After our wedding in June, Kevin and I headed to the west coast for our Honeymoon! We decided that we wanted to visit San Francisco for a few days then rent a car and drive into Napa Valley. I would recommend this trip to ANYONE – what a fantastic vacation!
Once we landed in San Francisco, Kevin had arranged for a shuttle to take us to our hotel near Fisherman’s Wharf. A cab would have costed around $45 (one-way!). The shuttle took longer than a taxi would have, but it was neat to see different areas of the city. We stayed at the Holiday Inn-Fisherman’s Wharf. Kevin and I frequently stay at Holiday Inn’s and Marriott’s because we use reward points from Kevin’s work travel. The hotel was walking distance from Fisherman’s Wharf. When we visit San Francisco again, we will not spend any time at Fisherman’s Wharf…it was extremely “tourist-y” and kind of….dirty. There are many souvenir shops and restaurants. It was good to see. but once is enough for us! Boudin’s Bakery was by far the best place we found on the wharf, and we thoroughly enjoyed the fresh sourdough bread.
A highlight of our trip to San Francisco was Alcatraz Island. Tickets were SOLD OUT when we got there, so Kevin and I were VERY glad we made reservations for the ferry a couple of weeks in advance. The cost of a ticket is $28 per person. The boat ride was pretty short – about 15 minutes. Then you are given an opportunity for a self-guided tour around the island. If you are at all interested in history Alcatraz is a MUST SEE and worth the money!!
That evening we decided to head into Chinatown for some good eats and shopping. The Oriental Pearl was recommended to us and it was a great choice! The food was very good and reasonably priced. We took a cab to and from Chinatown from our hotel. I avoided those steep hills at all costs!
Some other great places we visited while in San Francisco were:
*The Tonga Room in the basement of the Fairmont hotel. This tiki bar is definitely on our list to visit again!
*The Buena Vista Cafe. The best Irish coffee in town.
*Ghirardelli Sqaure. For the chocolate lover in all of us!
*Grace Cathedral. An iconic church on Nob Hill.
*The Painted Ladies. Reminds me of Full House!
Overall, San Francisco is a place we’d love to go back to, to explore areas that are frequented by locals, rather than tourists. For those of you visiting San Francisco, keep in mind that the weather is cool – even in the summer. Kevin and I had to wear jackets and jeans in July. Because of foggy weather, we were unable to see the Golden Gate Bridge for several days…but once we saw it, WHAT A SIGHT TO SEE! As a recommendation, I would not count on using the cable cars. They are for tourists and extremely inconvenient! Kevin and I were disappointed that we had to wait in line over 2 hours just to ride one for a few blocks. Had we known the cable cars would be such a pain, we would have researched other modes of transportation.
All Our Bags Are Packed 