If you've ever wanted to see 175 pictures of someone else's San Francisco vacation, today's your lucky day.
Kidding. Except not really... I went a little overboard with the photography on this trip. I just couldn't help it- there were so many cool views to capture! San Francisco is one of our new favorite cities. It is beautiful! So here's the rundown of our trip...
fair warning- it might be a minute before you're done looking through this post.
Lobby
Super swanky! I pretended for a second like I was a celebrity- okay maybe a long second.
Night shot (I was pretty proud of myself for this one- I'm getting better at using
my camera!)
The room:
Matt planning the day's events :)
View from our room- Matt got us an upgrade (for FREE!) just by asking- he pretty much does this everywhere we go and almost always gets it. It's like the front desk people just can't say no to him and his sweetness- he's got a gift. ;)
Fancy fancy!
Guess I didn't need to bring my Suave.
A walking tour of the city- first stop: Trader Joe's
haha, I know, a little strange. But I heard you could bring your own wine to dinner, so we stopped in and got a fancy $5 bottle of wine ;) to have for our dinner that night! And Trader Joe's did start in California, so we can pretend like we went into the very first one so it feels more sight-seeing-ish.
Next stop: Lombard Street
That's Alcatraz in the background.
The best angle of this cool windy street is
here.
In-N-Out Burger:
It was around this point that Matt and I started to get a little cranky hungry, so we started looking for the perfect spot to enjoy our first fancy meal in San Fran. That's when we came across this place.
Done.
Who needs fancy when you can have amazing?
It's worth mentioning that is was 3:30 San Fran time and the place was this crowded.
Two thumbs up for sure. DeLISH!
Fisherman's Wharf:
We were strolling along the pier when we heard a girl singing from inside this bar. She sounded amazing! So we sat down and enjoyed a little Final Four action on the TV while we listened to her play. And then we started back on our own little walking tour...
...too bad we didn't get one of these bad boys- not sure why they are so funny to me?!
Alcatraz and Matt
Heading into the pier
We stopped and watched a cool street show.
And then got my hubby some more food at
Boudin- Clam Chowder in a fresh-made sourdough bowl
Tour of Alcatraz:
This was really cool! I know I tend to love anything museum-related, but I really think anyone would enjoy this tour. You just have to make sure you order your tickets far in advance of your trip because they only take so many passengers per day, and it sells out fast!
Such a cute tourist ;)
The only downside of the tour was that this was the only part of our trip that was overcast and frigid- so the pictures of San Fran from the island aren't great. Thankfully, it cleared up and warmed up about an hour later and turned into a really pretty day!
Brunch at Nob Hill Cafe:
This place was right near our hotel. It had great service and a delicious brunch menu!
Cable Car Ride:
Funny story, we were torn between whether we wanted to take a ferry into Sausalito or take a bus out to Golden Gate Park with a stop at the Full House house. We weren't entirely sure which cable car to get on so Sausalito it was!
Action Shots
Operation: Don't drop the phone
Sausalito:
Meet Ray and Kelsey.
We met them waiting in line for the ferry and ended up spending the day with them in Sausalito!
Ray and his dog, Dude, taking a walk to the water- how pretty is this place?!
Time to head back...
Ray is a musician in Texas- His band is called the
Ray Johnston Band. Their music is great- check them out! Ray also has a pretty incredible story that you can check out
here.
The Sea Lions: (Yes, they get their own section)
Getting closer!
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Not sure- other than this is quite possibly my reaction to the sea lions. It was a highlight for me.
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Where you can find the Sea Lions, in case you're interested. ;) And that's Alcatraz in the background.
Matt and I ate
here for dinner that night- this was the BYOW place. Very tasty and a great view of the water!
Vista Point, Napa Valley, Muir Woods, and Giants Game Day:
Yes, we are crazy.
We walked to breakfast at
Honey Honey before making our way to Napa.
This is the first time we ever rented a car on a trip- kinda wish we splurged for the Range, but I guess the "give us whatever will get us there" request didn't scream "Range Rover-type", so we ended up with a little Nissan instead- which was perfectly fine and practical. Seriously might have dropped the cash though if I knew if was an option. Man I love those cars.
View driving out of the city
Driving over the Golden Gate Bridge!
We stopped off at Vista Point to have a photo-shoot take in the views.
Castello di Amorosa:
Castello di Amorosa was highlighted on Jake's season of
The Bachelor. This may or may not have been the main reason why we chose to go here.
However, it also happens to be one of the most visited wineries in Napa. I highly recommend it!
Matt sitting on the well that leads to the dungeon. They built the winery like a true European Castle- torture chamber and all. Very odd and interesting!
Barrel Tasting
This little friend was waiting for us outside- what is that?! That's its little face looking back at the camera- haha!
Muir Woods:
This was really pretty cool. If you go in the evening, admission is free. We didn't know that, just got lucky. :) ...We were a little pressed for time, so we didn't walk through the entire park, but I would definitely recommend it! The drive up to the starting point is really pretty too. It's a
Honey I Shrunk the Kids meets
Bridge to Terabithia kind of experience. Definitely worth a visit!
Not sure if you can really tell the size of the tree behind me- the answer is massive.
Giants Game at AT&T Park:
Matt and I have decided we're secret Giants fans now. Seriously, I wish Braves' fans were as cool as Giants' fans. It was the fourth game of the season, a Monday night, and the place was PACKED! Apparently they've sold out the park for 162 games in a row. Everyone was in their full-on Giants' gear and into every play. We were seriously laughing at how awesome the fan reaction was to strike outs and double-plays. It was like we were at a playoff game or something!
That little 62 is the number of home runs that have landed in the Bay since the park opened. We got to see #63!
View from the back of the stadium- overlooking the Bay and the city
Packed house
There's a dock for boats for people who come to the game by water- so cool!
