Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
20008 (
%
202/328-4800;
www.nzemb.
org). New Zealand consulates are in Los
Angeles, Salt Lake City, and Seattle. There
is a consulate at 1 Maritime Plaza (Front
and Clay sts.).
The embassy of the
United Kingdom
is at 3100 Massachusetts Ave. NW,
Washington, DC 20008 (
%
202/
588-7800;
www.britainusa.com). Other
British consulates are in Atlanta, Boston,
Chicago, Cleveland, Houston, Los Angeles,
New York, and Seattle. There is a con-
sulate at 1 Sansome St., Suite 850.
Emergencies
Call
%
911
for the police,
to report a fire, or to get an ambulance. If
you have a medical emergency that does
not require an ambulance, you should be
able to walk into the nearest hospital
emergency room (see “Hospitals,” below).
For non-emergencies such as theft
reports, call
%
415/553-0123.
Holidays
Banks close on the following
holidays: January 1 (New Year's Day), the
third Monday in January (Martin Luther
King, Jr., Day), the third Monday in
February (Presidents Day), the last Mon-
day in May (Memorial Day), July 4
(Independence Day), the first Monday in
September (Labor Day), the second Monday
in October (Veterans Day), the fourth
Thursday in November (Thanksgiving Day),
and December 25.
Hospitals
St. Francis Memorial Hospi-
tal
(900 Hyde St., btw. Bush and Pine;
%
415/353-6000
) operates emergency
service 24 hours a day, and it also runs a
physician referral service.
Mail
At press time, domestic postage
rates were 27¢ for a postcard and 42¢ for
a letter. For international mail, a first-
class letter of up to 1 ounce costs 94¢
(72¢ to Canada and Mexico). For more
information go to
www.usps.com
and
click on “Calculate Postage.” There's a
Post Office at 180 Steuart St. (at
Mission), another at 150 Sutter St. (near
Kearny), and a third at 1390 Market St.
(at 10th), near the Civic Center—but
there are more scattered around town.
ID with you at all times. It's illegal to
carry open containers of alcohol in any
public area that isn't zoned for alcohol
consumption (such as at a street fair),
and the police can ticket you on the spot.
Electricity
The United States uses
110-120 volts AC (60 cycles), compared to
the 220-240 volts AC (50 cycles) that is
standard in Europe, Australia, and New
Zealand. If your small appliances use
220-240 volts, be sure to buy an adaptor
and voltage converter before you leave
home, because these are very difficult to
find, even in San Francisco, which receives
international visitors by the million.
Embassies & Consulates
Most embas-
sies are located in the nation's capital,
Washington, D.C. Some consulates are
located in San Francisco (although most
of them won't perform services for their
citizens), and most nations have a mis-
sion to the United Nations in New York
City. If your country isn't listed below,
call for directory information in Washing-
ton, D.C. (
%
202/555-1212
) or log on
to
www.embassy.org/embassies
.
The embassy of
Australia
is at 1601
Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC
20036 (
%
202/797-3000;
www.austemb.
org). There are consulates in New York,
Honolulu, Houston, and Los Angeles. There
is a consulate at 1 Bush St.
The embassy of
Canada
is at 501
Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC
20001 (
%
202/682-1740;
www.canadian
embassy.org). Other Canadian consulates
are in Buffalo, Detroit, Los Angeles, New
York, and Seattle. There is a consulate at
580 California St., 14th Floor, but it doesn't
process visas.
The embassy of
Ireland
is at 2234
Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC
20008 (
%
202/462-3939;
www.ireland
emb.org). Irish consulates are in Boston,
Chicago, New York, and other cities. There
is a consulate at 100 Pine St., Suite 3350.
See website for complete listing.
The embassy of
New Zealand
is at 37
Observatory Circle NW, Washington, DC
