San Francisco: more tips on what to do in the city

Last week, I went to San Francisco, California. This was my second time in the city – the first was in April and I talked about it on this post here. One of my best friends live there, Analuisa, and as she is pregnant and she was having her baby shower, I took the opportunity to visit her and she took me in more places I did not know my first time there. I loved all the things we did and I decided to share here. If you are planning a visit to San Francisco, I suggest you to include these tips too!

I love street art – I can not see a drawing on the wall and I’m already running to take a picture. Knowing this, Analuisa took me to check out Clarion Alley Mural Project. Clarion Alley is a street that occupies a block in the Mission District, between 17th & 18th and Mission and Valencia streets. It’s a narrow street and full of street arts. The coolest thing is that there are many mixed styles there and all the arts have a nice message, makes you want to take pictures of everything!

I will also give two dining tips of what we ate that day: we had lunch at Bun Mee, a Vietnamese restaurant with dishes and delicious sandwiches (2015 Fillmore St.), with prices between $ 10 and $ 14. Then, our dessert was at Smitten Ice Cream, ice cream made with nitrogen which is one of the best of my life! They opened two other locations in the city, beyond the one at 432 Octavia St: now, there is a location at 2404 California St. and one at 2268 Chestnut St.

When I was in San Francisco for the first time, everyone told me to visit Sausalito. But there was no time for that… Now, during this second trip, I finally went to Sausalito. This is a small town which is near San Francisco – across the Golden Gate. The place is super charming, very cute and is by the bay. To our luck, the day was amazing: sun and blue sky (who knows San Francisco know how the weather is uncertain), which provided a breathtaking view to San Francisco. In Sausalito, the tip is to walk – the place is not very big. Oh, and you can not help but try a burger at Hamburgers (737 Bridgeway). The place is tiny , but the burger is super famous and there are always lines. And, really, it’s a delight! I tried the Hawaiian burger with pineapple and loved. But if I could, I would share with someone, it’s pretty big. The burgers cost $ 9 on average. After getting your burger, you can find a place to sit in in front, at the park. Wonderful! We also had a cup of coffee and ate a white chocolate cookie in Sausalito Bakery & Cafe (571 Bridgeway).

When I travel, I usually walk all day and, at night, I am not excited to go out. But we came back early from Sausalito and recharge our energies to go see the Dueling Pianos at Johnny Foley’s (243 O’Farrell St.). If you’ve never been in a piano bar, do not miss the opportunity. The “show” starts at 9h30 and there are two musicians playing piano. Sounds simple? Well, the repertoire is defined by the people at the bar that ask songs (always with a tip, by the way) and each player also has it side of the bar. They are super excited and everybody get excited – some people even dance. I loved it! The bar serves various beers and drinks and also some snacks. Tip: have an ID to prove that you are over 21 years old.

One of the most amazing things of this trip was the California Sunset Cruise. It is a boat ride across the bay from San Francisco that lasts two hours. As the name suggests, the tour takes place during the sunset. The boat passes by Alcatraz Island, Sausalito, and, of course, the highlight of the tour is when we see the Golden Gate Bridge. What a beautiful thing. San Francisco presented us with a breathtaking sunset, with clear skies, full of colors and fantastic lights. I am in love with this bridge! Remember, the ticket includes a drink and also various snacks. You can buy on the website and costs $64. But, the trick is to search on sites like Groupon and Goldstar – we paid half the price in our tickets. Oh, and dress warmly up well because it is pretty windy.

Finally, I could not forget to recommend a visit to Golden Gate Park! This park covers an area of 4.12 km² and receives over 13 million visitors every year. Think of it as the Central Park of San Francisco. There are gardens, playgrounds, lakes, picnic groves, trails and monuments, plus a variety of cultural events and activities. We’ve been in two very cool areas: the Conservatory of Flowers and the Shakespeare Garden, a small, super quiet and charming garden, which yields beautiful photos. Certainly worth the time to explore the Golden Gate Park and all it has to offer! You can check out more details here.