Work Hard but Play Harder:San Francisco Nights

 

I flew from Los Angeles to San Francisco for a work conference. The flight was approximately 1 hour and 3o minutes. Although I often travel, I don’t really like to fly, so I’m glad that it was a short flight. The great thing about this trip was it was completely free (flight and hotel) because it was a work related. If your trip happens to fall closer to the weekend, ask your supervisor if you can stay later than expected to explore the city and see various landmarks. I believe in working hard and playing even harder. I attended workshops during the day but I made sure to do an activity each night I was in town.

We stayed at a small Boutique Hotel near Union Square called Hotel Carlton. I loved this place because it had art and decorations representing various cultures. During the evening they have a DJ and happy hour for guest.

Fireplace to keep you warm 

Vases

Cultural Mask 

Loving the detail on the couch and stand 

Bed with a globe detail

Bathroom (I love bold colored shower curtains)

Art work in the bathroom

DJ playing in  the lobby during happy hour

We arrived in San Francisco around 6 pm and booked an excursion with San Francisco Love Tours (they have both day and night tours). One of the best parts was the cool VW Hippie Van complete with beaded curtains, old music blaring, and shaggy orange carpet. We were taken to various spots in the city including the famous Golden Gate Bridge.

Tour Guide and I 

VW Bug 

City Hall 

San Francisco City Hall 

Taking pictures before the cops and said we would be arrested if we didn’t leave due to the park being closed LOL

Treasure  Island

Raccoon on Treasure Island

China Town

Lombard AKA crooked street with 8 curvy turns

After touring for 2 hours we were hungry and decided to stop at The Pub restaurant near Ghirardelli Square Shopping. I thought restaurants would stay open late but it appeared that most closed at 10 pm but The pub closed at 2am.

The Pub: Ribs, beans, mac and cheese & Cornbread

Our keynote speaker was Dr. Camara Jones and she discussed a Gardener’s Tale and a theoretic framework for understanding racism on 3 levels:

Institutionalized racism- social institutions such as government, schools, court of law etc, giving negative treatment to people based on race. For example, people receiving different sentences for the same crime due to their race.

Personally mediated- different access to service and goods and opportunities of a society by race. For example, the difference in products (vegetables and fruits) at groceries stores depending on the area.

Internalized racism-racist attitudes towards members of their own ethnic group. For example, A rapper Young Thug going on a rant against 2 African Females and saying “they look like they are from Africa” As if to say being from Africa is a bad thing. It is to be noted that he wears locs in his hair.

Dr. Jones was an awesome speaker! If you ever have the opportunity to see her, you won’t be disappointed. Have you all experienced any of these types of racism?

Surprisingly, they didn’t provide lunch during the conference, allowing us to try different restaurants in the area. We found a small Mediterranean restaurant called La Mediterranee, that was pretty good. I ordered rice, chicken kabobs, and a salad.

La Mediterranee

The following day we tried Peruvian food at a restaurant called Fresca.

Lomo Saltada: Rice, beef, french fries,  tomatoes and onions 

Later in the evening, I learned that the Lion King Musical was playing at San Francisco Orpheum theater. I had already seen the play several years ago in New York and thought it was an excellent show. Check your city to see when they are performing in your area. The costumes, musical and dance talent were exceptional.

Taco Tuesday at Azucar after the show

We used Uber and Lyft to get around the city. My coworkers and I rotated paying fees, allowing us to save a little money. If you are a first-time LYFT user, please use this code for a discount https://lyft.com/i/TIFFANY050231