With my cousin in town from Malta for a week, we tried to strategically plan our jaunts so he could get in as much of San Francisco as possible before we headed to Tahoe for the weekend (more on that to come). With two days and a number of evenings together (I mean, I did have to share him after all), I think we did a pretty decent job of cramming in some awesome sites, sounds and tastes without going overboard.
Photo op at the Hyde Street Pier. :)
As you may recall, Boat Shoes and I embarked on our own self-guided tour of San Francisco. We started at our home base in Nob Hill and made our way down Hyde Street to Fisherman’s Wharf and Pier 39 before heading through North Beach and Chinatown on the way home. It was a good 4+ hour jaunt and I thought it would be the perfect way for my out-of-town cousin to get an overview of some fun areas.
Seriously lucked out for December — such a great day in SF.
We ended up grabbing lunch in Chinatown at a little hole-in-the-wall dim sum spot (Delicious Dim Sum on Jackson Street) where all orders were prepared to go. Now, my previous experience with dim sum was at Yank Sing with Boat Shoe Boy so my concept of pricing for dim sum was a bit skewed. The shop we popped into had signage only in Chinese (sadly, I haven’t mastered my Chinese literacy yet) so I had zero idea of pricing when we placed our order. The total? Around $6. For both of us. Seriously?! I had to ask her to repeat herself. Question of the year: why am I not eating every meal in Chinatown? After lunch, we headed home back in time to hang out and clean up before dinner in the Marina.
Our Tacolicious Spread.
We knew in advance that we were going to have two nights together for dinner in the city (Monday and Thursday) so we wanted to make them worth it. Considering my cousin hails from the Mediterrean, we wanted to make sure that he had a chance to experience food that’s different from what he can normally get at home. Monday night’s option? Mexican! Since we had to head down to the Marina for the evening, we chose to hit up one of the city’s newer gems, Tacolicious. Their taco options were pretty stellar and their pricing structure makes it super easy for group ordering (4 for $13 or 10 for $31). We made a few pit stops for drinks in the area to extend Paul’s Marina tour: the Balboa Cafe (always a gem) & the Tipsy Pig (the Strawberry Fields are my go-to).
A little love at the Tipsy Pig – Strawberry Fields + Vodka/Lemonade
We definitely had a jam-packed Monday and I think P. definitely got a great overview of San Francisco for Day 1. Our Thursday evening was an epicly American night — more on that to come. Think steakhouses, piano bars + a speakeasy. #win
xoxo from San Francisco,
