My Surprise Birthday Trip to San Francisco, CA

For my 24th birthday Jared surprised me with a trip to San Francisco, CA. This city is really special to both of us because it’s where we took our first trip together! Since that trip we took during spring break our junior year of college, we have been to London, Hawaii, LA, Vegas, and Canada. (We have a lot of other exciting trips coming up too!) Although we love to experience new places, I’m glad Jared picked San Francisco for sentimental reasons. Here are some of the photos from our trip!

We got into the city really late so we let ourselves sleep in a little bit the following morning then desperately needed a bite to eat before exploring downtown. We walked a few blocks from where we stayed to Beanstalk Cafe. Jared got a spicy chicken sandwich (I was secretly hoping he’d get the one with bulgogi) and I got a bagelwich with sausage, cheese, and egg.

Yellow Striped Shirt | Allbirds Shoes | Backpack

After we spent a few hours wandering downtown San Francisco and shopped, we needed more coffee. The last time we came to San Francisco we didn’t get to try Blue Bottle so we stopped into one and got the New Orleans style iced coffee. I’m a huge fan of iced coffee and loved this one. It’s really creamy and has just a hint of sweetness which is right up my alley. If you’re into iced coffee, I also recommend the mint mojito coffee from Philz though it is really strong.

No trip to San Francisco is complete until you’ve seen the Golden Gate Bridge from one of the many viewpoints. Jared and I absolutely loved going to Fort Point and a few other spots to see the bridge up close during our last trip. This time we went to Battery Spencer over in Marin County to see the bridge from the other side of the water. We even got to see the bridge through our Lyft sunroof – it was a minivan and 1000% comfy. It’s a short walk up to this amazing view point. (Would not recommend wearing your brand new white Allbirds.)

Another great spot for views of a different part of the city is the famed Twin Peaks. You could hike up there or ride a bike but in true Jared-and-Grace fashion we just paid for a Lyft up there. There’s a pretty big ledge that you can sit on top of and just take in the views. It’s amazing to see all the different areas of San Francisco, including the hilly terrain. Unfortunately you can’t see much of the view because I shot with a macro lens but just trust me that this is a must visit spot.

Red Striped Shirt | Utility Jacket (similar)

Another coffee spot that we had to stop by is Sightglass Coffee. There is no shortage of cute coffee shops in San Francisco it turns out – I think I could spend all day in them. Jared and I enjoyed a midday caffeine fix then wandered the neighborhood some. (Side note: Jared came back from the restroom and excitedly told me they had Aesop soap in there. I’m more impressed that he knows Aesop than the fact a coffee shop had some bougie soap. But both are quite impressive, haha.)

We also wandered the Mission district for quite a while because we were killing time before our dinner reservation at Foreign Cinema. This spot is really cool and they even play old films off to one side of the restaurant! Definitely make a reservation and be prepared for what I like to call fancy food – that will still fill you up. Excuse the phone quality pics but I didn’t want to whip out a giant camera in a lot of these places because they were usually crowded! The best thing I had at Foreign Cinema was the fried chicken, hands down. It’s my personal goal to always order the fried chicken at restaurants if it’s on the menu…

I’m a little out of order but before our dinner reservation, we spent a lot of time in the neighborhood. We got a quick “snack” at Media Noche (the cubano is sooooo good) and yes, it is the cutest restaurant you’ve ever seen. I was also spotted in the window at Boba Guys by a friend from college!! Jared and I got the almond milk strawberry matcha which didn’t disappoint at all. After browsing some thrift stores and some fun book stores, we walked through Clarion Alley to see the murals. I was so drawn to the art that I didn’t really take any photos, sorry!

During our last trip to SF we weren’t able to go to the Ferry building so I was really excited to come this time. There was so much food to try but ultimately I saved my stomach for lunch and just opted for ice cream. I figured ice cream for breakfast is fine if it’s coffee flavored, right? I got a scoop of Blue Bottle Vietnamese coffee ice cream from Humphry Slocombe and it was tasty! (Thanks Shannon for the rec!) Not as good as MM, but good and they offer tons of unique (aka weird) flavors. After the Ferry building we walked the Embarcadero which has many piers that you can walk out onto. There are incredible views, some restaurants, and even the Exploratorium to visit. I loved this shot of the Ferry building and that clock tower from the pier!

After walking around the waterfront we headed over to Burma Superstar. You guys recommended this so many times so we knew we had to try it out. We got to the restaurant 15 minutes before opening and stood in line with a bunch of others (welcome to San Francisco) so luckily we got seated immediately when they opened their doors. I can see why this place is constantly busy! We ordered a lamb curry, some sort of curry noodle, and some coconut rice. Everything was so flavorful and just really unique. And yes, I have major FOMO because we didn’t get the tea leaf salad. Don’t be like me and order this.

Lastly, just because I don’t want to bore you all with MORE food I just wanted to share one more spot we went to called Dragon Beaux. It’s referred to as an upscale dim sum restaurant and it does feel nicer than your typical dim sum restaurant. I liked the food a lot and service was pretty fast for how busy it is, but do expect a long wait on the weekends. 

That’s it for now! I’m going to be writing another post about the Conservatory of Flowers because I felt that this post was way too long, so stay tuned for that one.

To see my San Francisco food guide from my last trip and to see what else we did on our previous trip, check out those posts! Can’t believe they’re from 2015!