{dear friend}

Oh, sigh. We’ve come to the end of San Francisco. Feel free to imagine me tearing up over here. As is only natural— I know you understand.

Now if you’re confused as to how many days we spent in San Francisco as a result of my crazy number of blog posts, I get it. I went vacation post crazy. We were there 3 days— yes, yes, I know this is blog post no. 5— it’s just, the pictures! I couldn’t possibly decide! 3 days was surprisingly enough for us, although I would have gladly taken more. My feeling on it all is that we will just have to go back. Would I rather spend a whole week in San Francisco alone OR try my hand at SF, Big Sur, and Seattle? A big feat, but seeing as we hardly ever travel to the west coast, the latter was a no brainer. Because L-I-V-I-N-G!

Out of our three days in SF, it’s hard to say what the best day was, because they were all pretty spectacular, but this day was a treat! Even despite the cloudy skies {which true to our luck, only lasted the morning hours}. On the last day we woke up early and headed, once again, back over to the Mission. I was on my OWN mission to get those Tartine pastries IF YA KNOW WHAT I MEAN. ;) And yes! We finally got them! And yes! They were delicious!

Besides the pastries, what I loved most about this place was how it was so unassuming. Without even a sign on the exterior, I would never had known about Tartine if it didn’t come recommended. But recommended it was— by lots! And I can absolutely see why. I’d like to return to San Francisco someday if just for the pastries. And I wouldn’t mind trying the bread pudding and sandwiches, either. My personal favorite out of the three pastry treats we tried was the morning bun. SIMPLE AND DELICIOUS. The way it should always be.

After that we were off— Our last day in the city and I signed us up for a walking tour. YUP. Tourist me up!

When I think about myself, I don’t usually pin myself as the tourist type. I mean, SURE I do touristy things sometimes, but as far as vacations go I’ve never signed up for anything like this before. And yet. When I think about it a little harder I TOTALLY AM the touristy type. Ferry ride to the Statue of Liberty anyone? Gleeful walk across the Brooklyn Bridge? Scooters in Nantucket? Are you kidding me? I was giddy giddy on the Golden Gate Bridge and had tears of joy through the entirety of Muir Woods. I LIVE for this stuff, honestly. And I’m not afraid to admit it.

Also, the tour was another tip that came highly recommended. {Thanks, Melissa!}

So here are the photos from our third day in San Francisco. The very last day and we spent it seeing it all…

Chinatown! The most colorful to see!

“When you’re lost out there and you’re all alone
The light is waiting, to caaaaryyyyy you hoooooooooome…”

Smitten Ice Cream!

D-O-L-O-R-E-S  P-A-R-K
{DREAM}

Whew! We literally went everywhere. And the sun decided to shine! This tour took us through so many neighborhoods– we rode a cable car, saw Chinatown and the first fortune cookie factory, visited Lombard Street and the Painted Ladies, we went to Ghirardelli Square and sampled chocolate, enjoyed the views and murals at the SF Art Institute,  went to Pacific Heights, Hayes Valley, and the Castro District, caught Dolores Park in the sunshine AND MORE!

It really was pretty awesome, and we loved our tour guide, too. So much, in fact, we still talk about him today. “THE REAL SF! THE REAL SF!” He’d shout through the busses and subway cars. It was the best.

The Real SF Tour— we recommend it too!

After the tour we grabbed drinks at La Mar— right by the ferry building and one last trip to the Embarcadero. A perfect retreat after a long day of walking around the city. Then, to top things off, we met up with Jackie, a friend I’ve gotten to know through instagram. She is one of my favorites to follow, as she really has that THIS IS LIVING! spirit that I love so much. {Love you, Jackie!} We got some cones at The Ice Cream Bar, an awesome old fashioned artisan soda shop that’s right in her neighborhood, and then she took us on a drive to see some of the last few must-dos on our list! LUCKY LUCKY, I kept thinking. We were so lucky.

Jackie drove us to the Cliff House and the Sutro Baths, through Golden Gate Park, AND! Twin Peaks! The views cannot be beat. I don’t think the ending to our trip to San Francisco could have been any better.

We love you, San Francisco. Thanks for everything. ♥♥

Watching the sun rise and fall is one of my favorite things to do. In Cape Cod every summer we make a point to get up before dawn a few times while we’re there to head down to the beach and watch the sun pop up over the horizon. Sunsets are just as special and in my experience, sometimes even better. Especially after a long, eventful day. It’s a time to sit back, relax, and think, This day! This adventure! It is so so good.

On our second day in San Francisco, after spending the morning in the redwoods, we walked ourselves through town to do a little exploring. We found Lombard Street, and then headed towards Union and Filmore to do a little window shopping/book store hunting. It’s kind of crazy to be in such a big city for only 3 days and try to see it all. So, we did what we could and left it at that. I went into a few shops, took a few pictures, and felt happy about being in the sunshine taking in the views.

One of the places recommended to us was Tacolicious– probably 5 different people told us to go here!– and luckily there was one close to where we were walking around that afternoon. THANK HEAVENS! It really was everything you said it would be. We sat outside {UNDER THE HEAT LAMPS} filling ourselves with margaritas and tacos, reflecting on where we’d been and what we were about to do next. I loved sitting in that spot. Warm feelings and warm shoulders. Loving our trip and loving life.

CAN YOU BELIEVE THOSE BEAUTIES?

Perfection on a plate.

After dinner, we realized we were very close to the Palace of Fine Arts, so we took a stroll over just as the sun was starting to fall. Talk about grand! This place is gorgeous. We walked under the tall pillars feeling so small once again in such a big, big place. The light was amazing– making the color of the rotunda look like the prettiest shade of pink.

And then, a sunset to beat alllll other sunsets {sorry Cape Cod!}.

This one was IT.

Oh, sigh. A hundred times over.

God bless vacation and God bless AMERICA.