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Published: January 7th 2022
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Day 1 Wednesday, November 17th, 2021 Renata and I finally booked a trip after 2 years. The past two years have been crazy. With the stress of work and boredom due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Renata and I needed a few days to get away and enjoy life in another city. We decided with our good friend Andrea to travel to San Francisco.
I have never been to San Francisco or California in general, so it was all new and exciting to me. San Francisco is known for Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge and nearby Napa Valley, three places on my travel bucket list. Furthermore, San Francisco is relatively close to home and fairly safe that if anything happened due to Covid-19, we were close enough to medical assistance and a flight back home.
In order to travel to the States, Renata and I needed to get a Covid-19 Rapid Antigen test. We got a test at the nearby pharmacy for $40 each. After testing negative, we were on our way to the airport.
We arrived 4 hours early because we were unfamiliar with the new Covid-19 protocol at
the airport. However, when we arrived, we had to wait for our flight number to be called before passing through security and customs. So, in hindsight, it did not matter that we arrived 4 hours early. When our flight finally got called, we rushed through security and customs. We arrived just in time for boarding.
My first meal in San Francisco was none other than In and Out Burger. In and Out Burger is a California staple known for making fresh burgers and their secret menu which includes animal style fries. While I was hyped into trying In and Out Burger from all the social media reviews, I did not particularly enjoy my burger and fries. I found the fries dried out and the burger was nothing special. Furthermore, I waited a particularly long time for my order. Nevertheless, it was a good experience trying a well-known fast food staple in California.
After our lunch at In and Out Burger, we headed to the Columbarium. The Columbarium is the oldest of five columbaria in San Francisco and the only one that is non-denominational. The columbarium contains beautiful neo-classical and baroque architecture and has a
Haight Ashbury
Grateful Dead House memorial dedicated to Harvey Milk a famous gay American politician. At the Columbarium, we received a nice impromptu history lesson about the Columbarium from one of the staff on the premises.
After the Columbarium we headed to Mel’s Diner nearby to have a quick coffee break before heading to the Haight-Asbury district. The Haight-Ashbury area is known for its hippy culture and influence. Some interesting sites in the Haight Ashbury neighbourhood include the clock that is permanently set to 4:20 (AKA international Bong-Hit Time), hippy inspired shops, and houses belonging to Jimmy Hendrix, Janis Joplin, the Grateful Dead, and Cult Leader Charles Mansion. The area also has many beautiful Victorian painted ladies such as the Four Seasons houses.
Dinner was scheduled in Sausalito at the Trident restaurant. With my fish tacos in hand and the magnificent view of the bay, it marked the end to a great first day in San Francisco.
Tomorrow, we head over to Alcatraz and go on a scheduled tour of San Francisco.
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