In this travel video guide to San Francisco, I travel to San Francisco, California, one of the most scenic cities in the United States, if not the world.

In town for a conference for only four days, only one of which was going to be sunny, I headed out to see as much as I could in a day. I started my day by visiting the Haight-Ashbury district, San Francisco’s most famous neighborhood. Ground zero for the Summer of Love, this neighborhood’s bohemian past is still evident as you walk around the area, though things have changed quite a bit (for example: American Apparel and Whole Foods).

Next, I headed to the Mission District, San Francisco’s “It” neighborhood right now. Home to a large and varied immigrant population, cheap rents have lured many a young and hip individual to the area, evidenced by the artisanal chocolate shops, used book stores and proliferation of coffee shops. There are also a number of great taco shops here. I visit Taqueria Cancun and El Toro to see which I would like best.

Then I hopped on a boat to get a unique view of the San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge, which our boat sailed under, then traveled past Alcatraz Island and Angel Island.

Wrapping things up, I walked through the Presidio for a pilgrimage to Lucasfilm, complete with a Yoda fountain, then hiked one of the Presidio’s many trails to get a great view as the sun set over the bay.

By Matt Stabile /

Matt Stabile is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of TheExpeditioner.com. You can read his writings, watch his travel videos, purchase the book he co-edited or contact him via email at any time at TheExpeditioner.com.

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Having recently returned home from San Francisco, a city I hadn’t seen in about 10 years, I’m still trying to get over just how damn scenic that city is. It’s hard to compare any major city in the world in terms of pure spectacle one sees in almost every direction they look there (such as looking toward the Golden Gate Bridge during sunset, the Golden Gate Bridge as you pass under it by boat or the famed “Painted Ladies” with downtown in the background).

The above video was recently forwarded to me from someone who knew I was heading to the city soon. Shot by photographer Simon Christen, this time-lapse video focuses on the famous fog that rolls in from the Pacific Ocean and over and through the bay due to various unique meteorological conditions present in and around the city far too complicated far me to explain here.

Though hard to understand, try to be content with simply watching the amazing show Mother Nature puts on for San Franciscans all year long.

[Adrift by Simon Christen via/Vimeo; News tip by my mother]

By Matt Stabile

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Matt Stabile is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of TheExpeditioner.com. You can read his writings, watch his travel videos, purchase the book he co-edited or contact him via email at any time at TheExpeditioner.com. (@TheExpeditioner)

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Vertigo would have to be my favorite Hitchcock film that doesn’t involve crossdressers or nazis. Despite the film starring two Hollywood powerhouses at the times — Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak — the real star of the flick is arguable the city it’s set in, San Francisco. Has any movie played so crucial a role in a film since King Kong (or maybe Sex in the City)?

For those hardcore fans of Vertigo, the Sun-Times has this guide to exploring the San Francisco of the movie, including Hotel Vertigo (which appears in the movie but has only recently acquired that name), Fort Point at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge (where Madeleine hurls herself into the sea, and Scottie dives in to rescue her), and the the California Palace of the Legion of Honor (where Madeleine spends much time perusing art, and getting perused).

I might add, this self-guided tour is much less grueling than the King Kong tour which takes a great a deal of physical prowess and climbing ability.

[San Francisco by borenan/Flickr]

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Everyone wants to be cool, but those hipsters got it all figured out. In fact, hipsters are what cool people call cool. On my recent jaunt to San Francisco, I tried to nail down the reasons why. The fashion? The state of mind? The trust funds?

Certainly, the neighborhoods and shops that draw hipsters foster an increased essence of hipsterism. If you ever find yourself in skinnier jeans than your girlfriend, or even if you’re a wanna-be with an affinity for indie rock and mumblecore films, make sure you visit these spots welcoming both the rookie and seasoned hipster.

Hipster 101 tells you to head directly to Haight Street — it’s known locally as hipsterville. This storied neighborhood — once home to Janis Joplin, the Grateful Dead, and Jimi Hendrix — is now an area of vintage shops, eclectic restaurants, and a cacophony of street life. There, you will find two venues recently named by Let’s Go as “hipster kindergartens for SF newbies.”

The only thing missing from one of their choices, Red Vic Movie House (1727 Haight St.), is hipster pretension. Still worker-owned and operated after 30 years, you can lounge in their signature couches and snack on organic treats while you watch a movie you’ve likely never heard of.  Since it was opened by a few friends who loved movies and who decided to get together to run their own cinema, the thick love of movies makes any degree of hipster feel at home.

Only blocks away from Red Vic, Amoeba Music is less a music store than it is music Neverland. Music from every corner of the world, a full document of staff recommendations, and full live shows envelop you only steps down your  first corridor. Maybe I was lucky the day I wandered Amoeba’s boulevards; I was a few hours away from meeting RuPaul at a signing.

Before you go, newbie, just note it is no longer recommended that one use the word “cool,” if you are going to be dabbling in this sub-culture. As Robert Lanham, author of The Hipster Handbook notes, hipsters would instead say “deck.” And being cool typically doesn’t involve taking pictures of the Haight/Ashbury street signs — that’s where I veered off the path of deck-ness. Don’t say we never tried to help.

[Hipsters in SOMA by .melanie/Flickr]

By Jon Wick

About the Author

Jon lives in Butte, Montana, spending most of his time on skis or bikes; sometimes both. He began travel writing while teaching in Korea and is currently pursuing his Master’s Degree in Technical Communication at Montana Tech. Jon has begun writing his first book, The Story of Will, whose movie rights are still (very) available. Catch more of Jon at TheJonWickproject.wordpress.com. (@ExpedJon)

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Chefs are a lot like artists: both professions tend to be substantially supported by those with high net wealth and disposable incomes, and this means both congregate in some of the most expensive cities in the world (New York, London, Paris, Hong Kong, San Francisco). However, this also means both professions inevitable run into the same problems when starting out: how to afford to live in those places? Well, usually, the answer is to pack up and flee to the cheaper rents found in border neighborhoods, where creativity can be fostered and patrons are a little more adventurous.

This seems to be the case of what’s going on in the foodie scene in San Francisco, where the NYT recently explored the growing cottage industry of ex-Chez Panisse chefs and other up-and-coming gourmands who have packed up and moved away from the financial demands of San Francisco and set up shop in near by Oakland.

Interestingly, of the five restaurants featured in the piece, three had ties to the legendary Chez Panisse (of Alice Waters fame), including Bocanova, which serves tapas-sized dishes paired with an extensive South American wine list; Camino, where the kitchen fireplaces is used to cook the majority of the meat-centric dishes; and Boot and Shoe Service, where pizzas festooned with locally available ingredients are helping to evolve the local pizza craze.

When chef Moore was asked why he chose Oakland to open Camino, the answer was simple. “We were looking at spaces in San Francisco for three years and used three different Realtors but we found nothing . . . So we just decided to have a look around Oakland and we stumbled upon this place.” And thus a food revolution was born.

[image via DiabloMag.com]

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It seems that North Americans are perpetually torn and divided on which “coast” to favor. Seeing as the United States and Canada are such expansive countries, it’s a luxury to be able to judge those on the other side of the nation.

In Canada, there is a quiet, yet pervasive, rivalry between Vancouver and Toronto (Montreal is always adorable because it’s on the French side). The laid-back, pro-pot-smoking, West-coasters don’t understand the filthy, grimy, stressful life of those living in Ontario’s capitalist capital.

The same goes for the United States. San Franciscans are social progressives who have a cool calm outlook which contrasts with the hub-bub-addicted, hyper-caffeinated New Yorkers. Over the decades, as each city created its cultural stamp, the friendly-feuding began.

I stumbled across this clip on WorldHum. It’s an attempt to vouch for San Fran in 76-seconds put together by Robert Reid, a Brooklyn resident. In it he developed four reasons why Frisco seems better than New York:

1) The Mission burritos are better, wrapped with more foil to contain all deliciousness within.

2) Better coffee culture with better coffee. (Question is, why don’t they drink more of it?)

3) BART is better.

4) San Francisco has been the same for decades: It embraces what it is.

New York has lots to offer, too — an opera-singing Chinese-food delivery man and being listed as 8th most bike-friendly city in America — just to name a couple. In the end, do these things really make one city better than the other or just different? My bet is on the latter.

Personally, I respect the West-side but feel most at home in the East — my Manifest Destiny never really kicked in. There is a sense of reality that is forever present in New York City and Toronto. Perhaps it’s just my fascination with the cynical, skeptical, chain-smoking coffee-drinking jerks.

I still enjoyed my stays in San Francisco and Vancouver, both cities having lots to offer in terms of beauty and tranquility, a different pace of life, a utopia. However, by the end of the week, I was happy to head back, East of Eden.

By Brit Weaver

About the Author

Toronto born and based, Brit is an avid leisure cyclist, coffee drinker and under-a-tree park-ist. She often finds herself meandering foreign cities looking for street eats to nibble, trees to climb, a patch of grass to sit on, or a small bookstore to sift through. You can find her musing life on her personal blog, TheBubblesAreDead.wordpress.com.

The post The Great Debate: NYC vs. SF appeared first on The Expeditioner Travel Site.

There is nothing more rewarding than finding a city’s hidden gems, whether it is for food, coffee, or used books. I love stumbling across articles written by people who know these spots and just want to share them with the world.

Today, an article in The Globe and Mail about the Mission District in San Francisco caught my attention. Described as the neighborhood of delicious burritos, the Mission has more to offer than just authentic Latin cuisine. From diners to donut shops and ice cream to mural-lined streets, the “sun-belt of the city” is blossoming.

I remember hopping bars in this district, upon recommendation of a local, but wish we had spent more daylight hours there. Staying in the Tenderloin, in a crumbly-old hotel, getting to the eastern end of the city seemed exasperating. Not only did we only have a five-day whirlwind through the foggy city, but we weren’t informed enough either.

Now that we’ve found some suggestions, perhaps the first time around, or next, won’t seem like such a mission.

By Brit Weaver

About the Author

Toronto born and based, Brit is an avid leisure cyclist, coffee drinker and under-a-tree park-ist. She often finds herself meandering foreign cities looking for street eats to nibble, trees to climb, a patch of grass to sit on, or a small bookstore to sift through. You can find her musing life on her personal blog, TheBubblesAreDead.wordpress.com.

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Wow. If you haven’t been to our flickr group yet, I suggest you head over there. We asked for great travel photography and you have answered in a big way. Unfortunately for us, it makes our job far tougher when the end of the month rolls around and we have to choose our favorite. That’s an awesome challenge we look forward to, so keep those submissions coming.

This month’s winner comes from Jason Rodman. His patience by a San Francisco puddle paid off in his shot, “Puddle Jumper.” In his own words:

Here in San Francisco we don’t get a lot of heavy downpours, so whenever we do, I can’t help but grab the camera and run outside as soon as the rain stops. I (literally) stumbled across this huge puddle, and saw this magnificent reflection of the palm trees and Ferry Building tower along the Embarcadero.

I started firing off a few shots; being in “blue hour” the colors and lights were simply perfect. Then, these two kids came running through with their galoshes, jumping from puddle to puddle. I knew that would be [the shot]. I stayed as still and quiet as possible, and sure enough one walked right through the frame. Once I took a look at it upside down in-camera, I really liked how the dirt and debris at the bottom of the puddle added some effects to the sky, and how much bluer it looked in the reflection.

Besides the incredible composition and colors, our in-house photography guru, Luke, drops yet another photo knowledge bomb on us. “I like puddle jumping . . . it has a person jumping through puddles, I can get on board with that.” Well, we’re all on board with this one.

To see more of Jason’s work, head over to his flickr page. Many thanks Jason, we look forward to seeing more of your collection.

Click here to see last month’s winner from Beijing.

Not often are we allowed a backstage pass into the world of the photograph. Jason also offered up a picture of him actually taking this picture. I’m glad I’m not the only one with my gear out in the world getting weird looks from people passing by (not that you got any weird looks hovering over that puddle for hours, or anything). Cheers, Jason.

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Because everyone knows that walking around the city is just so pedestrian (rimshot) — eh, sorry, I’m ready for the holiday weekend. But seriously, what cooler way to explore the 470 square miles that make up the San Francisco Bay than on the actual water itself? The LA Times has this article on several companies that offer all level of sea voyagers the chance to take a kayaking expedition into the sometimes perilous waters of the bay (that’s what makes it fun: the off chance you might capsize during a freak squall).

Trips go anywhere from the marshes of San Leandro Bay (“where you are treated to views of basking harbor seals, wading herons and snowy egrets, a host of shorebirds and occasional flights of sandpipers”), to the shorelines of the city itself (“past McCovey Cove and the San Francisco Giants’ ballpark, the soaring towers of the Bay Bridge and the historic Ferry Building”).

To see birds: California Canoe & Kayak

To see humans and their structures: City Kayak

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