Survival Guide - San Francisco and Northern California - page 267

DIRECTORY
Useful Numbers
Directory Inquiries Within
the US
Tel 411.

Cell Phones
AT&T
∑ att.com
Sprint
∑ sprint.com
T-Mobile
∑ t-mobile.com
Verizon
∑ verizonwireless.com
Virgin Mobile
∑ virginmobileusa.com

One of San Francisco's many cafés with Wi-Fi access

Postal Services
Stamps can be purchased at
post offices, hotel reception
desks, and vending machines.
Some ATMs also sell stamps;
most banks charge a fee for this
service, but so do most non-US
Postal Service outlets. Check
current postal rates at post
offices or online, at the US
Postal Service website.
Letters can be mailed in post
offices, at your hotel, at the
airport, and in mailboxes on the
street. Collection times are
printed on the inside of the
mailbox's pull-down door.
All domestic mail is first class
and will arrive within one to five
days. Air mail to Australia,
Canada, Ireland, New Zealand,
and the UK takes five to ten
business days. Packages sent
overseas by surface rate may
take four to six weeks. The
federal post office offers a range
of special services: Priority Mail
promises delivery faster than
first-class mail, while Global
Priority arrives to most inter-
national destinations within five
days. The more expensive
Express Mail delivers next day
within the US, and within two to
three days to many international
destinations. Express mail can
also be arranged through
private delivery companies,
such as DHL , FedEx , and UPS .
Correspondence sent to you
c/o General Delivery, Civic
Center, 101 Hyde Street, San
Francisco, CA 94142 will be
held for 30 days. Show
photographic proof of identity
on collection. The main post
offices in San Francisco are
marked on the Street Finder
maps (see pp290-300) .

Newspapers, Magazines,
and Websites
Foreign newspapers and
magazines are for sale at
several shops and newsstands,
including Fog City News and
Café de la Presse . The local
newspaper is the San Francisco
Chronicle . Two free weeklies -
SF Weekly and The Bay Guardian
- offer entertainment reviews
and listings. San Francisco
Magazine and 7 x 7 are glossy
lifestyle magazines covering
the cultural happenings in
the city.
Useful websites for visitors
include Yelp , which has user-
generated reviews on every-
thing from spas to restaurants
and bars, and The Bold Italic ,
which lists things to do in the
city, such as where to find the
best coffee or the best brunch.

Internet and Email
Ritual Roasters
1026 Valencia St.
Map 10 F2.
Tel [phone].
∑ ritualroasters.com
(One of several outlets.)
Postal Services
DHL
Tel (1) [phone].
FedEx
Tel (1) [phone].
Post Office (General
Mail Facility)
1300 Evans Ave.
Tel [phone].
Open 7am-8:30pm Mon-Fri,
8am-2pm Sat.
UPS
Tel (1) [phone].
US Postal Service
Tel (1) [phone].
∑ usps.com
Newspapers,
Magazines, and
Websites
The Bold Italic
∑ thebolditalic.com
Café de la Presse
352 Grant Ave. Map 5 C4.
Tel [phone].
Fog City News
455 Market St. Map 6 D4.
Tel [phone].
Yelp
∑ yelp.com

Television and Radio
Four TV networks operate in
San Francisco: CBS is on channel
5 (KPIX), ABC on channel 7
(KGO), NBC on channel 11
(KNTV), and Fox on channel 2
(KTVU). The local PBS station,
which offers cultural programs
as well as some classic BBC
shows, is on channel 9 (KQED).
Cable offerings include CNN,
ESPN, BBC America, and pay
channels. Some pay channels,
such as HBO and Showtime,
are free in most hotels.
AM radio stations include
KCBS (740 Hz; news), KOIT
(1260 Hz; soft rock), and KNBR
(680 Hz; sport). FM stations
include KALW (91.7 FM; news),
KLLC Alice (97.3 FM; pop), KBLX
(102.9 FM; jazz), and KDFC
(102.1 FM; classical).