Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Frisco Road Trip, Pt. 5: Home Away From Home


It's one of those things we fantasize about. Like, "If we won the lottery, what we do with the money?" Our wish lists have always leaned in the direction of travel, but not hopping around spending one night here, one night there, the kind of 15-countries-in-two-weeks head-spinners that too many Americans do.

Our idea of a great trip is to spend time in one place, getting to know the people, the shopkeepers, and what it feels like to live there. So if we win that $27 million one of these days, you can bet a pied-a-terre will be in the plan, a simple place to sleep and cook, to entertain friends and just hang out.

You can imagine our excitement when we heard that friends of friends of ours had inherited a building in San Francisco and were renovating a couple of the apartments to rent to visitors at very reasonable rates. And what a spot they've got.

The Apartments at Golden Gate are located a half block from Golden Gate Park in a charming neighborhood known as the Sunset District. Restaurants abound, and a drugstore, hardware store, several grocers and a post office are within blocks. Not to mention the fact that several bus lines and a light rail train (that runs right downtown) are within a half block.

Our apartment was a third floor walk-up (the top floor) with a great view out over the rooftops of the neighborhood to the west, and was simply and pleasantly appointed with all the basics you'd need for a few days' stay in the city, including a great folder full of information and maps to help get you started.

Plus the owners are splendid folks and extremely gracious. So if you, like us, can't quite afford that pied-a-terre yet, this will do quite nicely until then.

Details: Apartments at Golden Gate. Daily or weekly rates available. E-mail for availability.

Read the other posts in this series: Getting There, Paying Our Respects, Resting in Redding, Schmoozing in Sacto, Off on the Right Foot, Choosing Chinese, The Ferry and the Hog, The Point of It All, and The Last Meal.

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