San Francisco

picture from Buena Vista's website

One of my friends in Austin invited me to join her and another gal on a trip to San Francisco over Spring Break this year. We had a great time! It was my first time to travel to San Francisco and I loved it! We were in San Francisco for a week and did lots of fun things.

We started out with our vacation with breakfast at Buena Vista restaurant. This place is neat because it has views of the harbor, a lively bartender who made dozens of Irish Coffees with great speed and precision, and their seating policy is open-- so if there is an open chair, you grab it and sit family style with whoever is already there... kinda interesting. We happened upon Buena Vista since it was near our hotel, but come to find out it is the place for Irish Coffee in San Francisco. We visited it again on Saint Patrick's Day to pay tribute to the Irish :)

After breakfast we walked around Fisherman's Warf and then rode around on a city tour bus for a while. Next, we walked to The Painted Ladies thinking that one of them was the house from Full House.

The Painted Ladies landmark



but after a quick google phone search we learned that the Painted Lady houses are in the opening credits for the tv show, but none of them are house on Full House. Disappointed, we made it our mission to the find the Full House house... it turned out trickier than one might imagine... We followed some online clues and came upon this place-- our best guess as to what may be the actual house.

Next we headed to lunch and stumbled about the Flagship Williams-Sonoma store. It was incredible- beautiful, large and cool to see.

And I found a cupcake shop!
I like finding these in every city I visit :)

Ghirardelli Square

they give away free samples, sell chocolates and have a coffee/ice cream shop

so many beautiful flowers in the city

Fisherman's Warf

seals

pier

We rented a car for a couple of days to do a couple road trips. One day we drove to Pebble Beach and Carmel. The next day we drove to Muir Woods and Sausalito.

Pebble Beach, CA

Golf Resort Lodge

The Lone Cypress

We took the 17-mile scenic drive along the coast in Pebble Beach.
The drive takes you through an exclusive neighborhood in Pebble Beach with stunning homes and beautiful views of the ocean.

Carmel, CA

a very charming town

We had our favorite vacation meal at this restaurant. It was Mediterranean cuisine. I had a vegetable pasta dish with super yummy olives and tomatoes. I also tried some of Kristie's falafel-- yummy too :) Dametra's has the best espresso I have ever had. If you are going to Carmel, eat at Dametra's!

Can you tell I love flowers?
This town has the best potted flowers I have seen while traveling.

I liked the story of Hansel and Gretel when I was young. Do you think their cottage looked like this?

Just like I said about David and I's trip to NY-- I love trying out the cuisine of a city. For this trip I really enjoyed all the breakfast cafe's we tried out. Something really cool about San Francisco is all of the fresh squeezed juice options available for breakfast. Each morning I tried a different type-- it was so heavenly!

Mama's Restaurant
link
I highly recommend you visit this restaurant!

We arrived a little before opening to wait in line to get in. Mama's is a small restaurant and a popular breakfast place in the city, so a line starts forming early in the morning. A couple of the particularly cool things about this place: they are known for their french bread. They use all sorts of homemade flavored breads (banana nut, cinnamon...see the picture above) and turn it into french toast. Also, they are known to have the best Eggs Benedict in San Francisco.

You stand in line to order while viewing all their tasty options that are prepared in front of you

French Toast

Eggs Benedict with Grapefruit Juice

Egg White Omelet

Golden Gate Bridge

Muir Woods

Sausalito, CA

Golden Gate Bridge Park

We decided to drive by the park and stumbled upon some of the greatest views of the bridge and also a beach! Other than Carmel and all the yummy fruit juices this was my highlight on the trip!

Lombard Street

Kristie was quite a champ to drive us down this winding street!

Another breakfast joint...

Tomato juice

Bagel with Lox-- I'd wanted to try this for some time... it is yummy

Ferry Building Pier 39 Market

another bakery

but the first bakery I have been to that has had French Macarons!!!

Alcatraz

One more fun dining experience...

I tried affogato at an Italian Restaurant. Its a scoop of vanilla ice cream with espresso poured over it. It's a great treat!

San Francisco is an awesome city to visit. Other than all the steep and windy roads (prove tricky when you are in your first trimester and already a little weasy) it is a really neat place. Next time I visit California, David's coming and we'll check out Napa Valley and more coastal highways!