I really enjoy traveling to new placing and exploring new cities!
Two weekends ago, I traveled to San Francisco for the first time with three other friends to celebrate my friend Lacey’s 30th birthday!
Me, Lacey, Bridget, Anna
We flew in late Thursday night, so we didn’t have time to do anything. Friday morning I got up and went running along the bay, which was incredible. After getting ready, we started the day with an amazing breakfast. The restaurant was located on one of the piers, but I don’t recall which one.
Naturally we grabbed coffee from Blue Bottle Coffee Co. afterward. This was by far the best coffee I have ever had. It was so smooth and the perfect level of boldness. I really like Kaladi Bros. in Anchorage, but I am getting tired of it, so it was nice to change up my coffee palate.
With our coffee and pastries in hand (I had some biscotti, which was so crispy and crunchy!), we walked the boardwalk, saw all the sailboats racing in the American’s Cup. Then a stop at Pier 39—very touristy but still fun to walk through. 
Of course we had to check out the sea lions. They crack me up with how lethargic they are, literally crawling over each other. 
By this time we had worked up an appetite, so we stopped at Boudin’s for lunch. One cannot go to San Francisco without eating sourdough bread!
Anna had made reservations at Tcho Chocolate for tours of the factory and some chocolate tasting.
We didn’t know we were supposed to wear closed-toe shoes, so we had to borrow their clogs. 
Hair nets were also required, but we had fun making fun of ourselves.
Lacey, Bridget, Anna, and myself 
We didn’t have much pre-planned prior to going on this trip. I literally bought my ticket and showed up with no plans. (Anna was kind enough to book a hotel, but other than that, we pretty much flew by the seat of our pants, which was quite liberating for this planner.)
Friday afternoon we bought tickets to a hop-on/hop-off tour, which was a great way to get around downtown (instead of paying for a taxi or taking public transportation), plus we were able to see a lot of the iconic sights in San Francisco. 
Things I learned on the bus tour:
– People from San Francisco never referred to it as “Frisco.” It is either “San Francisco” or “The City.”
– SF is a mecca for shopping
– China town was not what I was expecting
– Housing is very expensive. 
Labeled “the most beautiful and esthetically-pleasing bridge in the world” the Golden Gate Bridge. Yes, we did take a ride across it. 
Friday evening we ate at The Slanted Door, which was recommended by two different tour guides, so we were pretty confident it would be good.
Good was an understatement. These were by far the best spring rolls I have ever had and that soup was also to die for. 
Saturday morning we had reservations for a brunch cruise through the bay. It was a glorious morning for it too.
Lacey, Anna, Bridget, and myself 
There was so much food on the boat: breakfast foods, pastries galore, salads, fruit, and bottomless mimosas. 
Beautiful views of the downtown area, Alcatraz, tons of sailboats, and the Golden Gate Bridge. 
Attempting to take a nice picture on the windy boat. 
Our tickets for the hop-on/hop-off tour were good for Saturday as well, so we stopped at some of the iconic sights including the Full House houses! Full House was by far my favorite TV show growing up. I’m positive I have seen every episode and the only time I remember crying while watching a TV show or movie was during an episode Uncle Jesse started crying.
Cut, It, Out!!!
Saturday night we enjoyed dinner at a very nice Italian restaurant and then got ice cream at Smitten Ice Cream, which was the smoothest, creamiest ice cream I’ve ever had. 
This place uses liquid nitrogen to free the ice cream, which freezes it much more quickly reducing the size of the ice crystals thus making super smooth ice cream. 
Our last night in the city ended with a trolley ride. One cannot go to San Francisco without riding one of the trolley cars!
The driver was a hoot cracking jokes the entire time and making the ride that much more fun. 
Our weekend together came to a close all too soon, but I am thankful for the time together with friends who you connect with even if you only see them every couple of years!!
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Questions
What was the last new place you traveled to?
What is one place you’d like to travel to?
I had to visit that park on my first trip to SF too. Did you know the house from the TV show isn’t one of the Painted Ladies adjacent to that park? It is in a different part of the city altogether and the owner stopped painting the door red because they didn’t like all the people coming and taking photos on their steps. Looks like you had great weather and a wonderful trip 🙂
I figured the actual house in the FH intro wasn’t one of those houses. Kind of sad, but still cool to see that style of houses.
What a great trip sounds like fun I have never been to SF so that would be a place I would like to go. Someday. Happy running this week.
What a fun trip!! I love the sea lions. The last place we traveled too was Washington DC. It was super fun but I’m not a huge city person. I really want to visit the pacific north west so Washington or Oregon! I”m so glad you had fun!
I love OR and WA!!
Sounds like you had a lot of fun!! Great that you could get away with girlfriends.
It was a lot of fun!
looks like a fabulous trip! now i have the full house theme song in my head. haha!
Ahhh what fun! I miss the West Coast soooo so much. Looks like you hit all the good spots!
Thanks for sharing your trip photos! Loved them! SF is one of my favorites! The bus tours really are a great way to see a new city. We did one in Barcelona and saw a lot of things that we wouldn’t have normally got to see. I am glad the weather cooperated and you got to see the Golden Gate Bridge. During my entire first trip to SF, the bridge was shrouded in fog! We never did see it on that trip! I have been back since and saw it but my poor husband hasn’t. Oh well, it just gives us another reason to plan a return trip together!! 🙂
Ha ha ha! I love the “cut it out” Full House photo – harkening back to my TGI Friday childhood. Great post. San Francisco is one of my favorite cities in the country – great food, great art – so much to see. Looks great. Good luck at the Kenai Marathon, too! I did the Big. Wild. Life. in August and that was plenty of marathon for this chick! 🙂