San Francisco. What a beautiful city. I had never been to San Francisco, so the second we were able to get out there we did! This was the second part to our road trip, the first part was South Lake Tahoe, you can find that travel guide HERE!
Sunday afternoon we drove into San Francisco and decided to drive straight to the Golden Gate Bridge. I was so excited to see this beauty! We didn’t stop at the parks, but instead drove straight across! It was so amazing to see the size of this bridge! It really is such an amazing landmark. From there we headed up to Hawk Hill. Along the way there are viewpoints to stop at and see the bridge, but go to the very top! You wont regret it.
From there we drove all over the city! Before we crossed back over the bridge we checked out Sausalito, we really liked that area, and then headed back to the city for more exploring! Some of our favorite places to check out were Nob Hill, the Italian District, and all the streets that went straight up and straight down!!
We grabbed some pizza from North Beach Pizza, and got my favorite pizza of the week! We ordered half Coit Tower and half Cable Car if you are needing suggestions. It was the cutest little Italian pizza place with the nicest people working there. The pizza was fresh and so delicious! Then we were off to our hotel.
We stayed in South San Francisco right next to the Brisbane Marina and of course the view was beautiful! The water was so blue and seeing all of the boats docked at the marina was so fun! While Jules was working during the day, the kids and I took some nice walks down to the marina.
The next couple of days we got all the site seeing done! Of course the Painted Ladies were on our list. The fog was just rolling in so it was really neat to see the city skyline submerged in the fog!
The entire week we were in San Francisco, it was so slow as far as crowds! We were able to get a parking spot anywhere we went, and the sidewalks were empty! This was definitely a great time to come!
Even though the fog was rolling in we headed down to Fisherman’s Wharf. It was kind of fun being there in the chilly, foggy weather. We immediately went to Boudin Bakery Café. Again the restaurant was empty and we got a waterfront view table right away. The Sourdough bread was amazing! We ordered the Clam Chowder Bread Bowl and the Fish n’ Chips, and they were both so yummy! I also had the best Moscow Mule I have ever had! Do yourself a favor and order one!
The wind and fog died down so we walked up and down the wharf. The kids loved seeing all the different buildings and people. We of course had to check out Pier 39. Jax and Mia could not get over the Sea Lions! They were kind of smelly but so mesmerizing! Watching them in the heaping piles and hearing their barking was quite the show!
We walked up and down Bay street and checked out all the shops and restaurants until everything was closed!
Day three we decided to take it easy and order pizza in from Little Star Pizza down on Valencia. We weren’t really sure about the area, but the pizza was on point! It was a deep dish pizza and we got half Brass Monkey and half All Star. With all the pizza we consumed on this trip, Mia now thinks any food I give her is Pizza!
Our last full day was here and we headed down to Ghirardelli Square. This was probably the number one recommended thing to do and it was so fun! It was the cutest little area with all the chocolate you could think of! I mean we were greeted with a Pumpkin Spice Caramel Chocolate square… Yes Please! We ordered the Chrissy Sundae and a fun fountain soda and enjoyed our ice cream with a view! The kids thought this was the best little experience!
We couldn’t keep the kids away from the water so we headed back down to the boardwalk! We ended up at Hyde St. Pier and it was such a cool little dock. There was a giant pirate ship and you could go on tours of the old ships.
The kids were getting tired of walking around so we jumped in the car and headed North to the Muir Woods. If you ever make the trip to San Francisco, you have to go to the Muir Woods! They are only 12 miles out of the city and it’s like you are in a whole new world! The pictures don’t even capture the beauty of the massive Redwoods. There are all sorts of trails and paths of different levels of difficulty. We took the easiest paths since we were not wearing appropriate shoes, but it was still just as beautiful. If you want to throw on some sneakers or hiking boots, there are some pretty cool trails you can hike!
Since we didn’t have anything else on our itinerary, we headed back toward the hotel to prepare to leave the next morning! Not before one last stop to see Lombard St in daylight, we drove down it at night! There were so many people standing around taking pictures, it was almost more enjoyable at night!
Chinatown was the last thing on our list! Out of all the driving around we did, I couldn’t believe we never ran into Chinatown! It was so fun to see the culture totally take over the city, we really were in a different world! My favorite part was the red lanterns strung over the streets.
That wraps up our week in San Francisco. We absolutely loved visiting! The entire city was so much fun and everything totally exceeded our expectations! If you ever get the chance take that trip to San Francisco! You won’t regret it!
XO,
Corrine Monique
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