The UNOFFICIAL SES San Jose 2006 Sightseeing Thread

[evilgreenmonkey]

So I've partied and drank until my liver hurts, gone to so many sessions that I've worked out the source code to PowerPoint and found out that the hotel offers complimentary shower caps. After reaching this stage, I tend to like doing a bit a sightseeing...

What would you recommend visiting in San Jose outside of SES?

Do you recommend a certain restaurant or local cuisine?

Men and women of the San Jose area, please share your local knowledge with us mere mortals!

:cool:

Rob

[Marcia]

partied and drank until my liver hurtsHow about here (http://www.aasanjose.org/new_development/)?

[Robert_Charlton]

How much time are you planning to spend before and after the conference? For the duration of the conference, you're not going to have much spare time.

Are you planning to rent wheels or not?

California is not very good on public transportation, and most of the sights worth seeing in the area (and there are a great many things in northern California worth seeing), require a car. Even the peninsula restaurants worth eating at require a car.

San Jose, incidentally, is, in my opinion, not yet the garden spot of the Bay Area, so you'd definitely want to get up to San Francisco if you're planning to spend time here.

[evilgreenmonkey]

How about here (http://www.aasanjose.org/new_development/)?

LOL, I can stop at any time - I just choose not to. :p

[evilgreenmonkey]

How much time are you planning to spend before and after the conference? For the duration of the conference, you're not going to have much spare time.

Are you planning to rent wheels or not?


I fly out on the 5th (on Danny's beloved BA) and come back on the 11th.

You really don't want me on your roads, I haven't driven for 6 months and that was being "designated dave" in my mum's Ford Fiesta (http://www.whiteswan.u-net.com/goldencars/Images/FordFiesta5drLg.jpg) 1.2 Litre (she likes a drink as well ;)).

Maybe someone can volunteer to drive me in exchange for beer or food... anyone? :rolleyes:

:cool:

Rob

[David Wallace]

One of the main tourist attractions in San Jose is the Winchester Mystery House (http://www.winchestermysteryhouse.com/), a unique mansion whose construction began in 1884, and was financed and built by Sarah L. Winchester, the widow of gun magnate William Wirt Winchester. The mansion is famous for its large size, and the fact that it followed no overall plan, except to be in a state of continuous rebuilding. Sarah Winchester believed the house to be haunted by the ghosts of individuals killed by Winchester guns, a belief some modern-day visitors share.

If you are a roller coaster person, Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk (http://www.beachboardwalk.com/) is a short drive away and has the old classic woodie, The Giant Dipper (http://www.beachboardwalk.com/02_giant_dipper.html) as well a many other amusement rides. As old as The Giant Dipper is, it is one of the smoothest and best wood coasters on the planet for a simple out and back.

As for eats in San Jose, Original Joe's (http://www.originaljoes.com/) located just a couple of blocks from convention center is awesome. I'll definitely be eating there a couple of times.

[evilgreenmonkey]

Sounds like I better travel back to my parents house this weekend and borrow one of their cars and brush up on my driving.

:rolleyes:

[Robert_Charlton]

evilgreenmonkey - What with the conference and events, it doesn't sound like you're going to have time to get up to San Francisco or Marin to the north... and it may be that even the coast is going to take too much time, but I'd sure give part of it a try if you can. If you're not used to driving on curvy, winding coastal roads, though, try to get someone else to drive.

Here's a thread with some thoughts on the region from WebmasterWorld...

What to do on a weekend in San Jose without a car?
http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum9/7055.htm

As for restaurants, these are some places in the area that I like, but, except maybe for Super Taqueria, you will need a car to reach them...

Super Taqueria - San Jose (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=super+taqueria+san+jose&btnG=Google+Search)
multiple locations
- Super Taqueria doesn't have a website, but this is the Google Search. If you're traveling all the way to San Jose, you might as well get food that's more or less indigenous to the area. I recommend a good burrito. I haven't eaten at Super Taqueria in a while, but it used to be my favorite burrito place on the peninsula, and reviews on the web suggest it's maintained its quality. There are several locations... not sure which is closest to SES.

Hunan Homes - Los Altos (http://www.hunanhomes.com/)
4880 El Camino Real
- Hunan Homes has branches in San Francisco and Los Altos (which is maybe 10 miles north of San Jose). Relatively inexpensive, spicy, and very good. My favorite dishes there include: pot stickers (fried dumplings), hot and sour soup, Hunan dry braised green beans, and smoked harvest pork with cabbage and leeks. If you're not used to spicy food, tell them. They don't default to super-hot as some Hunan places do, and medium works for most people I know.

Kabul Afghan Cuisine - Sunnyvale (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=Kabul+Afghan+Cuisine+-+Sunnyvale&btnG=Search)
833 W El Camino Real
- Again, the Google search... A wonderful place. Definitely get a lamb dish (don't restrict yourself to kabobs), and, whatever else you order, get their pumpkin. Maybe six miles north of San Jose.

[bhartzer]

If you really really want to see the sights, then I highly recommend renting a helicopter and flying high above (and below) the clouds around San Francisco.

Jim Boykin, Stuntdubl, Justilien, and I rented a helicopter and took what ended up being an amazing tour around San Francisco. You take off from the corporate executive terminal at San Francisco's main airport and fly around San Francisco over to the Golden Gate Bridge and under the Golden Gate Bridge, over to Alcatraz, and then back towards the airport. I believe it's about a 20 minute to half hour flight.

There aren't many cities that are good for helicopter sightseeing--but San Francisco definitely is one of them. We've got photos somewhere (perhaps one of those mentioned could add a link to the pics) so you can see what the flight is like. Also, if you're interested, I can get you the contact info of the pilot and the phone number.

You're probably wondering about price--which actually was fairly reasonable at about $100 a person (with a group of four). If you're wanting to entertain a client or potential client or just reward someone for giving you a few links to your site, then a helicopter tour of San Francisco is definitely something to consider.

[mcanerin]

Last time I was there, I visited and enjoyed the
The Tech Museum of Innovation (http://www.thetech.org/), which is walking distance from the convention center.

Ian