A Couple…Things to Do in San Francisco

i have had a few people reach out to me these past few days and want to know some fun things to do when you have a short visit to San Francisco…so here it is!

1. wake up early and hike up to the top of Bernal Heights to get a great view of the city.

it’s a way to get a workout in and have your breath taken away by feeling on top of the world. it is also very dog friendly so you can play with lots of good dogs running around! my nose only glows like that on top of hills.

2. explore public transit!

for about $4 you can hop on a trolly “muni”, for $2 you can ride the bus and depending on your distance, you can ride BART for cheap. we cheated and used my uncle’s knowledge to get around but you can’t really get lost because there are tons of neat things to see everywhere.

3. go to the *FREE* cable car museum.

it may actually deter you from getting on them because they are all essentially just pulled by big cables and there are some of the steepest hills ever in San Francisco.

here’s what’s pulling them:

4. visit the largest Chinatown outside of Asia!

after the quick stop through the museum, you can be on your way into Chinatown. tons to see, lots of history and cultural here (obviously), very affordable tourist-y souvenirs and tasty treats. we had a BBQ pork bun and it was delicious.

5. stroll through North Beach (aka Little Italy)!

this is a fun area and you absolutely need to be hungry when you go! there are tons of Italian restaurants, pizza on focaccia bread and unbelievable pastries! i would highly recommend Mara’s Italian Pastry. be warned that this was incredibly messy but worth every crumb on my lap and face.

6. visit Ferry Building and Marketplace

this is a way cool place that filled with tons of unique shops and boutiques inside as well as commuters getting across the bay on…you guessed it…ferries! this is still on track from your walk through North Shore.

you should try to go during a tuesday/thursday/saturday because where we are standing in the photo below is filled with a farmer’s market on those days! please also note my bling-bling on my jacket. isn’t that amazing? thanks sun.

7. check out the Golden Gate Bridge-of course!

there are a ton of different view points of where to take photos so check out here to see where you might be coming from and know that if you drive-parking will be atrocious. use the crosswalks because i almost died.

8. go down Lombard Street for the crookedest street in all of San Fran!

this was us at the top of the hill…it has 8 hairpin turns and is very well known and insane. i don’t ever want to live on this street. don’t be holding a full coffee while you go down this either while letting your daredevil of a husband drive down it.

questions:
1) what else would you add to the San Francisco list?
2) do you like cinnamon in your pastries?
3) are you good with navigating around new cities? (i basically married my husband for this very specific talent of his)