Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1
How to Feel Like a
San Francisco Family
San Francisco has always had a way of calling me back. Although I spent
most of my life in a whirlwind of trav el, it was punctuated b y stays in this glorious par t
of the world. I was born not far fr om the city limits, and my par ents often brought my
brother and me into to wn. We moved to Puerto Rico when I was still y oung and, after
that, to B razil and then U ruguay. When we returned to the U.S. y ears later it was to
Southern California; but because my par ents retained a fondness for S an Francisco, we
visited the city regularly.
Perhaps it was inevitable that I would attend college in the Bay Area, so that weekends
could be spent exploring S an Francisco with roommates and friends. U pon graduating,
I was off again: I wor ked at a ne wspaper in B razil, wr ote for the Associated P ress in
Germany, earned a graduate degr ee in N ew York, and was then based ther e while I
worked to promote investment overseas. In between travel to far corners of the ear th, I
met my soon-to-be husband, a nomad like myself . Although w e moved to S eattle, my
international job kept the fr equent flier miles multiplying—until the bir th of our first
daughter, when all the travel came to a screeching halt.
Then it happened. San Francisco harkened again. My husband's work brought us here,
where our second daughter was born a fe w months later. Five years after that, our son
was born. And here we are: eight years, and three kids, later we are a certified San Fran-
cisco family—going to every birthday party venue in town; trekking out to the beach in
summer, bundled up in jeans and jackets against the fog; loading up the kids ' bikes in
the car on w eekends to take them some where flat to ride; buying our organic gr eens at
the Farmer's Market; and considering steamed pork buns, shrimp dumplings, and stuffed
crab claws (in other words, dim sum) a fine meal for br eakfast.
Through all the travel, the Bay Area had always been my spiritual home, if not my real
one. Now San Francisco is my family 's true residence, one that w elcomed us fr om the
moment we arrived. It helps that the city is used to taking in people fr om all o ver the
globe. Most of the S an Franciscans we know seem to hav e started life some where else,
although we're always impressed when we meet someone who actually grew up here. The
city is so rich with histor y, culture, and little-kno wn secrets that it 's a tr eat to pick the
brains of a lifelong r esident. I t's been especially ex citing to begin writing guidebooks
about San Francisco, giving me a terrific ex cuse to look a little deeper and learn a little
more about the wonderful offerings here.
I've made an effort to provide some insights in this topic that will make y our family's
stay in S an Francisco more rewarding and memorable. Visits to the city 's most famous
attractions will certainly be enjoyable, but I hope that y ou take the time to stray off the
beaten path—if ev en just a little. When in F isherman's Wharf, consider skipping the
T-shirt shops and candy vendors of PIER 39 and heading instead to the Hyde Street Pier,
where you can get a r eal sense of the city 's seafaring past (while the kids climb all o ver
antique ships). I n Chinato wn, go ahead and check out the color
ful tourist stor es on
