by Lisa Trottier, Sunset travel editor

It's news to no one that people...just...LOVE...San Francisco. For the 17th year in a row, Conde Nast's readers have just voted it the country's best city to visit. Yet, when I see visitors clustering where so many of the city's hotels are—between Union Square and the Tenderloin—I cringe a little. Of all the city's corners, this may be the least lovely.

So, when you visit San Francisco (and by all means do), I say get away from downtown and stay out in the city's neighborhoods. That's what I do. There are lots of small inns around, but my favorite is the Hotel Drisco.

 
This is not only because it's perched above the bay on the tippy top of the city in an absurdly scenic, fantastically pricey neighborhood bordered by Pacific Heights, Presidio Heights, and Cow Hollow. I love how from the street it nearly passes as an apartment building. There's no vast lobby to cross, no maze of hallways. It makes me feel at home. And the shops and restaurants along Fillmore and Union streets are a short (if sometimes steep) stroll away. I've spent more than one happy weekend here without once touching my car.

Plan your trip: Click here for my favorite walks, shops, and restaurants in the Hotel Drisco's neighborhood. And get many more ideas for a trip to San Francisco here.

Book it: from $169, www.jdvhotels.com/hotels/drisco. Get a third night free by booking here and typing in "joie"

What about you? Do you have a favorite city sleep? We'd love to hear what it is.

By Rachel Levin, senior editor, Sunset magazine

One of my favorite places in all of Northern California—heck, in the world— is Point Reyes, a refreshingly undeveloped paradise of a peninsula about an hour-and-a-half north of San Francisco. And one of my favorite times to be there is now. September. How come? The summer fog has lifted. The sun is shining. And there is wildlife All. Over. The. Place.

Want proof? Check out these pics from last weekend:

Tule elk

Where can you seem them? Hiking the Tomales Point trail: a gorgeous, windswept 10-mile out-and-back that follows the Pacific the whole way.

Pelicans

Where can you seem them? Everywhere — usually skimming the surface of Tomales Bay. Or lined-up like schoolchildren along the sand like, they are here. Aw.

Seal lions

Where can you seem them? On Tomales Bay—and the best way to play with them is to rent a kayak from Blue Water Kayaks in Inverness, and paddle around. Cuties.

And more elk

Okay, sorry. It's nature! But, I know. Not as cute as the seals.

Photographs by Matt Krumme

More on Sunset.com: Great fall getaways

by Emily Chow, Sunset editorial intern

The New Children's Museum in San Diego
Photo credit: Matthew Jaffe

Looking for something to do Labor Day weekend? If you are a Bank of America cardholder, check out their Museum on Us program, which offers free general admission into more than 100 participating museums nationwide on the first full weekend of every month.

• Portland:  Check out the Portland Art Musuem's "Virtual Worlds" exhibit highlighting M.C. Escher's spatial illusions.
• San Francisco: Stroll around Yerba Buena Gardens and stop by San Francisco's Contemporary Jewish Museum.
• San Diego: Visit The New Children's Museum in San Diego, where the entire family can engage and create art in three floors of interactive galleries.

Where will I be this weekend? If it's not too crowded, you'll find me at The Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, learning about innovative technology solutions in their permanent exhibit that is opening tomorrow, "Technology Benefiting Humanity."

Flash that piece of plastic at the ticket office for some free fun during the upcoming long weekend. It can't get any better than that.

Check out their Web site to locate participating museums near you.

By Rachel Levin, Sunset senior editor

We’ve been so busy putting out our recent print issues, we’ve been abandoning our poor little travel blog. But, fear not dear readers (we do still have readers, right? Hello… Anybody out there?) we are BACK!

And we aim to be better than ever with a new focus: We'll be reporting on places where we are literally just back from. And, of course, being the busy travel editors that we are, where we are headed next. We'll give you the honest scoop on everything from glamping in Montana to kayaking in Las Vegas of all places to our favorite apres-work restaurants in San Francisco.

Lets start with something simple. Like, where I’m going… tonight: To Nopa, one of my favorite neighborhood restaurants in SF, for the cocktail I’m craving now:

The Wash House. It’s a pretty, late-summer sip made with organic rye vodka from Square One, fresh basil, and squeezed-to-order lime and adorned with a delicate sprig of thyme. Sounds easy enough to mix up at home, doesn’t it? (Maybe I’ll try it this weekend). In the meantime, I’ll happily pony up $9 for one this eve. Maybe even two.

by the Sunset editorial staff

Joey Altman, Traci Des Jardins,
and Michael Mina? They'll be there too.

I want to be with all the biggest chefs and most devout cooks in the West, who will be converging at Union Square Thursday through Sunday for SF Chefs. Food. Wine. The well-punctuated name pretty much says it all, but I might add this elaboration: Parties. Tastings. Classes.

The heirloom tomato cookoff between Joanne Weir and Gary Danko and hosted by Sunset’s food editor, Margo True, is sold out, alas. But you can still get into a head-spinning array of events, from a Friday morning shuck-and-sip pairing of wines and oysters to Saturday night’s urban barbecue on the square, where the band members are chefs you might recognize from around town. 

When: August 6–9, 2009
Where: Union Square and surrounding hotel and retail spaces as well as restaurants throughout the city.
Expected guests: 1,500 attendees per day
Tickets: One-day passes are $150, which includes the midday Grand Tasting, as well as a morning and afternoon class. Children free at Sunday family activities.

Frolicking in San Francisco’s Fort Funston

Why? Because this wild stretch of dunes south of Ocean Beach (popular with off-leash dogs) is always, always, always cloaked in fog and cold, with winds so high you can barely breath. (No wonder it's a haven for handgliders.)  But, this springy weekend, temps in San Francisco are expected to hit 80. Hallejuhah! So bust out your sunhat, pack a picnic, and grab a patch of sand overlooking the Pacific. Ahh.

Photo taken on the last perfect afternoon in Fort Funston. Oh, about four months ago.

By Trina Enriquez, Sunset copy editor

Ever since Lisa Taggart wrote about the chibi taiyaki (small, golden, fish-shaped cakes made to order with fillings such as Nutella, chocolate, vanilla, or red bean, plus a catch of the week) at Sweet Breams in San Mateo, California, for the March ’09 Northern California issue of the magazine, I’ve sort of taken to haunting the place. And joined its Facebook fan page. And initiated as many friends as possible into the cult of Tiny and Tasty.

While I wait for my school of 12 fish, I look over works by resident artists Cat Oshiro, Andrew Uy, and Simon Tran, and took to coveting Uy’s Miso Panda print until word came that it was sold out—argh! But this Saturday, April 18, Sweet Breams is hosting its first group art show, Meet Me Under the Cherry Blossoms, featuring new works by the 3 artists and 11 of their friends. Spanning genres from “psychedelic acrylics” to “urban lifestyle,” their newest digital illustrations, drawings, and paintings will debut at this exhibition, which takes its name from the beauty of sakura, or Japanese cherry blossoms. (To extend the festivities, check out the Sunset story on SF's J-town and head to San Francisco.)

Be sure to stop by the shop between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Saturday, meet and chat with some of the artists, and order a school (or three) of taiyaki while you’re at it. (At $5.50 a school, so worth it, seriously—and don't forget about Sweet Breams' secret menu.) A digital illustration from CatmAndru! (aka Andrew Uy) will be raffled off during the reception. If you can’t make it, the artists' works will be on display in-store through May 27.

Click on any of the artists’ names below for a sneak preview and more info.

Cat Oshiro
Simon Tran
Andrew Uy
Martin Hsu
Liz Lorini
Gem Mateo
Jeramie Tolentino
Rob Beckstrom

Chibi taiyaki photo courtesy of I Heart Sweet Breams

by Lisa Trottier, Sunset senior editor

We are loving the idea of a one-day vacation. That’s right--not a one-night vacation. Just a day. One day—a workday would be best. A nice hotel room that’s yours from the time you’d normally be punching in to the time you’d normally be punching out. No one needs to know.

 
Take this twist at the Hotel Vitale, right on the bay in downtown San Francisco. For $219, you get a room from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., free valet parking, plus a $50 hotel credit.

We’d recommend blowing the $50 on the “bathing ritual,” a rooftop bathtub soak ($60). Just knowing how hard everyone is working the surrounding office buildings will make a mindless soak that much lovelier.

Have any of you found a great one-day hotel offer? Tell me, and I’ll share my other favorite nine-to-five vacation with you.

By Lisa Trottier, Sunset senior editor

Our favorite way to celebrate these sparkling sunny-and-70s days we've been getting? Find an outdoor seat with a million-dollar view that can be had for the price of a drink. Then park yourself there for a good slice of a sun-soaked afternoon. Three favorites we hope to hit this week:

Auberge du Soleil Bar

Nab a seat on the wraparound deck at the bar for the same above-the-vineyards view of Napa Valley the folks at the restaurant pay big bucks for.

180 Rutherford Hill Rd.
Rutherford, CA
707/963-1211

Sam’s Chowder House

A cheery white or blue Adirondack above the lapping waves at Pillar Point Harbor is a great place to watch the light go golden and the sailboats rock back and forth.

4210 Cabrillo Hwy N
Half Moon Bay, CA
650/712-0245

Farley Bar

Kick back in a rocking chair on a long covered porch at Fort Baker’s swank Cavallo Point resort. Take in the expanse of grass that was once a military parade ground and, beyond that, the tippy top of the Golden Gate Bridge peeking out above the Marin Headlands. When night falls, circle around the cozy firepit.

601 Murray Circle
Sausalito, CA
415/339-4700

by Lisa Trottier, Sunset senior editor

Talk about a mood lifter. Next time you have a stressful day, point your car away from whatever is bugging you and toward the InterContinental San Francisco, a shiny tower of a thing that opened a year ago a block from the Westfield Shopping Centre. Well, it’s their anniversary, and apparently that’s put them in a buoyant mood.

First, they’ll valet park your car for free (that saves you $50 right off the bat). Then they’ll give you a room for two for $178 (the higher up the better--the views from this hotel can be phenomenal). They’ll send you off for two free cocktails at the bar (try one of the sake concoctions), hand you $50 in funny money to spend at the spa, and hook you up with a breakfast buffet before you go.

$178--this from a hotel that a few months ago was listing its starting rate in the mid-400s.

Two tips on dinner if you decide to bypass the hotel’s own elegant Luce and venture out. If you’re feeling like you just saved a mint and you’re ready to blow it, walk two blocks east to the St. Regis at 125 Third St. for an elegant dinner at Ame. If, on the other hand, you just spent your last $178, walk three blocks north to Little Delhi at 83 Eddy. The ambience won’t measure up to the Intercontinental--not even close. But you’ll have some of the best Indian food in the city without a mood-busting check.

The Intercontinental:
415/616-6500
888 Howard St., San Francisco