Happy Sunday everyone! It’s been a while since I’ve done a post on a Sunday but I just couldn’t wait any longer to share everything from my trip to San Francisco and of course, my second VLOG! I know I said it on my Instagram (@retroflame) and Snapchat (Retroflame1) a million times, but wow, I fell head over heels in love with San Francisco. People had warned me that I would but I really didn’t think I would fall so hard! It is just an absolutely incredible city which I haven’t stopped thinking about ever since. My boyfriend, Tommy, moved to San Francisco a few months ago so a visit was always going to be on the cards. I love New York and being honest, it will always and ever be my favourite, but I can 100% see myself making very regular trips to San Francisco. It’s hard to explain, but it’s just the perfect mix of ‘city’ & ‘pretty’. I love that certain parts are very business-focused, but then you can take a short walk to the Marina area and feel like you’re in the Europe. Best of both worlds in one place!

The weather was a little on the dull side while I was there – apparently SF weather can be very unpredictable – but it was still warm enough to just wear some light layers which was a nice treat coming from cold NYC. Seeing as the weather wasn’t 100%, there were a few things that I decided to wait to do until next time (The Bridge, Twin Peaks, etc.) but I definitely still had enough to keep me busy and wanted to share all my favourites with you here & in my VLOG.

STAY

On the Saturday and Sunday night, we stayed at The Grand Hyatt hotel which was definitely one of the highlights of the whole trip. Anyone who knows me well, knows that I’m obsessed with nice hotels. I love trying new ones and it was my first time staying in a Hyatt which I was very excited about. Everything from top to bottom was impressive about this hotel and I couldn’t recommend it more for service, location and amenities. Oh and look at that view from our room!

EAT:

Where do I start? Best city for food I’ve come accross in a long long time. Here were our favourites and also some places I need to get to next time:

Calzones
Jane
Rose’s Cafe
Fiorella
El Techno
SIFT
Cream
Kitchen Story
Chez Maman
Smitten Icecream

Oh and you can’t go to San Francisco and not try Mr.Holmes Bakehouse. Yes, the blogger in me wanted to go there for the pictures, but their Cruffins are honestly worth the queue. Even Tommy agreed and that’s saying something, haha! Get there early (before 10am) to make sure you get the good stuff!

SEE:

Still so much I want to do, but these were my favourites from this trip:

Ferry to Alcatraz
Painted Ladies
Palace of Fine Arts
Dolores Park (Mission District)
Marina District
Lombard Street
North Beach

SHOP:

And finally, I have to say that my favourite area of all was Fillmore Street. I literally would move there in the morning! It’s not only the best street for finding cute boutiques and shops, it’s also full to the brim with nice cafes & restaurants. My favourite stores were Elizabeth & Charles and NEST.

Overall, it was honestly a trip I will never forget and what makes it more exciting is that I captured (well tried my best anyway) on video for my VLOG channel. This was my first every attempt at doing a travel vlog, so I know I still have a lot to learn, but I’m so happy with how this one turned out in the end. I would love for you to watch it and let me know what you think! You can snapchat me (retroflame1) or send me a tweet (@retroflame).

Hope you’ve all had a great week!

Stylishly Yours,

Erika x