My Californian Summer: Part 2

Featuring Presidio Park, the Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Japanese Tea Garden 

I spent a lot of my time in the bay area simply exploring. My goal was to see as much as possible in one week. The featured places above were my plans for the next two days, so I prayed for good weather. Especially to see the Golden Gate bridge, because when I arrived the city initially, the skyline was engulfed in fog. I was not making my way to the bridge to see fog.

There are several places to get a view of the Golden Gate bridge. All you need to do is google something along the lines of “views of the Golden Gate bridge“ and you’ll have a list of places to go. My cousin & I decided to head to the lookout at FortPoint. We could see the bridge easily from Presidio Park, but the view from Fortpoint was more up close.

Speaking of Presidio Park, there was a huge food truck event going on, so I stopped by with my cousin to check it out. The options were abundant & overwhelming but I eventually settled for Indian food. The highlight of my meal – Mango Lassi: a sweet drink with a liquid yogurt consistency that’s difficult to hate; unless you don’t like the taste of mangoes.

The next day,

Bright and late in the morning, I made my way -in one of the city’s numerous cable cars- to Fisherman’s Wharf. Besides wanting to ride in a cable car for the first time, it was also an affordable way to get to the wharf. Each ride cost $2.75 and instead of counting cash, I loaded money on the Clipper card I bought at the train station and used that.

At the wharf, I tried the famous clam chowder in a bread-bowl.

This came highly recommended so I wanted to like it but I wasn’t too keen on the taste of the sourdough bread. The clam chowder itself was good but not amazing. Honestly, at $11, it’s fairly pricey for what is essentially a bowl of soup; but you know, if you never try, you’ll never know. Now I know.

From the wharf, I hopped in an Uber to the Japanese Tea Garden. The grounds surrounding the garden are beautiful too so if you don’t want to pay the entry fee ($9 for Non-California residents) you can hang around here. I walked around the grounds for a bit, surprised & happy that I had a lot more to see outside the tea garden.

I found these gorgeous structures as well as a quaint rose garden. The English rose was so fragrant. It’s the first time I’ve smelled a rose with a scent.

The tea garden itself was just aesthetically pleasing. I loved the Japanese style architecture and perfectly manicured shrubs.

It’s the kind of place you come to clear your head; it’s that serene. They also serve tea here so you know the name isn’t just for show. I really like my tea but the lines were simply too long to wait in.

With a nearly dead battery and the promise to meet with my cousin for sushi looming in my mind, I called it a day and headed back into the city. As we traveled home to Oakland, I replayed my mental itinerary for the next two days, and could barely wait to sleep & wake up again.

How beautiful is San Francisco? I’m already itching to visit again, but maybe on a road trip up the Pacific coast highway.

As always,

thank you for reading!

All photos shot and edited on iPhone 6s+.

Look out for the final part of this series next week!

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same footprints, different sands