A First World Problem whinge – and we promise it will be short – our day started super early after spending the night at a hotel in Queens that hasn’t been redecorated since the year of George’s birth – and it was a stay that lasted for less than 8 hours, as we arrived in NYC at 10pm. So the 5.30am wake-up following by the taxi-ride to the airport from hell at 6am NYC time (3am San Francisco time) was the start of a very long day.
George: Nat, you’re going to absolutely love San Francisco.
Nat: George, I’m sure it’s lovely but nothing is going to beat New York… or Disneyland…
(2 hours after arriving in San Francisco)
Nat: George, can we live here?
George: Sure, my beautiful wife. Whatever you want!
Okay – so maybe that’s not exactly how the conversation went, but San Francisco was certainly the biggest, and most pleasant surprise of the entire trip. I wasn’t sure what to expect from San Francisco, so when I was greeted with a beautiful, dynamic and friendly hub of amazing restaurants, shopping, history and culture I was left somewhat gobsmacked.
Local trivia: Don’t call it ‘San Fran’. It’s either ‘San Francisco’ or ‘SF’ for short. Or else, you’re a disrespectful, bogan tourist.
Naturally, the first port of call for my introductory afternoon to this marvellous city, after picking up our car (a very large Infiniti SUV, required for the almost 200 pounds of luggage we are currently lugging around with us) and checking in at the gorgeous Clift Hotel, was the Golden Gate Bridge – which is as imposing as it is an absolute architectural and structural marvel. Just don’t think about the fact that it’s being held up by cables.
At the end of the bridge is a lookout point with spectacular views of the bay and city skyline. So technically, we managed to see ALL of San Francisco in our first 2 hours. (Nat: I’m so punny).
While we were on the other side of the bay, ‘George’s Sight-seeing Tours of SF’ commenced with a drive to Sausalito (Sausalito: What would happen if Maling Road and Brighton Beach had a love-child on steroids), to wander through the plethora of shops, quaint and quirky before jumping back in the car for the 2nd tour for the day: ‘Nat’s Googled Tour of Famous TV/Movie Filming Locations’.
It is only appropriate at this point that Nat has a small rant about the roads in San Francisco. Think of the steepest road you have ever driven up (for example, Prospect St, Mt Waverley for those playing at home). Now, increase the gradient by a multiple of 10; extend the length of the street over several kilometres; and apply this to every. single. street. running North/South.
Honestly, I felt more nauseous driving up and down those streets, than I did on any roller-coaster at Disneyland (Hollywood Tower of Terror not included).
And for a road-accidents lawyer, once you add in the the ‘4-way stop’ intersections (where the first car to arrive at the intersection, is the first to have the right of way); the tram-car with NO RAILINGS ON ONE SIDE SO PEOPLE LITERALLY HANG OUT OVER THE ROAD; I was in a public liability/road traffic accident compensation nightmare world.
So, ridiculous road gradients aside, we hummed the theme song to ‘Full House’ and headed to Alamo Square – the beautiful park where John Stamos, toddler-aged Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen (and the rest of the now unknown cast of Full House) frolicked in the opening credits of the TV show.
The park sits atop a hill with great views of the entire city, in a square surrounded by quintessential San Franciscan residential architecture- perfectly manicured, Victorian, Tudor & Edwardian style houses.
The gorgeous, colourful houses that features in the credits, and are also one of San Francisco’s favourite tourist spots are known as ‘The Painted Ladies’ – perfectly color-coordinated Victorian homes, sitting along the sloped road.
All this 1990s TV nostalgia was making us hungry, so we headed to Capannina on Union Street (another vintage, quirky, gorgeous street). One of the talents that Nat has continued to hone in on while on this trip, has been her restaurant selection. Poring over food sites & local blogs has meant that we haven’t been led astray into any tourist traps or below-average, pricey restaurants; and tonight was no different.
We managed to book and snag the last table at Capannina, which is a local Italian gem. The black squid ink risotto, braised beef tortelloni and lamb cutlets with gnocchi were incredible and we were busting at the seams (as some of our jeans are starting to do, thanks to dining experiences such as these…)
So obviously, it was only appropriate that at this stage George took Nat to Lombard St. Let’s just say this: Lombard St isn’t just one of those horrible SF MF steep roads; it is also incredibly windy. For ease of your imaginations, we have included a Google Maps photo. Unfortunately at the time George was subjecting Nat to this road, she was trying to hold on to her dinner instead of taking photographs.
But he made it up to her with a trip to Bi-Rite Ice-Creamery (another food blog discovery); where, for the FIRST time in SF, we waited in a queue. Well truth be told, George waited in the queue while Nat napped in the car. Isn’t married life grand?
The vanilla-malted, peanut brittle with milk chocolate chunk ice-cream: INCREDIBLE.
After a pretty packed first day, it was nice to retreat to a super comfortable bed to catch up on some sleep.
Day Two: Escape from Alcatraz
Our first full day in San Francisco was even more impressive – starting with the stunning weather – not a cloud to be seen. So naturally, our first point of exploration: Alcatraz. We were on the early-bird ferry, to avoid some of the crowds and to make the most of our days in SF. The history and exploration of this iconic island – not only a prison, but also a protected National Park and home to unique wildlife.
And yes, we saw how the great ‘escape’ of 1962 occurred as well…
After we managed to escape from the island, we took the opportunity to stroll through Fisherman’s Wharf and Pier 39, the beautiful, historial waterfront area facing San Francisco Bay. Walking around one of the curves on the pier, and all I could hear was the sound of seals playing. Yes, the sea lions at the San Francisco marina, sunning themselves only metres from the shops and dining areas – an attraction in San Francisco since the 1989 earthquake, which caused the seals to migrate toward the Bay.
We enjoyed strolling in the sun toward Ghiradelli Square (the birth-place of the unbelievable Ghiradelli Chocolate brand), where we had lunch at Lori’s Diner (straight out of the 1950s. Insert Grease renditions here) – burgers & soda, obviously; before dessert at the Ghiradelli shop – salted caramel hot chocolate, and chocolate dipped strawberries, anyone?
After the food coma kicked in, and we were ready to start heading home, our final stop was at the Ferry Building Marketplace – a beautiful indoor marketplace full of stunning artisan shops – including a store that sold nothing but mushrooms & truffles; delicatessens, cheese shops and Nat’s favourite: Miette Patisserie – one of San Francisco’s darling bakeries full of macarons, chocolate tarts, cupcakes and biscuits (And surprise, surprise, Nat had their cookbook at home….)
And the icing on our cake for the day: snagging a table at Aziza, the first Moroccan restaurant to attain a Michelin-star. 3-hours and 10 phenomenal tasting-courses later, we were truly able to appreciate the amazing offerings of San Francisco.
Day Three
After starting our day at San Francisco breakfast institution – Sear’s Fine Food – it was time to expend the energy from our Swedish pancakes, at the huge array of shops in Union Square. After a fruitful trip to Levi’s, George headed off for an afternoon of nerdy escapades with his old friend Aron – in other words, cruising around Google & Apple headquarters in Silicon Valley.
All the while, Nat wandered throughout the city – stopping to sit in Yerba Buena Park and enjoy the clear skies, and warm, sunny weather while watching the Martin Luther King Jnr waterfall cascade in the background. She then headed to Sephora (the best cosmetics store in the US & Europe) to redeem a free makeover she received as part of her promotion to ‘VIB’ status. For those not on Facebook, a short recap: never trust a drag queen who insists on peach eyeshadow, blush and lipstick… to match my peach and white top.
The next stop: Running to the world’s largest Target (5 levels high) around the corner, straight into the restrooms to remove the last 30 minutes of my life that I’d never get back.
The only appropriate therapy from this experience? Heading to the Chanel counter at Saks Fifth Avenue, for a mini facial and makeover. One small final stimulus to the US economy (George: if you can call 10 items of make-up small), I headed home to wait for George to return from his escapades.
Thanks to a recommendation from a friend back in Melbourne, we snagged a table at Mamacita – and similar to it’s doppelganger in Melbourne – it was the best Mexican food we’d eaten! (Food highlight: Pulled pork tacos). The best part of dinner however, was our celebrity sighting… Elisa Donovan a.k.a Amber from Clueless or Cambi (the red-head) from The Night at the Roxbury. We played it cool, sitting two tables away from the 1990s B-grade celebrity, but it was still pretty exciting nonetheless.
And in the spirit of celebrities, our last after-dinner cruise in SF took place seeing the actual house used as the frontage in Full House, and just around the corner, the house used in Mrs Doubtfire. Again with the steep, winding streets…. (The only downside so far in San Francisco…) which led us to The Presidio – the National Park and ex-military base, spanning over 3 square miles containing luscious forests, beaches, a golf course and most importantly, hills that offer stunning views of San Francisco – which were even more incredible at night-time.
Ah, San Francisco – is there nothing you can’t do?
Our Last Day
After a long leisurely morning walk down to the Bay, we spent our last morning in SF relaxing. While George had a coffee with his international work colleagues from ‘Lookout’ – while Nat had a much-needed manicure and pedicure.
We loaded the car full of our luggage, bid goodbye to the beautiful city of San Francisco, drove up some more winding roads to Twin Peaks Boulevard for possibly the best views of any city we have ever seen (Kudos to the Lookout boys for giving George the tip to go there) before we drove the long, expansive freeways down to Stanford University and the gorgeous town of Palo Alto.
The last stop; the airport. *Sniff* Nat is pretty convinced that we should live here one day…
