1. What is there to see in Berkeley

1a. In one day
1b over a period of time.

1. What is there to do in Berkeley?
1a. One day only: If I had just one day in Berkeley, this is what I would do. (This is assuming you are on foot.) You can do a lot more via car but parking is hard. Catch Bart to Down Town Berkeley. Exit on Center Street and walk west (Away from CAL) to take a picture of city hall. Follow Martin Luther King Junior Way along to Berkeley High School (1/2 a block) and admire its Art Deco facade. On the side streets on the west and south sides of Berkeley High School are some old Victorian homes. Some have been repainted and look really, good. Go up to the U.C. Campus and catch the bus up to the Lawrence hall of science. Admire the view of the bay area from up here. Rumor has it on a clear day you can see the Fraralon islands. (Sunset from up here isn't bad) Walk or take the bus back down to the U.C. Berkeley campus and take a walking tour.
Some sites not to miss

1. Ride up to the top of the Campanili for another great view of the bay and campus.
2. Neoclassical facades of DOE library and Sprow hall.
3. Numerous little plazas and grassy greens.
4. International House: Moorish/ Arabic building at Bancroft and Piedmont
5. Across the street from the International House is a house designed by Maybeck

1b. There are sites that I missed on my blitz of Berkeley. All worth seeing but it would be asking too much to see in 1 day. There is no real order to these sites.

1. Temple of the Winds. A neoclassical temple that at one time was a school of dance.
2. Views from Grizzly Peek and Euclid Ave
3. Houses of the Berkeley Hills. I love Mediterranean houses. I love tutor houses. The hills have both in large quantities.
4. Various Maybeck homes.
5. Try to find the 6 castles in the Berkeley hills. All six boast a huge tower that house a dining room on the top. They are neat to see however, they are all privately owned.
6. The U.C. Berkeley botanical gardens. A large collection of plants from various habitats.
7. Farmers Market (Every Saturday at center.) Every Thursday (?) on Shattuck at Rose.
8. Free noontime concerts (Thursdays at noon in the summer. Down Town Berkeley)
9. Have a beer at Jupiter's Beer garden at night. Complete with flaming fountain. Cool summertime hangout (when it is warm)
10. Visit the yuppie/ gourmet ghettos and people watch.
    
    • 4th Street. "Bohemian meets Walnut Creek" is what one paper said. Shops and outdoor cafes to eat at. A bit Yuppy.
    • Salano Ave. Lots of restaurants. Little curbside seating.
    • "North Berkeley". This is between Virginia and Rose Street on Shattuck ave. A few shops and a lot of restaurants. People often buy lunch and eat it in the medium between cedar and vine.
    • The Berkeley Marina. It has a nice view of the bay, (especially if you walk out on the fishing pier). There are a couple of expensive restaurants. Kids love the adventure playground where they get to build things.
    • North and westbray shops. A cute little neighborhood.

2. What is there to see in Oakland?

Must see:
• New Downtown Oakland. City Hall, shops around 12th street (there is a nice Parisian plaza here) and the federal building. Old Fox Theater and The paramount theaters are near by.
• Preservation Park. Restored Victorians, which were saved from the building of the Macarthur Maze. Has some info about style.
• Old Oakland. Victorian shopping district has modern stores in the old buildings.
• Walk around Lake Merritt (day time). Nice urban lake. I think you can even rent a gondola out into it.
Worth While:
• Drive up to the Mormon temple and Greek Church. Great views of Oakland and San Francisco. Both buildings are attractive. Inside of the Greek Church have nice murals. Mormon temple has exhibits from time to time.
• Greek Festival at the Oakland Church (First or second weekend in May)
• Jack London Square. Has a farmers market on Sundays. Various stores restaurants to eat at.
• Rockridge Business District. True I mentioned this for Berkeley, but it is really in Oakland. Great restaurants for eating.
• Piedmont Ave. Has the Best Ice Cream shop in the east bay (Fenton's) to East Bay Express. It also has several good people watching watching café as well as lots of shops to see.
• Mills Hall/Mills College. Mills College is a woman's College. It started out life as a finishing school, much like the one shown in the movie "Mona Lisa Smile". The campus is nice, especial in the summer. Most of the buildings are Mediterranean. The main exhibit hall is Spanish mission. Mills hall is Victorian and a California landmark. The women in the school are fiercely independent and want it to remain a woman's college. I hope they succeed.
• The Oakland Museum. Good exhibit on California's natural history. Lots of rotating exhibits. Right by lake Merritt.
Interesting:
• From downtown, walk own 8th towards Lake Merritt. On the side streets you will see various Victorian homes in various states of repair. When you reach Laney college Turn right and see the Victorian that someone painted purple and yellow. (I still don't know if I like it or not) Head back to 9th street and walk back down to downtown. (There are a bunch of other Victorians in this area. Some are down 2nd street going towards the port)
• Driving Tour of Alameda (technically not part of Oakland). Huge single-family Victorian homes. I saw one for sale. Only 1 million dollars.
• The Star Wars Creatures. These are the cranes inspired the AtAt walkers in the second "Star Wars" movie (That is the Empire Strikes Back, not Attack of the Clones.) The Best place to see them is from Bart or the center of interstate 880.
• Oakland Technical High School. A nice neoclassical building on Broadway near college.
• Chabot Observatory.
• Montclair shopping district. I like Rockridge better. This one is smaller but more upscale.
• Oakland Zoo. Cool primate exhibits. You can even watch primates watching other primates.

3. What outdoor activities are there?

1. Walk/Bike/Roller Blade along the waterfront from Emeryville to Albany along the Berkeley Waterfront. Offers views of the bay, San Francisco, the Red Bridge, Marin, Alcatraz and Mount Tam.
2. A hike in Tilden Park. There are numerous hikes. I like the loop around Lake Anza (for added distance I take the side trail up to the Brazil building). Good example of a riparian habitat if you go up the feeder stream. Other hikes include the Nimitz Trail, and going around Jewel Lake. Jewel Lake is next to a "little farm" with animals for kids to look at. Inside the nature area is a (Stuffed) Komodo dragon.
3. Hike the Albany Bulb. The Beach isn't much, however the bulb is a nice example of secondary succession. The bulb used to be a landfill, though you couldn't tell now. From the parking lot head to the northwest side. There are various works of art made out of flotsam. At low tide, head out to the lagoon (western end) and start walking south (views of S.F., Oakland, and the bay) At the southern end you should see a "flag" blowing. Walk up to it and you will see "Crazy Marks Castle." This castle is all that is left of a homeless encampment (it was declared a work of art). Sit and look out over the bay. Then work your way back to the parking lot.
4. Walk/run/bike/roller blade around lake merit. The lake has a nice trail around it.
5. Climb Mount Diablo (Walnut Creek, Danville, Dublin)
6. Sun at Alameda Beach. Not the greatest beach in the world. And you can walk a long way out with out getting into deep water.
7. People watch at numerous cafes. I like these cafes because they have indoors and out door seating. Furthermore, there is normally a steady stream of traffic outside on nice days.
   1. Brewed Awakenings on Euclid 1 block north of Hearst (Berkeley). North of U.C. Has cool art inside.
   2. Petes of 4th street in Berkeley. Yuppie ghetto meets bohemian neighborhood. Lots of moms, young kids and dogs
   3. Café Roma (College at Ashby and Monterey at Hopkins, Berkeley. Outdoors and indoors seating. Quieter neighborhoods. A third one is technically the international house Café.
   4. Café Strada Berkeley. College and Bancroft. Watch the students coming to and from class. TA often hold office hours here.
   5. International House Café. Bancroft and piedmont, Berkeley In truth another Café Roma, but inside of International house. Great view of the Red Bridge. Also serves beer.
   6. Gaylord's Café, Oakland (Piedmont Ave near Fenton) Called east bay expresses best check out place by east bay express.
8. Old rail road right away from Point Isabel to Marina Bay. (Richmond). Great for biking, walking or roller lading. Start at the Dog Park in point Isabel and work your way to the old right railway right away along the water. You can go as far marina bay. (This is an extension of the trail along Berkeley. You can actually go all the way from Emeryville to Richmond on a bike.

4. What is the weather like in the east bay?
The weather is generally nicer than San Francisco, though along the bay it can get windy. In the Berkeley, Oakland Albany area during the summer mornings can be foggy/overcast but that is gone by 11. In the afternoon you can watch the fog flow in across the bay. Depending on how hot it was, evenings can be clear though it gets cool. During the winter, it rains and it gets cold.

5. How should I dress?
May to September: Mornings can be cool. Nights can be cold. It gets up into the 80's to90's during the day. November to March: This is the rainy season. It rains about once a week (unless it is an El Nino winter) and it is generally cold (though some winter days are crystal clear.) Bring a warm jacket, sweater and long pants. October and April. Expect a mix of the two seasons.

6. What should I look out for?
Oakland and Berkeley are both big cities and should be treated as such. There are bad areas and good areas in both cities. The good news is there are less people that target tourists because neither city sees as many as their famous neighbor. Generally

1. Keep your money in a money belt. Your wallet in your front pocket.
2. Don't leave valuables in your car.
3. Don't let people crowed you at ATMs
4. Don't flash large sums of money or expensive equipment.
5. Stay in well lit, well traveled areas at night.
6. Distractions or overly friendly people.

7. Are there places I can go swimming?
Yes depending on what you like.

1. Lake Anza (small fee), offers a nice fresh water lake with a nice backdrop. Don't swim in the no swim areas.
2. Alameda Beach. No current, but cold.
3. Numerous pools. Strawberry Canyon is nice (but 5 dollars a head)

8. Are there books about the east bay: Coming later

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