San Francisco

Jason and I stayed at the Westin St. Francis in Union Square while in San Fran.  It was an old, quiant hotel with alot of charm.  The room was small, but cozy and had a pretty chandelier above the bed instead of a fan.  We kept the windows open in our room alot and enjoyed the cool, California breeze.  We slept in on Saturday morning, got ready for the day, and headed out to enjoy a yummy breakfast before site-seeing in San Fran.  We ate a restaurant called Sears, which is apparently known for their mini-pancakes. 

 After stuffing ourselves with pancakes and waffles, we walked around Union Square and then headed over to China town. 

The weather was very chilly on Saturday and the hills in the area we were staying were very steep so walking around got old pretty fast.  We debated what we felt like doing that day and finally decided to try out the on-again-off-again double-decker red busses that drive around the city.  I am usually not a huge "tour" person, but we actually really enjoyed riding around on the bus.  The sun came out and we liked sitting on the second level and seeing the sites.  The tour guide was very entertaining, and we definitely saw more of the city that way than if we had just walked around.  The bus also let us off down at the wharf which worked out well since that is where the boat leaves from to head to Alcatraz.

 Jason and I on the bus

Lombard Street

We got off at Pier 39 and walked down to see the hundreds of sea lions laying around on the pier.  It really is amazing to me that these animals come back to the same spot every year and that they congregate at that one pier.  Although they're really stinky, they are still neat to watch.

We had a little more time to kill so we decided to walk through the aquarium that's down on the wharf.  They have an area where you can touch baby sharks and sting rays as well as tons of starfish.  I really like aquariums and thought it was neat.

 Jason looking thrilled to be touching the sting ray.

 I am a little more excited about the starfish  :)

We then had an early dinner at Fog Harbor and had a great window table with a view of the Golden Gate bridge.  We had a crab cake appetizer and grilled fish for dinner.  After dinner, we walked down to Pier 33 to board the boat for the night tour of Alcatraz.  We both loved the tour.  It was super informative and pretty crazy to get to walk in the cells where the former prisoners once lived.  The views looking back on San Francisco with the sun setting were incredible and possibly my favorite part of the tour.

 Yes...Jason is holding my purse.  I had been carrying it around all day, and it was stuffed full of junk and was super heavy.  My arm was about to fall off so he carried it for me for a while.  Just another reason why I love him..haha

Once we arrived back at the harbor, we took a cab back to Union Square.  We hung out together at a piano bar across the street from our hotel for a little while before heading to bed.  Sunday, we got everything together to check out of the hotel and headed out to lunch for one last meal before leaving for the airport.  We went back to China town to enjoy an authentic Chinese lunch at a restaurant called House of Nanking.  It was recommended to me by some people I worked with while in San Fran last year.  The food was super yummy. 

After lunch, we walked around some of the shops in Union Square for an hour or so before heading to the airport.  We made one more detour on the way out of town to stop and see Candlestick Park where the 49'ers play.  Jason was a huge Giant's fan when he was a kid and since the Giant's used to play at Candlestick as well he wanted to stop and see it.

Although we were sad to leave, it was nice to be back home and back in our routine.  I feel so blessed that Jason and I were able to get away and celebrate our first year of marriage together (a little early).