This month I had the opportunity to travel to San Francisco for work. During one of the trips I was able to stay over the weekend and Mandi came out to join me! We had such an amazing time. I think about the trip almost every day and wish I could go back. I want you all to get the full affect of this trip so as you are reading the blog please click on the links below and have the songs playing in the background. The first two songs were played as we went across the Golden Gate Bridge and, well, the last song played in my head throughout the trip:)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7I0vkKy504U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyxLaHmOaYM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zx3Zo9t7c8Q
On Friday I was able to finish with work around 1:00 so we were able to start our weekend early! On Saturday we were going on an all day bus tour so we wanted to make all the stops that the bus was not going to take us to see. I was able to drive around the city which was scary at times but exciting!
Our first stop was at Alamo Square to see the Painted Ladies!
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| Selfie stick amateurs. Why we even snapped the picture is beyond me. |
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| Painted Ladies |
When I first moved to California I immediately wanted to see the Full House home. So this was of course a must see when we went to San Francisco. Mandi and I spent many hours after school on the couch watching our Full House.
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| As you can see the house has been painted and a huge tree is covering it. Like they don't want people taking pics out in front of their house or something....strange |
It was recommended that we eat at Tony's Pizza Napoletana. The owner buys his ingredients from Italy so it is very authentic. Much to our pleasure we also realized that it was located in Little Italy and we happened to be there on our late Italian Grammy's birthday.
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Some of their pizzas are so popular they only make a certain amount per day. It was delicious! Note the pizza sauce dripping from Mandi's face:)
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| Throughout Little Italy they have the Italian flag colors on all of the light posts. We also of course had to eat gelato. |
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| And how could we not get a cannoli from the Italian bakery. |
After we were stuffed from Italian delicacies we headed to the "Crookedest Street in the World" - Lombard Street. It was quite terrifying driving up the hills to get to it however the drive down it was oddly exhilarating.
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| The view from the top of Lombard street was breathtaking. |
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| The ambassador of Lombard street to this pic. She was so hilarious. |
After Lombard street we headed to, my personal heaven, Ghirardelli Square. Now if you know me well, you know that chocolate is a very important part of my life. Unfortunately we were still so stuffed from dinner (since we basically each ate a pizza) I didn't get anything from Ghirardelli square; which I regret to this day.
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| I wanted to jump in that like the chubby kid jumping in Willy Wonka's chocolate lake. |
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| In Ghirardelli's square there was a place called Kara's Cupcakes. I mean do we need more of a sign that I belong there. |
We then made our way over to the Fisherman's Wharf. Not much to see; just a lot of shops and nasty sea food.
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| Oh and also creepy wax figures. I couldn't even get close it was too real. |
Saturday we went on an all day bus trip. It was nice to not have to worry about fighting traffic, loosing your breaks while on the hills, or finding parking. Our drive was a young native to San Francisco. He was so sweet and had a lot of fun tidbits about the city.
We first drove through China Town, which is nasty! Our tour guide said that they are trying to get people to move out of China Town because there are many health code violations occurring. Needless to say Mandi and I did not feel the need to make a special trip to walk around China Town. He then took us up to Billionaire's Row where all the fancy shmancy rich people live.
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| Do you recognize this house? It's the Mrs. Doubtfire house! The owner is a plastic surgeon who specializes in turning males into females (oh the irony). The door is burnt at the bottom because a past patient was not happy with the work he did so he was going to set the Doubtfire home on fire! |
So we had a stop prior to the Golden Gate Bridge but I didn't take any pictures. I'm sure Mandi's blog will have a much more detailed report if you would like further information...
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| At first I was disappointed that the fog was covering the bridge but the pictures turned out really cool because of it. |
We then drove across the Golden Gate Bridge! After we got across we went to the Muir Woods National Monument for about an hour and a half stop. It was very beautiful and peaceful.
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| Tallest trees I have ever seen. |
We then went to a little town that's right across the bridge called, Sausalito. It was so cute with quaint little stores and restaurants. It also had a great view of San Francisco. We stopped here for about an hour for lunch. Mandi and I ate at a cute Italian deli and walked around the town.
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| I didn't really get any good pictures but here are some of the cute shots. |
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| The view of San Francisco |
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| Also during our trip it was Fleet Week so we had an air show throughout the trip. |
We then went back across the bridge and drove through China Town again...yipee.... He then dropped us off for our Alcatraz Tour. I guess now it's a tradition when Mandi and I get together to visit the local penitentiary.
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| "Break the rules and you go to prison, break the prison rules and you go to Alcatraz." |
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| The ferry that took us to Alcatraz. |
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| On the Island |
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| If you can't read it, it says "home of the Indians". Quick educational tip. After they closed down the prison Native Americans occupied the land. |
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| It looked so much like the penitentiary in West Virginia. |
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| One of the escapes that took place was in a prison cell such as this. Three prisoners created dummy heads and dug out a hole under their sink and escaped. The three prisoners were never found.....who knows they could be walking among us..... |
After Alcatraz we were on our own again. We headed to Pier 39. It was extremely crowded due to Fleet Week. It was fun to be a part of the hustle and bustle.
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| We ate bread bowls from Boudin. Mandi got soup all over her jacket...not sure how she did it. They gave me the nickname "Kara Spill" but I think after this tip I passed the torch. |
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| Seals have taken over Pier 39. Did I mention seals are my new favorite animal after our trip to San Diego? I could watch them for hours. |
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| Me with the seal statue. |
The San Fran trip was magical. I think I have found a new place I want to live!
