Luggage, Accessories and Travel Books, Oh My!

I just spent a long weekend in San Francisco for a combination business/pleasure trip. In addition to visiting the beautiful Sonoma and Napa Valleys, shopping for Ghirardelli chocolates and discovering fabulous Indian food, I visited some of the Bay area’s largest independent bookstores as well as a small chain of travel accessory stores.

First, a note about the bookstores.

Get Lost was literally a stone’s throw from our hotel on Market Street. While you won’t get lost in this tiny little travel bookstore, it will definitely inspire you to get lost on your own. It carries a wide variety of travel books and accessories. The Crumpler day bags and laptop bags were some of the coolest I’ve come across. Though it’s a great store, I’m happy to have the far bigger Wide World Book & Maps in my home city of Seattle.

Stacey’s is another indie store and is also located on Market but far closer to the waterfront. It has a large travel section and a warm feel, making you want to stay awhile to browse and buy.

Book Passage has several locations but I visited the one in the Ferry Building. The travel section was quite small but so was the whole store. They host lots of author and musical events throughout the year.

Finally, one of the most happenin’ places I visited was Edwards Luggage. I had interviewed the owner, Randy, for my book last year and was happy to finally meet this dynamic and very successful woman. She has four locations throughout the San Francisco area. While I was there, the place was hopping with customers purchasing everything from luggage to accessories. She was most eager to show off a jacket by Ubu that is reversible and crumples up small enough to pack away into your luggage. They are quite fashionable as well. Gotta get me one