I always like to see where I've been in cities using a 'map my distance' site; including bus rides, we went approximately 21 kilometers during our day in the city!
We got up bright and early at 6:30 AM and were out the door by 7 AM! Unlike the past couple of days which had been miserably rainy, the morning started out with completely blue skies and sunshine: a beautiful (and well missed) sight. The drive passed quickly, and before long we were cruising down 7th Street on our way to breakfast at Sightglass Coffee. This coffee shop has a beautiful interior with high ceilings, wood beams, and an overall ‘urban-industrial’ feel to it. I ordered a latte and a croissant aux chocolat. The coffee was wonderful: a artful flower on top, and a full chocolatey, robust flavor. My dad opted for a savory pastry and my mom got some lovely pistachio-cranberry granola. We also got to watch an man in the act of roasting some green coffee beans, because the cafe roasts all of their own coffee. If interested, you can also purchase their coffee beans in store (about $12 per pound, I believe).
Pleasantly satiated and caffeinated, we headed over a couple neighborhoods to where we were going to park the car for the day. Because we had come on a Sunday, all on-street parking was free. If you are driving into the city, I definitely recommend trying to go on Sunday for the cheap transport, because it turned out to be really easy to leave the car somewhere and go around the city by foot. We parked on Union Street near Northbeach, and straight away headed up to Coit Tower. Unfortunately I had not thought to look up the opening time for the tower, so we ended up no being able to go up. Regardless, we still got some great views of the city as well as a look at the Golden Gate bridge from the high point.
On the way down from Coit Tower, we explored some of the famous stairways of San Francisco. These are absolutely something to check out; with the lush plants and flowers it is like a jungle-oasis in the middle of an otherwise urban area. You may even get the chance to see the famous 'wild parrots of Telegraph Hill', as we did! Although there are a multitude of secret stairways, I would recommend checking out the one that start at Coit tower. From here we began walking toward China Town. This meant walking though a somewhat sketchy neighborhood which was comprised mainly of strip clubs, dive bars, and people hanging out smoking weed. Eventually we made it to Grant Street, which is one of the main stretches of the largest Chinatown in America. Because it was quite early for a Sunday, Chinatown was still waking up when we arrived, so the streets weren’t very busy yet. On the one hand this was nice, but if you’re wanting the true experience of bustling streets and all kinds of wafting smells, I would wait until it’s a little later. From Chinatown we continued toward Union Square: a nice place to hang-out on benches if you need a break from walking. If you are wanting to do some shopping in the city, this area is probably a good bet with a mixture of high end, departments, and normal stores. I stopped into H&M and Forever 21 and picked up a couple things for the up-coming warmer weather.
Around this point, we decided soon enough we would be hungry for lunch, so we searching for a bus stop, and with minimal difficulties we able to figure out where to go to get to the mission district. If you are wanting to go a farther distance, I would definitely recommend utilizing the buses, because they aren’t too inexpensive ($2 for adult, $1 for ages 11-17), and you can get a pass which will last for 90 minutes. Once in the Mission, we headed straight for Tacolicious. I know the name may make it sound like a mainstream, fast-food taco eatery, but this place was amazing. It’s pretty small, but all the action makes the experience of eating there exciting. To start out you are given a basket of tortilla chips and fresh salsa. We began our meal with three ‘snacks’: albondigas (Mexican meatballs), fried sweet plantains, and the house specialty of albacore tuna tostadas contramar-style (raw tuna with avocado, chipotle mayo, and crispy leeks on a big tortilla), as recommended by our waitress. Raw tuna may not sound good to everyone, but give it a try! It was delicious, with a butter texture and subtle fishy flavor. After this we moved onto tacos; I ordered one of their classic carnittas tacos as well as the weekly special, which had chicken, bacon, caramelized onion, and a spicy chipotle mayo. The tacos are always served with three different salsas (the chipotle and avocado-mayo were my favorites). The special was by far my favorite of the two, with flavors that came together really nicely and a good kick of spicy from the chicken. I also tried a green juice (can have an added shot of tequila) which had kale, pineapple, cactus, cucumber, and mint, and was a really nice fresh addition to the meal. If you are going for a margarita, I would definitely recommend the filmore paloma, which my mom got and contains grapefruit and elderflower.
Next up was to explore the Mission a little bit. I had seen somewhere online that Clarion Alley was supposed to have some cool political-inspired graffiti, so we headed there. Definitely check it out if you’re in the area, but I would say that you shouldn’t necessarily plan out where you’re going in the Mission, but instead just wander around and see what you come across!
'Tell me my love, what have you seen today?'
After looking around a bit, I began heading us in the direction of Western Addition, and specifically Alamo Square. The walk was quite nice, because it meant passing through residential areas with beautiful houses, and a couple shop/eatery oriented streets along the way. Although it hadn’t been too long since lunch, I really wanted to check out another cafe in the area, so we first stopped off at the Mill. This time I opted for an iced coffee, and doctored it up with plenty of cream and some sugar to create a devilishly creamy treat. The Mill also has a beautiful interior, where you can watch their bread production in the back, as well as a whole wall with wooden shelves holding home-decor. The place could very well be packed if you decide to check it out, as it was for us, in which case––weather permitting––I would recommending walking up to Alamo Square, and hanging out there. While here, you can see the famous ‘painted ladies’, and sit and just enjoy the views of the city. After a little while relaxing, we eventually decided it was time to catch our second bus of the day.
We had been having a little trouble figuring out the bus map, but a very friendly young women helped us out (so shout-out to the lovely youth of SF!). Our final stop of the day was the Ferry Building, which has been converted into a marketplace, where you can get cheeses, baked goods, and gourmet mushrooms as well as a meal from the selection of eateries. Unfortunately at this point we were running out of time (as we had to get back to my Grandparent’s by a certain time), and didn’t get the chance to explore here much.
Heading back to the car was a final lovely walk, with quite a lot of uphill, a final stairway, and some last stunning views of the city. Needless to say, by the time we reached the car my feet were tired but I was sad to be leaving so soon. Until next time, San Francisco.
Got to love San Fran's 45˚ angle incline streets!
xx
Erin
Places Mentioned:
Sightglass Coffee
Open everyday 7 AM - 7 PM
270 Seventh Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
Website here
Coit Tower
Open everyday 10 AM - 5 PM
1 Telegraph Hill Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94133
Tacolicious
Open everyday from 11:30 AM - midnight
741 Valencia St, San Francisco, CA 94110 (two additional locations in SF)
Website here
The Mill
Open Monday 7 AM - 9 PM, Tuesday thru Sunday 7 AM - 7 PM
736 Divisadero St, San Francisco, CA 94117
Website here
Ferry Building Marketplace
Open Monday thru Friday 10 AM - 6 PM, Saturday 9 AM - 6 PM, Sunday 11 AM - 5 PM
1 Ferry Building, San Francisco, CA 94111
Website here
No comments:
Post a Comment