The City of Enchantment

Well, I'm back from my latest adventure. I was in San Francisco for five days and it was so much fun! I took 12 HPU students to a Model United Nations conferencce and we had a great time! I really feel like I was able to see so much of the city and it quickly climbed the charts as one of my favorite US cities! I also got to see my sweet friend Cassie. She lives in Redding and came down for the weekend to see the city with me. We had a great time laughing, getting lost and catching up! She's my first travel buddy and I love exploring new cities with her!

Here are some things that I loved about The City of Enchantment:

The Bay:

Can I just say that San Francisco Bay is gorgeous? It truly was breathtaking. I think I could have sat along the water for hours and just stare out at the water, the clear blue skies, the mountains and all of the beauty that God created. I loved eating at Fisherman's Wharf, walking along the water, grabbing chocolate at Ghirardelli Square and riding a little cruise boat across the bay (it was SO windy, but I highly recommend it!)

North Beach:

I think this was my favorite area! This is the Italian district and it is so cute! I loved sitting in Washington Square Park and soaking up the sun, eating at this cute little Cafe Delucchi, seeing the San Fran original musical "Beach Blanket Babylon" and getting confused on the crazy streets.

Golden Gate Bridge:



I literally flew over, rode under, walked across and traveled around the Golden Gate Bridge. I think I got a pretty good look at all sides of that architechural wonder! I loved walking across the bridge with Cassie and getting a feel for how enormous it really is! It's also a chace to get a great view of the city! It's almost 2 miles long, so it takes a little while to get across, but I think it was well worth it!

Walking the streets



I think my favorite thing to do when I visit a city is to walk the streets. That's the best way to really get a feel for the culture, do window shopping, admire the houses and parks and people watch. I ended up walking from the Pier all the way to Union Square three times on this trip, which was quite a trek, but I loved it every time! I saw so many things - Chinatown, Washington Square Park, Lombard Street, cute homes and cafes and so much more.

Other highlights:

Some other great things I saw included Coit Tower (a great view of the city!), Cliff House (gorgeous restaurant on the coast with an awesome view of the Pacific Ocean), cable cars (although I didn't actually ride one, tragic, I know!) and Market Street (lots of shopping and fun buildings).

San Francisco is a great city! I highly recommend it! I would go back in a heartbeat. It has a very international feel. It was funny because I would be riding a bus or walking down a street and be surprised when I understood English all around me. At first, I thought it was only because I'm just used to touring international cities, but I think it is also because San Fran feels international. The people are very helpful and friendly. It's just a great city! I <3 San Francisco!!!