We started off our trip last Friday by hopping in the car and heading up the 5-North to Cupertino. Guess what? There is NOTHING between LA and San Fransisco. Literally. Nothing. It was pretty crazy. We did pass a lot of pretty yellow fields and a whole bunch of farms, but that was about it.
And then we turned the corner and rolled into the charming town of Cupertino. Our awesome friend and Apple intern, Steve, put us up for a couple of nights and took us out for dinner that night at Apple's main campus which was way too much fun. Don't worry we hid Dave's Android the whole time we were there, just in case.
It was a GORGEOUS campus and we felt so cool poking around and eating at their lovely Caffè Macs. Korean beef sliders and sweet potato fries? Yes please.
The next morning we got up early and hopped on the 280 towards San Fran. Dave, being characteristically awesome, found this great app that got us a parking spot all day for only $8.00! It was a sweet deal and I wish they had this service for LA for sure.
We started off at Union Square and took a trolley down to the wharf. When in San Fran, right? We couldn't resist, and the wait was only 30 minutes or so. Totally doable. And we met the most fabulous little couple from Louisiana in line in front of us. Definitely worth it. Steve and Dave got super lucky and got to ride the trolley hanging on the rails on the outside. Yes, I was jealous.
We headed down to Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39 next. Apparently San Fran is famous for their sourdough bread, who knew? But we tried some and it was delicious. A few sea lions, lots of fishy smells, and a few pictures later we headed down to Ghirardelli Square for free samples. Score baby score.
We were all over that wharf...
We headed up to Lombard Street next. And when I say up I do mean UP. A huge hill. Not surprising I guess, but seriously. It was huge. Good thing San Fran is gorgeous so it wasn't too bad.
Now let it be know: I love Lombard Street. I just think it's quirky and so much fun. Plus it's covered in hydrangea bushes, and I love hydrangea bushes. And that view? Perfect. I know the clouds cleared up right then just for us.
We headed downhill again then to North Beach, aka Little Italy, for lunch. We may have forgotten our San Fran tour book at home, but Dave remembered the most important part - where to eat. We passed a couple cute little touristy haunts and then found Mario's Cigar Shop and Cafe sitting quietly on a corner across the street from Washington Square park with a great view of Coit tower. It was a great find with fabulous help and meatball sandwiches. We weren't complaining, even about their tiny, itty bitty, little water closet bathroom. It was charming.
Next we walked through China Town to get back to our car. We had been in this fun urban San Fran all day and then all at once we were in Asia. It was hugely stark difference. All of sudden we were haggling for better prices and the streets were jam packed. It was organized chaos. But mostly chaos. The highlight was definitely the fortune cookie factory down Ross Alley. It looked totally sketch at first, but you get to watch the lady actually make the cookies and that was pretty awesome. PS - It is not wise to go into China Town without cash. Dually noted. We had to do some serious haggling to use the only two dollars I had with me.
I'm actually so glad we did so much walking around town. San Fran is such beautiful city and we had a great time footing it (even up those huge hills). Plus we burned off those *cough* 8 or so samples we got from Ghirardelli Square earlier *cough*cough*.
A must see for me was the Painted Ladies houses aka the Full House houses, and I'm so glad we made it over there. You just sit in this great park and can enjoy the view of the whole city. It was fabulous.
We lounged about enjoying the people picnicing and picture snapping around us for awhile...and then we saw that characteristic San Fran fog starting to creep back over again. It was time to hit the Golden Gate Bridge for sure.
The bridge is one of those purely touristy, hokey kind of things that are so great. The boys were content to park and see it from our vantage point, but I begged them to walk on it with me. Those good sports.
The view was fantastic, the walk was super windy & freezing (in August, people, August!), and it was great. We took shelter in the middle of the bridge, behind one of the huge pillars, and just watched these wind surfers tear up the bay. It was so fun. (PS Dave is not a huge fan of heights, please note how he intentionally placed himself furthest from the railing in every picture - we had a good laugh about it)
And then we called it a day - and what a day it was! We had so much fun and are already planning to come back. Many thanks to Stevo for following us around and being our personal photographer for the day. He was a trooper - you've trained him well Jarelle (we missed you!).
We were sad to go, but we'll be back San Fran! You can count on it.
1 comment:
looks like fun! san fran isnt too far from us here in sacramento! Is jarelle not with steven for his internship?!
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