This past July, I went to San Francisco to visit a friend, and with every moment I fell more in love with this city than I already am. Here’s why.
Natural and Architectural Beauty:
A gorgeous Bay dayPalace of Fine ArtsCoit TowerThe Golden Gate Bridge peeking out through the fog
All my 90’s kids will recognize these from the opening credits of Full House. The Painted Ladies in Alamo Square are the epitome of the Victorian era homes in San Francisco.
The Ferry Building is one of the must-go places for me every time I go to the city. Inside, you can find all kind of artisan food mongers, butchers, creameries, coffee shops, and restaurants. It’s my heaven. Turns out, the actually ferry leaves from here as well, who’da thunk it?
To me, the Transamerica building is the building that makes the San Francisco skyline. Well, that and the bridges.
Go ‘Murica!
The Food:
The food scene in San Francisco is so wonderful. As I’m sure you’ve picked up by now, bad food is a deal breaker for me. Luckily, San Francisco and I can continue our love affair, because this is the food mecca of the US. The plethora of fresh produce and locally made goods makes each trip to the farmers market or a restaurant a special treat, and actually makes you excited to eat healthy. Imagine that. Like this proscuitto with almonds and piquillo peppers from Bar Jules in Hayes Valley. Okay, so maybe proscuitto isn’t healthy, but I’m willing to look the other way on this one.
Or their fantastic chocolate cake. I couldn’t wait to taste the fresh whipped cream before taking the picture.
My fave in the city
farm:table is one of my favorite places to go in the city. Their menu is different everyday depending on what’s fresh, and then tweeted to their loyal foodie followers. Seating is limited in their tiny space, but if you’re lucky you can catch a table outside and enjoy a rare sunny day, an egg and bacon sandwich on a housemade bisquit, and a latte with a friend.
The perfect remedy for a hangover is this s’mores rootbeer float from Cole Valley’s The Ice Cream Bar Soda Fountain. Trust me on this one.
And the fruits and veg. The variety here is amazing, and I will eat heirloom anything.
Tomato love.
The Quirks:
All the things that make me smile.
Playing tourist with the lower Haight bunnyA ceiling made entirely out of wine corks. Genius!Reppin’ my Indian brethrenJust like me.
Walking up these stairs was terrible, but beautiful at the same time.
Hey, book people, make sure if you’re ever in the city you visit City Lights. It’s pretty great.
And the most important thing in San Francisco that makes me smile. My amiga that I met in Spain, Casey. She willingly brought my into her home, tour guided me around the city, and made sure that my body was always drunk or full of food. What a good friend!
Early morning mimosas to kick off a day that almost killed me!
Oh yeah, did I mention we went to the Pride Festival the weekend after DOMA was declared unconstitutional? I LOVE SF!!
First off, I’ve spent the past few days giving the blog a makeover… not quite done yet, but check it out and please leave any comments or things you’d like changed in the comments section. Also, if any of my readers out there are fancy pants computer whizzes that can make me a cool logo, like a bee flying around a globe or something, I’d be willing to commission a piece!
Anyway, flashback to London, mid-June. I was feeling out of sorts on my last few days of travel. I was sad to split up with Katie, sad my adventure was over; I just felt blah. Thankfully, London had my back and provided me with beauty and all kinds of weirdness. The street art in London is amazing. There is a tunnel where it is legal to do graffiti, as long as they keep it clean, so of course the best pieces were found there. There would be new pieces every day, it was really fantastic.
Too true, wall.My friend Joe, taking a picture of me taking a picture of him.Blurry KatieIt’s not street art, but I was laughing my ass off.
One of the days we made the trek out to Greenwich, which was lovely, but I wouldn’t necessarily say it was enjoyable. We were all crabby, and picked fights with one another all day. Oh well, I had fun anyway!
Lovely skyline
I have three words, and they equal happiness…
PITCHERS OF MOJITOSSSSS!I miss this bun.Look at that face…Can you see the window cleaners? I watched them for about an hour… I don’t know how they do it, heights are terrifying!!!Cute housesLondon Eye
We stayed with my friend Joe, and he lives really close to the London Eye, it was a great starting off point to explore London by foot.
London Eye + Big Ben
Weird bridge thing from one building to anotherLondon Eye at sunset
Now, since this is my last European travel blog post (not forever I hope, but for now), you might be asking, “Brittany, what is the weirdest thing you saw while in Europe??” To that I will respond, “Well, my friends, the strangest thing I saw was the Naked Bike Ride in London.” Yes, you read correctly. Naked. Bike. Ride. I’m not sure how suitable these pictures are for work, I’m pretty sure I picked the ones that you can’t see anyone’s junk, but there are definitely butts. Lots and lots of butts.
This bike ride was in support of “a vision of a cleaner, safer, body-positive world.” It was ridiculous, hilarious, and borderline gross. It was the cherry on top of a really amazing 6 month journey sundae.
Berlin may be my favorite city for street art. It’s EVERYWHERE and some of it is really great. Normally when I go to a city, I get a few good shots. In Berlin, I have enough to fill a whole post.
El Bocho is a really awesome street artist in Berlin, and we found his stuff all over. I love it.
East Side Gallery:
My friend Megan recommended the East Side Gallery to me (and by recommeneded it, I mean she would have kicked my ass if I wouldn’t have gone. It’s a remaining peice of the Berlin wall that is covered in different murals. It’s really fantastic.
Because I love anything in Italian…
Butts 🙂
Random Gems:
Outside of TachelesHot.Cutesy.AWESOME. Plain Awesome.Not art, necessarily, but it made me laugh.Also hilarious.On a softball feild. Makes sense to this ex-softball girl.
Look at any website about what to do while in Paris, and the first suggestion is always the Louvre. In college, I would dream about spending hours wandering the Louvre and seeing some of the world’s most amazing paintings and sculptures. While planning this trip, I had thought about setting full days aside in order to give the Louvre the attention it deserves. And then I got to Paris and didn’t want to step foot in this behemoth of culture. It seems like a travesty to not visit the Louvre while in Paris, but in hindsight it was the best decision I made. Instead of spending hours shuffling through the halls crowded with tourists trying to snap photos of the Mona Lisa (seriously, if you want a picture that’s not as good as the original; buy a postcard, you cheapskate!), I spent two hours of blissful silence in the Museé Marmottan Monet. Instead of shoving my way past masses of humanity, I spent beautiful moments visiting Monet, Pissarro, Renoir, and Marie Laurencin.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I understand the allure of the Louvre, and I’m sure it’s amazing. But I spent six magical days in Paris and don’t regret missing arguably the most famous museum in the world. Here is what I did instead:
1. Visited Notre Dame during evening services.
Where’s Quasimodo?
Noticing that the line to enter the church was shorter than usual, I was able to get in after about 5 minutes in line. As I was walking around, services started. I took a seat and listened to the Gregorian chanters and pondered how it must have been to go to services in Notre Dame when it was new.
2. Walked around a living, breathing museum… Paris in the spring.
Hotel de VilleCentre Georges PompidouStreet artSmiley me in front of the Arc de TriompheI spy: a Panthéon
Please?Meow
And fell in love. Is there anything better than letting yourself get lost in one of the most beautiful cities in the world?
3. Walked around the grounds of the Louvre and Tuilieres and pretended like it counted as actually going to the museum.
The famous pyramid
One of my favorite pictures from the trip… Love butt statues.
It doesn’t.
4. Followed in the footsteps famous American ex-pat authors and artists.
I understand that there were dozens of amazing, influential, ex-pat writers and artists in Paris in the 1920’s, but my two favorites are Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway (how could they not be, really?), so I tried to channel them as much as possible. During this trip, I began reading Hemingway’s ‘A Moveable Feast’, which is a combination of short stories and memories from his time as a young man in Paris in the ‘20’s. I felt inspired to go to some of the places he regularly went, and had a marvelous time doing so. These moments made me wish more than ever that time travel was possible.
Shakespeare & Co was where most American ex-pats went to find books in English in Paris. Many famous writers read, wrote, and relaxed here. Hemingway had his mail sent here, and called it a library instead of a bookstore, because the owner would lend him books instead of making him purchase them.
I walked through Luxembourg Park, another favorite spot of Hemingway’s, and his usual route home.
5. Ate Berthillon ice cream.
Passion fruit and mango to be exact. Thanks for the excellent tip PE. Mom, the passion fruit was out of this world, I recommend that we take a trip to Paris together just so we can eat passion fruit ice cream from Berthillon.
6. Visited the Eiffel Tower as much as possible.
Sparkles
The first time I saw the Eiffel Tower, it took my breath away. You see pictures of it your whole life, but it really is magnificent in person. No, I didn’t go to the top.
6. Got really drunk with friends.
PE in Boris’ glasses
Me in Boris’ glasses. So studious.Looking worse for the wear.
Paris in Paris.
7. Ate crepes…
…And macarons, baguettes, éclairs, and beignets. Paris does sweets better than anyone; ask my waist line.
8. Broke every rule in French etiquette without even knowing it.
And let PE mercilessly tease me about it. Apparently if you bring bread to the table, you should cut it. But if a baguette is already on the table, you can tear it apart with your hands. But make sure it’s on the correct side of your plate (I still don’t know which side that is). And if there is a cheese plate, don’t try all the cheeses. You can try all but one. And NEVER touch your cheese with your fingers, but you’re also not allowed to eat it with a fork or knife (so clearly you have to be really smooth and get the cheese from your plate onto bread and into your mouth without touching it). Pierre-Etienne claims he’s going to compile a list of every rule I broke and send it to me. I’m still waiting, but if I ever get it, you can be sure it’ll be posted here.
Early on in my travels, I was told by almost everyone I know that I would hate Paris. I was told Paris is dirty and dangerous; the French people will hate me, blah, blah, blah. Well I will set the record straight that Paris is NOT dirty (at least not in comparison to Rome!), and I did not get mugged. I was fortunate enough to be able to stay with my friend Pierre-Etienne (the one from Lisbon that loves otters) and his family; which meant a room to myself, DELICIOUS home cooked meals, and insider’s opinion on what to see (and more importantly, what not to see) while in Paris. Friends, if you’re going to Paris (or anywhere for that matter), please go in with an open mind. Don’t let other people’s experiences taint yours, but it’s okay to learn from their mistakes. Be polite; try to conform to customs, even if you think it’s strange. Not all French people are rude; if you try they will most likely take pity on you. And don’t feel like you need to go to the Louvre just because you’re in Paris, there are millions of other wonderful things to see and do.
Live and Bee Free 