Bay Area Baby Pt. 2

Fast forward to the next day, we ended up waking up later than expected (due to sneaky strong beer that doesn't hit you until it's too late) and decided that we were going to head into downtown. Our Lyft driver dropped us off at Union Square. Before we could fully function we obviously needed food in our systems and we happened to find a cute little cafe that was still serving breakfast. Obviously that meant mimosa time! 

Once fueled up we headed out into Union Square and the giant Macys store which was ridiculous! We then made the trek down to Chinatown, which we both had been super excited for, but wasn't exactly as great as we thought it would be (4 Lyft drivers told us that Chinatown isn't what it used to be, guess we didn't catch that memo), but we still found a lot of the souvenirs we wanted to buy there. Also we found the only fortune cookie factory that still makes them by hand. The highlight of Chinatown had to be visiting St. Mary's Cathedral, which is the oldest cathedral in California if I'm not mistaken. It was nice to just walk in and pray and just find some time during this crazy little trip to find some peace. It was also incredibly beautiful inside, between the architecture and the stained glass, it was a feast for the eyes. 

After Chinatown we went back to Union Square to catch a cable car back to Fisherman's Wharf, but the wait was an hour and a half and no one has time for that so we took a lyft back. We did however get to take pictures on the cable cars thanks to the lovely conductors! Fast forward to our last day in SF, which got off to another late start (we can blame this on a mix of Chestnut St. bars, 24 hour pizza, and new foreign friends). We decided to just suck it up and try and pack in as much as we could before we had to head back  to the airport and catch our flight home! Serious lack of pictures from this day cause I was trying to GoPro everything we were doing (literally my shoulders were dying from lugging around my Pentax MX-1 and GoPro Hero 3). We ended up getting a Lyft driver who was a total doll, he drove us to the Painted Ladies, Twin Peaks, the Castro and ended up dropping us off at Ike's. After grabbing our sandwiches we made the walk to Delores Park (which is currently under construction so it's not as great as you think it would be) and we had ourselves a little picnic there. From Delores Park we headed back to Fisherman's Wharf to buy last minute souvenirs and do a little bike riding. We ended up renting a bike and biking along the bay through Fort Mason, those hills are no joke though, but the views were definitely worth it! 

Post bike riding we literally had to haul ass to SFO after some confusing text messages from Southwest about delayed flights and then back to being on time flights, but we made it back to LA safe and sound! Looks like the traveling bug has got me cause I'm way too excited to start planning another trip perhaps across the pond! Or across the country! Just kidding I'll take anywhere really or maybe even just somewhere I've never been in SoCal, the possibilities are endless! 

Bay Area Baby

This past week my best friend and I decided to do a bit a of last minute trip up to San Francisco, which is pretty hilarious if you know us, after 19 years of being best friends this was our first major trip on our own. We booked the 9:30 am flight out of LAX (which they canceled 20 minutes before it was supposed to leave!), but luckily we were able to hop onto the 10:45 flight. 

Once we arrived at SFO we were able to catch a ride on those airport ride share vans (only 17 per person) which was the logical choice seeing as how we didn't know how the BART operates and we didn't want to spend a fortune on a taxi. We ended up staying in The Marina area, which was located near Fisherman's Wharf and Golden Gate Bridge, which suited are our tourist needs just fine. Except, it's not too close to the Golden Gate Bridge, which we soon learned while attempting to walk to it (2 miles looks a lot closer than it actually is). Thank goodness for Uber, cause after 20 minutes of walking we gave up and called for a ride! 

Our Uber driver happened to be a complete doll who took us to the best spots to take pictures of the bridge, and he even jumped a wall to get my bestie's hat when it blew away! After being on both sides of the bridge we decided to head to Fisherman's Wharf for some clam chowder in a bread bowl, which I think is the most typical tourist thing to do in SF, but it was delicious nonetheless. I can't forget to mention the sea lions hanging out at the wharf! They're equal parts cute and smelly, but are a definite must see. 

One of the things we really wanted to do out there was go to Alcatraz Island, but it ended up being sold out until the end of the month. Apparently you're supposed to buy tickets weeks in advance. Tears, obviously we didn't get that memo, but they have a little miniature version of it on display near the ticket box office to tide you over. 

From Pier 33 we headed back to Ghiradelli Square because ice cream of course. Not going to lie we were totally expecting it to be the actual chocolate factory, but when we got there we soon learned that the factory was somewhere across the bay. Disappointing of course, but nothing a free chocolate and ice cream sundae can't fix. The chocolate ice cream in this thing has to be top 3 in chocolate ice cream, it's what chocolate dreams are made of. While you eat your ice cream they have a small section dedicated to what the old chocolate factory used to look like, another one of those things that can tide you over instead of seeing the real thing, but they do use real chocolate!

Determined to walk off the ice cream sundae right after we ate it, we decided to make the 1.5 mile walk back to our hotel, which wouldn't have been so bad if it hadn't been so windy and drizzly the entire time. I'm pretty sure we cut our walking time in half cause we practically ran all the way there. 

Danced All Night To The Best Song Ever

This past Thursday my sister and I went to the one concert we've been dying to go to all year...One Direction. I honestly think it was one of the best ones I've been to ever, but I could just be blinded by my love for this group of British heartthrobs. Their opening act, Jamie Scott was really impressive though, he gives off the Ed Sheeran singer songwriter vibe, and he's quite the eye candy. Their other opening act, 5SOS has quite a large fan base, assuming from the amount of screaming that was going on, but honestly I only know their amnesia song and the American Apparel underwear one. I can totally see the baby one direction vibe they give off though, but their appeal is more rocker than boy band I think. One direction definitely did not disappoint from beginning to end. We literally spent the whole concert dancing and singing our hearts out, even more so than the young ones who were next to us! 

Let's Get Lost in a Story

So I think I have a deep and long standing love affair with bookstores. Maybe it has to do with the fact that when I was small most of my free time was spent at my local library trying to read as many books as I could. I loved reading and I still do. There's just something magical about reading a good story and how the best ones can make you feel and think and see things in a completely different way. As much as I love small bookstores filled with quirky charm, big mainstream bookstores are just as exciting. Especially when you can just sit in between the bookshelves and spend your time perusing through an enormous selection. I was lucky enough to have some free time to spend with one of my closest friends and her little sister just hanging around a Barnes and Noble catching up on life and the newest books out. Sometimes the simplest days end up being the best ones. 

Fashion Frenzy

I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one filled with extreme New York Fashion Week jealousy. Especially since it's all over the news and social media. Currently stalking Jamie Chung and Shay Mitchell's instagram feeds (two of my all time favorite fashion obsessions) and gushing over every beautiful show that they post about. Every time I fall asleep loving one show I wake up to another one being just as amazing. Friday night I was loving Kate Spade's new line and this morning I couldn't get over Monique Lhuillier's line. Can't wait to see the other shows coming up! 

Three of my favorites from Monique's line. 

Brunch

Possibly had the best brunch with one of my greatest friends at the cutest spot. Nothing like a wonderful meal and even better conversation.

Sunny Days.

Saturday was spent traveling down to San Diego, but what happens to usually be an hour and a half car ride turned into 3 hours due to traffic. Even though the trip down there was slow and painful, once we got to San Diego it was definitely worth it. The weather was perfect and I swear the air is ten times cleaner down there too. It was actually my first time going to Coronado Island, and I absolutely fell in love. It's so cute and quaint and the vibe of the whole place was just fun and carefree. On our way back up we did a quick stop in La Jolla, which is just as beautiful as Coronado.