Italian, chinese, thai, indian, sushi, pizza, you name it.  Dinner your first night here can be as easy as you want it to be - probably faster than hotel room service and certainly less expensive.

 
 

The house has a pretty large backyard by San Francisco standards.  There is a sandbox for young ones and lawn games for older kids and grown ups. 

 
 

How to obtain a Temporary Parking Permit in San Francisco. You will need a "J" permit.  There are utility bills in the house for guests to bring to the Parking office which you will need in order to obtain the permit.  If you wish to obtain the permit by mail prior to your stay, contact us.

In person/mail:

Residential Permit Parking office,
11 South Van Ness Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94103

Hours of Operation are 8 AM to 5 PM, Monday THorugh Friday

By phone:
415-701-3000

Hours of Operation:
Monday - Friday
8 AM - 5 PM

Questions regarding permit issuance can only be answered at the 11 South Van Ness location and phone number.

 
 

We have a local organic grocery store called Real Foods 4 blocks away.  Also 3 blocks away there is also a corner store with many essentials open very late and there is a Walgreen's right across the street from this store.  Just walk down Willard Street to Parnassus, turn right and walk to the corner of Stanyan.  There is also a Trader Joe's grocery store on Masonic near Geary, there is a Whole Foods at California at Gough and there will be a Whole Foods coming to Stanyan at Haight in 2010.

 
 

There are over 15 tennis courts within walking distance of the house in Golden Gate Park.  No guarantees on scheduling a game for you, but we have a couple friends that played a bit in college, now in their early 40s that really love to play so if you need a game feel free to ask.

 
 

There are two suggest ways to get a ride on the cable cars.  If you want to be "car-free", just walk down to the corner of Stanyan and Carl and take the N Judah train heading inbound to Union Square.  Once off, look for the Powell Street cable car - this will take you up and down some classic San Francisco hills and ultimately bring you to Fishermans' Wharf.  The other way is to just drive your car to Fisherman's Wharf, downtown, or Union Square, park the car, and jump on the cable cars.

 
 

Lake Tahoe is about a 4 hour drive from the house if the roads are clear.  This season the snow has been outstanding and of course it is nice to come back to San Francisco when it is 67 degrees now in January - lovely and one reason why we have made San Francisco our home.

 
 

We went to the members' pre-opening of the California Academy of Sciences and think that visitors will very much enjoy the exhibits at the academy.  The architecture alone is worth seeing - see the website of the Academy to get an appreciation.  Kids (and parents) enjoyed the T Rex skeleton, a great whale skeleton and several marine exhibits.  There is a swamp and an African wildlife exhibit to name a few.  Our son's favorite though was the two heads snake - I guess my favorite too.  The Academy within a mile from the house so about a 15-20 minute walk or very short drive.

 
 

You should obtain a parking permit if you plan to leave a car parked on the street all day during weekdays.  If you plan to leave a car parked on the street all day during weekdays the first thing we would say is that you should know that you can get around the city without a car and that you might not want a car if you intend not to use it much.  That said, if you must have a car but do intend to use it during the day then we would say that you do not need a parking permit because the parking restriction is only 2 hours between 8 and 5 on weekdays.  There is ample street parking overnight.  There are also parking options - there is the UCSF parking garage 2 blocks away and there is a surface lot on Stanyan about 4 blocks away.  If you intend to be at the house for the day with a car and do not want to get a parking permit that is okay too - you just have to check your car tire to see if it has been marked by the parking department - if it has been marked you simply move the car. 

 
 

Parking from Monday through Friday for more than 2 hours does require a resident parking permit which the city offers - here is a link to the city of San Francisco's web site which deals with temporary resident parking permits

http://www.sfmta.com/cms/pperm/13442.html#temp

We supply guests with a letter and evidence of residency in order to obtain a permit.