San Francisco : 48-Hour Tourist

As a California native I've been to San Francisco more times than I can count.  I know I've been to and seen the tourist attractions multiple times, but those memories are mostly from my childhood and have long faded away. When I planned a weekend getaway to San Fran I was determined to fit in as many touristy things as possible. Considering it's hard to find time to get away from work, a weekend was all I could do, and I was going to take it!  Although ideal, sometimes you can't get away for nice long weekend getaways.  This is a sample of everything that you can squeeze into 48 hours in beautiful San Francisco.  Let's face it San Francisco is definitely top ten weekend getaways material.

First things first, wake up early! This can prove to be tough, considering our flight from LAX to SFO was delayed a few hours. SFO sucks or flying southwest into SFO sucks. That's another topic though. Anyway, wake up early to make the most of your 48 hours. 

First stop: Billy Goat Hill Park

Billy Goat Hill is a little ways out of the city, but is so worth it. It has a great view of the city from its tiny hill. Usually, there is a rope swing that hangs from this giant tree on the hill. From the right angle, you can have a friend take a photo of you swinging that looks like your swinging at the edge of the world. This is one of the infamous San Francisco swings. Unfortunately, the park had cut down the swings, due to its "dangerous" nature. Fortunately for us, there were still ropes hanging there for us to swing on. Probably not the safest idea, but hey why not?

Brunch: Kitchen Story

This cute little eatery was pretty delicious maybe due to the fact that we walked from the park and were starving. Also do to the fact that they have millionaires bacon. Millionaires bacon, people. I mean thick cut bacon with brown sugar and cayenne pepper, yes please. By the way, they have a bottomless mimosa brunch.  Unlimited mimosa brunch, yup.

Check out Kitchen Story here.

Next stop: Mission Cheese

Again, why go to another eatery, why not! And I am slightly obsessed with cheese. They have a good selection of different regions of cheese that you can choose from. I'll let this picture speak for itself.

Check out Mission Cheese here.

Stop 5: Dolores Park

Apparently this is the place to be on the weekend. When we walked up, I actually thought that there was an organized festival or something that was happening. People bring food, friends and come to this park to hang out and have fun. Again, we grabbed some snacks, some drinks and found an open spot to absorb the excitement that is Dolores Park.

Stop 6: The Painted Ladies

As a pretty much die hard Full House fan, seeing the Painted Ladies was a must do. Although, my parents say I've seen them before. I say in this case if you can't remember it, does it count? I think these could arguably be the most famous houses in San Francisco.  We caught an uber and stopped for a photo op. You don't need to spend much time here, but still a must see for an iconic San Fran symbol. 

Last stop of the day: Lands End

By far the best and my most favorite part of the day. We were in a race against time, or more like the sun, to get to Lands End to catch the sunset. I had done a bunch of research of the best views of the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Bridge viewpoints and this place was high on my search.  Golden hour is also the best part of the day for photos, so pretty views and golden hour was a can't miss. And after golden hour, you'll get an awesome view of the Golden Gate bridge at night, as well.  We hiked down to the water, which disclaimer is a slightly challenging hike. And by slightly I mean I did the hike in sandals, but it is a pretty good incline down. Again, I think these pictures will do it better justice than any of my words.

Ok, I know that was a lot for one day.  Trust me, it was tiring, but so much fun, especially with great friends, good food and views.  Ready for Day Two? It's got more Golden Gate bridge viewpoints.  Ok, here it goes:

DAY 2, STOP 1: THE PRESIDIO

After we met up with a few friends, our first stop was to head to the Presidio for "Off the Grid".  There were a ton of food vendors and such set up on the lawn, overlooking the Golden Gate bridge.  It was an awesome place to sit on the grass, picnic style, gazing over at the bridge.  On top of that, the food choices were amazing making it hard to even decide on which vendor to choose.  I ended up with a Duck Pastrami sandwich from Pluck.  Duck made and treated like Pastrami on Brioche Bread with all the fix-ins, it was delicious.  Followed by a healthy juice from Happy Moose Juice.  Again, delicious.  

Check out Off the Grid, Pluck and Happy Moose if you're in the San Francisco area!

STOP 2: WALK to The Golden Gate BRIDGE

After stuffing ourselves silly with great food, we decided to take a walk to the Bridge.  I've seen the Golden Gate Bridge so many times, but couldn't remember ever having walked on it.  The walk from the Presidio to the Bridge is a great one with views of the water, city and Bridge the whole way.  It was a little longer of a walk than I expected, just fare warning.  There are, also, literally thousands (ok I exaggerated a little) of places to stop for photo ops every twist and turn of the path. 

We also lucked out with such a perfect clear, blue sky day.  I don't think we could've asked for a better setting.  

Last Stop: GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE

It's funny, we stopped at so many places along the way, our pictures started to look the same, just from different angles.  But nothing beats the view you can from being on the Bridge.

I hope you've been able to get some ideas on where to visit in San Francisco and how much you can do in such a short period, if you're up to it.  Life's too short, make the most of it!

Yours Truly // Shannon