My birthday in San Francisco

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 besides that, obviously, I have no memories to recall. 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 and beautiful coastal towns.

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 malls with a decent selection of food.

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 Golden Gate) that took me into the city. Once there, the most noticeable aspect was the humidity.

Without further ado, here’s a summary of my 3-day trip itinerary!

Note: I switched phones after my trip and I lost many photos when doing the transfer!!  Some of these pictures are straight from Google, the last 3 are mine.

The Painted Ladies

 

These beautiful Victorian houses are located in Alamo Square. They’re the landmark for the Full House TV show. 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 countless movies and TV-shows, it was quite surreal to be standing right on it. The bridge is so whimsical and majestic, truly a piece of art that I can’t quite describe. It’s something you have to see for yourself. The weather forecast worked in my favor throughout the entire trip so there wasn’t the slightest bit of fog. The gorgeous blue sky permeated the city’s skyline and the beautiful white sailboats in the bay. The views were breathtakingly beautiful, 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 to the beautiful pagodas will put you in a tranquil state. 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 they provide 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.

 

China Town

 

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, China Town was a mandatory must-visit place that I had to check off my list —- take photos at the legendary China Town gate and stroll around the streets browsing the never-ending Chinese establishments: memorabilia stores, restaurants and massage joints.  After China Town, I walked all the way down to the Embarcadero waterfront. It’s an easy 20-minute walk downhill. On my way, I passed 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 down it. The place I stayed was only two blocks away so I drove up the steep hill and found parking nearby. It was a pretty good workout. 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, make sure your fitness level is up.

 

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 you didn’t feel cramped. There were also different pathways depending on how short you wanted your stroll to be. As I said earlier, this park provided beautiful views of San Francisco. If you ever find yourself in SF, I encourage you to drive to Berkley and take in the magnificent nature of the mountain ranges 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 into Apple, I drove to Mountain View where 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. Palo Alto is a nice upper-middle class college town. I had a great salad at SweetGreen in Downtown and walked around a little bit.

 

 

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 incredibly multicultural 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 at 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?