If you live in LA, you know how overwhelming it can get at times. I needed a change of scenery, so I decided to celebrate my birthday in San Francisco.
The only other time I had been to San Francisco was when I was 3 years old. There’s a picture of me and my dad on the Golden Gate Bridge, but obviously, I have no memories or experiences to recount. On this trip, I was lucky enough to stay at my ex-boss’s friend’s beautiful apartment in the city without breaking the bank. Good luck finding a deal in a reasonably good area of San Francisco for less than $300 a day. I really lucked out!
First of all, had I stayed in San Francisco for more days, I definitely would have opted for the longer route, Highway 1, which provides the most spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean with beautiful charming coastal towns along the way.
Due to the shortness of my trip, I had to go for the fastest and most boring route. As a sucker for scenic drives, the I-5 is the least scenic road trip drive I’ve ever taken. The drive was very plain: just harvested fields, rolling hills covered in wheat and lots of trucks. There also weren’t any strip malls with a decent food selection.
Finally, after a five-hour drive, I was welcomed to the city by the beautiful white lit up Bay Bridge (not to be confused with the Golden Gate Bridge) that took me into the city. Once I was there, the most noticeable things were the fog and humidity.
Without further ado, here’s a summary of my 3-day trip itinerary!
Note: I switched phones after my trip and I lost a bunch photos when doing the transfer!! 🙁 Some of these pictures were taken off Google, the last 3 are mine. 🙁
The Painted Ladies
These beautiful Victorian houses are located in Alamo Square. One of the houses was used for the exterior shots for one of the most popular sitcoms of all time, Full House. This spot fully captures the essence of San Francisco’s signature architecture. If you walk down the street, you will keep stumbling upon more gorgeous and brightly colored Victorian houses, each with a distinct character that makes this type of architecture so remarkable.
The view from the top of the hill in Alamo Sq is simply breathtaking, with the Downtown skyline of SF and the ever-present Golden Gate and Bay Bridges.
Golden Gate Bridge
I had the opportunity to walk across this iconic landmark on my birthday. After seeing this bridge in movies and TV-shows countless times, it was quite surreal to be standing right on it. The bridge is so tall and majestic, it truly is an engineering masterpiece. Except for the first day, the weather worked in my favor throughout trip so there was no fog. The city’s skyline and the white sailboats in the bay against the striking blue sky was a gorgeous view, straight off of a postcard. It was such an unforgettable experience.
It took me 38 minutes round-trip to cross it walking at a fast pace.
Japanese Tea Garden
This place is a treasure. Everything is meticulously taken care of. The lush green bonsai trees and Zen gardens, the Buddha statue, the Koi pond with its stone pathways that lead to the beautiful pagodas will calm your mind. Because the place is not big, it won’t take you long to walk through it. Take your time to appreciate the surroundings. There is also a Japanese tea store where they sell traditional Japanese merchandise alongside the restaurant, where you’ll find a plethora of teas and snacks of your choice.
Twin Peaks
A beautiful lookout spot. Here, you will get a 360-degree view of the city. It’s incredibly windy and chilly due to the altitude, so make sure to bring a jacket. Use common sense: lock your car and don’t leave your valuables in sight. From what I could glean online, this place is famous for car break-ins. Also, make sure you go during the day.
Chinatown
I came here from Union Square. It’s a very busy area and not as big as I expected. Obviously, like any tourist in San Francisco, Chinatown was a mandatory place that I had to check off my list —- take photos at the legendary Chinatown gate and stroll around the streets browsing the never-ending Chinese establishments: memorabilia stores, restaurants and massage joints. After Chinatown, I walked all the way down to the Embarcadero waterfront. It’s an easy 20-minute walk downhill. On my way, I walked by the beautiful Transamerica Pyramid building.
Lombard Street
Beautiful! Although can’t imagine the hassle it must be to live there (pretty much like living next to the Hollywood sign) I didn’t venture to drive on it. The place I stayed was only two blocks away, so I drove up the steep hill and found parking nearby. Get there early and snap a photo of yourself among the sea of tourists holding their selfie sticks. If you’re going to park at the top before getting to the street, know that you’ll get a pretty good workout in.
Cesar Chavez Park in Berkley
Beautiful views of San Francisco. Berkley is the true epitome of Northern California: beautiful redwood trees and landscapes.
The stroll was quiet and calming. There were joggers and walkers with pets but it didn’t feel cramped. There were also different pathways depending on how short you wanted your stroll to be. If you ever find yourself in SF, I encourage you to drive to Berkley and take in the magnificent nature of the mountains and the marina. Berkeley is also home to UC Berkeley, one of the most prestigious universities in the world.
Silicon Valley
Located south of San Francisco, Silicon Valley is the home of global technologies and start-up companies. I went to Cupertino, Mountain View and Palo Alto.
I was super disappointed to find out Apple doesn’t allow visitors on the Infinite Loop unless you’re affiliated with the workers. Only family or friends were allowed, however you still can visit the Apple store next door. After my failed attempt to get in, I drove to Mountain View, where the Google headquarters are located. It has a visitor center, but there wasn’t much to see other than the cute Android statues in the playground and a merchandise store. They also had an outdoor area with colored chairs representing Google’s signature color letters. In this area, workers spent their downtime and lunch time. The only way you could get inside the buffet restaurant was with an employee badge that you scanned at the door. So I went to Sweetgreen in Downtown Mountain View, where I had a great salad and walked around for a little bit afterwards. Besides being home to the most important tech companies in the world, Palo Alto is a nice upper-middle class college town.
Here concludes the summary of my trip! All in all, San Francisco is a very vibrant and eclectic city. It rightfully prides itself on having an ethnically diverse population, an outstanding cultural scene for art and opera lovers, and one of the best food scenes in the world. However, the weather and the topography (having to walk the Mount Everest on every street corner) are huge drawbacks that deter me from ever moving there.
Have you been to San Francisco? What’s a highlight that you want to share?