Seeing San Francisco

 

This past weekend, Chris and I packed our bags for a fun filled weekend in San Francisco. We stayed with some of our friends who live in the Mission District in the most beautiful apartment overlooking the bustling neighborhood. We did tons of walking, ate amazing food, saw Mad Max (I think I'm going to have nightmares for weeks), shopped in cute boutiques, and played a lot of Mario Kart (I sucked).  This is a city I've been to many times, but every time I come there's always somewhere new to discover. I love so many of the neighborhoods here and wouldn't be able to choose just one. They're all so uniquely different! Here are some photos that I snapped along the way and below that is a list of places I visited that I loved.

One of my favorite parts of the trip was taking a hike to the top of Bernal Heights. The views were outstanding even though it was super foggy out. 

Philz's Coffee was great! I ordered their famous Mint Mojito Iced Coffee and it did not disappoint!

If you're visiting, you NEED to visit Tartine, located in the Mission. They have some of the most delicious bread and pastries in the world. The line gets long, so get there early! 

Miette in Hayes Valley was another highlight. I was gifted their cookbook a couple of years ago, and their sweets looked so, so good that I knew I'd have to come in person. Well I finally visited the shop and I left with so many cookies I probably shouldn't admit it. I just love how colorfully the shop was decorated and how much candy they had, plus cupcakes, macarons and little cakes! Ahh I wish there was one here in LA.

Hayes Valley is a cute little neighborhood near the Mission that I basically never knew existed until this trip. A quiet couple of blocks filled with cute boutiques, bakeries, and even an ice cream shop that has set up shop inside a giant shipping container! Love it. Above is a photo of the La Boulange cafe (if you've ever gotten a cake pop or pastry from Starbucks and noticed how cute the pink bags are that your yummies come in, well, they come from here!)

We ended up spending most of our time in the Mission, but also in Lower Haight, Nob Hill, the Tenderloin, the Marina, Noe Valley, Cole Valley, Bernal Heights, Fort Mason, Hayes Valley.. phew. I wanted to stroll around Fillmore Street in Pacific Heights and check out The Sunset, Protrero Hill and North Beach, but I'll just have to save those spots for next time.

FOOD/DRINK

1. Brenda's Soul Kitchen - If you like fried chicken, biscuits and mac & cheese, you must come here. They have two locations and we went to the one in the Tenderloin.

2. Padrecito - Yummy Spanish food in Cole Valley. We stumbled in by chance and were really impressed! Loved my pink Diamante cocktail and mango pancakes! Yum.

3. Parada 22 - This is a special pop up puerto rican restaurant that we also stumbled into by chance. AMAZING food. AMAZING Sangria. Enough said :)

4. Phil'z Coffee - Cool coffee shop with interesting selections including turkish coffee and my favorite mint mojito iced coffee!

5. Tartine - Buttery morning buns, savory quiches, and so much more.

6. Humphrey Slocombe - A great little ice cream shop in the Outer Mission (also in the Ferry Building).

4. Miette - Yummy candy to bring home to friends (or you could eat them all yourself and not feel sorry about it, like me).

SHOP

1. Noo Works - I happened to walk by this place a few times before I finally decided to walk in, and now it's my favorite boutique in the Mission. The owner makes the most incredibly unique, one of a kind dresses in the most fun prints, and I want/need all of them, like, right now.

2. Aldea - A great shop for buying gifts or for your home. So many cute pillows, coasters, bedding, rugs...and stuff for the baby, too!

3. Lavish - Your one stop shop for everything cute! Well, by that I mean - they carry adorable cards, stationary, yummy smelling candles, and everything is organized by color which makes browsing a breeze! Cute clothes, too.