With the time limitation, we broke our days up as efficiently as possible: day one would be all about exploring the northern part of the city (The Presidio, The Wharf, and surrounding areas), and the second day would be mainly about the Mission District. The first thing I noticed about actually being in the city versus planning out our activities on a map is that the city in real life is HUGE and has lots of hills. It’s not flat like the map, so we traded some of the walking for a few more sweaty Muni rides and Lyfts than I planned for. My feet were thankful though!

Side note: If you want to read about our road trip from Portland to San Francisco, read all about it on this post. And if you want more details about all the things we ate, I wrote some words on all of that here. In the meantime, here are a few things more we loved, plus a few things we want to do next time we’re in San Fran:

The Presidio And The Marina District

Josiah and I are big Disney fans and were so excited to discover that there was not only a Walt Disney Family Museum in the Presidio, but an entire special exhibit dedicated to Disney’s Nine Old Men (the nine core animators behind legendary Disney films like Alice In Wonderland, Peter Pan, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, etc). We nerded out big time over seeing original drawings from those films and got inspired by the processes of their art.

We also learned all about Walt Disney’s life and got to see tons of artifacts, including a giant 3D model of Disneyland’s concept art, created before it was built.

After the Walt Disney Family Museum, we took a little walk to the Palace of Fine Arts in the Marina District. It’s a monumental structure and event space that was originally constructed for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Expedition, and was just really beautiful to walk through, especially on such a sunny morning.

We continued our walk through the Marina District and headed for the Wave Organ, a huge art piece that was created for the ocean to play music. There are pipes throughout the structure, and at high tide, the waves create sound by crashing against the pipes! We didn’t go at high tide, so all we heard were gurgles, but there was a great view regardless.

The Wharf

I thought The Wharf would be within walking distance (it is if you want to make a day of it!), and after finding out how far it actually was we decided to take the Muni, San Francisco’s bus system. The MuniMobile app offers a $5 day pass that gives you unlimited rides on San Francisco public transit, which was well worth it for the day ahead.

We made it to The Wharf just fine and it was bustling with people. All I wanted for lunch was clam chowder in a bread bowl, so we headed out in search of the perfect place and ended up at Fog Harbor Fish House, which was tasty. Our table had a great view of the harbor and we watched seals and sea lions flip around on the docks all afternoon.

Fillmore District And Pacific Heights

Next, we got really touristy and went to see the Full House house. It was under construction with signs posted from neighbors urging tourists to keep the crowds down, so it didn’t look as photogenic as it does on tv.

I was more excited about seeing the house from Mrs. Doubtfire, one of my favorite movies of all time. I couldn’t help but imagine Sally Field on the steps, furiously saying, “you ate my begonias!” to the goat from the party.

After the famous houses, we ended up taking the Muni to Golden Gate Park and once again, I immediately realized how big the place was. In my mind, I thought we’d be able to reach the end of the park and watch the surfers at Ocean Beach, but in reality, we only made it a little of the way in. I was so exhausted from walking that I didn’t take any pictures and we instead took a Lyft to dinner at Brenda’s French Soul Food. So. Good.

The Ferry From Sausalito

Day two was my favorite day, because it all started out on the ferry! We boarded in Sausalito since our Airbnb was on that same side of the Golden Gate Bridge.

It was a quick 30-minute ride to the city, and we got to pass right by Alcatraz (I am so fascinated by that place!) and see the cityscape from the water. It was beautiful.

The Mission District

After the ferry we headed straight to Tartine. We took some pastries to go and headed a few blocks away to picturesque Dolores Park. It’s the best park I’ve ever been to, with epic views of San Francisco everywhere you turn. We sat for awhile and enjoyed Tartine, coffee, and sunshine.

We heard that Valencia street between 14th and 24th had the best shops, so we ventured out and walked the blocks, stopping into stores and seeing all that we could see. It was here that I stumbled upon Dandelion Chocolate and Stonemill Matcha, two of my favorite places for unique sweets in San Francisco. And for lunch, Gracias Madre.

I couldn’t help but take pictures of the foliage and all the pretty houses with bay windows peppering the Mission District.

The Castro

We ended day two by meeting up with some friends who had moved to the area a few months prior. They took us to an amazing sing-along viewing of Yellow Submarine at the Castro Theater. When we got there, we were each handed a goodie bag with a shiny gold crown, bubbles, confetti poppers, and glowsticks! It was so much fun!

Next Time

Since we only had two days in the city, there was plenty that we didn’t get to do. We had so much fun in San Francisco that we will definitely be back, and I’ve already made a list of things to put on our itinerary:

The Museum of Ice Cream – not so much about the history of ice cream per se, but rather, this place is an art exhibit with a colorful maze of rooms themed around ice cream and candy. It’s basically a giant photo-op, but looks like so much fun. There’s even a pool of rainbow sprinkles!

Alcatraz – Surprisingly, I didn’t know much about Alcatraz before coming to San Francisco. After seeing it up close on the ferry ride and hearing stories about the famous escape, I am so curious about what went on there and definitely want to book a tour next time.

Little Italy – Mainly because I’m Italian by marriage and this place seems romantic. I also hear that there’s a great place to get cannolis called Stella’s.

B Patisserie and Mr. Holmes Bakehouse – These are the two bakeries that were on my list that we didn’t get to see, mainly because they closed earlier than I thought and I didn’t plan accordingly. Mr. Holmes Bakehouse is the place with the famous “I got baked in San Francisco” neon sign.

Golden Gate Overlook – one of my biggest fails was not planning a time to take a photo with a more epic view of the Golden Gate Bridge! This is a spot in Presidio with a beautiful view.

Are there any things you’d recommend doing on a trip to San Francisco? Let me know in the comments for the next time we’re there!

The post San Francisco Favorites: What To Do appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

Before arriving in San Francisco, my husband and I had a list of restaurants and bakeries we just had to try. There were only two bakeries on the list that we didn’t get to enjoy because they closed earlier than I expected (poor planning on my part!), but we were both so delighted by everything we ate anyway. Since we walked miles and miles seeing all the sights, we got to eat a whole lot of food. That’s the magical thing about San Francisco – the walking counteracts the eating so you don’t feel bad about the calories for a second.

If you have yet to read about our epic road trip to San Fran and the things we did (besides eat!) while we were there, check out this post about the journey and this post on the fun San Francisco adventures we had. And just a forewarning on the current post you’re reading: I am about to seriously nerd out. Ya with me? Here are all the amazing things we ate on our trip:

Favorite Bakeries

I asked around on Instagram for your suggestions about what bakeries to try (thank you all, by the way!) and after hearing your recommendations, I expected great things from the bakeries of San Francisco. The best thing was, my expectations were far exceeded! There were two on the list that we didn’t get to try (B. Patisserie and Mr. Holmes Bakehouse), and I was a bit sad about missing those two, but these other ones made up for it in a big way:

Tartine

As soon as we got to Tartine, there was a line out the door. The sweet aroma of the bakery added to all the excitement and I found myself at the cases in no time, presented with so many pastries and breads that I was a little overwhelmed! Luckily, the lady next to me was a local who told me all about what to order. While I was tempted by the sweet pastries (as per usual), she nudged me toward the croissant and the morning bun, for which I was so grateful. I took one of each, plus two pastries: the chocolate hazelnut tart and the toasted lemon meringue cake. Josiah and I walked a block to picturescue Dolores Park to have our feast.

First we tried the croissant. It was flakey, buttery, and honestly the best I’ve ever had. Crunchy on the outside, and melt-in-your-mouth soft on the inside. Just look at the layers are in this thing!

Then we tried the morning bun. This was the number one thing that the lady next to me in line told me I had to get. I wouldn’t have chosen it without her recommendation, but I’m so glad we ended up with it! The morning bun is packed with amazing flavor – cinnamon, orange zest, and sugar – yet it wasn’t overwhelmingly sweet. It reminded me of Christmas morning in the best way.

Now for the sweets. I was eager to try the chocolate hazelnut tart first, because of my giant sweet tooth and the fact that I love chocolate hazelnut anything. What I did not expect was the hint of orange! It really tied the flavors together in the most unique way, and I was in heaven. It was the perfect textural blend of soft chocolate tart and crunchy hazelnuts. And it was just really pretty!

And lastly, the toasted lemon meringue cake. This one was Josiah’s pick, and I am really thankful he chose it. Underneath the toasted meringue topping were so many tiny layers of vanilla cake, caramel, and lemon curd.

I would never think to put caramel and lemon together but holy smokes. It worked!

Miette

This one definitely wins the award for cutest storefront. The inside was equally charming, with colorful rows of candy and pastel tables full of housemade confections. The Parisian vibes were strong.

I ended up getting a chocolate cupcake with Italian meringue frosting and it was real tasty. In hindsight, I wish I would have tried the macarons as well, but my brain was swirling from all the choices yet again!

Dandelion Chocolate

This place was unexpectedly awesome. It’s a small batch bean-to-bar chocolate factory in the Mission District, and as soon as you walk in, you’re greeted with a whole wall of chocolate bars made from beans sourced all over the world and you can taste as many as you want! I was on nerd overload here.

When I got to the counter there were so many well-designed chocolate desserts to choose from. I was very pleased to see that they had an entire Chef’s Tasting Menu of desserts – mini versions of the cacao spritzer, profiterole, s’more (hello!), passionfruit macaron, and husk panna cotta. I swear, everything I tried, I literally said “wow” out loud!

My favorites on the Chef’s Tasting Menu were the s’more and the husk panna cotta. The s’more featured a spicy (maybe cardamom?) crust, well-toasted marshmallow, and chocolate from Ecuador. The panna cotta was creamy deliciousness infused with cacao husk from Costa Rica. There was also a cacao crumble on top.

Stonemill Matcha

This was another “line out the door” space that was worth the wait. The matcha served at Stonemill Matcha comes from the shade-grown farms of Kyoto, Japan, which is actually the birthplace of matcha, and just like the name suggests, it’s stone ground (and hand whisked!) to perfection.  

The case featured an all-matcha dessert menu, so I ordered a matcha latte and a matcha cream puff (mainly because it was so cute!). I know I’ve said this about all the things, but this was real tasty and also pretty to look at.

Favorite Restaurants

As far as savory things go, Josiah and I got to try a few different restaurants in San Francisco and while everything was amazingly good, these are the two standouts for both of us:

Brenda’s French Soul Food

My oh my, this might be my favorite restaurant of all time. I love soul food and this place had some of the richest flavor I’ve ever tasted from a New Orlean’s style restaurant. It was beyond. Josiah and I decided to split a few things because we just couldn’t decide. We ended up with crawfish beignets, hushpuppies, and shrimp po’boys. It was another experience where everything I tasted I involuntarily said, “wow” out loud!

The hushpuppies were served with a chipotle rèmoulade, which was the perfect spicy compliment to the sweet corn goodness.

Gracias Madre

Gracias Madre is a plant-based Mexican food joint, and while I didn’t really think that vegan Mexican food would be any good, I was proven very wrong. All of my experiences with vegan cheese before this were very negative (aka it tasted like glue to me every time). We weren’t sure what to order so we asked our server, who was quick to point out the Quesadillas de Camote and the Coliflor Frito. I thought, “great, two vegan cheese things,” but when I tried them I was shocked to find that they tasted so flavorful and complex (in the best way). No glue taste at all!

The Quesadillas de Comote tasted like Fall, packed with sweet potato and caramelized onion, wrapped in a warm corn tortilla, and topped with melted cashew cheese, mild green salsa, and pumpkin seeds. So good. While Josiah wasn’t a huge fan of the Coliflor Frito (fried cauliflower with melted cashew cheese and lemon) I thought it was really tasty, but part of me wished the Quesadillas de Comote were twice the size and the serving of Coliflor Frito was half the size.

We can’t wait to come back to San Francisco again to savor our favorites and try some new things! Have you ever been? Let me know your favorite SF restaurants in the comments. And PS if you want to read about our favorite things we did while we were in the city (besides eat!), check out this post.

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