My San Francisco Trip

Thank you to everyone who wished me a fun trip and offered suggestions for things to do! I had a great time in San Francisco. There are too many adventures and stories to recount, so I'm going to use the technical writer's trick of summing everything up in bulleted lists with plenty of photos in between.

Friday night

• Arrived in SFO airport and discovered the airline had lost my suitcase with everything in it(!)
• Met up with friend and host for the trip, Artem, at his apartment and enjoyed the rooftop view
• Walked up Lombard Street and that high, high hill to the Safeway on Marina in search of a toothbrush, contact lens solution/case, and some groceries

Pier 39

Saturday

• Hung out at Fisherman's Wharf and saw the famous Pier 39 seals
• Ate delicious brownie sundaes from Ghirardelli
• Watched the bakers at Boudin make artisanal breads shaped like teddy bears
• Shopped for saltwater taffy in a zillion different flavours at Taffy Town
• Waited for my suitcase to be delivered
• Went to The Stinking Rose with Artem and his friends to celebrate his birthday and ordered the 40 clove garlic chicken--yum!
• Played pool at Jillian's in the Metreon
• Wrapped up the night with a glass of Guinness at a half-bar, half-Indian restaurant place

Taffy Town

Dinner at The Stinking Rose

Sunday

• Woke up late
• Hiked up to Coit Tower for a spectacular view of the city
• Window-shopped in some cute little boutiques on Grant Street
• Wandered through Chinatown looking at kitschy souvenirs and spectacular carvings
• Sat in Washington Square enjoying an open-air concert free to the public
• Walked up to Alamo Square to admire the Victorian houses
• Browsed the Kunokuniya Bookstore in Japantown
• Meandered down the Divisadero to Godzilla Sushi for dinner
• Saw the late show for District 9

My favourite photo from Chinatown

The Victorian houses at Alamo Square

Monday

• Got lost looking for SFMOMA and walked through the Financial District and Yerba Buena Gardens
• Caught the Robert Frank and Richard Avedon photography exhibits at SFMOMA
• Enjoyed a turkey sandwich and orange ginger tea on the shaded terrace of the Samovar Tea Lounge behind the Metreon
• Rode the curved escalators in Westfield mall
• Shopped to my heart's content at Forever 21 (pics of purchases to come in a follow-up post later this week!), then browsed Anthropologie, Urban Outfitters, and H&M but was too tired to seriously shop
• Walked up Nob Hill through Chinatown and back to North Beach
• Met up with Artem and his friend, Adam, to decide on what we'll do on my last night in San Fran and Artem's actual birthday
• Walked up to the Zoetrope for drinks and a bite to nibble on (I ordered a glass of rosé), then wound down the night with more drinks at Vesuvio

I highly recommend checking this exhibit out if you're in San Fran!

The Zoetrope, a cafe/restaurant/bar owned by Francis Ford Coppola

Tuesday

• Woke up super-early after last night's drinking, packed, grabbed the largest coffee I could get, and walked down to the pier for my boat (the world's largest hybrid vessel) to Angel Island and Alcatraz
• Met a super-sweet couple from Southern California, TJ and Natalie, who became my tour buddies
• Shivered from the wind chill on Angel Island as I ate clam chowder and drank hot peppermint tea
• Took the audio tour through the Alcatraz cell house
• Returned to the pier on a normal ferry
• Stopped by Trader Joe's for shrimp spring rolls and peanut sauce to go
• Conversed in Mandarin and English with my cab driver on the way to the airport
• Killed time waiting for my flight with some more clam chowder and tea and some fashion mags
• Arrived in Vancouver almost half an hour early, only to be delayed by a faulty jet bridge

TJ, Natalie, and I with our audio tour headphones on

Ah San Francisco...I think I left my <3 there!