A San Francisco Treat

Just got back from the city by the Bay. What a great American city. The people and culture are very different compared to any east coast metropolis. From my limited experience in SF it seems like people take more time for themselves and are more active outdoors. This lifestyle is made possible by the limitless recreational options in and outside the city. Just cross the Golden Gate and you're in Marin County, and on some of the best hiking and biking trails (and roads) in the world. Wine country is about an hour or so away and the public transportation is widely available and used.

Which brings me to my review of the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART). DC's Metro was modeled after the BART system and therefore has many similarities. Both Metro and BART are very different systems than those found in NY, Boston, and Chicago. For one thing, they're not as dated, but to their disadvantage they don't have nearly as many miles of rail or stations. Also, they are more expensive to build per mile (Metro costs $1 billion/mile). That said, Metro takes the cake when it comes to station design and cleanliness. The BART wasn't as dirty as NY or Boston but didn't have that sterile feel you get on Metro. The seats, rather than being molded plastic and rubber, were the material of airplane seats (cloth), and therefore stain easily. It is also a bit more expensive. It cost $4.95 to get from SFO to Embarcadero Center, far higher than any fare on the Metro.

The only night I actually made it out of the hotel for dinner we went to a little place in North Beach called l'Ideal. North Beach is wall to wall Italian restaurants, bakeries and coffee shops. Joe Dimaggio is from North Beach and you can still hear men speaking in Italian on the streets and in the restaurants. The meal was authentic and the wine plentiful.