a san francisco {love} affair.

 Happy Thursday, folks! I'm excited to share one last California-centric guest post this week :) this post comes from Ashley at a {little} dash of ash, one of my favorite new{er} bloggers on the scene. She also spent a few years in California after college, so I thought she'd be the perfect person to shed a little light on Northern California! Thank you again, Ashley! Have a lovely day! xoxo {av}

P.S. Even though I'm on vacation, Friday's Fancies will certainly be on for tomorrow! Get excited :) I have a wine-tasting outfit prepared! yay!
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Hello readers of {long distance loving}!  This is Ashley from a {little} dash of ash guest blogging for {av} while she is on holiday in California (so, so, so jealous)!  She asked me to be part of her California inspired blog week since I lived out in San Francisco for a few years after college!
  

I am so excited to post about one of my favorite cities ever!  If you haven't already been, SF is one of the most diverse and fun cities in the country!  There is something to do for everyone and definitely more than enough things to do to last a lifetime!  For real, I lived there for over 3 years and didn't get to experience all that this city has to offer!  While there are a lot of "touristy" things to do in SF, there are so many hidden treasures that I thought I would share with you!  Hope you take this list on your next vacation, I promise it will not disappoint! :)


I love food more than anything in this world... and I definitely gained 20 pounds when I moved out west from trying all of the amazing restaurants!  It didn't help that I worked in an industry that had Vendor Dinners every single night! It was a luxury to go to some of the top restaurants in the Country, but my friends and I also found some of our own local favorites!  Here are just a few below:


and for some amazing BRUNCH try: Judy's, East Side West, Squat and Gobble, Beretta, Tangerine


Most tourists head down to Union Square for shopping - which isn't a bad place to go since it has every store you can imagine (including my favorite Bloomingdale's ever) - but if you want to venture off and find some unique boutiques head to Union Street, Chestnut Street,  


Ok, everyone needs to take at least one trolley ride in their lifetime and the Alcatraz night tour is pretty interesting as well!  But some other kind of "touristy" things to do is: Haight Ashbury, The Golden Gate Park, The Ferry Building, North Beach, and taking a bike ride across the Golden Gate Bridge!

If you are super touristy and head to Fisherman's Wharf - watch out for the Bushman!  If you are walking around Nob Hill, say hello to the famous Nob Hill Twins!  And don't forget to pay a tribute to The Grateful Dead by visiting Jerry Garcia's house!  The Painted Ladies (Houses from Full House) are beautiful and Lombard Street (the curviest street in America) is fun to drive down!

And... if you have time for a baseball game - I think AT&T Park, home of the SF Giants, is one of the most beautiful and fun stadiums I have been to!  Head to MoMo's for drinks before or after the game!


There are so many fun things to do outside of SF as well!  One of the local favorites is drinking on the patio at Sam's Cafe in Sausalito and one of my favorite weekend activities was heading up to Sonoma and Napa Valley!  Yes, we were that close for a day trip - It was heaven! :)

This post just brought back so many memories... and I think I'm going to head on over to Kayak to check out flights to the West Coast!  I miss you SF!

Thank you {av} for inviting me to guest post.  Be sure to hop on over to my {blog} for inspiration on fashion, home decor and things I love!  xxoo!

32 comments:

  1. Love this post!! We are heading to San Fran this summer and Ash provided some great tips!!

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  2. o how fun! i NEED to go to san fran soon :) xoxo jillian:: cornflake dreams

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  3. {av} thanks for coming to my rescue, I am going on a wine tasting girl date and had no idea of what to wear.

    SF seems dreamy

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  4. Awesome post! I've never been to SF, but I've itching to check it out. I have a feeling I might fall in love with it though if I went, and then it would be very hard to go back to cold dreary Chicago. I'm going to bookmark this in case I ever make it there!

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  5. ahhh, this is amazing! i love SF and can't wait to go back! i need book mark this for future trips :)

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  6. aww this post makes me so happy. i'm moving to sf in july and couldn't be more excited!! i'll definitely use your suggestions :)

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  7. I LOVE San Fran. Visited about 2 years ago and can't wait to go back. This post has me *California Dreaming*...

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  8. Oh my gosh, this makes me miss home so much! Love the creme brulee cart dearly.

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  9. I've never been but this post just convinced me that I MUST go one day- so gorgeous and what a fabulously put together review of the city- loved it!!

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  10. I use to be a big fan of Full House and ever since I realized they lived in SF, I've always wanted to visit. It's so beautiful.

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  11. I love SF! I hope you're having a fabulous time in SF right now...excited to see your wine tasting outfit tomorrow!

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  12. Cute post! So glad I have found your blog!

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  13. I loved this post. I love SF, quite possibly my most favorite city of all time!

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  14. Not even joking: every single sentence in this blog ended in an exclamation point.
    Not complaining, though-- it just means you're passionate! :) Thank you for a great tour of your former home.

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  15. OMG... San Fran is without a doubt my favorite city in the U.S.. It has the best energy. 2nd best part- its only 45 mins away from wine country! win for everyone :)

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  16. Those rowhouses are so pretty. And I WANT A CREME BRULEE CART. Like, of my own.

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  17. what a great post...and super informative!!! :-)

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  18. Thanks for having me lady! Can't wait to hear all about your trip! :) *ash

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  19. Never have I seen such marvelous photography! Definitely an inspiration :-)

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  20. So glad you're enjoying SF! I love this city and am very happy to be living in the Bay!

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  21. I need to plan a trip to California. It's somewhere I've never been but always wanted to go...it's going on my list. I can't wait to hear about your trip when you return!! I miss you!

    xo

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  22. I really love San Francisco! I'm glad that I have been several times and have experienced different things each time!

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  23. This post brings back such good memories!... I love San Fran... def one of my top three cities in the US!

    xoxo
    Jenna

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  24. I love this post, and of course, my wonderful adopted city! Hope you guys are having a terrific day-the weather is finally nice here in SF!

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  25. I'm loving all the CA posts!

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  26. I heart San Fran! We have a wedding there in October...not soon enough!

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  27. FOOD!! :P

    Emily
    P.S. - Come enter the giveaway on my blog for a pretty necklace :)
    texasnj.dayeightmedia.com

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  28. Yes! La Taqueria-- I AGREE!!! Yum!

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  29. I love the Creme Brulee Cart. It brings such joy in little packages. Nice wrapup of the city.

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  30. great collabz girls! and Ashley, thank you for sharing the inside scoops on all the wonders you experienced while living there. i've always wanted to go and this just solidifies things even more. cheers! ♥

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  31. This makes me want to go back to SF so bad! J and I spent our honeymoon there almost a year ago and it was a magical time for us (and it looks like it was for you too!) Can't wait to hear more about it :)

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