San Francisco

spartybride3

Hi-

My husband is going to san francisco in a couple weeks for work & I am tagging along. Since I will be by myself most of the time, what are some good things to do alone? We will only be there for the weekend, so I don't have a ton of time to do a lot. I would love to go a winery, but who wants to do that alone!

I know about the wharf & alcatraz, etc, but I am looking for other things. I live in Chicago, so I don't need dept store/regular store shopping. I would like to know of some fun boutique areas (although not crazy expensive). We are staying at the Westin St. Francis. I read that the cable cars are right in front of the hotel, but I don't know where they go!

Just looking for ideas. We only get 1 dinner together too, so what is the best/romantic/memorable restaurant?

Thank you!!!

cwaggoner07

I loved going to the park by the Painted Ladies houses. You will recognize it from Full House.
It's a really pretty park, too, with GORGEOUS homes everywhere.

fallbride1109

There is a lot to do just in Union Square where you will be staying.  We took the cable car all the way down to Fisherman's Wharf.  There are lots of museums in San Francisco. We went to one, the Legion of Honor and I swear I could have spent hours just in there. You can get there by bus. There are also some beautiful parks--my favorite was Alamo Square, where the painted ladies are.  You won't be too far from North Beach which is full of great cafes and places where you can sit outside.

Our nice dinner was at Gary Danko and we loved it.

J&K10910

You're in Union Square?  Get breakfast at the Cozy Cable Car Cafe. 

Summer2011Bride

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_san-francisco-3?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:11Discussion:11f0a28d-9a14-4ce2-a8a5-e8a456fd9987Post:7ac00004-5f59-49f8-a44d-38cf833a9b84">San Francisco</a>:
[QUOTE]Hi- My husband is going to san francisco in a couple weeks for work & I am tagging along. Since I will be by myself most of the time, what are some good things to do alone? We will only be there for the weekend, so I don't have a ton of time to do a lot. I would love to go a winery, but who wants to do that alone! I know about the wharf & alcatraz, etc, but I am looking for other things. I live in Chicago, so I don't need dept store/regular store shopping. I would like to know of some fun boutique areas (although not crazy expensive).<strong> We are staying at the Westin St. Francis</strong>. I read that the cable cars are right in front of the hotel, but I don't know where they go! Just looking for ideas. We only get 1 dinner together too, so what is the best/romantic/memorable restaurant? Thank you!!!
Posted by spartybride3[/QUOTE]

We stayed there too in July! We absolutely loved SF.

You're right; the cable cars do stop right out front. Unless you go in the morning or evening, it is sometimes hard to catch them there though as they are full many times. However, if you are a single rider, they can sometimes squeeze you on. We tried walking up or down one block and hopping on there. Even if it doesn't have a cable car stop sign, they usually stop at all intersections as people hop on/off. They will take you from the St Francis all the way down to the Wharf if you ride it the whole route, stopping by Chinatown and Lombard St (the crooked street) on the way.

As far as romantic restaurants, Top of the Mark is romantic but I heard the food isn't great (we went there for drinks and loved the view though). We had our first anniversary dinner at Frascati, and while the set-up wasn't the most romantic, it was one of the best meals I've ever had. The stone fruit bruschetta was to-die for. We also had some delicious Italian meals in North Beach/Little Italy. SO good.

I have heard Waterbar has some really nice views of the Bay Bridge if you're looking for a view and that they have pretty good seafood; we didn't have time to make it there. That's down by the Embarcadero (they have streetcars that take you from FW down that way).

Have a blast! We miss it there.

ETA: Our favorite day was biking across the Bridge to Sausalito. While you may not want to do that solo, you can catch a ferry at FW to Sausalito and back (about a ten min ferry ride). Sausalito is a really cute town with lots of shops and boutiques that sound like what you're looking for. We ate lunch at a cafe right on the water. It was a fun place to spend an afternoon just wandering.

Sue-n-Kevin

We were there for our HM last year. I was going to recommend Sausalito, but we took the ferry from the Port building in San Fran, a longer ride that takes you past Alcatraz.

You can probably walk from your hotel to the port building, we did. The port building has tons of great shops, including gourmet foods. We bought stuff for our room. I recall Cowgirl's Creamery has fabulous cheeses.

spartybride3

wow thank you all!

What are the painted ladies houses?? Is Sausalito a quick trip? I've heard that san francisco is not that big & it seems like I could get through a lot in one day. I know my husband wants to go to chinatown, so we will probably save that for monday. 

Summer2011Bride

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_san-francisco-3?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:11Discussion:11f0a28d-9a14-4ce2-a8a5-e8a456fd9987Post:46b188af-545d-4201-aa72-e098b67fb746">Re: San Francisco</a>:
[QUOTE]wow thank you all! What are the painted ladies houses?? Is  Sausalito a quick trip? I've heard that san francisco is not that big & it seems like I could get through a lot in one day. I know my husband wants to go to chinatown, so we will probably save that for monday. 
Posted by spartybride3[/QUOTE]

The Painted Ladies are that row of houses you see in the opening credits to the show "Full House." They're right across from Alamo Square, a nice a park. It would be a neat place to take a picnic or just hang out too.

Sausalito can be a quick trip. If you take the ferry from FW, it's about a ten min ride each way. They have ferries going back and forth quite frequently. We spent about 2 hours total in Sausalito when we biked over, having lunch and walking around to check out all the shops.

You're right that SF is not a huge city while still having lots of things to do. Chinatown is a quick cable car ride from the Westin and we honestly were able to get through it pretty quickly as we didn't eat there or go in many stores. I would also highly recommend walking through North Beach (near Chinatown) which is a really cute part of the city.

TurtlesAllTheWayDown

City Lights Bookstore.

And make sure to get burritos in the Mission!

freebread03

FI and I had a great time in San Francisco last year!  One of the things we enjoyed most actually was walking through Chinatown-I'd definitely try to do Dim Sum on Sunday morning--can't think of any good ones of the top of my head but I'm sure google has great recommendations.

fallbride1109

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_san-francisco-3?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:11Discussion:11f0a28d-9a14-4ce2-a8a5-e8a456fd9987Post:cd734968-da69-429c-9d0c-f69ba33d0538">Re: San Francisco</a>:
[QUOTE]<strong>City Lights Bookstore</strong>. And make sure to get burritos in the Mission!
Posted by msmerymac[/QUOTE]

Yes!  This is another place I could have spent hours if I had been by myself.  It's next to a cool bar, Vesuvio.

amyelise25

I've stayed at that hotel a couple of times and the walls a super thin. I heard things I didn't want to. Bring along ear plugs if you are light sleepers. Chinatown is an easy walk from the hotel. The Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate park is beautiful. The whole park is really nice actually. If you do Alcatraz, I recommend the sunset tour if you can. You get to see the city/bridge from the water at sunset and in the dark, plus it gives it just enogh of a creepy factor.