Exploring San Francisco

When you're traveling, the best moments are always the ones that take you by surprise. And while we were making the Exploring San Francisco by Cable Car episode one fell into our lap. We didn't have space in the episode to include the full scene, but if you love music it's something you're going to want to hear. 

But let's set the scene first ... we're in Chinatown walking through those beautiful lantern strung streets, pagodas adorned in yellow and gold, temples, and tea shops everywhere, when we stumble upon Shangri-La Gifts. 

One of the owners, a young woman named Fang-Yi, is a master player of the Guzheng, a more than 2,000-year-old traditional Chinese instrument. She takes us upstairs to a secret studio above her shop where she teaches Chinese American kids this ancient art form in order to help keep the tradition alive. She introduces us to two of her students and they start to play ...This is the performance we heard. It took us by surprise, it blew our mind and that's what San Francisco's all about.

For more information: sftravel.com

This episode was produced by Armchair Productions, the audio experts for the travel industry. Field recording by Jason Paton.

Today we are Exploring San Francisco in the most iconic way possible. San Francisco’s cable cars are not only the first in the world – invented here in 1873 – they are also the last. And though they travel at a mere 9.5mph, with the wind in your hair, the bells ringing and track rattling, it feels more like a roller coaster tour of the city than anything else on the road.

My name’s Aaron Millar, I’m a travel writer and the presenter of this show. Join me for a whirlwind journey, recorded on location, celebrating 150 years of San Francisco’s cable cars, and counting.

As we travel, we’re going to stop off at the highlights along the line, revealing the story of the city from its Gold Rush roots to the creativity and diversity that defines it to this day.

We’ll meet Val Lupiz, a legendary ‘gripman’, or cable car operator, for a lesson on what it takes to drive an actual 150-year-old antique.

We’ll find a hidden music studio above a gift shop in Chinatown, and listen to a performance of a GuZheng, a more than 2,000-year-old traditional Chinese instrument.

We’ll eat fresh seafood in one of the oldest restaurants in Fisherman’s Wharf, drink Mai Tai’s during an indoor monsoon at the Tonga Room, listen to an impromptu poetry recital about cable cars, on the cable car itself, and lots more.

“San Francisco is the Phoenix rising from the flames, a melting pot of immigrants, and dreamers, artists and entrepreneurs. It’s indoors monsoons and iced Mai Tais, it’s the strum of a guzheng, the clunk of the track, the ring of the bell. It's never the same, but it's always San Francisco.”

-       Aaron Millar, presenter

Recorded on-location, this audio adventure is designed to do more than just let you hear what it’s like to be there; it’s designed to let you feel what it’s like for real.

For more information on how you can Explore San Francisco for yourself, visit sftravel.com

Thank you to everyone who featured on this show:

-       Val Lupiz, Cable Car Museum

-       Gimmy Park Li, Wok Wiz Walking Tours

-       Fang-Li (and students Katie and Catherine), Shangri-La Gifts

-       Josh and Michelle, Fairmont Hotel and Tonga Room

-       Tom Creedon, Scomas Restaurant

-       James Morehead, Viewless Wings, Viewless Wings Poetry Podcast

This show was produced by Armchair Productions, the audio experts for the travel industry. Find out about all our shows at armchair-productions.com