A Weekend in San Francisco
Hey guys!
It's been a while since my last post – spring has been crazy. I didn't want to miss a post on my weekend trip to San Francisco, so here it is!
I realized that this post and my trip to SF had something in common – they were both long overdue. At Easter I flew up north with Matt to visit family for a long weekend. Our 72 hours in the "city by the bay" was full of family time and fun activities around the city. In our short visit to San Francisco I had my list all planned out! It was now Matt's third trip to SF with me, so we had to finish everything we did not get around to doing on our last visit.
To kick off the weekend, we spent our Friday morning on Union Street at Le Boulanger. This San Francisco classic is the perfect cafe to stop at for a flaky croissant and latte. While I didn't capture a photo of the Le Boulanger on Union, I did, however, snag a picture of one in Hayes Valley. Every time I'm in SF I pop into one of these cafes for my morning coffee! After breakfast, Matt and I walked along Union Street and spotted an adorable flower shop, The Bud Stop. This shop has the freshest, brightest, and prettiest flowers in the city. I highly recommend you pay a visit to The Bud Stop and pick up a sweet bouquet next time you are in the city.
After exploring Union Street, we walked all the way to Crissy Field and then onto Fisherman's Wharf. Many friends have told me about the experience of an Irish coffee at the Buena Vista Cafe– so we had to get one! We sat right at the counter to watch the bartender make our Irish coffees. It is quite a sight and definitely a unique visit in San Francisco. After our Irish coffees warmed us up, it was time to ride a cable car. I was incredibly excited since the last time I've been on one was about 10 years ago. We made our way up the street to catch the Powell & Hyde cable car to Market Street. I highly recommend you don't wait in the extremely long line at Ghiradelli Square for the cable car. You can usually find the next pick up stop 2-3 blocks away. This will help you skip the 2 hour line to ride a cable car and enjoy the experience right away.
Clearly this is what we did and it was so nice to be able to hop right onto a cable car. From Russian Hill to Nob Hill, through Chinatown and onto Union Square, we ended our quick tour by cable car at Market St & Powell St. Once our cable car ride was over we made our way to Hayes Valley to meet up with my sister for a cocktail at Fig & Thistle. You won't find too many tourists in this small district of San Francisco, which gives it a great local feel. Hayes Valley is also the perfect place to go for a bite to eat anytime of the day. If you want a local SF experience, then you should add it to your list.
For another tasty San Francisco recommendation– head over to Lolo's in the Mission for tapas and cocktails. Their food cannot be beat, I promise! After dinner we had so many choices to grab one last drink before calling it a night. We walked to Trick Dog (also in the Mission district) and ended the evening with some unique cocktails. Order the Optimist! The fun thing about this bar is they change the cocktail menu often- possibly by season and you can always find something fun on the menu.
The next morning we made sure to keep our tasty food tour of San Francisco going with breakfast at 20th Century Cafe in Hayes Valley. Matt and I met up with my sister and her boyfriend for bagels and lattes and even a tasty slice of cake to share. You can read more about that delicious breakfast experience here.
Next, we drove to Twin Peaks to give Matt the grand tour of San Francisco. Twin Peaks has the best view of the city! We were lucky to have such a clear day, which meant we could see the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, and more. Now that we were really in the vacation spirit after taking in the cities landmarks– it was time for a beer. My sisters brought us to Southern Pacific Brewing in the Mission and it instantly became my new favorite place in the city. This wide open warehouse was so impressive for the amount of space it took up in San Francisco. Southern Pacific Brewing is perfect for large groups and parties, not to mention extremely affordable beer for San Francisco. A pint of IPA is $3! Needless to stay, the group of us spent the afternoon exchanging stories and kicking back pitchers of San Francisco beer.
On our last day in San Francisco we finished the weekend with an Easter celebration at home. If you're headed to San Francisco soon, then here are some things to do, places to eat/sip, and where to rest your head for the night.
What to Do:
Walk / Cycle the Golden Gate Bridge
Rent a GoCar from Fisherman's Wharf
Hike/Walk Lands End
Visit the San Francisco Zoo
Have a picnic in Dolores Park
Ride a Cable Car
Visit Local Breweries
Check out Museums in Golden Gate Park
Explore Chinatown and visit the Fortune Cookie Factory
Have lunch at the Ferry building
Shop at Union Square
Where to Eat:
Park Tavern
Leo's Oyster Bar
Tadich Grill
Le Colonial
20th Century Cafe
La Taqueria
Lolo's
Chez Maman
Monsieur Benjamin
Where to Sip:
Buena Vista Cafe
Riddlers Champagne Bar
Fig & Thistle
Harper & Rye
Trick Dog
Southern Pacific Brewery
Jone's Bar
Morengo
Amelie
Where to Stay:
The Fairmont Hotel
Palace Hotel
Hotel Vitale
Westin St. Francis
The W
#TravelKerfully