Travel: San Francisco here we come!

San Francisco is somewhere we have both been before, when we were younger and a quick drive through a couple of years back. This year, a wedding brought us into town and we decided to make a nice long weekend out of it. I have to admit, the hustle and bustle of San Francisco is not my favorite, but I do really love the surrounding areas.

We flew into SFO on Virgin Airlines (now Alaska Airlines) and the ride was nice. I was a bit concerned about the landing as I heard they have short, narrow landing strips but I was pleasantly surprised with the smooth landing. We headed to the car rental area to pick up our car for the weekend and got a free upgrade, woo hoo! We quickly jumped in and tried to check into the San Francisco Airport Marriott Waterfront Hotel where we were spending the next two nights but they wouldn’t accommodate us, even though we had made arrangements prior. Without any time to spare we got back into the car and made our way towards the city as we did not want to miss the wedding. The wedding was to take place at City Hall, in the heart of the city. We found parking close by and walked into the beautiful building filled with ornate architecture. The wedding took place on the balcony of the second floor with an amazing view of the grand stair case. The whole thing was just gorgeous.

With some time until the reception we decided to head down Lombard street to Ghiradelli Square for a Sundae with a view of Alcatraz. We decided on the Chrissy Fields sundae which is our favorite and it was delish!

After that we had planned to get some BBQ at The Pub but the line was much too long so instead we made our way in the direction of the hotel instead, in search of food. We decided we were in the mood for Sushi and settled on Old Town Sushi in San Mateo. I was not impressed at all! While the service was good and Jon said the sashimi platter he ordered was good, the miso soup was super watered down, and the rolls I ordered were inedible. Everything tasted heavily of mayonnaise and the salmon in one of my rolls tasted like it came out of a can. Not to mention parking is a pain because it is located right in the middle of Downtown San Mateo. I would definitely not recommend this place but I do have to say that the Downtown area in general does look neat.

After our mediocre lunch we made our way back to the hotel for a quick nap before the reception. The hotel itself is very nice. The location and it’s proximity to the airport alone is worth it. It is in a quiet area about a half hour outside of the city in Burlingame, and although you can see the planes flying in from the bay view rooms, the sound is not an issue. Besides the small issue we had with the early check-in the customer service was great.

After our nap we made our way to the reception and spent some nice quality time with Jon’s extended family, who I have to say made me feel incredibly welcomed.

The next day we decided to make the most out of our time before heading home later that day. Our first stop was to get some breakfast, the place we had intended to go had an extremely long wait, so we went to New England Lobster and Eatery right down the street from our hotel. I have to say we were not disappointed whatsoever. The charm of this place is amazing, we felt like we were right on the water in New England. The food selection and fresh oyster bar were wonderful as well. We decided on the twin tails plate that came with 2 Maine lobster tails, chips, coleslaw, bread and butter, it was delicious. We also shared the lobster corn chowder which I wasn’t a huge fan of, but honestly I just don’t like corn chowder all that much. Overall, this place was a win.

Next we headed to the Golden Gate Bridge. Our intention was to go over the bridge but that looked to be a quite a feat, so instead we found a nice overlook near Fort Scott where we were able to get out and take some beautiful pictures, it sure was windy though!

After that we took a drive down to to Pacifica for some Taco Bell on the beach. If you have never been, I highly suggest you check it out. There is nothing better than some burritos on the beach while watching the surfers ride the waves, so peaceful.

With some time to spare we headed to the Google Headquarters which was unfortunately closed on the weekend but we still had so much fun. Besides the adorably ordained android figures throughout the campus there were also bikes available to ride around on. I have to say it was one of the highlights of our trip.