Directions to Casa de Esperanza

Our address is 1221 Alemany Boulevarde, San Francisco CA 94112-1403

This almost opposite Lyell Street. If it's dark, look for the white ropelight on the staircase railing.

Directions from Local Airports

• From San Francisco International Airport via BART:

  1. If you arrive at the domestic terminal, you first need to get to the international terminal, like this:

     1. Collect any bags you may have, and follow signs to AirTrain. AirTrain is free to use.

     2. Take either the blue or the red line (whichever is fastest) to the Garage G/BART stop.

     3. Exit the AirTrain, acquire a BART ticket (as at March 2005, the fare to our place is $4.60), and go through the turnstiles and down the lefthand escalator or stairs.

  2. Once on the BART platform, board any train going towards San Francisco, Pittsburg, Bay Point or Fremont.

  3. Alight at Glen Park Station. From there, follow our general BART instructions below.

• If you're driving from SFO, take the US-101 north and follow our directions for that route below.

• From Oakland Airport, you can use the so-called AirBART connection to get to BART, and follow our BART instructions below. Note, however, that you'll need exactly $2 in change for the shuttle, and it only operates between 6:05am and 11:35pm (8:05am and 11:35pm on Sundays).

• If you're driving from Oakland Airport, take the I-880 north to the Bay Bridge, cross the bridge to San Francisco proper, and follow our Bay Bridge driving directions below.

Public Transport Instructions

BART

It takes about three minutes to walk from BART to our place.

1. Take BART to Glen Park Station. (From the East Bay, board any train for Daly City, San Francisco Airport or Millbrae; from Balboa Park and points south, board any train except trains for Millbrae or the airport.)

2. Go through the turnstiles and go down the rightmost steps to Bosworth Street.

3. Walk down the hill along Bosworth, under the 280 overpass.

4. Bosworth becomes Lyell Street. Follow Lyell down the hill under a second overpass.

5. Lyell ends at Alemany Boulevarde. Cross to the far side of Alemany.

6. Turn right. The house is a few doors down to your left, number 1221.

MUNI

• You can take the J Church metro/tram, or the 23 or 26 bus, to Glen Park BART. Follow the BART directions above.

• You can take the 14 or 49 bus to the intersection of Mission Street and Silver Avenue. From there:

  1. Cross to the northeast corner of Alemany and Silver.

  2. Walk north along Alemany Boulevarde. The house is on the right, about two thirds of the way down the block, number 1221.

• You can take the 44 or 52 bus to the intersection of Alemany Boulevarde and Silver Avenue. From there:

  1. Walk one block down the hill along Silver Avenue towards Alemany Boulevarde.

  2. Turn right. The house is on the right, about two-thirds of the way down the block, number 1221.

• After midnight, you can take the 14 "owl service" bus. Get off at the corner of Mission Street and Silver Avenue, and follow the directions for the 14 above.

SamTrans

We've never tried this, but the SamTrans 391 bus from Redwood City also runs until after midnight and appears to stop just around the block. Caltrain (see below) is probably cheaper and faster, though.

Caltrain

• Take Caltrain to Millbrae and transfer to any San Francisco-bound BART. From there you can follow our BART directions above.

• You can also alight at Bayshore and catch a 15 MUNI bus towards City College and change to a 14 MUNI bus. From there you can follow our 14 directions above.

• The other alternative is to alight at the end of the line at 4th & King Station and walk half a mile to either the 14 MUNI bus on Mission Street or BART under Market Street. You can also take northbound 10, 30, and 45 buses to Market Street, or the N Judah tram to Embarcadero Station, and transfer to the J Church line. See the Muni directions above.

Directions by Road

Note: Alemany Boulevarde runs parallel to the I-280 in San Francisco. There hence are many Alemany Boulevarde exits. Just because you see an Alemany Boulevarde exit doesn't mean you should use it; you're likely to end up on an entirely different section from ours, possibly heading in the wrong direction. And even if some mapping web site tells you to use a particular exit, it might not be right. Most mapping sites, for example, expect you to change across five lanes of traffic within a hundred metres to get to an exit, which is suicidal. So, to avoid getting lost, frustrated or in an accident, follow our directions, not theirs!

We don't claim these to be the fastest directions, but we hope they're the easiest to follow.

From the Bay Bridge

1. From the Bay Bridge/Interstate Highway 80, follow the signs to US-101 south (towards San Jose).

2. Three or four miles after the Bay Bridge, use the I-280 south ramp (towards Daly City).

3. Immediately after the I-280 ramp, use the Alemany Boulevarde exit. (Note: If you miss that exit, an additional Alemany Boulevarde exit follows, the Alemany Boulevarde/Mission Street exit. If, and only if, you end up using that additional exit, skip the next step. Yes, CalTrans has made it confusing for you.)

4. Immediately after the exit, turn left at the traffic lights. You should now be travelling along Alemany Boulevarde, with the I-280 on your left.

5. Stay in the left two lanes, but do not get back onto the freeway.

6. Follow Alemany Boulevarde for 1.2 miles. It goes over an overpass, through an underpass, and becomes a divided six-lane road. Our house is on the left, just past the traffic lights at Lyell Street, number 1221.

7. There is usually ample parking along Alemany Blvd and around our block. Pay attention to parking restrictions; there is a four-hour limit during the day on weekdays. Also, check street sweeping restrictions for the following morning if you're staying overnight, and double-check that you're not blocking a driveway, even just a little bit. This is so important that I've actually used a <blink> tag to emphasise it!

From the Golden Gate Bridge

1. From the Golden Gate Bridge, follow US-101 south through the City, like this:

   1. At the end of the bridge, follow the Lombard Street signs.

   2. After a mile or two, turn right onto Van Ness Avenue. (Most of the traffic will be doing the same thing.)

   3. After about 2¼ miles, loop to the right onto the Central Skyway.

   4. Stay in the right lane and follow the sign to San Jose.

2. Three or four miles after merging onto the freeway, use the I-280 south ramp (towards Daly City).

3. Immediately after the I-280 ramp, use the Alemany Boulevarde exit. (Note: If you miss that exit, an additional Alemany Boulevarde exit follows, the Alemany Boulevarde/Mission Street exit. If, and only if, you end up using that additional, skip the next step. Yes, CalTrans has made it confusing for you.)

4. Immediately after the exit, turn left at the traffic lights. You should now be travelling along Alemany Boulevarde, with the I-280 on your left.

5. Stay in the left two lanes, but do not get back onto the freeway.

6. Follow Alemany Boulevarde for 1.2 miles. It goes over an overpass, through an underpass, and becomes a divided six-lane road. Our house is on the left, just past the traffic lights at Lyell Street, number 1221.

7. There is usually ample parking along Alemany Blvd and around our block. Pay attention to parking restrictions; there is a four-hour limit during the day on weekdays. Also, check street sweeping restrictions for the following morning if you're staying overnight, and double-check that you're not blocking a driveway, even just a little bit. This is so important that I've actually used a <blink> tag to emphasise it!

Via U.S. Route 101

Note: These directions are intended for people coming from the south, up the Peninsula. If you're coming from Marin County or a point further north, use the Golden Gate Bridge directions above.

1. Follow US-101 north towards San Francisco.

2. At the city limit, the speed limit drops to 55MPH. About two miles after that, use the Silver Avenue exit. Note: Slow down for this exit—it's a loo-loo!

3. Turn left at the traffic lights at the end of the ramp.

4. Turn left at the next set of lights. You should now be on Silver Avenue.

5. Drive all the way to the end of Silver Avenue. You'll go some two miles, over hills, through stop signs and even a set of traffic lights or two—just keep on driving.

6. At the very end of Silver Avenue, turn right onto Alemany Boulevarde.

7. Our house is about half a block down the road, on the right, number 1221.

8. There is usually ample parking along Alemany Blvd and around our block. Pay attention to parking restrictions; there is a four-hour limit during the day on weekdays. Also, check street sweeping restrictions for the following morning if you're staying overnight, and double-check that you're not blocking a driveway, even just a little bit. This is so important that I've actually used a <blink> tag to emphasise it!

Via Interstate Highway 280

1. Follow the I-280 north towards San Francisco.

2. At the big split between Ca-1 and the I-280, stay on the I-280 (keep right) (towards Downtown San Francisco/the Bay Bridge).

3. Drive another two miles and use the Geneva Avenue/Ocean Avenue exit. (The sign is a bit obscured by trees.)

4. At the traffic lights at the top of the ramp, turn right onto Geneva Avenue (towards Cow Palace).

5. Go 0.4 miles, through a four-way stop sign, and turn left at the lights at Alemany Boulevarde.

6. Our house is about a mile down the road, on the right, number 1221.

7. There is usually ample parking along Alemany Blvd and around our block. Pay attention to parking restrictions; there is a four-hour limit during the day on weekdays. Also, check street sweeping restrictions for the following morning if you're staying overnight, and double-check that you're not blocking a driveway, even just a little bit. This is so important that I've actually used a <blink> tag to emphasise it!