A WHISTLE-STOP TOUR OF SAN FRANCISCO
Next a flying visit to San Francisco, quite literally – we flew from New York.
We stayed for 3 nights and soaked up as much as possible. Thankfully our San Fransisco hotel was in a good location for all the main sightseeing hot spots and coincidentally launched their new hotel bikes the day we arrived.I wouldn’t say I’m an avid cyclist, by that I mean, not at all. Luckily there are some great routes you can follow but be warned. HILLS. It seemed we arrived on an unusually warm few days, perfect for cycling to Golden gate bridge, stopping at Pier 39 and looping around to the pink ladies, reviling our cute streets in Nottinghill.
Le Méridien San Francisco
We stayed at the Le Meridien hotel which was walking distance to the bay (handy for our visit to Alcatraz) and as I mentioned they offered cute bicycles at the hotel which meant we could go straight from our hotel and explore the city. With a room bigger than our flat in London, San Fran definitely benefits from more space compared to New York. The beds in this hotel are for getting lost in, just check out my instagram and see if you can spot me amongst the sheets. One perk was complimentary illy coffees for all guests in the morning, just a nice touch. Even if you don’t stay at the hotel, hit up the restaurant for breakfast – just check out that French toast below. Wow, it was amazing.
NB: Our stay at the Le Meridien was complimentary but as ever I would never talk highly of somewhere if I didn't believe it. Thanks for having us :)
Things to do in San Francisco
One of my favourite places we visited while in San Francisco was Alcatraz. Somewhere I've always wanted to go and it didn't disappoint, adding a little bit of history and culture to our trip, it's equally eerie as it was interesting. It's worth booking before you go as places sell out quite quickly. We had really hoped to do the night tour but perhaps it was best as I'm a bit of a scaredy-cat. As I mentioned, hiring bikes was an excellent way to see the city. Pier 39 was a bit hectic with tourist but Golden Gate Bridge and the park is amazing.
For a more laid back day, we spent the morning sipping coffees at a lovely little Illy café nearby followed by a quick visit to the amazing SFMOMA, that’s the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art to you and me. So you can see why they abbreviated that one.
Working up a hunger yet? For dinner, we tried Chubby noodle = Marvellous! And Tacolicious = perfection, finally Tony’s pizza = amazing. We were still a little jet-lagged so these were all quick eats but super delish. Have you ever queued for a bakery? Well, we did for Mr Holmes Bakehouse. Turns out the big Q is for their speciality, cruffin. Worth just checking inside first and deciding if it's worth the wait. If only for the neon sign! Another lengthy post but hopefully you've enjoyed it. be sure to check out my previous posts and my extra recommendations here.
Next stop LA!