Cue Tony Bennett.  I almost feel like I need to explain who Tony Bennett is and the reference to San Francisco, but you know what?  That’s what Google is for.  Those who get it, shout out to you.

The Bay Area

Similar to our review of Los Angeles, this post will cover the Bay Area generally and we’ll revisit specifics in later posts.  To really get in the weeds, let’s make sure we’re on the same page.  When I say I’m going to visit the Bay Area, that can include a lot of square mileage.  From Oakland, Berkeley, Richmond and everything in between, commonly known as the East Bay.  To the Peninsula which includes the actual city of San Francisco, Daly City, Burlingame down to San Jose, Palo Alto and Santa Clara.  Then you also have North Bay, which includes Sausalito, Marin, Tiburon, San Rafael and the like.  And let’s not forget Wine Country, which is both Sonoma and Napa.  Not so random note: Livermore, which is really east in the East Bay, has wineries too.

San Francisco & The Bay tips

Like its Southern sibling, the Bay Area has ridiculous traffic.  All I can suggest is to be flexible, patient and just go with the flow.  One thing to consider as you’re planning, is BART, aka Bay Area Rapid Transit.  Basically, it’s the Bay Area’s public transportation rail system.  It goes to both the Oakland Airport and SFO so if you plan well, you might not need a rental car.  Huge emphasis on “might”…it all depends on how much walking you want to do, if you’re not interested in the bus, if you want to use a ride share option, etc.  Again, I’m always available if you need/want to brainstorm how to get around.

Planning and really knowing the lay of the land will help you out.  If you’re staying for a week and are fine hitting the highlights, that’s doable.  Not sure if you’ll be able to get to Napa or Sonoma in a one week trip, but it’s possible especially if you rent a car and keep it moving.  I talk about the Bay Area wine country in a later post, so stay tuned.  I’m not going to get deep with restaurants or food recommendations, but the Bay Area really is a great place to eat out and often.

In upcoming posts I’ll cover lesser known sites that I personally keep visiting because they’re either really unique, especially beautiful or keep reinventing themselves so it’s like new every time.  Until then…

May the road rise to meet you and the wind be at your back.