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Last August, I headed out west for an important work meeting, which gave me approximately 36 hours in San Francisco, California. I never miss an opportunity to squeeze some “vacation” out of work travel – also known as a “bleisure” trip – so I, along with two of my lovely coworkers, made the most of our day and a half in the city. If you’re short on time in San Fran, these are your must-dos and must-eats!
Must-Do
- Visit the KitTea Cat Cafe: since we were staying at a hotel right around the corner, we had the “purrfect” opportunity to swing by this cafe for about an hour. There’s nothing quite as relaxing as a cup of tea and some cat snuggles, though make sure you book your spot in advance!
- Walk along the Golden Gate Bridge: this can get rather blustery, so be prepared for the wind, but the views are worth it. We also took the opportunity to walk down to the beach and dip our toes in the Pacific Ocean.
- Visit Chinatown: once you enter through the Dragon’s Gate, you will find plenty of restaurants and shops to keep you wandering around for hours. This is a great spot to pick up a souvenir or two to bring home, as the craftsmanship and detail we saw on the product selection was impressive.
- Take in the twists and turns of Lombard Street: like a road straight out of a cartoon, Lombard Street’s turns are something you have to see to believe. We ended up walking up some rather steep hills to get there as we made our way from Fisherman’s Wharf, which doubled as a killer workout.
- Tour the Fortune Cookie Factory: an in-person visit and free tour will show you just how they crank out thousands of fortune cookies a day. While there, you can taste a few of their flavors, as well as get cookies with customized fortunes to take home.
Must-Eat
- Boulettes Larder + Boulibar: located in the Ferry Building, this is the perfect lunch spot, with a wide selection of great eats to choose from. Their salads are tasty and pizzas are truly impressive, but save room for dessert – I recommend the cannolis!
- Vive La Tarte: mostly, you just need to know that they’re home of the tacro (a taco-croissant), but their entire pastry selection will leave you drooling. My favorite was the almond croissant, though you can order a “pastry combo” for a mix of five.
- The Rotunda: you might not expect lunch inside a department store to be this elegant, but you would be wrong. Located inside Neiman Marcus, this restaurant is incredibly chic, with tons of options. I got the crab melt, and it was excellent.
- Mission Cheese: our last stop before heading to the airport, Mission Cheese did not disappoint. Plan on enjoying delicious charcuterie boards and great wine when you make a stop by, though know you may have to wait for a seat.
- The Buena Vista: this spot opened in 1916, and it’s no wonder they’re still thriving. The restaurant is credited with introducing the Irish coffee to the US, so be sure to get one along with your meal. We were also about to get Irish coffees to-go, so if that’s of interest while you explore the area, definitely ask your server. 😉
With just one night in San Francisco – gotta love that red-eye flight back home – we were able to do (and eat) all of these things, in addition to meeting with clients! Just because it’s a quick trip, doesn’t mean you can’t make the most of it.