My first time being there, I had no idea what to expect. Well, for one thing, its not a warm place. I mean, I wasn't expecting it to be like a sauna or anything. But I was hoping it would be warmer than New York!
It definitely was not, it was a bit rainy, definitely foggy, but quite cold. I jumped the gun, I was so excited for West Coast weather, I packed skirts and dresses. I pretty much wore everything I brought with me and bundled up in layers until I looked quite the fashion repellent.
Here is my sweetie at the aquarium, it was so peaceful and beautiful.
Cue the Full House theme song. "Everywhere you look, is a heart, is a heart...."
I dragged my love onto a trolley ride, because you have to do this if you're a tourist. But San Fran is a really easy city to get around in, as they have about four different modes of public transportation. Buses, trolleys, a subway, these old retro looking bus things.
After another day of non stop walking, we stopped at Japantown for some amazing food! We were so stuffed, do you SEE that caterpillar roll?!
At the Ferry Building right near the water there is this marketplace, and they sell all kinds of good local fruits and veggies and pastries. Inside there are even more stores, where they sell cheeses, meats, wines, fancy olive oils, mushrooms, even olive oil trees! We bought food here to make a nice meal, I wish I had taken a picture of it. Oh, and there was this woman in an antique store who talked with us and it was a great conversation, she was quite the character, with this great cultured voice, and she was from NY, as well!
Oh, this is me in the aquarium, these pictures are all out of order. I look frumpy because I am wearing as much as possible in order not to freeze to death.
You can spend days just exploring Golden Gate Park. I especially loved the Botanical Garden (free, unlike the NY Botanical Gardens), and they even have coastal redwood trees in it!! We were fascinated by this giant chicken and hen plant! Its bigger than my first manicure! I mean, my hand! In NY, these plants are sooooo tiny.
If you ever go to San Fran, be sure to check out the Palace of Fine Arts, if you are going to go over the Golden Gate Bridge, this is right near it. Its a great park, but there is also something called the Exploratorium there. Its like a museum full of science stuff for kids, but a bunch of us older peeps went together and we still had fun there for hours!
Originally, I wanted to bike over the Golden Gate Bridge, but looking at it from afar, I just imagined myself getting winded and stuck halfway across the bridge.
Luckily, we met up with friends who had a car and we just drove over it. Lovely views!
If you love to eat crab, Fisherman's Wharf is the place to be. You can sit down in a fancy restaurant and be served on fine china and use utensils shaped like mermaids, or you could find a more down to earth place, where one man will boil the crab in front of you, bust up the shell all over, and hand it to you in a dish with fries and sauce, unbelievably fast-a dinner and a show.
We did the latter and walked a few blocks to eat on the grass at this park near the water, down below Ghiradelli Square (we later meandered up there to snarf some chocolate and listen to a great street violinist).
Thats not everything, as we packed a bunch of activities into our time there. It was such a good time. People there are super nice and everyone looks so chic and so many people exercise. Even though I was freezing most of the time, San Fran can be a bit overpriced and touristy, and there were times when we had to walk up those infamous hills to get to places, it was all totally worth it.
I did have time to check out the local Goodwill (it was all right, nothing amazing), but I found, randomly, the best thrift store. I dragged my sweetie in there to find him clothing, ironically enough, and found a couple of cool things. I was in heaven, everything looked so amazing, though the prices were maybe slightly lower than brand new. The line was just crazy long and it was crowded with people, so I didn't really do anything but sort of peruse, which I sort of regret.
I kindof wished I had gotten at least one thing.
I think maybe if I were there alone, I would have braved it out more and fought with some chick over shoes or something. Oh well. But next time I go to San Fran, I know where to head to!
No comments:
Post a Comment