San Francisco

Last week Melissa and I headed to the West Coast to get a taste of the city by the bay and to enjoy some much-needed sister time.  Unfortunately, Adriana wasn't able to join us on this one but hopefully next year will include all three Torres girls.  Some of these pictures will be familiar to those of you who follow me on Instagram, but I liked them so much I decided to share them on here as well. Just a warning, this is a very picture-heavy post, hope you guys don't mind. Here is a summary of our five-day adventure in San Francisco:

Thursday

After flying into SFO at around 8:30am we headed downtown, checked in at the Chancellor Hotel, freshened up, and headed back out. There was no time to loose. Because of the location of our hotel (right on Union Square), we were within walking distance to many of our must-see locations on our list. Our first stop? Chinatown. From there we roamed the whole city, with map in hand, finding sight after sight... Little Italy (where I had the BEST gelato to date... Blackberry Cabarnet), Lombard Street, Coit Tower, Grace Cathedral, and back to Union Square. By the end of it all we were too tired to even dress up for dinner. We ended up just walking a couple doors over to Lori's Diner for a hearty meal in our most comfortable clothes. To say we were spent after our first day would be a complete understatement. 

Friday

If we thought Thursday was exhausting we were definitely in for a treat.  We ate a quick breakfast at the cafe next to the hotel and to Fisherman's Wharf we went. Once there, we rented bikes and embarked on my favorite biking adventure to date. Our first stop was Pier 39 where we checked out the fruit market, all the cool little shops, and the famous sea lions. Afterwards, we followed the downtown coast all the way to the Golden Gate Bridge. Riding our bikes over the bridge was quite the experience. The wind gusts were so strong that we were propelled forward for most it thus making the ride definitely less strenuous but all the more terrifying (for me anyways, since heights are my absolute worst enemy).  The view was so beautiful, and our destination even more so. Definitely worth it. We rode into Sausalito just in time for dinner and some more exploring.  Instead of biking back to the city we followed the advice of the locals and took the ferry back to Fisherman's Wharf. Best decisions of our lives... I don't think our legs would've survived the journey back. 

Saturday

My favorite day in San Francisco. 

One of our closest friends from college and her husband drove all the way from Santa Cruz to meet up and to explore the other side of the bay with us. We drove across the bridge and through very winding roads to Muir Woods where we walked along the magnificent redwoods.  From there we drove up to the very foggy Mount Tamalpais, down to Stinson Beach, and all along the cliffs of Shoreline Highway. Truly a breathtaking experience and the perfect way to spend the Sabbath... surrounded by nature in all its splendor and absolutely amazing company.  After sunset we headed back to the city for dinner at Belga and more gelato at Cafe Greco where we stayed until they closed for the night.  

Sunday

This was probably the first day we actually slept in. We only had a couple places left on our "Must See" list so we just relaxed for a bit.  From our Laurel Heights Airbnb room we walked to a small Brazilian cafe for breakfast and then we made our way to the Palace of Fine Arts. We concluded our day with a visit to the Painted Ladies in  Alamo Square and the Mosaic Steps. 

Monday

Our last day.

We woke up fairly early because we had two things left on our list... to ride a famous San Francisco cable car and to pay Ghirardelli Square a visit.  We were pretty excited about it but unfortunately a million other people had the same idea.  After trying to jump on the Powell-Hyde cart for a ride and being told it was too full time and time again, we gave up and went to get some brunch a nearby cafe. We were a little disappointed about not being able to cross off all the locations on our list but here is to next time.  Back at the airport we said goodbye to the beautiful city of San Francisco and to each other (Melissa continued her adventure to LA and I came back home to the Midwest). 

With Sausalito (our destination) in the distance...

The view from the "other side".

Thank you San Francisco for the amazing memories and your beautiful sights! 

You have become my favorite city to date.

Check our our trip's hashtag #MnMTakeSanFran on Instagram for more pictures!