San Francisco Tip for :

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts is the Bay Area's premier venue for adventurous contemporary art. Located at Mission & Third Streets in the Yerba Buena Gardens district of downtown San Francisco, the multidisciplinary art center features exhibitions, performance, film/video and community engagement programs.

San Francisco Highlights:

ALCATRAZ TRIVIA
Fascinated by the famous prison off the coast of San Francisco? Here are some fun facts: Alcatraz is believed to be the only Federal prison that touted its hot showers – a luxury meant to prevent prisoners from acclimating to cold water (which could ease the shock of an escape through the icy water of San Francisco Bay). Note that the island was named for the Spanish word for “pelican” – which is especially appropriate now that it is (at least partially) a sanctuary for birds. For more info about Alcatraz, including some of its most infamous inhabitants, click here.

BOOK AT A BOUTIQUE
Boutique hotels, an urbanized version of bed-and-breakfasts, have become the latest lodging trend. Travelers who have tired of the always-the-same be it Houston or Hanoi ambiance that many large chains offer, are flocking to properties that offer a little something special. Hotel Monaco, with its French-inspired architecture and sensually rich décor, is one of the San Francisco hotels to capitalize on this trend. The Nob Hill Lambourne, a new-age-style accommodation that specializes in mind-body health (its most famous feature is the on-call therapist, but other amenities include green-algae shakes and turn-down vitamin service) is another. Find more of these hotel havens in our hotel guide.

WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE PARK
Golden Gate Park is host to a wide variety of running, sporting and musical events. Check out the event calendar to see what's happing today. While you're there, be sure to enjoy some of the Park's other attractions, which include 3 manmade lakes, horseback riding, polo fields, golf courses, tennis courts, an Arboretum, and the wonderfully serene Japanese Tea Garden.

THE SAN FRANCISCO INSIDER'S BOOK-OF-THE-MONTH
Travels with Charley: In Search of America
by John Steinbeck
In this classic travelogue, Steinbeck writes, "When I was a child growing up in Salinas we called San Francisco 'The City.' Of course it was the only city we knew, but I still think of it as the City and so does everyone else who has ever associated with it... San Francisco put on a show for me. I saw her across the bay from the great road that bypasses Sausalito and enters the Golden Gate Bridge. The afternoon sun painted her white and gold -- rising on her hills like a noble city in a happy dream... New York makes its own hills with craning buildings, but this gold and white acropolis rising wave on wave against the blue of the Pacific sky was a stunning thing, a painted thing like a picture of a medieval Italian city which can never have existed. I stopped in a parking place to look at her and the necklace bridge over the entrance from the sea that led to her. Over the green higher hills to the south, the evening fog rolled like herds of sheep coming to cote in the golden city. I've never seen her more lovely."

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