Our Trip to San Francisco
Jason and I spent last weekend exploring San Francisco, and had so much fun! Jason was there already for work, so we took the opportunity to extend his trip a few days and I flew out to meet him. It was both our first times in this city (and in California at all), so there were a lot of things we wanted to see in the two days we were there. The city is beautiful, and there's so much to do! and see! and eat! And the architecture, you guys. Breathtaking. I mean, look:
To make sure we got as much of it in as possible, we booked two-day tickets on a double decker bus tour, and I highly recommend this mode of transportation if you're touring a major city. They have multiple buses that take the same route in a loop of the city, stopping at about 25 locations, and you can get on/off at any of these stops as often as you want during your two days. We'd ride (up top of course!) until we got to a spot we wanted to see, hop off and explore a little, and then walk to the nearest tour stop and hop back on. It was super touristy and fun and easy on our feet (& wallets). Here are a few photos from our trip if you'd like to see!
Waiting to hop on our first bus! And isn't he handsome?! I married a model. Friday was overcast and foggy, which neither of us minded one bit. No blazing sun, and good lighting for photos :)
The capitol building was so beautiful, and their display of rainbow flags at half mast in honor of the Orlando victims was touching.
First stop, the Painted Ladies! I was a bit disappointed that Alamo Square park (directly in front of them) was under construction, but it was still beautiful.
Jason was such a good sport and agreed to walk an extra couple miles down to the Full House house and back. It's had a paint job since the 90s, but there it is! I'm surprised we got a shot without a car passing, there were so many people taking pictures as they drove by.
We hopped back on the bus and took it over the Golden Gate bridge, which was blanketed by the thickest fog I've ever seen. There was something beautiful and kind of amazing about it.
We hopped off the bus again a few blocks behind Lombard Street, and made the insanely uphill hike to the top. We were rewarded with this view (and a much easier walk down).
From there we walked up to Fisherman's Wharf, where I had some amazing fresh crab (J got a lobster roll), and an insanely good made-to-order ice cream sandwich ON BROWNIES from the Baked Bear.
Also at Fisherman's Wharf was a huge arcade full of (working) vintage games! I earned a few wife points when I agreed to spend one of our quarters to look at the "scandalous" photos in this old mutoscope, ha :)
We started day two by hopping off the bus at Golden Gate Park to visit the De Young museum. They have an observation tower that gives you 360° views of the city and the bay, and it was mesmerizing.
He wasn't impressed with the piece on the left ;) but the installation on the right was so interesting; those are the charred remains from the arson of a church in Alabama.
We went back over the bridge, with a full view thanks to the sunshine! This time we opted to hop off the bus and take a little trolley to tour Sausalito, the city on the other side of the Golden Gate bridge. Above shows the bridge from the water, plus the dock that inspired a certain Otis Redding song!
We had lunch on the water (more fresh seafood of course!) and walked around a few shops in the cute little downtown area. There was a man there balancing rocks—isn't that the most insane/amazing thing you've ever seen?!
Our last stop of the day was Chinatown (the largest Chinatown outside of Asia), where we browsed some shops and saw the neatest Chinese dragon dance/parade, complete with fireworks. The next morning we snuck in a quick brunch and a walk around Union Square before heading off to the airport. Until next time, San Francisco!
P.S. Have you been to San Francisco? Are there any must-go places that we missed? I'd love to know!