Tuesday 4th Febrary
Waking up in San Francisco yesterday we were excited to go and explore this beautiful city! Our Air BnB host Saundra had a book of recommendations of places to go for coffee and food, so we decided to walk to one close by. We really enjoyed the walk in the crisp morning through the San-Francicso-esque streets (steep) and houses (thin, colourful, multi-storey townhouses), to the trendy café we chose for a coffee and croissant. We got chatting to a lady when we asked for directions, who works at Salesforce (of course, as there is a huge tower in San Fran entirely dedicated to Salesforce, and also being so close to Silicon Valley which is the global hub for all things tech). The surrounding suburbs to our Air BnB have quite a young demographic, and are very hip, happening, and trendy (with lots of options for a decent espresso coffee) – so quite like Sydney or Melbourne. Interestingly, it seems that most places you have to ‘bust’ your own table and out your dishes away once you are done.
After breakfast we returned the hire car and took an Uber to the Ferry Building, which has a ‘marketplace’ of artisan foods inside. After wandering through it we walked along the waterfront and checked out Pier 39 (and the sea lions) and Fisherman’s Wharf. Being tourists and not ashamed of it, we bought a ticket for the traditional cable cars which San Fran is famous for, and which you can stand off the side of (which I did!). We really enjoyed this ride through the city, with the (literal) conductor being very fun and entertaining (our other cable car driver was nowhere near as good).
For lunch we headed to Swan Oyster Depot, a highly-rated local, family-owned, tiny seafood restaurant. As expected, we had to line up outside for a seat. We soon found out it was cash only, so tried to get cash out with no luck. The bank said we needed our passport. So off we went back to the Air BnB via an uber to get our passports. Back at the bank, we finally got cash out (hurrah) and lined up again for a seat at the 18-place bar of Swan Oyster Depot. By the time we were seated it was after 3pm, but we persevered because the reviews of this place were just too good. And we weren’t disappointed. We were served by one of the owners (an older gentleman) who was quite a character. On his recommendation we had half a dozen oysters, bread and butter, smoked salmon on bread with capers and onions, different types of sashimi including scallops, tuna, salmon and eel, a salad with crab, prawns and shrimp, and chowder (plus wine). A delicious and very authentic way to appreciate seafood in San Francisco.
By the time we had finished ‘lunch’ it was about 4pm so we got in an uber and headed to Battery Spencer lookout over the Golden Gate Bridge where we witnessed the most spectacular sunset. We were very fortunate in that a.) it wasn’t foggy like it normally is and b.) that the sunset was so spectacular. The Golden Gate bridge is spectacular. Definitely a highlight of our day. We then walked back over the Golden Gate bridge and caught a bus and train back to our Air BnB. The day was quite chilly but as soon as the sun set it was feeling fresh and we were looking forward to a warm bed! We had a late dinner at the same place we went the night before, a Mexican place called the Little Chihuahua, where we enjoyed amazing (and cheap) Mexican food, again at the recommendation of our Air BnB host Saundra.
Wednesday 5th February
Today I had a sleep in while Michael got up early to do a 27km run to the Golden Gate bridge and bac to our Air BnB, which he said he really enjoyed. After he got back and had a shower, we headed out to a different coffee shop in the same area as the other place we visited yesterday. It was called the Mill and it had great coffee, avocado on toast and an almond croissant (we felt right at home as these are often part of our weekend breakfasts).
After breakfast we headed to the painted ladies (a famous row of beautiful, Victorian-style townhouses next to a park overlooking the city) and enjoyed sitting in the park with the great views for a little while. We then spent some time walking the streets of the suburbs around San Fran, admiring the fun and colourful houses. Today’s weather was a little brisk but not as cold as yesterday. Very enjoyable walking weather. Before heading to the airport we ducked into a corner store and bought some sandwiches and juice and enjoyed them in the park near our Air BnB. Saundra was nice enough to let us leave our bags at the Air BnB after check out time, so we ducked back to pick them up before getting an uber to the airport.
We both really enjoyed San Francisco. We enjoyed the more touristy aspects but also living (briefly) as a bit of a local, largely due to where our Air BnB is situated. Our Air BnB host Saundra was excellent and we really enjoyed the experience of staying in a typical (or probably more up market than typical) San Fran townhouse. This one was about three levels and we were staying on the top level.
Our flight was delayed by an hour, but that wasn’t a problem because I quickly realised Delta is partnered with Virgin so we went in to the lounge (the perks of regular travel strike again). We are now three hours into the five our flight, approaching flying over Chicago. We are excited to experience the iconic Big Apple tomorrow (after a sleep in, considering our flight lands at 1:30am NY local time)!
Fell's United States Trip 2020 