Save Me San Francisco! Day 2: A Golden Time in the City with the Golden Gate

The next day, we explored San Francisco itself. We woke early so that we could get a good start on the city. Before we reached the city though, we wanted to stop by the headquarters of the different tech companies in Silicon Valley near San Jose. My uncle Tom was an excellent tour guide as he told us all about the different companies that we went to. We took pictures at Yahoo, Google, and Apple's headquarters before heading up to the big city.

And we first went to the Golden Gate. It took a while to get through the Bay Area traffic, but we finally made it amidst a deep fog. You always hear about how impressive the Golden Gate is, but until you see it in person, you don't actually grasp how majestic the bridge really is in person. My aunt, uncle, Ryan and I walked almost halfway across, taking pictures all the way through the fog.

Afterword, we moved on into the city. San Francisco is a ridiculously hilly city and we were amazed at how steep some of their streets are! We went up and down the streets until we reached the Tanner house of TV show Full House fame. Remarkably, the house is a real, average San Francisco home. WE wanted to snap a picture, so we did!

Then we moved on, we went to the famous San Francisco trolley. Of course, we had to wait an hour in the cold. Yes, in San Francisco, even in the summer, it gets cold. The poor girls were woefully underprepared for such weather, so they bought some warm clothes to wear while we waited in line. But thank god, a Starbucks was nearby so our hands didn't freeze!

But finally we were on the trolley car and I just fell in love with this city. The hills and the old homes just make San Francisco a remarkably romantic city. I loved seeing all the little shops and cafe's and I kept picturing myself living there, waking up in the morning and getting a coffee with Ryan at a local shop. We passed  by the Market district and got to see the cool shopping area of San Francisco.

When we got back, all of us were feeling hungry, so we got a late dinner at the Stinking Rose in the Italian district of the city. Walking around this district reminded me of London, because it was so urban, so old and full of character. Anyway, the Stinking Rose is worth mentioning, because everything on the menu is made with garlic from the rolls that came with cloves of garlic to the entree to even dessert where Ryan and I tried garlic ice cream! (In case you were wondering, it was kind of strange, good for a bite but not a whole plate.)

Afterword, the girls went back to the hotel with my aunt and uncle while Ryan and I had an adventure of our own. We wanted to check out the Castro, San Francisco's LGBT neighborhood and one of the largest LGBT areas in the U.S. It was like most of the other San Francisco's neighborhoods, very charming and picturesque. Ryan and I enjoyed the people watching and mostly just walked around and explored. We were both surprised because, maybe it was just night time and we couldn't see, but it wasn't as big or as grand as we had imagined the neighborhood to be. Nevertheless, we had a good time and headed back so we wouldn't be extremely tired in the morning.

Here are photos from this day's events. Check back for another update on our next day in the area including Muir Woods and Napa Valley and even Alcatraz!

Nick