Photos by me and Janista
I’m finally getting around to sharing a few photos from when I stopped in San Francisco for a day on my way up to Portland. I was fortunate to have my friend Janista as my road trip buddy for the first leg of the trip, and we had so much fun checking out The Bay area together. I would say that it’s pretty tough to explore all that San Fran has to offer in just one day, but Janista and I did a pretty good job at hitting up many of the major landmarks. That’s pretty impressive if you consider that we did it mostly on foot. We walked about eight miles that day and got a pretty good workout hiking up those hills.
THE MARINA AND GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE
I have to admit that I wasn’t very determined to check out the Golden Gate Bridge since I had seen it on previous trips to SF, but I’m glad we did because it’s always a beautiful sight to behold. Although you can probably get a closer view of the bridge from Golden Gate Park, we walked to The Marina because it’s conveniently located near other landmarks, such as Presidio Park and the Palace of Fine Arts. You can also get a great view of Alcatraz from this location.
PRESIDIO PARK AND THE PALACE OF FINE ARTS
The Palace of Fine Arts is one of my favorite places to visit in San Francisco because the architecture is simply stunning. If you have a few hours to kill, it’s also the perfect place to sit and relax. There is a pond surrounding the dome that has swans and turtles, and it’s adjacent to Presidio Park, which is a great location to have a picnic if you’d rather not dine at a restaurant.
LOMBARD STREET
Lombard Street was actually our first stop on our walking tour of San Francisco, and it was also the hardest location to get to on foot. Janista and I had to take several breaks as we were hiking up the hills, and it made me realize how out of shape I am. However, I’m glad we decided to walk to this landmark instead of driving down this street because it’s impossible to get anywhere with all the tourists blocking your way. Another reason for walking to this landmark is that it’s much easier to appreciate the view of this street when you’re standing at the bottom than when you’re behind the wheel.
THE PAINTED LADIES
Even though I’ve visited San Francisco before, I think this is the first time I ever checked out the famous Painted Ladies located in Alamo Square. Janista and I decided to walk here from The Marina instead of taking public transit because Google Maps told us that it would take about the same time. We quickly regretted our decision and ended up unsuccessfully trying to catch a bus the whole way there. Even though the hike nearly killed us, the nice thing about walking here is that we got to check out all the other beautiful houses and buildings in the area, which are just as impressive.
FOOD AND COFFEE
I wish I had more recommendations for food and coffee, but you can only eat and drink so much when you’re in town for only a few hours. However, I would highly recommend these two places:
Super Duper Burgers: This is a small hamburger chain restaurant in The Bay area that is both delicious and affordable. Janista and I ended up randomly wandering into one of their locations because they had a big sign outside advertising soft serve, and we can never say no to ice cream. Although we didn’t end up getting soft serve, we did order hamburgers and they were really tasty. We both ordered the mini burger which was the perfect size to satisfy our hunger.
Saint Frank Coffee: When Janista asked me if there was a place I wanted to visit during our day trip to San Francisco, my only answer was Saint Frank Coffee. I had heard nothing but great things about this coffee shop and couldn’t wait to check it out for myself. I wish I could have taken a picture of the coffee shop because it is a really beautiful and minimalist space, but I was too busy enjoying my coffee and Janista’s company to even bother. It can also be impossible to get a good photo of a place when it’s extremely packed and busy. Why can’t people just stand still and get out of my shot while I’m trying to post to Instagram? I’m kidding!
I hope you all enjoyed my photos from San Fran. I’ll probably be in the area again this December, so let me know if you have any recommendations for next time I’m there.
xoxo,
Helen
