San Francisco Pocket Precincts
Through 2017, 2018 and 2019 I spent time researching and producing the San Francisco Pocket Precinct Guide with Hardie Grant Travel. This is my second production within this series and can highly recommend them as a must-have travel companion if you are heading to any of the available locations.
Here's my introduction from the guide - It explains the concept well.
"Beat Poets, groovy people and techtrepreneus alike - there’s something about thinking differently that comes with the territory in San Francisco.
A place where you are free to be what you want and ‘do you’ whoever you may be. The perfect backdrop for creativity – a judgement-free zone. Where ideas become a reality and where concepts become actualisations.
Although a place of constant change, it’s a place that respects history. A place where some restaurants have had the same item on the menu since the ’50s and the same person serving since the 70s. The nostalgia isn’t just in the Victorian homes and the fog rolling in over the Golden Gate, it’s in the attitude.
When something is done right, it’s rewarded. In a place that might seem full of trends and market growth, doing something well is valued and held close to locals hearts for generations.
In one of my favourite diners hangs a sign, ‘welcome stranger’ – This to me is the most authentic image of San Francisco. More so than a Giants game, Janis Joplin or the Transamerica Pyramid.
Perched on a barstool, cosy in a leather booth, or on the rattling chair of a streetcar. Chances are someone is going to make you feel like they want you there. Tell you what they love about being a San Franciscan and point you on the right course. Sharing is Californian caring.
Maybe an SF native can’t see this, but having come from afar and stayed for bursts at a time these things always range true to me ever so authentically.
I’ll point you in the right direction to make a start - paying equal homage to the classics that make the Golden City so iconic and the current trends that make it so progressive at the same time.
We’ll explore the heart of downtown, from the stalwart diners and dive bars to shopping chic retailers and decadent cocktail haunts.
When it’s time to escape the hustle, we’ll hit the road on day trips through pivotal cultural hubs in the outer Bay Areas and then even further to California’s acclaimed wine regions, coastal scenes and national parks. "
