<p>Where can one go/what can one do on a free afternoon or weekend within 1-2 miles of campus, not including Cal facilities and solitary activities?</p>
<p>Within 1-2 miles of the campus there are like 3 streets chock full of ethnic restaurants and the like. I also think People's Park is close...but you'd have to ask the real Berkeley students. :) </p>
<p>There is also a chocolate factory at Berkeley! And a huge gelato store with 500+ flavors! Those are big pluses for me. :)</p>
<p>hahaha people's park...only if you wanna get mobbed by bums
Hmmm all i can think of..is restaurant, restaurant, and restaurant....that about sums it up for me....you can try berkeley iceland...if ur into ice skating...there's actually quite a few movie theaters, but the real fun is in SF</p>
<p>i love ethnic restaurants.</p>
<p>if i go to berkeley, my friend and i have a plan to try to go to all the restaurants in the area within the 3 years that we will be together there (she's already a frosh there). <em>sigh</em> I see lots of money out of my purse and lots of added weight. <em>sigh</em> but it's fun....(well, the idea is - it's not practical or whatever, but i can dream...) :)</p>
<p>I don't know if you can eat at each restaraunt near campus in three years. How near is near? I think it's a great idea, and your duty. You must first learn how to write in the proper style, develop the proper taste, and then publish a book.</p>
<p>What do you mean by venues? Music venues? The greek theater is practically on campus, unless of course it IS on campus (I'm not sure who owns the land). The BART station is less than two miles away, so you can basically walk to San Francisco (so to speak) by taking a few dollar round of public transportation. There are many places to eat, an insane amount of book stores, places to shop, music stores, that chocolate factory where you can tour for free (not sure where it is), hmmm. Movie theaters, including a major independent theater. And more. And then, there's all the stuff to do on campus.</p>
<p>Don't worry too much about finding the hot spots now. Once you arrive, word-of-mouth will fill you in on all the decent show venues, cafes, museums, exhibits and more here. It might seem like nothing but eateries at first, but if you're motivated enough to move about during your first semester, you'll catch nearly everything -- from the Warfield, Gilman, Beckett's, the rose garden, and the SF MOMA to the marina, 4th Street, etc. As a note, a lot of these things are outside the immediate college town, so plan to bus and BART around in addition to walking.</p>
<p>The bums are cute. They do tricks and stuff and they're pretty passive and entertaining...or the ones I've seen lined up and down Telegraph.</p>