Getting to the Bay Area

For those of you coming from out-of-town, we recommend flying into Oakland (OAK) or San Francisco (SFO). All our events are in the East Bay. Both airports are BART-accessible (our train system) to make getting to and from the airport traffic-free. You can also get Lyft and Uber from either airport pretty easily.

All of our events are going to be in the East Bay (Berkeley - Oakland) so we recommend staying on this side of the Bay. If that doesn’t fit with your plans, we recommend staying in downtown SF so you have easy access to BART.

HOTELS:

We have a block of rooms at the DoubleTree in the Berkeley Marina. https://doubletree3.hilton.com/en/hotels/california/doubletree-by-hilton-hotel-berkeley-marina-JBKCADT/index.html The phone number is 510-548-7920 and the Group Code is 606.

Other hotels we like:

Hotel Shattuck Plaza http://www.hotelshattuckplaza.com/ (downtown Berkeley)

Berkeley City Club https://www.berkeleycityclub.com/ (downtown Berkeley)

Claremont Hotel (where the Obamas like to stay) https://www.fairmont.com/claremont-berkeley/

Don’t forget Airbnb and VRBO for some good deals. Look for places in either Berkeley or El Cerrito if you want to be close to our house or the party or Lakeshore / Grand Lake/ Piedmont Ave in Oakland if you want to be close to the synagogue. Email us if you have a question about the place. We can go check it out for you.

There is so much to see

We love the Bay Area so very much that we endure fires, earthquakes, the worst traffic ever and absurd home prices just to stay here. We want to share as much of it with you as possible. We have so many beautiful sites, ridiculously delicious food, and just a lovely way of being. Here are some things we think you really shouldn’t miss:

Places to EAT

Cheeseboard Pizza

Berkeley Bowl - puts the super in supermarket

Vic’s Chaat House - Indian amazingness

Pho Ao Sen - Vietnamese that feeds us at least twice a week

Burma Superstar

Chez Panisse (if you can get in)

Dyafa - Lebanese food that you will praise for days. Just won a Michelin Bib Gourmand award (that’s french for cheap eats)

Oakland had 3 other Bib Gourmand awards this year:

Soba Ichi - the West Oakland sister restaurant to Berkeley’s Ippuku (also worth checking out)

Nyum Bai - Cambodian loveliness

Teni East Kitchen - another Burmese delight

Zachary’s Pizza

Places to GO

Tilden Park - can’t go wrong on any trail

Grizzly Peak - this road runs along the top of the Berkeley/Oakland Hills and provides some of the best views we got

The Albany Bulb - a former dump, now home to art, dogs, and awesome views

Pacific Pinball Museum - Alameda

UC Berkeley Campus

4th Street in Berkeley - great shopping, East Bay Vivarium (reptiles!), and food

And don’t forget this from the FAILING NY TIMES

Obviously the Bay Area is a big place and we haven’t even discussed the sights and sounds of San Francisco. If there is something you really want to see, let us know and we’ll help make it happen. Never been to Alcatraz? 100% worth it. Never walked across the Golden Gate Bridge? Do it! so much to see and do and we are excited to share it all with you.