Thursday, January 16, 2014

San Francisco Recap

Hi everyone!! I can't believe it's Thursday already! This week has been  f l y i n g  by! Probably because I've been playing catch up from our California getaway last week. I still catch myself daydreaming about the San Francisco Bay, and the delicious bottle of wine we drank while watching the seals swim by. Sigh...
 
I thought I'd do a little recap. This is mostly a photo dump, but I'll try to give you a play by play, as well as some recommendations!
 
First, we start off with a view from our hotel. We stayed at the Westin St. Francis on Union Square, and it was the perfect location! Right in the middle of all the great shopping and restaurants. Although most days we trekked across town to get closer to the water, it was nice to be close to restaurants at night!
 

On our first full day, we walked literally from Union Square to the Fisherman's Wharf. Talk about a LOT of hills. Holy shiz! But it was perfect, because we worked up quite the appetite for a delicious lunch.
 
This was when we stumbled into China Town. Talk about feeling out of place. But it was gorgeous and so interesting! All the little street-side markets and fresh fish. It was wild!
 
 
We took a little break on Washington Square in Little Italy before tackling Telegraph Hill and Coit Tower.
 
 
We fell in love with this gorgeous church on Washington Square. Ahhh...the weather was just so amazing!



Coit Tower is in the Telegraph Hill neighborhood, and you literally have to walk 135° uphill for about 200 yards. This Texas girl is definitely NOT used to that!


 
We made it! And of course, we had to commemorate it!


That hike was so worth it. LOOK at this view!!! You can see the city, the bay and the Golden Gate Bridge. So awesome!


After stumbling back down the hill, we ate lunch at Tony's Pizza Napoletano. Best.Pizza.Ever. Literally this place is amazing. They have all different types of pizzas and cooking types/temperatures. We had the Margarita and the New Yorker. Both delicious and I'd highly recommend them!

 
After lunch (and 3 glasses of wine for moi), we kept walking down to the Fisherman's Wharf. And we, of course, had to visit the seals. This whole phenomenon is hysterical and strange to me. Like a train wreck, you can't stop watching. Haha!

 
We dipped our toes (or Wellies) into the Bay. The water was chiiiiiilllllllly!!!
 
 
And then we stopped into The Franciscan, and enjoyed a delicious bottle of wine and the beautiful view.


They even had binoculars! How perfect for the inner Peeping Tom in us all.


After walking around the wharf some more, and visiting Ghirardelli Square, we decided to take a cable car home. Mommy had too much wine to walk back that whole way! Sorry I'm not sorry.


 
After cleaning up and a quick nap, we headed out for dinner and more drinks. We decided to go to Cheesecake Factory on Union Square because it was super close and they have an awesome rooftop dining room. What a great view, huh?!


On our last full day, we decided to take a ferry out to Alcatraz and walk around for awhile. I could literally post 561,324 pictures from the island, but I'll just show you a few of my favorites.



One thing I learned while on the island is that most of the officers and their families actually lived on the island. Just below the cellhouse is where their apartments/duplexes were and the playground area for all the kids. Can you imagine playing that close to one of the most dangerous penitentiaries ever?! How insane!


There was a fire on the island in 1970, so a lot of the buildings were destroyed. But the buildings still standing were still stunning, especially with the city in the background.



One of my favorite parts of San Francisco was all the gorgeous flowers and plants! Everything thrives in that climate. This was my favorite succulent on the wharf.


After Alcatraz, we ate one last meal on the wharf. And this time it was right on top of the seals. I couldn't have asked for a better "last meal."




We ate a Swiss Louis on Pier 39 and I finally got my clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl. So worth the wait! Definitely recommend this place for clam chowder, and the view obviously.


And one last picture. The morning we left it was sooo foggy, and was supposed to rain later that day. Good thing we left when we did!


Can we go back????
 

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