We had almost six days to explore San Francisco, so we felt as though we could take a day or so to relax and recuperate from our trip so far. However, this may have backfired in the end as – full disclosure – we ended up not seeing possibly one of the most iconic sights in the entire world: the Golden Gate Bridge (whoops). However, at least I have an excuse to go back to San Francisco now (as if I need one!)
We were staying for the first couple of days with another couchsurfer on California street, so we took the cable car up from where we were dropped off in the financial district.
Everything I had ever heard about the size of the hills in San Francisco is more than true – I was so glad of the cable car, I don’t think I would have been able to physically drag myself up the hill with all my bags and stuff! Even in the cable car I was slightly nervous that we would start falling down the hills and be unable to stop, but luckily we made it safely in one piece.
We went past Chinatown on our way to where we were staying, and later on in the day we had a walk through it. It was pretty similar to Chinatown in London, except much, much bigger. There were shops and stalls selling so many different things that I would have loved to spend longer exploring, but Emma and I were on a number of missions (keep reading to find out more).
Once we had arrived at our home for the next couple of days, our couchsurfer told us about this event happening the next day that he invited us to. Called Bay to Breakers, it is a 12 kilometre run through the city, followed by a massive, city-wide party. The race is run mainly by professionals, but everyone joins in afterwards and gets dressed up – pretty much anything goes! Our couchsurfer invited us to come along with him and some of his friends, so we had the afternoon to go thrift shopping and cobble together some sort of costume (Mission number 1).
As you can see, my outfit was clearly fantastic (despite being told that I looked like both Ed Miliband and Wallace from Wallace and Gromit, I was actually supposed to be a golfer – the wig came later on). Also, at the point this picture was taken, I had been drinking for around three hours, and it was only just past midday – apparently everything starts to die down later on, so if you want to get the full Bay to Breakers experience, you have to start early!
At about eleven, we started to head down to the Panhandle, a small park on the west side of the city connected to Golden Gate Park, where most of the action seemed to be happening. People were milling about in the park, and in houses nearby. After a while, we graduated from parting in the park to partying in a house, which was odd to start with but we soon got used to it!
Emma and I ended up crashing out pretty early (not surprising when you take into account how early we started drinking!), so we went back to our couchsurfer’s flat and just ate loads of pizza in front of the TV. All in all, it was a really amazing day where we got to see a side of the city that we almost certainly wouldn’t have if we had stayed in a hotel or hostel, and it was a truly unique experience.
However, we also wanted to do some more tourist-y things whilst we were there (except see the Golden Gate Bridge, I know, I know!), so we also took a trip one day to Lombard Street and Pier 39. Lombard Street is apparently the most crooked street in the world, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was one of the most photographed too! I didn’t get a photo, but there must have been at least fifty people taking pictures of the cars coming down – there were even police officers doing traffic control.
Pier 39 was also very busy, but luckily they mainly kept to themselves out on the water:
After a couple of days, we had to change couchsurfers, as one of Emma’s friends was meeting up with us and coming along to LA. We moved from California over to the Haight-Ashbury district – near the Panhandle, where we were a few days before.
This area of San Francisco is best known for being the place where the hippie movement started, and there is plenty of evidence of that still. It was so nice to see a completely different side of the city from where we had stayed before, particularly as I probably wouldn’t have visited Haight-Ashbury otherwise. Our new couchsurf hosts were lovely as well (I’m sensing a theme!), taking us out to dinner and basically including us in their day-to-day lives in a way that meant we got to see parts of San Francisco that we definitely wouldn’t have if we stayed anywhere else.
During our last full day in San Francisco, we went on a mission to get camping equipment for the festival we were heading off to the next day (Mission number 2). As we knew that we would only be using everything for a few days maximum, we were keen to spend as little as possible, so we headed off to the Mission district, where there were plenty of thrift stores where we hoped we could find sleeping bags and other camping essentials. We did manage to find sleeping bags of varying degrees (mine was a child’s Scooby Doo sleeping bag, and Emma became the proud owner of a fairy princess sleeping bag with matching rucksack), but failed miserably on finding a tent. Whilst the Mission district may not have any tents, it was a fantastic place to wander round and explore, and I would truly recommend visiting if you’re ever in the San Francisco area.
The final noteworthy thing I did in San Francisco was to get my first ever In-N-Out Burger (the first of three in a week I think – it was that good). I ate a LOT of burgers whilst I was away, but In-N-Out was by far and away the best. What I loved most about it was that you could actually see them chipping the potatoes and making the burger patties from scratch, and you could really taste the freshness in the result. Also, their menu is insanely small – they literally have a normal burger, a cheeseburger and a double cheeseburger, plus fries and drinks. The fun starts when you discover their secret menu (not really secret at all – everyone we met in California knew about it!), where you can start creating things like ‘animal fries’, aka cheesy chips and a whole load of other stuff that three visits wasn’t enough to discover. In that way, my time in In-N-Out was sort of like my time in San Francisco in general – it was seriously good, and I enjoyed everything so much, but there was still so much left that I could have done. A return trip is definitely on the cards!*
*especially to see the Golden Gate Bridge!!
thisisisrachel 
I visited San Francisco for the first time last year. I loved that you could see so much without taking public transportation. I think the sea lions and Chinatown were my favorite!
I know, we walked pretty much everywhere when we were there and it was no problem. I loved that the city is so different everywhere you go – every time I went downtown it looked like a completely different city!
So true!!