SF Culture
Anticipation is half the fun of travel. We love a good theme and there's a ton of culture about San Francisco out there. We’ve listed some of our favorites.
Movies:
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
The one with the whales, directed by Leonard Nimoy. Monica’s favorite, feel-good SF movie. Memorable line: “Double dumb ass on you!”
The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019)
A drama of gentrification, with excellent performances. The first 10 minutes (mostly tracking the protagonists on a skateboard) are some of the finest filmmaking out there.
Milk (2008)
A story of the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in California. A glimpse of San Francisco long before the tech boom and the fights that needed to happen for queer people to be able to live freely and openly.
Vertigo (1958)
Hitchcock’s classic and one of the best movies ever made. Watch it, then take yourself on a walking tour of the film locations.
Sneakers (1992)
Robert Redford, Dan Aykroyd, Ben Kingsley, River Phoenix, Sidney Poitier, David Strathairn (and James Earl Jones). What, you haven’t seen it?! This movie about spy craft and “about who controls the information” is still remarkably relevant. Memorable line: “Too many secrets.”
The Rock (1996)
Sean Connery, Nick Cage, and Ed Harris. It’s an action blockbuster set at Alcatraz with a very SF car chase. It holds up!
The Wedding Planner (1999)
Sweet rom com starring J. Lo and Matthew McConaughey, with plenty of fun SF sightings.
Pirates of Silicon Valley (1999)
A dramatization of the history of tech featuring Noah Wyle as Steve Jobs and Anthony Michael Hall as Bill Gates.
- Bay Curious
- Total SF
Podcasts:
- Uncanny Valley by Anna Wiener
Books:
Weather in the Bay
September and October is SF summer. That being said, it doesn’t tend to get much above 70º, with cooler mornings and evenings. Layers are advisable, as temperatures can vary a lot between neighborhoods (the Mission, Oakland, and Berkeley are all a lot warmer than the Sunset, as much as by 10 degrees). Unfortunately, October and November are also historically considered wildfire season, which can make for nasty air quality.
Crime
Although SF is not a high-crime city, car break-ins are common, including in Golden Gate Park. It’s best practice to remove all visible belongings from your vehicle.