San Francisco

1. Visit San Francisco

E and I took a quick weekend trip to the San Francisco area this weekend so we can cross off #1 on our list! We spent Friday in San Francisco walking around town, touring Alcatraz Island, and spending time at Fisherman's Wharf.


We began the morning by crossing another item of the list! On the way from our hotel to the pier we stopped for bagels and coffee at Noah's Bagels (which is suspiciously similar to Einstein's Bagels....) and I 37. [Tried] an "everything" bagel. Have you ever had a bagel that was baked next to a different flavor and gotten just a hint of that other bagel's flavor? That has happened many times to me with the everything bagel flavor so I really wanted to try one. Unfortunately, I have to say that the everything bagel was just okay. Although I am glad I can say that I have tried one, I would much prefer many other flavors and will probably never go out of my way to buy another.

After breakfast we continued our hike to Fisherman's Wharf. Along the way we walked up the ridiculously steep Lombard Street to "the crookedest street". This section of Lombard Street is the most winding street in the world with eight really sharp turns in just a block. There are some really beautiful houses on both sides of the street and stunning vegetation surrounding the curves making it a truly beautiful place to visit.

View of Alcatraz Island from Fisherman's Wharf

When we got to Fisherman's Wharf we spent a few hours just walking around, admiring the view, and window shopping. The pier offers a great view of Alcatraz Island, tours of ships and submarines, a ton of seafood stands and restaurants, shops, museums, and more. We stumbled into Musee Mecanique which is a museum full of antique arcade games. I'm not going to lie, I was totally freaked out when we first walked in because there was a scary movie feel to the place with the self-playing piano and creepy laughing doll sounds filling the air. I eventually warmed up to the place and really enjoyed seeing all of the old games and dancing puppets that you can still play with just a quarter. The Musee Mecanique really takes you back in time and allows you to see where arcade games started and also how they have evolved throughout the years.

Alcatraz Island

After walking around the Fisherman's Wharf and stopping for lunch, we headed down to Pier 33 for our "cruise" to Alcatraz Island. I highly recommend taking this tour next time you visit San Francisco. You are shipped out to the island and given free reign to walk around and explore the grounds at your own pace.

Included in your (slightly pricey) ticket fee is an audio tour where you learn about different inmates such as Al Capone, hear about escape attempts, and get an idea of what life in Alcatraz prison was like.








The island offers a phenomenal view of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge. In addition to the fantastic views, the island is teeming with beautiful gardens full of vibrant flowers, lush vegetation, and many different species of birds.

Back in San Fran

On our way back to the hotel we stopped for a bit of shopping at Pier 39. This is where I was able to 52. Buy a pair of Tom's shoes! Tom's shoes are a great purchase not only because they are extremely comfortable, but because with every pair of shoes purchased Toms will give a pair of new shoes to a child in need. This is a great company that is really making a difference in the lives of the less fortunate.

Pier 39 is also the place that we finally found the sea lions! E knew how excited I was to see them, so when he heard their "barking"  from the other side of some stores he quickly took me over and surprised me with his discovery. Also on the way back to the hotel we stopped to visit Ghirardelli Square and picked up some chocolate (how can you pass up that opportunity?). After an entire day and about 14 miles of walking, we finally made it back to the hotel completely exhausted but satisfied with our day.

Golden Gate Bridge

What would a trip to San Francisco be without a visit to the Golden Gate Bridge? After spending the morning in Monterey (post soon to follow) we drove over the Golden Gate Bridge and parked the car to take a walk part of the way down the bridge. It is amazing how big the bridge really seems when you visit it in person. The entire first section of the bridge has a temporary chain link fence up while "Retroactive Seismic Fitting" takes place. I happened to see this sign before we walked out onto the bridge so I had to really try hard to NOT think about the possibility of an earthquake occurring while we were out there and the reason that the city feels that "Retroactive Seismic Fitting" is necessary. I chose to keep the content of the sign a secret from E until after we were safely back on solid ground. It seemed like he really appreciated my thoughtfulness. After our visit to the bridge we decided to find the Full House house (yes, we are that nerdy). We did a quick drive-by of "the Tanner house" then decided to hunt down the "Painted Ladies" as well. Pathetic... yes, but we enjoyed ourselves. 

In summary, we had a fantastic trip to San Francisco and I would definitely jump on the opportunity to go again. There are so many things to do and areas to explore. You can easily spend all day roaming around the city and never run out of things to do.