WWDC is finally announced, and my calender is empty while waiting for all those awesome parties to pop up (hint TouchArcade's). We had a great time last year and I met a lot of really awesome people, and I'm looking forward to meet them again and a bunch of other new cool people this year as well. So where are you guys staying? Know about any cool parties? Fun things to do in SF? I've been there five times (I think) so I've obviously seen and done all the touristy stuff, and now I'm thirsty for more! Cool shops, monkeys, cool bars, etc, anything is of interest! Most of us will be there, so if you see us, come say hi!
Myself, @imost, and @volcore will be coming from Limbic, and we're all staying at the Marriott. (Apple has a WWDC discount rate there, fyi) I'd also love to know about party plans!
David, our CTO and I (Alison) are coming in from the UK. We'll be there all week. Staying out nearer the airport at a hotel on the Bay. Looking forward to meetings, parties, tweet-ups etc!
I'll be there! I really liked staying at the Marriott last year & plan on it again this year. Follow @Quazie for the party list. His blog had the best list I found last year.
At long last!! We shall finally meet in person I'm coming from Australia, and staying at the Intercontinental this time, I wasn't happy with the Marriott when I was at GDC in March Plus the Intercontinental is practically right on top of Moscone West! As previously discussed I am also looking forward to ordering a Club Sandwich at 3am on Tuesday morning and I sincerely hope anyone else staying at the IC will join me in that It also looks like I will probably be heading to E3 in LA right afterwards, so it's tunring into a bit of an epic trip - long time away from home... anyone going to E3 as well?
Like Alex, I really really really recommend at least giving the Intercontinental a look. I'm not sure about the Apple discount, but comparing prices on Hotels.com, the rates between the Marriott and Intercontinental are negligible. It's barely any farther away, and instead you get killer internet access and round the clock room service compared to, um, internet access that is slower than my Sprint 3G connection and the most bazar non-existent room service imaginable. Also, I'll be at E3 the following week. Alex where do you plan on staying in LA?
Hodapp's recommendation is the reason I'm staying at the Intercontinental rather than trying somewhere else (aka it had better be as good as you promised, if I can't get room service I am going to come and raid your minibar! ) I waited far too long to book my E3 hotel, I am staying miles away At the Hollywood Roosevelt - they have a transfer bus so that's good. I will undoubtedly look at the right-next-door hotels with longing eyes... BTW do you use TripIt? I just started not so long ago and I'm loving it, particularly the bit where you just forward your confirmation emails to it and it builds your itinerary. Also, I didn't know you live in NYC! I could have visited around iPad launch time Then again it was all a crazy blur. http://www.tripit.com/people/alex5117
Looking forward to meeting you too! We haven't decided on a hotel yet. I looked up IC, and it does look nice indeed. It appears that Internet access costs extra though? I normally stay around Union Square when I'm in SF since it's closer to "everything else". But perhaps it's more convenient to stay closer to Moscone.
Alex I just called to double check, they have room service 24 hours a day! Regarding LA, last time I was in town I was able to rent a car super cheap from https://www.advantage.com/ - I really have no idea how this would work for you since presumably you don't have a valid US drivers license being from Australia and all. That place has a shuttle that picks you up and drives you to LAX and didn't have any stupid hidden fees like everywhere else. Also yeah Anders, the internet connectivity is $14.95, which I think is the same as the Marriott? I always bring my Airport Express whenever I travel so if you're anywhere near my room you can mooch off my WiFi as long as you promise not to judge me by my shared iTunes library which contains 17GB of Justin Bieber.
FYI, the IC is about 3 blocks away from Union Square. The blocks are pretty short so it's like a 5 minute walk. 'Course if you're partying too much and go the wrong way, it will be a very long 3 blocks...
I've been to SF twice, and both times I only saw the inside of the hotel/conference/parties/FedExKinkos etc... it's my birthday while I'm there for WWDC and I am DETERMINED to finally do at least one touristy thing to celebrate! Any recommendations? I'm not really into indoor things like art galleries or museums, love places that give you the true unique vibe of a place. Oh and I hate shopping with a passion
The touristy things I've enjoyed the most over the years is Alcatraz. I hear it's closing for the public? Make sure you go there as soon as possible to get a ticket though, as you may have to wait for up to a week. Renting a bike and riding to and across the Golden Gate bridge is cool too, and you have to go down to Fisherman's Wharf (and pier 39 and watch the sea lions) and eat fresh seafood (you gotta eat clam chowder at least once per visit to SF). There is also cool free retro gaming museum down there. I have a favorite restaurant in China town as well that I always go to, but I don't remember the name. Lori's diner is worth a visit if you enjoy classic American food and 50's memorabilia (jukeboxes and that kind of stuff), it's close to Union Square. And of course take a ride on a cable car and go see Lombard Street and Postcard Street (don't actually know if it's called Postard..). There is a really good dim sum restaurant as well that I know of, I'll look up the name of it. It is FANTASTIC. Clift is a cool bar/hotel, I had a great time there last year! Can't. Stop. Watching. The. Paintings.
Thanks Eli That's a great idea actually. Usually we create an ad-hoc network with our macbooks (just click "Create network..." from the Wifi menu) and that works pretty good, but bringing an Airport Extreme is a good idea!
If you're going to do Alcatraz, which I highly recommend, definitely splurge for the audio tour. It's well worth it versus just walking around on your own. I second the bike ride across the Golden Gate bridge. Remember to dress appropriately and in layers; the temperature can vary greatly from the bridge to the Marin headlands. If you're short on time I'd recommend taking the ferry back from Sausalito. You can do that trip in about half a day. The full loop takes to you Tiburon, and while it's a pretty town, it will take you a full day and the second half of the trip from Sausalito to Tiburon isn't as spectacular. Fisherman's Wharf is worth visiting at least once, if none other than to see the awesome Musee Mecanique, as mentioned before. If you want good seafood though, check out Swan Oyster Depot. Hit it during an off hour to avoid a lengthy wait. While there are better dim sum places in Chinatown if you're willing to brave the non-English menus and staff, Yank Sing is a very good alternative friendly to English speakers. The Cable Car Museum is uniquely San Francisco and shows you the real workings of their cable car system in operation. The machinery is pretty fascinating, and best of all, it's free! Definitely a must see. If you're up for something outdoorsy, Muir Woods is a great place to hike. I'm always in awe of the size of the trees compared to those back home on the East Coast. Or go mountain biking on Angel Island or Mt. Tam.
Hey wdn, that's some awesome info - thanks so much! I think I just got a little bit more excited about the trip, if that was possible Really looking forward to finally seeing the sights! I'm pretty adventurous food-wise, where would you recommend for dim sum in Chinatown? Cheers!
This is my fav dim sum place, http://www.yanksing.com, I had brunch there last year. It's not in China town though, and it appears they have two restaurants in SF, I've only been to the one at Rincon Center. Any SF local may have more dim sum experience than I have though
Alex, I'm not all that familiar with the Chinatown dim sum places, which is why I usually hit Yank Sing, as Anders seconded. It's in the Financial District, only a few minutes walk from Chinatown. Wherever you go though, the real fun with dim sum is just getting adventurous and pointing to something that appeals to you. No language barrier there. Just eat it and ask questions later. The smaller mom & pop restaurants may offer more authentic dishes which you may need to order off the (often non-English) menu, but the larger, more popular restaurants will have more carts and a larger selection that you can simply point to. SF is definitely a food lover's paradise so get your fill while you're there!
Thanks guys We are well and truly spoiled with excellent food here in Melbourne (Australia) too, so I can get a bit picky We've got some great restaurants in our (much smaller) Chinatown, including dim sum (which we call yum cha) and I've also been to Hong Kong. So no problems about non-English menus or being adventurous, in fact the reason I asked is the opposite, I'm not a fan of overly "Westernised" Chinese food! Yank Sing looks like the real deal, thanks to you both for the recommendation
At Yank Sing you'll see about 90% Asian people, so it's the real deal. I thought you Australians mostly ate barbecued shrimps ("Hey Bruce, throw some shrimps on the barbie").
