The City by the Bay

Doug and I spent Labor Day weekend in San Francisco, and we had a fabulous time! Doug grew up in the Bay Area, but it was my first time there so we made sure to see all of the typical tourist spots. Prepare yourselves- this post is picture heavy! :)

The view from our room. We stayed at Parc 55 and LOVED it! Such a great location. One huge tip we have in case you're planning a trip to SF- parking fees are insane in the city (our hotel's was almost $60/DAY!) so we parked at a BART station on the other side of the bay and took that into the city. Parking was free, and our tickets totaled to less than $25! 

Chinatown

My favorite part of the trip was seeing Alcatraz. I have a weird fascination with all things scandalous, so this includes anything jail-related. (Anyone else love the show Lockup? :) Our advice for this- take the earliest tour you can! We did the first one, and by the time we were leaving it was already getting so crowded. 

It was cloudy and ominous during our time on Alcatraz, which was very fitting. 

The one thing I didn't get to see was the Golden Gate Bridge...it was hiding in this fog all weekend :(

Next, we headed over to Pier 39. It was so much bigger than I had expected!

And then we walked around Fisherman's Wharf...

...where the Bushman just about scared me to death! (He has been doing this since 1980!)

After he scared me, we watched him scare everyone else. There was also this adorable seal patiently waiting to be fed.

Then, it was time for my beloved Ghirardelli. 

Lombard Street

It was a very short trip, but we managed to see everything except for Chinatown in one day. On our way back home, we took the semi-scenic route on the 101 to see Santa Barbara. 

We found the most adorable restaurant right on the beach. This is the view from our table.

And that was our trip! One last piece of advice- PREPARE YOURSELF if you plan to visit this beautiful city. My calves are still killing me from all of those hills! ;)