Well, the weather finally cooled down a bit, which is a good thing since no one quite knew what to do with the unseasonably warm weather. It was the talk of the town!

We started off the day researching the famed Chinatown district. Once we crossed the famous China Gate, we found ourselves in a world of ornate decorations, great shopping, and delicious Dim Sum. We really enjoyed checking out the sites – Buddhist temples, WonTon Factories, hotels, shops and restaurants.  In fact, the wonton factory pictured below is the only operating fortune cookie factory where the cookies are still made by hand.

Chinatown has a fascinating history to it, and it’s well worth taking the time to learn about! This has been a highlight of our trip to this point - the architecture and colors of the building really evokes the mystical imagery of Asian Culture.

After partaking in the tea and Dim Sum of Chinatown, we headed out to the North Beach area, heralded as the “Little Italy” of San Francisco. Adorned with beautiful historic churches, green parks and restaurants, this neighborhood is also famous for supporting the creative minds of the Beat Generation. Loredana and I visited the Beat Museum – it was fascinating learning the stories of this important period in our cultural development.

We ended our day with a final walk to Pier 39, home to the Aquarium of the Bay. This accessible pier is buzzing with activity. By the end of our day we were exhausted and hopped on a city rickshaw for a quick riding tour - what a fun and interesting way to see the city!

The pictures from our day tell the story much better than we can. Hope you enjoy! Tomorrow we’re off to the wine country for a full day of touring, wine tasting and meetings. Come back for notes from the beautiful Napa and Sonoma valleys!

Thursday - We wrapped up our touring yesterday with a stop to check out the accessible restaurants at Fisherman’s Wharf and to take the Alcatraz tour. Loredana and I feel it is extremely important to personally check out every site, accommodation and restaurant on our suggested itineraries. It’s a good thing we do that because we were given a list of “accessible” restaurants and through our inspections learned that some of the restaurants have closed and others are not as accessible as they claim. However we find a great crab shack located at Fisherman’s Wharf called Sabella and La Torre. They have two dining options: Order from the street stand (accessible), or take a seat inside the restaurant. Although the bathroom is not wheelchair accessible, there are accessible public restrooms nearby.

Sabella and La Torre is a terrific place with deliciously fresh seafood dishes and an amazing staff. After discovering that we were eating at the wrong pier to just hop over to the Alcatraz tour, Loredana and I discovered that we only had 15 minutes to eat and run to the appropriate pier!

However, Sabella and La Torre’s friendly and entertaining manager Don McFarland, took personal care of us, making sure our food was out in minutes and packing whatever food was leftover quickly so we could take it on the ferry. Here Loredana is pictured with Don.

The night tour of Alcatraz is just beautiful; it was every bit as fascinating as we had heard. The ferry to Alcatraz is very accessible, and the needs of guests with mobility challenges are considered at every point of the ride. As we exited onto the island, an announcement was made that anyone who needs to take the accessible tram up to the prison should come up to the front of the line. As I am injured and we like to check everything out personally, we stepped forward. Seating on the tram is limited to wheelchair users, slow walkers, etc., so companions walk alongside the tram, ensuring that you are never far from your group. After speaking with the tram operator, I was allowed to sit up front with him! The operator gave me some excellent behind-the-scenes information and went out of his way to ensure that Loredana and I were able to participate in a special tour below Alcatraz, which was limited to only 10 people. We totally lucked out! You’ll see us behind bars, wearing hard hats for the exclusive tour and enjoying the scenery at Alcatraz.

Friday – it was another scorcher today. Luckily, the first part of our mission this morning included a trip to the Ferry Building near the water. At the Ferry Building, we joined up with a tour group for a fantastic chocolate tour. We journeyed through the city tasting a wide variety of delectable chocolates. See Jen’s smile as she chooses which chocolate to taste.

Thanks for checking in with us! Tomorrow we check out Chinatown, North Beach and more!

Another beautiful but hot day in “The City by the Bay.” The sun is shining brightly with a temperature in the upper 80s - not a bad way to start the day. After a quick walk to the BART station, we headed out to Union Square, the premiere shopping and dining district in San Francisco. Union Square is always buzzing with activity and is a great place to stay if you’re looking to experience the city life.

We visited two exceptional hotels in the heart of the action: The Donatello and the Westin St. Francis. We were greeted at the The Donatello by an incredibly friendly staff. The hotel is entirely accessible with a beautiful Italian restaurant, Zingari, an outdoor terrace to enjoy 360 degree views of the city, and comfortable and modern rooms. Thanks to Donatello staffers April & Garrett for making us feel very welcome - we know our guests would enjoy a wonderful stay there!

Next we met with John & Ina at the Westin St. Francis. The lobby of this large and regal hotel took our breath away. The décor and attention to detail at the Westin is remarkable, and it’s giant Magenta Grandfather Clock is an attraction in and of itself. With its large and airy rooms, this hotel is first class all the way!

After jumping back on the BART, we returned to the Civic Center to meet with Khaled at The Whitcomb Hotel. Built in 1904, this unique hotel has actually survived the two major city earthquakes. The City Hall, originally located across the street was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake. At that time, the city hall’s operations were moved into the Whitcomb until 1915. During that period, the basement was actually converted into a jail!

Curious guests can arrange a tour of the old jail cells. With its early 20th century charm and an amazing restaurant, the Whitcomb will be a special place to stay. We enjoyed our meal so much that we asked if we could compliment the chef! See Jen pictured with Khaled and Chef Adam.

We’re off to Alcatraz in a couple of hours to enjoy the night tour - check back with us tomorrow for more!

Today was simply amazing! The weather has been perfect. Blue skies and sunshine greeted us as we entered the city. San Francisco is such an eclectic city that is brimming with personality. After arriving at the airport, we hopped on the BART (the local public transportation), which quickly brought us to the Civic Center area of town. Some of the great places to visit in the Civic Center are the Asian Art Museum, Capital Building (featured at the left), Library and UN Center.

We started off our tour with a delicious lunch at local hangout Sol y Luna; there we met with Marilyn Straka, San Francisco native and tour guide extraordinaire. Marilyn specializes in unique and accessible “On The Level” tours, and described at length about the many wonderful sites available for wheelchair users and slow walkers in San Francisco. We look forward to working with Marilyn, pictured here with us at Sol y Luna.

Our next stop was at a lovely hotel run by Holiday Inn in the Civic Center. This hotel had stylish accessible rooms, a fabulous roof-top pool with views of the city and a warm and welcoming staff. We had the opportunity to meet with the General Manager, Gino Lazzara, of the hotel who is from Italy. When he discovered that Loredana was a fellow Italian, he insisted we stay so he could get her advice on how best to design and remodel the pool area! He actually had her looking at tile samples as they had an excited and rapid-paced discussion in Italian over which soccer team from their respective home towns was best! You know the old saying: “You can take the Italians out of Italy…” See Loredana advising on the pool design here.

After Loredana’s adventure with interior design, hotel representative Maria Bernard showed us their additional properties at Fisherman’s Wharf. The local street vendors, shops and restaurants lining the water create a fun and inviting atmosphere - plus, you can see the infamous Alcatraz right across the bay. We’ve always wanted to visit Alcatraz and now we have the chance! Check in with us tomorrow as we share more of our adventures in this wonderful city.

Our bags are packed and we’ll be heading out soon! Loredana and I can’t wait to take  off on our California adventure to bring you the best accessible cities, sites, accommodations in the beautiful Golden State.

Our trip kicks off in San Francisco, where we’ll be taking some exciting tours, visiting the rich cultural heritage of the many famed neighborhoods, meeting with experienced tour guides and hotel managers, and dining in some of the city’s best restaurants - our favorite part! Stay tuned as we travel from San Francisco to the surrounding vineyards of Wine Country and breathtaking Santa Barbara.

Check in with us daily, as we’ll be posting pictures and stories from the road!

- Jennifer

Ok, I’m trying to contain myself here. I’m about to board a plane on my way to Italy when only 3 weeks ago, it was just a thought fleeting… silly daydream that maybe, somehow my job would miraculously just let me go on short notice for a couple weeks in Italy; as if it was an average month for me to jet-set across the pond on a whim. But somehow, all the cards fell in line and I’m here, away from my hectic life and about to experience an Accessible Escapes Tour that from the itinerary sounds to be all that and then some. I’m excited about the flight and worried about the flight. But overall, ready to sleep with my bags packed all the way through Heathrow to Rome to find out what awaits me. I’ll be moving through my itinerary and taking notes, often in the form of photographs. Stay tuned for my travel pics and videos!