San Francisco is an intoxicating city. We have been twice, the first time was for our baby moon before Leon was born and the second was last summer for our cousins wedding. There is so much to do in this city and one of the best ways to see it is by bike! Our first day, we rented bikes along the embarcadero and rode through Fishermans Warf along the water to the Golden Gate Bridge. It was a long ride but very easy. Oh, and I was 6 months pregnant so if I can do it, you can do it ;)
After the Golden Gate, we continued our bike ride into Sausalito, a cute little town with great shops and restaurants. We lunched at the Trident restaurant and had mussels and clam chowder while overlooking the bay. We walked around town and did some window shopping before taking the ferry back to San Francisco.
Our second day was rainy but we managed to pack a lot in. We headed to China Town to have lunch and walk around. There is nothing better than a family style lunch passing around dumplings, noodles, and vegetables, I am getting hungry just thinking about it!
Haight Ashbury was everything you have heard it to be, imagined it to be, and wished it to be. We had our cab driver drop us off in this neighborhood and within 10 minutes of walking around, we watched 2 people buy weed on the street and smelled weed absolutely everywhere. And then, as I was coming out of a very 60's store, looked across the street saw an old man walking down the street NAKED with socks on his feet and a sock on his you know what and a purse! I thought it was ironic he was carrying a purse...maybe if he wore pants he wouldn't need a purse to carry around his money and keys.
We took in the culture of Haight Ashbury and ended up finding a great bar that felt like it had been there since the 60's. I could have sat there and listened to music and people watched all day but I was pregnant and sober so I could only people watch for so long.
The Alcatraz was next on our list and it did not disappoint. This island has such a creepy feel, especially on a cloudy, rainy day. The Alcatraz Island was originally used as a military base in the mid 1800's and was later used as a Federal Penitentiary. Arguably the most famous prisoner was Al Capone, but this island was home to some of the most notorious criminals of the time. You can take a walking tour of the island and hear all about various prisoners, attempted escapes, and see the cells that prisoners called home during their tenure on the Island.
We ended our vacation with a stop at Baker Beach. This is such a great perspective of the Golden Gate bridge. Whether you have enough time to stay for the whole day or just drive by to snap a few pics, its worth it. We only stopped by to see the view and have a mini maternity shoot, hehe, but it was so fun.
We could have spent weeks in San Francisco and never gotten bored. This is such an incredible city and we cant wait to go back.
