San Francisco
Where to: San Francisco as part 1 of my Honeymoon with Sam.
With whom: Sam.
When: March, 2018
How much: 5/5 $$$$$
I had been to San Fransisco once, years ago, but Sam hadn’t so this seemed like the perfect opportunity to explore the city together and we managed to start our honeymoon there, and stay for three nights before heading to Hawaii.
It was late March, high season, and we had heard that San Francisco is one of the most expensive cities in America (the continent) when it comes to accomodation, so we couldn’t be surprised when there were little options left as we tryed to book a month in advance, and nothing was cheap.
We stayed in a decent motel on Lombard street right next to the entrance to The Presidio, a former military base that is now a beautiful park, and that was perfect for two specific reasons: Sam could take her morning runs in Lover’s Lane, a short path lined by huge trees and also in Crissy Field, a park that is next to the ocean and has beautiful views of the Golden Gate Bridge. The other good thing that we found out the day we got there is that there is a free bus that goes from the entrance of the Presidio to Downton, it’s called PresidiGo and it’s supposed to be there to encourage people to visit the park, so it runs daily every hour, very convenient for us.
San Francisco’s weather was no surprise and even if people that live there say it’s not so bad, and easy to get used to, it was a tough one for me. That cold and strong wind constantly makes it hard to picture myself spending a longer time there. I’ve heard that the trick is to wear a bunch of layers but I surely didn’t get the catch to that.
Our daily plan was quite simple: we woke up, Sam would go for a run while I read about any specific highlights or attractions and after breakfast, we would just walk around and explore the streets, mainly stopping in parks, landmarks and places we had marked as interesting eats. And so we did Chinatown, The Mission, Castro, Fishermans Warf, The Marina, North Beach, Russian Hill, and all the basics. Here are some highlights:
The Painted Ladies, Pier 39 and the Crooked Street are very busy, I’m not sure if there is a secret to beat the crowds but I definitely don’t have it. These places are considered a must and are totally worth it, though.
Mission Dolores Park was very fun to walk around and chill for a while. There where picnics everywhere and a lot of dogs, plus there are some courts where people were playing hockey with no skates or gear or even t-shirts. Fun to watch. I hadn't thought about the geography of the NHL for people from San Francisco, but I guess they support the San Jose Sharks.
Another cool thing to do while in Mission, is to walk around and look for the street murals that make this district an outdoor art gallery full of colors, different styles and stories. Even if this is the neighborhood best know for its murals, they’re pretty much everywhere in the city.
Foodwise we had some nice bites but nothing outstanding, a very crunchy bacon cheeseburger with great fries on the side at Super Duper Burgers and also a Garlic Clam Pizza slice in Golden Boy Pizza, while we were around the Italian neighborhood of North Beach.
On our last day, the sun was out and Sam and I were sitting at a bench and saw a couple people walk by with what looked like a delicious iced coffee so we asked and walked uphill to this very busy and trendy Saint Frank Coffee Shop. The coffee turned out to taste great but my decision to drink it before a 7 hour plane ride over the pacific ocean, not so much. I couldn’t sleep for a minute. See you soon, California.
