A Long Weekend in the City by the Bay
A Long Weekend in the City by the Bay
In the years since we discovered Santa is really our parents, my brother and I have received a family trip as our Christmas gift. This year, our gift was four days in San Francisco, and for my brother, that included long-awaited tickets to a San Francisco 49ers game. As for me, I was more excited for stunning views and yummy food. Read further to see why we left our hearts in San Francisco.
Day 1
After a long flight across the country, we landed in San Fran around noon on Thursday. Then, I finally introduced my mom to the wonder that is Uber and we rode to the Argonaut Hotel located in Fisherman’s Wharf. After checking in, we set off in search of chowder and sourdough bread, two foods the wharf is famous for.
This led us to Lou’s Fish Shack after a recommendation from a bell hop at the hotel. There, we found wings for my brother that lives to eat chicken wings as much as possible, and Dungeness crab bisque in sourdough bread bowls for the rest of us. Yes, we originally had our hearts set on chowder, but the bisque sounded too good to pass up. And wow, was it delicious.
After a yummy lunch at Lou’s, we strolled through the wharf area down towards the famous Pier 39. On the way, we passed tons of places with fresh crab and Boudins, a bakery well known for its sourdough bread. The smells along that stretch are to die for.
At Pier 39, my brother fell in love with the sea lions that lounge about at the end of the pier. We stood there for almost half an hour observing the weird, floppy animals bicker back and forth and laze about in the sun.
For the rest of the trip, we got to hear Ethan gush over the sea lions. To say he was obsessed would be an understatement. From there, we walked in search of the pins Ethan and I respectively collect in each city: a Hard Rock pin for me and a pins from sport stadiums for Ethan. The Hard Rock cafe is located at Pier 39, but to get Ethan’s AT&T Stadium pin, we had to make an hour trek down the coast. By the time we got there, we were dog tired, but we got the pin and took an Uber back with an overwhelming sense of relief.
Later that night, after some much needed naps (jet lag is rough, y’all), we went on a trolley Christmas lights tour through the city. It was freezing, but we were able to see much of the city, with the highlight being Billionaire Row, where the richest of the rich of San Francisco live.
My dad enjoyed the free Santa hats that we got on the tour. After freezing our butts off to see some festive lights, we turned in for the night.
Day 2
Early morning on Friday found my family and I at the Blue Mermaid restaurant located in our hotel. The restaurant is known for its variety of chowders, but it also has a decent breakfast menu. I kept it simple, if boring, and had oatmeal with berries, walnuts, and brown sugar.
After breakfast, we headed to the office of City Tours and Grey Line in Fisherman’s Wharf to begin our all day tour to Alcatraz and through the city.
To begin, we took a bus to the Alcatraz ferry landing and took the ferry the 1.25 miles to the infamous prison.
At the prison, we took a guided audio tour of the cell blocks and walked through the grounds.
The stories of the lives of the prisoners within the walls of Alcatraz are harrowing, the cells make you claustrophobic just looking at them, and the tales of attempted escapes are harrowing. Perhaps the worst for the prisoners was their ability to see the gleaming city as they worked and their ability to hear laughter and voices from the yacht club at the edge of the city. So close, yet so far. All in all, the prison is fascinating.
After meandering through the cells of the United States’ most infamous maximum security prison, we boarded another bus to take us around the city. On this bus, we saw all of the major points around the city and got to stop to see some incredible views.
Peep my mom photobombing Ethan and I’s nice sunset selfie with her dead fish impression.
After the tour, we walked a few blocks from Union Square to one of the highest rated Ramen places in the city. We got there to find a line about 30 deep for a restaurant that looked like it seated no more than 20 people at a time. So, we settled for the Thai place next-door, Osha, and we weren’t too disappointed. We ate delicious noodle and seafood dishes before heading back to the hotel for the night.
Day 3
Saturday morning, we ate breakfast at the charming 8 am Cafe. This was by far the best meal we at the entire trip, in my opinion. My mom and I split a savory crepe and a sweet crepe while my brother devoured a sweet crepe on his own and my dad has a frittata. And, I had my drink of choice, a Chai Latte. Yummm. If you find yourself in San Fran, head to this little cafe in Fisherman’s Wharf.
We had to eat at 8 am Cafe at 7 am in order to go off on our next tour to Muir Woods and Sausalito Bay.
The famous redwoods of California did not disappoint.
We couldn’t help but stop and stare at the majesty of the enormous trees that dwarfed even my ginormous brother.
In Sausalito Bay, we looked through the quaint shops before taking a ferry back to the city. At the Ferry Building, we looked through the aisles of the market set up there every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday and found lunch in the stalls.
One stall was dedicated entirely to mushrooms, but the booth that excited me the most was Mariposa. This permanent stall in the Ferry Building boasts an array of gluten free goodies, from sandwiches to cookies to chicken pot pies. I spun around in awe of so many gluten free options and limited myself to only 2 whoopie pies and a few donuts to eat for breakfast the next couple days.
Those whoopie pies were to die for, and the donuts were incredible, too.
For lunch, it was difficult to decide between so many tantalizing choices, but I finally landed on some dumplings, rice, and chicken curry from a Nepalese stall. Also delicious. You really can’t go wrong at the Ferry Building.
From there, Ethan set off to watch his sea lion friends again while my mom and I set our sights on Ghiradelli Square. There, we snagged some free chocolate samples but avoided the seemingly endless lines for $12 sundaes.
That night, we were super lazy and very indecisive, so we split up for takeout. My brother grabbed In & Out, my mom got Chipotle, and my dad and I got some sushi. Not culinary masterpieces one would expect from one of the world’s best foodie towns, but it would have to do for us.
Day 4
On our last day in San Fran, my dad and brother hopped their shuttle to Santa Elena for the long-awaited 49er’s game while my mom and I hopped on a Hop On Hop Off bus. Yes, and incredibly touristy way to end and incredibly touristy trip, but it is one of the most convenient ways to see a good deal of the city.
We hopped off first in Japantown, where we window shopped in stores chock full of products plastered with Japanese.
Next up was a stop at Golden Gate Park, where we strolled through the Japanese Tea Garden and the Conservatory of Flowers.
The Tea Garden wasn’t too impressive in the winter, but the Conservatory was full of vibrant flowers and the warm greenhouse provided a nice reprieve from the chill outside.
Next up, the Haight Ashbury district, famous for the hippie revolution in the 1960s. On the main street of the district, we admired street art and glanced at the curiosities in shop windows. We also grabbed some quick Mexican for lunch and laughed over the ever-present scent of pot in the streets (throughout the trip, my mom would wrinkle her nose and complain about the stench of “skunk” in the air – uh huh, it’s skunk, mom).
After walking through the Haight, we walked up a giant hill to find ourselves at one of the most beautiful views of the city. Alamo Square, the location of one of the most iconic shots in the Full House opening credits. It is where one can see the Painted Ladies, the row of Victorian homes painted in bright colors.
And last but not least on our journey around San Fran is Chinatown. In the biggest Chinatown in the United States, we strolled up and down the streets, window shopping in stores with teas as far as you could see and massive crystal chandeliers.
After this, we met up with my dad and a very happy Ethan for dinner. Ethan was practically bouncing off the walls in happiness from the 49er’s win against the Jacksonville Jaguars. We had our last meal in San Fran at Cioppino’s, an Italian place in the heart of Fisherman’s Wharf and just a block from our hotel. They had gluten free pasta options that I enjoyed, and the rest of my family enjoyed seafood and pizza.
From there, we took an Uber to the airport. 4 hours early to await our 12:20 am flight back to Charlotte. Would not recommend a red-eye.
Anyways, San Fran did not disappoint. After months of living abroad, it was kind of nice to do the tourist thing for once. If I had more time, I would spend more of it exploring the streets of the city on foot and seeing more of the dozens of neighborhoods that make up the city by the bay.
Very nice summary of your trip. Sounds like you all had a fantastic time!! Thanks for sharing!!
Do you fly by yourself? Can you write an article on that? Love your other ones!!!♥️♥️