Two trips in one?! You read that right! I had the opportunity to extend my Seattle trip with a stop at San Francisco. It’s on the way home to Texas right?
I was super excited to extend my trip just a little bit longer, until I hit a snag. I got sick. Yep, every traveler’s worst fear. I was going nonstop in Seattle, as in work, explore the city, repeat, so I think I was running on pure adrenaline at this point. Nonetheless, it didn’t stop me from going out to SF at least a little bit.
Since I was in the area, the first stop was to walk around Stanford’s campus. I have this thing where I like to visit the local major universities wherever I travel. I think I enjoyed my college so much that it’s fun for me to get a feel for other colleges and see how similar/different they are. Actually, I drove through the University of Washington too while I was in Seattle since I wanted to visit but didn’t have time to walk around. Anyways, my conclusion of Stanford was that it was a charming campus with a bustling student body.
I then tried an iconic ice cream shop on the west coast, Salt & Straw. There are a lot of delicious ice cream shops I’ve been to but boy, Salt & Straw has something special to it. The flavors of the ice cream are so savory, yet sweet at the same time. I got the Salted, Malted, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and I still can’t get the flavor out of my mind. All I have to say is ‘please open a location in Texas!’.
After doing some walking around and popping in and out of shops, I visited some famous painted ladies. Including the Full House house! The park was pretty crowded since it was a Saturday (and I was secretly freezing since it was cold and I was still sick!), but my friend managed to capture a few cute shots.
I’ve tried plenty of Italian restaurants, but I have to rave about this classic spot we stumbled upon called Trattoria Contadina. It’s on the top 10 Italian Restaurant list for a reason! Both the service and the food were absolutely amazing tucked in a small homey-feeling space. The menu has a lot to offer, but I ordered hot black tea with honey (good for my cold) and one of their seasonal specials, the Pumpkin Penne with Little City Fennel Sausage. Wowza. This was honestly one of the best pastas I’ve had and I’m a pasta snob! Just looking at the photo should have you drooling!
After dinner, we decided to go walk off some of the carbs by visiting the Palace of Fine Arts. I didn’t go into the actual exhibit, but the campus was absolutely beautiful.
The last place I’d like to rave about is this great brunch spot in San Jose called Bill’s Cafe. They have a large variety of brunch and lunch items with a lot of bang for your buck! I ordered the Santa Ana Scramble (which I couldn’t even finish since there was so much food!) and it was so good. I love chicken apple sausage and if you mix that with jack cheese, you have a winner!
Overall, it was great catching up with my friend and exploring more awesome San Francisco spots! Although I’m not much of a traveler, I can’t wait for my next adventure!
xx, Rachelle
