San Francisco – 0902-0614

I travelled with 3 friends (Michael H, Michael Y & Courtney) to San Francisco for 5 days and also met up with a few friends (Michael T, Cassie (who now resides in SF), Victor, Crystal, Michelle & Joanna). There was no real itinerary made for this trip however we did purchase the CityPass which is a great solution for first timers who want to see what attractions the city has to offer on a short period of time including unlimited access to buses and streetcars.

NOTE: If you want to goto Alcatraz – BOOK IN ADVANCED!

090214

We flew from Las Vegas to San Francisco after a volleyball tournament. We grabbed a SUV taxi and headed for Japantown. The trio booked a really cool little hotel on Sutter St called Hotel Tomo (1800 Sutter St). Originally when Courtney booked this incredible flight and hotel deal for her and Michael H, it was for a single bed so I had messaged Cassie who had just recently moved there for work and coincidently she lives not even a full block away which made my decision to goto SF finalized because she said I could stay with her.

After settling in and me leaving my stuff in their hotel room, we decided to walk from our location through to Chinatown and find some dinner. We first stopped by a place that sold $1 bubbletea. I had asked Cassie for a recommendation and she mentioned Great Eastern Restaurant (649 Jackson St). The food was good but I think we ordered items off the menu that the restaurant wasn’t known for looking at surrounding tables. We walked back from Chinatown to Japantown which was a decent 30-40 minute walk each way. Good thing the Bay area is a 4×4 grid where everything is relatively close. When we returned to the hotel, I grabbed my things and walked over to Cassie’s. The trio (Cassie, Victor & Michael T) had spent the day doing touristy things when I finally met up with them. We all jumped in and headed out for late night bubble tea at Little Sweet Café (3836 Geary Blvd) and I must say bubble tea aka boba is so cheap in SF! I got the Tie Kuan Yin milk tea which was a little too sweet but it was under $5USD.

090314

Michael T and myself woke up early so we went for a stroll while the couple slept. I was also giving my group ample time to get ready. Cassie recommended Sweet Maple (2101 Sutter St) for breakfast. They have millionaire bacon which is a cured bacon that is featured on “United States of Bacon” of Discovery Network. Thick, free range bacon, baked with brown sugar, cayenne, red and black pepper. I got the Eggs Benedict with maple bacon. We grabbed a taxi right outside the door and off we went to Pier 38. At the pier we also grabbed our Citypass which gave us unlimited bus, free entrance into museums and attractions etc. The Alcatraz audio walking tour was really good as it leads you all the way around with informative stories of the history behind this prison and the life of inmates. Remember to book early if you want to do this tour as it fills up quickly. Alcatraz at night tours fill up months in advance.

We came back to shore and took the old school streetcar to Fisherman’s Wharf and grabbed In-N-Out for lunch. A double double with animal style fries yes please! The aquarium was our next calling. It actually wasn’t the warmest day in San Fran and very windy especially near the pier. We also went the tourist route and went to Pier 39 to see the sea lions. We walked around killing time at the pier as we were meeting Courtney’s uncle and his friend for dinner. We settled on Scoma’s for fresh seafood. Too bad we ate a late lunch at In-N-Out that we weren’t hungry enough to order full meals.

After dinner we parted ways from Courtney’s uncle and friends and followed the light; the lights of the Ghiradelli sign that is. It is pronounced gear-ar-delly. We got ice cream and hot chocolate with sea salt in it at the main store and it was delicious plus chocolate to go!