Where to Go From San Francisco: Napa and Sonoma

NAPA AND SONOMA – What to swill, what to spit, when to call it a night.

The Ambitious Eater's Weekend Guide to SF

SAN FRANCISCO – The chopsticks say "Good Luck!" on them; consider that your warning.

From Bay to Boardwalk in Santa Cruz

SANTA CRUZ, California – No one's too old for the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, although you try and try to convince yourself that it is so. The seaside amusement park defines summer fun.

Just Back From: Big Sur

BIG SUR, California – The guest book was chock-full of gems, including tales of alien abductions, marriage proposals, and angry rants about heavy-footed guests stomping around overhead.

Out with the New, In with the Old

SAN FRANCISCO – As enticing as a cornflower-blue floor-length robe with an embroidered peacock is for my "personal collection," I have to focus on the task at hand: finding inspiration for my clients.

Little Black Book: Vintage Addict in San Francisco

I said no to a Peter Pan collar. But yes to a velvet Polish vest, an Indian dress, and a souvenir jacket from Japan. It was major.

How Locals Spend a Sunday: Looking Afar and Wide in West Oakland

WEST OAKLAND, California – Coffee roasteries, modern soul food, funky used bookstores, and markets as far as the eye can see.

New Shop: San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO – It's a melting pot of cultures, classes, curious creatures, and excellent objects. Layer up and shop a while.

San Francisco: Where to Eat in the Mission

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – When you're on a food tour of the Mission, you'd better come hungry, especially for everything caffeinated, spiced, and churned.

The Dosa Experiment

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Back from South India, one hungry reader finds that when she needs a dosa fix, she's got to make it herself.

A Few Days in Paso Robles, California

PASO ROBLES, California – The new Napa Valley is more laid-back, less expensive, and somehow cooler. Feel free to bring the kids. Everyone wants to unwind on the Central Coast.

San Francisco itineraries