San Francisco- Upscale Bohemian Ambiance
San Francisco History
The Chinese fortune cookie was invented by a Japanese resident of San Francisco.
In 1906, the city was destroyed by a fire and an earthquake. Denim jeans were invented in San Francisco by Levi Strauss.
Largest Chinatown outside of Asia and the oldest in North America.
The color of the Golden Gate bridge is called International Orange.
Not only is San Francisco referred to as “Fog City”, but the fog itself also has a nickname- Karl.
Lombard St. is the worlds crookedest street.
My husband and I have made it a point to travel internationally for our anniversary every year. Insert COVID-19, AKA "Co-V-D" as my Grandma would say (lol).
We traveled during October of last year and at the time international travel was mostly banned, so we decided to celebrate stateside.
I hadn't been to San Francisco since my late teens, and he'd never been so it was still a pretty new experience for us. We were there for four days and stayed at the Marriot downtown/ Union Square.
Downtown (like in most cities) is usually where you can see pretty clearly the wealth disparities between the "Haves" and the "Have Nots". As it was, the same could be seen here. However... what was different here was that it felt like there was a level of acceptance and welcome with regard to the city's counter culture- a slightly harmonious existence if you will.
((PRO TIP AND SIDEBAR ALERT))
PRO TIP:
Take the weather report and throw it out the window!! SF tends to have what are called micro climates- meaning you can be in one part of the city and the weather be hot, and another area and it be foggy and cold. Your best bet is to dress in mixed layers (short sleeves with sweaters/long sleeved outer layer, etc...) You can start your day expecting pleasant cooler weather (just depends on what Karl brings in I suppose) and end up sweating in 90 degrees by the end of the day (speaking from my own personal experience here...and this was in October!).
SIDEBAR:
Stay ready so you don’t have to get ready- wear your layers! Take it from me... you won’t regret it!
With that said, let me leave you with a digestible list of my favorite things to do while in San Fran.
Top 5 Things to do in San Francisco
Walk (if you’re eco-inclined) or take a ride down the world’s crookedest street- Lombard St.
Take a ferry around the Bay for views of Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay Bridge
Chinatown- need I say more?!
Take a ride on the Cable Car (which unfortunately was not running during our trip, but have recently returned and are in service as of August 2021).
Visit the Ferry Building Marketplace for local eats, shops and their weekly farmers market.
Most Honorable Mention- Barbary Coast Dispensary.
Small fact about my husband and I, and I don’t say this lightly… We tend to accidentally come up on experiences that are the best of the best and this dispensary was IT! There are plenty of dispensaries that tend to have more of an industrial feel and not present themselves as welcoming. This place was like nothing I’ve ever seen. It was warm, it was sexy, it was inviting (I LOVED IT!) They also had a wide range of products at great prices and daily specials.
Not a crazy, packed out and super eventful trip but nonetheless relaxing and beautiful. If not for Covid and time of course, there would have been so much more ground to cover (say for instance having a picnic on Baker Beach or making our way to Twin Peaks for breathtaking views of the Bay Area. I guess we’ll just have to go back sometime soon 😏🥰.
Have you guys visited? What were your favorite places or other recommendations? Let me know your thoughts and experiences in the comments below, and check out part two of our trip (Napa Valley) in the next blog.