exploitation and all that. Basically we're writing down everything you said now and we're going to try and see how much of it we can hit in the time we're there. Won't be trying the clam chowder however, as unfortunately I'll die if I do, due to my allergy to shellfish! 

ConorKavanagh

PJ_Soul said:

I would say that March is the ideal time to visit Vancouver, since it will most likely be raining, lol. However, you might get lucky and see some fine weather. Either way, I suggest you rent kayaks at English Bay or wherever around the seawall and paddle around the inlet - that is a really fun ways to check out the city near the water. Looks like you're be here on a Sunday, which is good, because that's a good day to visit Granville Island Market - more going on there on the weekends. It's not high season or anything, but still... That is, if you're interested in public markets and shit like that. It's basically Vancouver's Pike Place (although better IMHO, since it is directly on the water, and you can take little ferry taxis to and from it and everything, and you can walk around outdoors a lot.
And of course there is Stanley Park - if you walk all the way around it on the seawall, that's a good 12km walk, and very nice. You can also walk all the interior trails through the forest. Very nice. You can't not go to Stanley Park if you visit Vancouver (unless you hate the outdoors). English Bay is where the Stanley Park seawallgoes to eventually (or comes from) - beaches and just up from the beach on Denman are a lot of little restaurants and stuff for after your massive, hours long walk around Stanley Park, lol. All of this is right there next to the downtown core btw. You don't have to go too far to pretty much do whatever there is to do in Vancouver. Oh, and hey, if there happens to be a Canucks game while you're there, maybe do that! Could be fun for you to see an NHL game in the flesh - it's certainly a very Canadian thing to do, lol.

Thanks so much for your lengthy response. All of the stuff is being written into our little book here, as I said to the other poster here. We're probably going to be fine if it rains, considering we are coming from Ireland, where it rains about 200 days of the year. If we start walking the park, are there different options for exiting part way around? Not sure if that question makes much sense. :-/

PJ_Soul

ConorKavanagh said:

PJ_Soul said:

I would say that March is the ideal time to visit Vancouver, since it will most likely be raining, lol. However, you might get lucky and see some fine weather. Either way, I suggest you rent kayaks at English Bay or wherever around the seawall and paddle around the inlet - that is a really fun ways to check out the city near the water. Looks like you're be here on a Sunday, which is good, because that's a good day to visit Granville Island Market - more going on there on the weekends. It's not high season or anything, but still... That is, if you're interested in public markets and shit like that. It's basically Vancouver's Pike Place (although better IMHO, since it is directly on the water, and you can take little ferry taxis to and from it and everything, and you can walk around outdoors a lot.
And of course there is Stanley Park - if you walk all the way around it on the seawall, that's a good 12km walk, and very nice. You can also walk all the interior trails through the forest. Very nice. You can't not go to Stanley Park if you visit Vancouver (unless you hate the outdoors). English Bay is where the Stanley Park seawallgoes to eventually (or comes from) - beaches and just up from the beach on Denman are a lot of little restaurants and stuff for after your massive, hours long walk around Stanley Park, lol. All of this is right there next to the downtown core btw. You don't have to go too far to pretty much do whatever there is to do in Vancouver. Oh, and hey, if there happens to be a Canucks game while you're there, maybe do that! Could be fun for you to see an NHL game in the flesh - it's certainly a very Canadian thing to do, lol.

Thanks so much for your lengthy response. All of the stuff is being written into our little book here, as I said to the other poster here. We're probably going to be fine if it rains, considering we are coming from Ireland, where it rains about 200 days of the year. If we start walking the park, are there different options for exiting part way around? Not sure if that question makes much sense. :-/

Kind of. You can cut through the park to get out faster if you don't get too far into it. I mean, if you decide you're done when you're on the far tip of the park you're pretty much hooped, lol. The park is surrounded by water, with only a fairly narrow land bridge where you enter and exit, so there is a point where you're all out of shortcuts back to the entrances and exits. But say you start on one end of the seawall (i.e. on the West Georgia entrance), walk around for a little while and then wish it were over, you can cut straight across and end up on the far end of the seawall at English Bay a lot faster.... You can always ask people about where to go to get out fastest. There are paths and trails going every which way through it, so there are a lot of options... it is easy to lose your sense of direction, but don't worry, it's surrounded by water/seawall on every side, so it's not like you're going to end up on the news as another lost tourist that the rescue crews are looking for, haha (that is a very real danger if you choose to go hiking in the very close surrounding mountains though, so be aware of that!). There are also these touristy horse drawn trolleys you can take if you want to check out more of the park without walking, but honestly, that sucks compared to wandering around. It really is an incredible park. The fact that it's that huge and beautiful but still part of downtown is pretty damn cool. And the views from all around the seawall are definitely worth seeing. If I were you I'd just put on some good walking shoes and go for it, if you're physically capable of that.

PJ_Soul

Oh, and you also have the option of cycling it. I can't believe I forgot to mention that. There are plenty of bike rentals available (Including tandem bikes, which are a laugh riot), and there is now also a bike-sharing program, so you can grab the bikes downtown or just outside the park and cycle to the park and go all the way around in no time. Just google bike rentals. Our current mayor is literally OBSESSED with bike lanes, so you'll have no issues, hahaha.

SmallestOceans

Go see the Redwood trees a couple hours north of San Fran if you like nature and mystical places.

FactoryMan93

Pfft, whats with all the negativity surrounding the Diaz's? It is true that it has become commercialised, but not to the point where it bothered me. Whenever I travel I never buy touristy items. I eat where the locals eat, and I act as if I live in that city. I am sorry about the shellfish. If you want to see Alcatraz buy for it now, it sells out very fast. If  you are a fan of the movie Bullitt there are various areas that are easy to get to. Another thing... San Fran is very expensive, so I would recommend a low end hotel if you arent going to be in the room. I always stay at the Sam Wong hotel in Chinatown. I am very familiar with the area, so any questions, I won't be bothered to answer some questions.

ConorKavanagh

PJ_Soul said:

Oh, and you also have the option of cycling it. I can't believe I forgot to mention that. There are plenty of bike rentals available (Including tandem bikes, which are a laugh riot), and there is now also a bike-sharing program, so you can grab the bikes downtown or just outside the park and cycle to the park and go all the way around in no time. Just google bike rentals. Our current mayor is literally OBSESSED with bike lanes, so you'll have no issues, hahaha.

Well that certainly sounds like something I'd be interested in, the on foot part that is. Thanks for the update. I kinda disproved the theory about once you learn how to ride a bike there a few years ago. This park sounds really cool though. I start my day with a walk here most days so I would probably be able to do about 1/2 - 3/4 of it before feeling really fatigued, provided the whole thing isn't just one bit uphill climb or anything. Also, the sea is a big draw for me, and my amateur photography aspirations!

ConorKavanagh

SmallestOceans said:

Go see the Redwood trees a couple hours north of San Fran if you like nature and mystical places.

A quick Google search there has told me about a place called Muir Woods, is that what you mean or are they just all over the place?

ConorKavanagh

FactoryMan93 said:

Pfft, whats with all the negativity surrounding the Diaz's? It is true that it has become commercialised, but not to the point where it bothered me. Whenever I travel I never buy touristy items. I eat where the locals eat, and I act as if I live in that city. I am sorry about the shellfish. If you want to see Alcatraz buy for it now, it sells out very fast. If  you are a fan of the movie Bullitt there are various areas that are easy to get to. Another thing... San Fran is very expensive, so I would recommend a low end hotel if you arent going to be in the room. I always stay at the Sam Wong hotel in Chinatown. I am very familiar with the area, so any questions, I won't be bothered to answer some questions.

As my fellow countryman said, "When one of us goes to war, we all go to war." There's no denying though, the Diaz brothers are really great fighters. I really hope Nate gets back in the octagon soon but I guess he was pissed after the Conor fight's decision. Anyway, I am not sure what hotel we are in in San Francisco but that end of things is all paid up and we also have Alcatraz booked, to the best of my knowledge. My better half has handled that side of things. What are those hills called in San Francisco where he launches the car in Bullitt?

Fifthelement

Another Vancouver option is to do a seaplane tour.  Check out Harbour Air:  https://www.harbourair.com/tours/

You guys could do a quick day trip to Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, which is located on Vancouver Island.  I hope you guys have an amazing time.  

ConorKavanagh

Fifthelement said:

Another Vancouver option is to do a seaplane tour.  Check out Harbour Air:  https://www.harbourair.com/tours/

You guys could do a quick day trip to Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, which is located on Vancouver Island.  I hope you guys have an amazing time.  

Thanks very much. We were looking at the different options for whale watching and decided to go with Seattle, as obviously we have the most time there on our trip. I also noticed that Steel Panther are playing there on St. Patrick's Day. That didn't go down too well with herself. Oh well. We're looking forward to seeing St. Patrick's Day outside of Ireland for the first time in our lives also.

SmallestOceans

ConorKavanagh said:

SmallestOceans said:

Go see the Redwood trees a couple hours north of San Fran if you like nature and mystical places.

A quick Google search there has told me about a place called Muir Woods, is that what you mean or are they just all over the place?

Redwood National Park.

oftenreading

What do you like in a bar?

Uva on Granville is a great cocktail bar. Good scene, great drinks, interesting people watching and fun bartenders. 

oftenreading

Sorry - should have clarified that Uva is in Vancouver 

PJ_Soul

ConorKavanagh said:

PJ_Soul said:

Oh, and you also have the option of cycling it. I can't believe I forgot to mention that. There are plenty of bike rentals available (Including tandem bikes, which are a laugh riot), and there is now also a bike-sharing program, so you can grab the bikes downtown or just outside the park and cycle to the park and go all the way around in no time. Just google bike rentals. Our current mayor is literally OBSESSED with bike lanes, so you'll have no issues, hahaha.

Well that certainly sounds like something I'd be interested in, the on foot part that is. Thanks for the update. I kinda disproved the theory about once you learn how to ride a bike there a few years ago. This park sounds really cool though. I start my day with a walk here most days so I would probably be able to do about 1/2 - 3/4 of it before feeling really fatigued, provided the whole thing isn't just one bit uphill climb or anything. Also, the sea is a big draw for me, and my amateur photography aspirations!

Ah, well that is one great thing about the park - the entire thing is pretty much flat, lol.

PJ_Soul

Btw, It's very expensive in Vancouver too. Do you already have your hotel booked? If not and you'd rather save money than stay downtown, you might want to consider booking a hotel that is outside Vancouver proper but on the skytrain line. If you get a hotel at, say, Metrotown station or by Lougheed Town Centre Station, or by New Westminster Station, you'd save money and it's a very easy and quick trip to downtown on the skytrain.

FactoryMan93

I am not sure which hills you are talking about. A good portion of the chase happens in Chinatown, and if you go to the corner of Clay and Taylor you'll find the grocery store and his apartment.

brianlux

I've lived in or near San Francisco most of my life so I'm a bit biased- it's my favorite town! 

Golden Gate Park is a must see.  On the west end your at The Great Highway that runs right along the coast of the Pacific, a cool old windmill and a small herd of buffalo.  On the east end near The Panhandle is the beautiful Japanese Tea Garden, The De Young Museum and the California Academy of Sciences.  The museums are great but will set you back a good bit of money.  I believe the Palace of Legion of Honor is still less expensive and it's a great museum out there in the  beautiful Presidio area not far from some great views of the Golden Gate Bridge (a must see!) and off across to the Marin Headlands.   The Aquarium By the Bay on Pier 39 is more affordable than the Academy of Sciences and nicely done (although I'm a bit biased, I think the wharf area is overly touristy for my taste but you'll get a lot of "WTF?"  from people if you don't go there, LOL).  Pier 45 is a great walk and gives you a good view of Alcatraz.  To me, the higher even numbered piers south of the Bay Bridge are great because I love checking out the ships that come in.

More on that area here:  https://www.inside-guide-to-san-francisco-tourism.com/san-francisco-piers.html

If you happen to be in the city after dark and the fog hasn't rolled in, maybe take the drive to the top of Twin Peaks (which is uphill from the Haight Ashbury) and check out the night-time view of downtown- its awesome!

Union Square in the downtown area is great if you like shopping.  The park in Union Square used to be a lot nice (for some reason, they paved a bunch of it) but it's a great place to start out for a good walk around downtown. 

Also, make sure you drive down Lombard, San Francisco's "crookedest street".  Very touristy but I love it anyway.  From there, you're not too far from Columbus St. and the famous City Lights Bookstore, a landmark of the beat and post beat lit era and a very cool store to this day.  And great Italian restaurants in that neighborhood!

Chinatown is great.  It stinks, it's crowed, it's busy, but it's fascinating!  If you eat there, skip the lavish looking tourist traps and look for restaurants with more Asian customers and fewer non-Asians.  Sounds crazy, but that's where the good eats are.

Noe Valley is a much less touristed neighborhood but has some nice shops, a few good bookstores and some great restaurants.  I love that area because it has a great vibe and and is less hectic than downtown or the tourist spots.

A lot of people talk shit about "the gay neighborhood", The Castro District, but ignore that nonsense.  It's a great neighborhood a lot of more contemporary history, good eats and  the beautiful Castro Theater. 

As for the Cable Cars- yes, crowed and ultra touristy but I love them- the sound of the bell, the views, the unique sweet smell of the cable brakes- fantastic.  Get an outside spot, hang on and enjoy the views. 

Have a great time!

ConorKavanagh

Hey guys. Apologies for the delay in replying. I wasn't really checking here after the forum went down for a couple of days there last week. All of the different recommendations that you've made have been put onto the list of things to do in San Francisco. It is much appreciated because as I may have outlined previously, we have a pretty good idea what we're going to do in Washington, but are not as clear on what we're doing when we reach San Francisco. Really looking forward to the trip now. That's a pretty good tip about the Chinese restaurants brianlux, re: looking for one with more Asian customers than non-Asians. Makes sense now that I think about it! If any of you all are ever planning a trip to Ireland be sure to let me know!

tempo_n_groove

There are quite a few things you can do right by the Presidio.

Drive or walk through the Presidio.  Hike the Enchanted forrest trail.
Baker beach is literally right around the corner and has awesome views of the Golden gate bridge.  The far end is a nude beach so don't be to surprised if you see naked people at the end there, lol.
If you like Star Wars then you can walk over to Lucas Films studio and see the Yoda fountain and take a look at the small museum of Star Wars stuff in the building.
Not too far from there is the Palace of Fine Arts.
Take another little walk to the end of the pier and listen to the Wave organ.  Walk across the street of Marina Blvd and head towards yacht harbor and walk past the lighthouse until you reach the end.

Now you need to get in the car.

Go over and ride the Seward  Street Slides at Seward and Douglas st.  It's closed on Mondays for whatever reason so don't go on a Monday!
Not too far is Haight Ashbury and the Grateful Dead house.  HA is very corporate and not worth more than a few minutes there.  The hippie kids all hang out by the signs trying to sell you shit too.

Back in the car and head over to The Mission District to walk down the alley to see the Street Murals . This alleyway is local street art and a history lesson and politics all rolled up in one.  It has the cit's history on the walls there.  It's in between 24th St. and 25th St., and Treat St. and Harrison St.  Ask the locals if you can't find it.  Remember to look at the sidewalks too as there is always something cool to look at.

Back in the car and head over to 1700 16th avenue to see the Secret Tiled staircase.  It's a really neat mosaic stair case.  You'll get what I mean when you see it.

All this can be done in a day.  This is all parts of San Fran that most people wouldn't know about or see so enjoy!  Let me know if you actually see any of this and what you thought.

ConorKavanagh

Oh my God thank you so much! There's so many things in your post that are interesting to us. We're definitely eager to see the Grateful Dead house and also Lucas Film. I have a soft spot for Yoda so definitely need to go and see my favourite little guy's fountain! What are the Seward Street Slides?

tempo_n_groove

ConorKavanagh said:

Oh my God thank you so much! There's so many things in your post that are interesting to us. We're definitely eager to see the Grateful Dead house and also Lucas Film. I have a soft spot for Yoda so definitely need to go and see my favourite little guy's fountain! What are the Seward Street Slides?

They are actual human slides!  You ride a piece of cardboard down them!!!
https://youtu.be/ni-Pzt-YRHk

tempo_n_groove

Since no one mentioned Seattle yet I would recommend Gas Works park, the troll under the Freemont bridge, drive on the floating bridge, the ballard Locks and damn, it'll be a little early but you should be able to see some steelhead or an early Salmon through the glass there.
Do a tour of Seattles Underground. 
I would also tell you to take one of those boat tours by the piers.  They have a whole slew of info that you can learn about the city.
They have a beautiful Botanical garden there.
Take a ride on the tram just to see the city or maybe get where you need to go, lol.

tempo_n_groove

I forgot to add that if in Freemont go see the Lenin Statue  and grab a great taco right there too!

ConorKavanagh

That statue of Lenin.....why is it there? I googled it and found an article from a few years ago that said the thing was up for sale. Ha ha.

tempo_n_groove

ConorKavanagh said:

That statue of Lenin.....why is it there? I googled it and found an article from a few years ago that said the thing was up for sale. Ha ha.

I know I can google it but I'll go off of memory.

In 1995? this person found it in another country and brought it back here to the US.  What I don't know is why Freemont decided to erect it?

ConorKavanagh

That sounds crazy. So someone just bought it and left it there on the street?!

tempo_n_groove

ConorKavanagh said:

That sounds crazy. So someone just bought it and left it there on the street?!

Here you go!
https://fremont.com/explore/sights/lenin-statue/