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A Baseball Trip To San Francisco

Description:

San Francisco has a rich history, and much of it is intertwined with America's pastime. So if you're in from out of town to watch your team take on the Giants at beautiful AT&T Park, why not see the sites through the beautiful game's wide lens?

With this guide you'll get a great taste of San Francisco in three days, with plenty of time for three games at San Francisco's perfect bayside ballpark.

Author: Louis Wertz

Day 1 - San Francisco

Start your San Francisco experience off right with an historic evening ride from near your Fisherman's Wharf hotel to the top of the world on San Francisco's world famous cable car. Get off at the last stop, Powell Street, where the tourists will be waiting. Dodge them by ducking into Lefty O'Douls, a local favorite watering hole, and the best bargain for eats near shopping and people watching mecca Union Square.

Lefty O'Douls is the perfect place to commence a night of baseball in The City. San Francisco native Lefty was a hall of fame baseball player for the San Francisco Seals and the New York Giants, batting .398 in 1929. His priceless collection of baseball memorabilia adorns the walls of this classic pub and restaurant. Try the corned beef and cabbage. You won't be disappointed.

Then head down to AT&T park by simply jumping on the MUNI Metro underground at Powell Street station and riding it to the park's front door. After watching the Giants pummel whichever team your in town rooting for (sorry, you're talking to a diehard Giants fan), head to Sammy Hagar's Tres Agaves for a late night bite or a killer handmade margarita. Cab it back to your hotel and ask the driver to take Embarcadero. Admire the view. And then stumble into bed - that tequila is strong stuff!

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Fisherman's Wharf

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The Embarcadero
Fisherman's Wharf
San Francisco, CA 94133

Phone:

(415) 956-3493

Cable Cars

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401 Van Ness
(between Golden Gate and Grove Sts) Admin Offices
San Francisco, CA 94102

Phone:

(415) 673-6864

Golden Gate Park

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Stanyan & Fulton Sts
(Great Highway at Fulton St)
San Francisco, CA 94118

Phone:

(415) 831-2700

Lefty O'Douls

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333 Geary St.
San Francisco, CA 94102

Phone:

(415) 982 8900

AT&T Park - Home of the Giants

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24 Willie Mays Plaza
San Francisco, CA 94103

Phone:

(415) 972-2000

Tres Agaves

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130 Townsend St
(at 2nd Street)
San Francisco, CA 94107

Phone:

(415) 227 0500

Day 2 - San Francisco

Start this day with one of San Francisco's best local breakfast spots, The Grove on Chestnut St. Everything on the menus is fantastic, but poached eggs go great the morning after a tequila nightcap, and they have them nailed here. Sufficiently awoken by a triple shot latte, head up Chestnut street past hip boutiques in San Francisco's Marina district towards the famous Lombard Street curves. It's a major uphill hike for a few blocks at the end, but if the stroll doesn't take your breath away, the view will.

You're atop historic Russian Hill, and the views of the Golden Gate bridge, San Francisco Bay and Alcatraz Island explain, at least in part, why this is some of the most expensive residential property in the U.S.

Overcome your vertigo and gaze down the "crookedest street in the world" before you walk down the fairly straight steps alongside of the brick-lined landmark Lombard street.

Continue down the hill into San Francisco's historic Little Italy, North Beach. At Columbus Avenue, hang a right and refresh yourself at any of the many cafes on this bustling thoroughfare. Or grab some bread, cheese, and salumi from Molinari's italian delicatessen, up Columbus at Vallejo, before heading back to Washington Square Park for picnic. Admire, or take a tour of, Sts. Peter and Paul Church, on the North end of the square. Joe DiMaggio married his first wife, starlet Dorothy Arnold here, and his funeral mass was celebrated in this gorgeous 1920s masterpiece.

Continuing the DiMaggio tradtion, stop in at the Italian Chophouse bearing his name and make a dinner reservation for 5:00pm (early, I know, but the game starts at 7:15). You'll pay a little extra for the opportunity to ogle DiMaggio memorabilia, but the food doesn't disappoint.

Between your picnic and dinner is just enough time to immerse yourself in North Beach's gritty history, the story of the Beats. It was from this neighborhood that Neil Cassady, Jack Kerouac, Gary Snyder, Allen Ginsberg and others launched the Beat movement in the late 1950s. The still beating heart of that movement lies at City Lights bookstore. Head upstairs to their poetry section for a cool photo history of the Beats.

Feeling thirsty? Grab a brew at nearby Vesuvio, on Jack Kerouac Alley, "where the beats meet". Sadly, they don't sell jug wine.

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The Grove

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2250 Chestnut St
Between Scott and Pierce sts
San Francisco, CA 94123

Phone:

415/474-4843

Lombard Street

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Between Hyde & Leavenworth streets
Above Ghirardelli Square
San Francisco, CA 94133

Phone:

(415) 391-2000

Sts. Peter and Paul Church

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666 Filbert Street
(across from Washington Square)
San Francisco, CA 94133-2805

Phone:

(415) 421-0809

Vesuvio

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255 Columbus Ave
At Broadway
San Francisco, CA 94133

Phone:

415/362-3370

City Lights Booksellers & Publishers

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261 Columbus Ave.
At Broadway
San Francisco, CA 94111

Phone:

(415) 362-8193

Joe DiMaggio's Italian Chophouse

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601 Union St
San Francisco, CA 94133

Phone:

(415) 421-5633

Day 3 - San Francisco

Uh Oh. Day Game and night flight. Don't worry. You've still got time to see San Francisco's beautiful Pacific coast and Golden Gate Park before the Giants complete the sweep (I warned you).

Head from the Marina through the historic Presidio and past the toll plaza at the Golden Gate Bridge to the aptly named Lands' End, right on the brink of the vast Pacific. Here you'll find Louis' (say "Louie's") diner perched above the waves and ruins of Sutro Baths. Louis' has plenty of historic photos of this remarkable site, so you'll know what you're looking at as you nosh the delicious pancakes or classic shrimp Louis.

Then head down the hill at the end of the 3 mile long Ocean Beach to the historic Beach Chalet. The first floor features a fantastic history of San Francisco's emerald gem, Golden Gate Park. Near the Chalet is the Dutch Windmill, a gift in 1902 from Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, which was originally used to pump water for irrigating the park. The tulip garden surrounding the windmill is stunning in late spring.

Catch a ride back downtown on Fulton St, the northern boundary of the park. If you've gotten an early start, you can head over to 16th and Bryant St. to pick up snacks for the game or flight at one of San Francisco's most inconspicuous baseball landmarks. The shopping center here, now featuring a Safeway, was the site of San Francisco's Seals Stadium, where Lefty O'Doul, Dom DiMaggio and other San Francisco baseball legends played their home ball for the Seals of the Pacific Coast League before the Major League moved the Giants and Dodgers west in 1958.

After the game, drown your sorrows (or, just maybe, celebrate stealing a victory from Tim Lincecum and friends) at Gordon Biersch, where the suds are tasty and brewed in the back. Of if you prefer quantity over quality, head to Red's Java House across the street on Pier 30, where $10 buckets of PBR cans prepare you for security at SFO.

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