3 Days in San Francisco: Kick Starting Our Honeymoon
We were actually in San Francisco for five days, but day one was a travel day and so was day five. However, a lot of things happened in between. From seeing the Golden Gate Bridge to riding the trolley buses, it was a wonderful way to kick start our honeymoon that had been a long time coming and along time in the planning. Here's how we spent three days in one of the most interesting cities I have ever visited.
Day one: Fisherman's Wharf, Little Italy, Lombard Street & the Mrs Doubtfire house
As you'd expect, day one of visiting San Francisco was incredibly busy. Because we were jet-lagged, we were up at the crack of dawn and had eaten breakfast and were out on the pier by 7am. Hence why the day was so long, but productive. We pretty much spent the entire day walking around the entirety of the place, taking in all of the sights and smells of our surroundings.
We started the day where we were staying- Fisherman's Wharf. It's a small seaside, waterfront pier that spans right along the side of the bay. There's a lot to see and do there. Whether you're wanting to shop in a few quirky outlets long the pier or want to try the chocolate in Ghirardelli Square, there's something for everyone along the Fisherman's Wharf end of the city. Not to mention, you'll also be able to hop on the trolley buses not far from there and that's exactly we did, eventually.
Before jumping on the trolley buses, we actually walked from Fisherman's Wharf right up to Lombard Street. It was a hefty walk that was 100% up hill, walking up the steepest gradients I think I've ever walked up, and I've climbed Snowdon, haha. But it was totally worth the walk up there just to see this iconic street.
Once we had finished there, we went on a mission to find the Mrs Doubtfire house. I absolutely love that film so it was only right to go and have a look at the house they used to film it. It was quite a trek outside of the city, so much so it took around 40 minutes to get there on foot.
It was completely worth the 40 minute walk there to see the house because it was everything that I imagined it would be. Only it was smaller than I thought it would be in real life and it was now a different colour.
But by this time, it was about 3pm in the afternoon and we hadn't eaten a thing. We decided to make our way back toward the city, but we stopped by in Little Italy and China Town. Where we had a browse around China Town, we made the decision to eat in Little Italy at a place called Tony's. The pizza in there was incredible - the best pizza I have ever had in my life! It was expensive, but it was incredible and definitely worth the price.
In order to save some energy, and because we had already walked tens of thousands of steps already that day, we wanted to get the trolley bus back down to Fisherman's Wharf, where we were staying. That was something we managed to tick off of our tourist to-do list. We actually rode on two different trolley buses that went up two different streets, so we experienced different trolley bus routes, which was really cool!
By the time we got back to our hotel, it was about 7pm and we were flat out, because we were still jet lagged. However, going to bed that early meant we could be up all the earlier next day for our advetnure around Alcatraz.
Day two: Alcatraz, Coit Tower & Boudin
Alcatraz was at the start of day two in San Francisco for us. We were up bright and early to get the 10:10am ferry to the island, but you have to be there about 45 minutes earlier to get through security etc. But that wasn't a problem considering, at this time, we were up by around 5:30am, haha. I was so excited to visit Alcatraz. I considered it to be the highlight of our trip, and I still do think that.
It was an incredible experience that saw us exploring the prison, freely, might I add, with nothing but an electronic tour guide. It was incredibly informative and I'd jump at the chance to go and do it all again. You got to learn all about the escapees and the prisoners who lived there, including the likes of Al Capone. and Machine Gun Kelly. I recommend it completely if you ever get the chance to go to San Francisco.
After we got back to the mainland, Coit Tower really wasn't that far away from the pier that we caught the Alcatraz ferry from. So we took the opportunity to go and explore that as well. You do have to walk up several hills and many steps, but the views from the top of the tower are insane.
You can get a 360 degree view of the city from the top of Coit Tower and it's $10 each to go up there, which isn't too bad really. It was exceptionally windy up there which stopped us from staying up there for longer, but we managed to catch some amazing views whilst we were up there.
It was then, again, gone lunchtime. But we had passed a gorgeous looking bakery on our travels the previous day that I thought we could stop and have lunch at called Boudin. Boudin is a pretty famous bakery that's known for its sourdough bread and clam chowder. So what did I have for lunch that day? Of course it had to be clam chowder in a sourdough bread roll. Tom didn't fancy that so he went for the chilli instead! It was a wonderful way to finish off the day.
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Day three: Palace of Fine Arts, The Walt Disney Family Museum, Golden Gate Bridge & the San Francisco Giants Baseball Game
The third day we went to pick up the car which allowed us to go onto our next venture: The Palace of Fine Arts. If you've ever been to San Francisco and have visited this place, then you'll know exactly the enormity of the place. It was as though we were standing in the set of Star Wars.
Not to mention the weather was amazing. It was beaming sun all day with bright blue skies. However, it was still very windy. But that didn't stop us from enjoying the grandness of The Palace of Fine Arts. If you ever go to San Fran, then don't skip this on your list of things you must see.
We then moved on to visit the Walt Disney Family Museum. This wasn't actually something that we had planned to do on our travels, but we decided that it would, actually, be worth the trip. It was also just around the corner from the Palace of Fine Arts, so it made sense to go there next, before walking along the Golden Gate Bridge.
If you love Disney and are interested in learning how the parks came about and more about the life and family of Walt Disney, then this is the place for you. I would definitely put it on my list of things to do in San Francisco, but it's not for everyone. If you're not a Disney fan, then I'm sure you'd be able to enjoy the fields of Crissy Park and other places that sit nearby.
After we visited the museum, we drove across the Golden Gate Bridge and pulled up in a car park on the other side. Once we had parked up, we made the decision to walk across it, almost half way. Tom hates heights, so he didn't stay up therefor very long, but it was long enough that we managed to take it all in and left with an ever-lasting memory of a honeymoon starting in San Francisco.
That evening, instead of going back to the hotel, we were due to go to Oracle Park to watch a baseball game. It was between the San Francisco Giants and the Pittsburgh Pirates and, of course, the Giants won. We did have some food there, which was amazing for stadium food, and we left with a Giants cup and a Giants blanket, obviously. It was then followed by an epic firework display and, before we knew it, it was time to head back to prepare for a long day of travelling the next morning.
We were driving to Yosemite the next day and so our time in San Fran came to an end, unfortunately. I totally recommend visiting if you're planning a trip to the US. Let me know if you do decide to put this city on your list of places to travel. I know it's a place off my bucket list for sure!
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I hope you enjoyed this blog post? Let me know in the comments whether you've ever been to San Francisco, together with what you did while you were there, or if you're wanting to go and I'll see you again very soon with some content!
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