SAN FRANCISCO PART ONE

I love California and I love weekend trips! Traveling really does give you a new perspective. Utah Valley is definitely growing on me, but then when you leave you realize you're in a bubble. The first few hours I was in San Francisco I didn't know what to do with myself. There were homeless people all over the streets, we had no transportation, we were staying on the 15th floor of an apartment building, and we came in contact not only with people speaking lots of different languages, but also a lot of swearing. It truly was culture shock. I got over it quickly, but it was a bit much to begin with ha! 

THURSDAY

We flew into Oakland, took a lyft to San Francisco and passed the Oracle Center ( I was really hoping there was a Warriors game this weekend, but it was All-Star weekend) and the Oakland Temple. We crossed the Bay Bridge (not really sure why it's less famous than Golden Gate) and then ended up in a neighborhood called Tenderloin where Barret and Maggie live. We were starving so the first thing we did was walk a block or two away to this cute little southern restaurant called 

BRENDA'S FRENCH SOUL FOOD 

From my research, I learned that any time you see a line in SF, it's probably for a good reason. All the good restaurants have lines out the door. Greta got classic Louisiana Gumbo and I got this Cornmeal-fried Shrimp Po'Boy. They were both divine! I love things that take me back to the South. Of course we had to order beignets for the road.

We then went to Maggie's Improv Show. It was fun to be a part of a normal night out in the city. 

FRIDAY

It literally poured all day long. We walked a grand total of 10 miles and we loved every minute of exploring. I can never sleep in past 7:30 these days so I was up and had the day planned by the time we were ready to go. 

MR. HOLME'S BAKEHOUSE

We started the morning off right with pastries from the cutest bakery! 

Apple Pecan Danish and Chocolate Hazelnut Croissant

GRACE CATHEDRAL

SAN FRANCISCO CITY HALL

Don't be fooled. This two block building is not a capitol building of any sort, just the city hall. It is gorgeous!! We went on the one hour tour of the building and it was fascinating! The structure of a dome that goes into a rectangular building was first done in the Hagia Sophia (yay for Turkey). There are 40 weddings a day performed in the building. Also, the first gay wedding was performed here. There were seriously brides EVERYWHERE. The building was also remodeled to be more earthquake proof. They think of everything.

 Aren't these stairs dreamy??

The curtains are always closed in this room so as to not fade the wood. 

THE MISSION

We spent the rest of our day here. Soaking wet haha! This is the oldest surviving structure in San Francisco and the seventh religious settlement established as part of the California chain of missions. It was founded in 1776!

Clarion Alley is full of fabulous murals! They are all so unique and they change often. There are a lot of Latin influences but it was so interesting to see a place where people could voice their opinions especially in a city that is so diverse. 

There were fun little barbershops like this one on tons of corners throughout the city!

OH MY GOSH!! Is this not the cutest idea?! These love notes were adorable! We really should tell people more often why we love them.

After walking around all day, sitting down for a bit was very much welcome. Mission burritos are raved about and this place was hoppin except they only accept CASH! We escaped a heavy downpour too so we enjoyed the time at this little restaurant. 

It's always nice to see life in the middle of winter. The flower shop up above and the orange tree below were the perfect diversion from the gloom all around. 

I seriously can't get over these houses. Are they not p e r f e c t?? It reminds me of living in New York during the turn of the century. AHHH!

We decided to make one last stop to the Painted Ladies before we headed home for the evening. It was about a 30 min walk from where we were, but after walking all day it seemed like nothing haha! We were heading the right way and stopped to take some pictures along the way. We eventually were walking literally straight uphill and were wondering how much longer when the ETA on our phones kept going up every few minutes. We could not figure it out because it was a straight shot there. It's just that it was a straight shot the OTHER direction haha! It was getting dark and we just decided that we would save that for tomorrow and headed home. We could not believe it but it made for a funny story. I still get the giggles every time I think about it. But it didn't hurt to get more steps in. And we saw this beautiful view of the city. 

country vs. city

I'm teaching at a school in the middle of nowhere. It is such a small town that I'm pretty sure they don't even have a grocery store. The students wear cowboy boots with their shorts and love things like rodeos and demolition derbys. They all know what a farm is and are obsessed with horses. I went to a track meet in the next town over in the spring and it had such a unique feel. It's the kind of town where everyone knows everyone, they have livestock at the high school (and you can smell it) and everyone is wearing boots, checkered shirts, and hats.

Sometimes I think that I really like that kinda stuff. It puts a smile on your face and makes you think of every good country song you've ever heard. It reminds me of my mission in the south. I think sometimes the country is really beautiful and there's nothing like sitting on the porch swing drinking lemonade and then watching the stars at night.

But then I remember the city. The energy that's there. All the hustle and bustle. The diversity of the people you run into there. The fact that you could have a sports game, a broadway show, a huge convention, and tons of shopping and eating all going on at the same time within blocks of each other. The city lights and the traffic. It's all so exciting! Walking on the sidewalks, maybe staying in a fancy hotel, or just there for the night. It's always an adventure and I love every minute of it.

I think there has to be some balance in our lives. The ability to appreciate both. I'm grateful for where I grew up, kind of a small town but definitely a city suburb, two beautiful cities within an hour away. It is so fun! And growing up where I did allowed me to appreciate the beauty of the country and learning to enjoy taking a step back and slowing things down. It's never boring in the country, it's relaxing.

And there's so much to learn! I've always been one that loves to learn about different cultures and sometimes that doesn't take you too far from home.

night life

Something fun about our Turkey trip was that we got to go out at night! It was a blast exploring cities that we completely foreign to us! We also got to take the metro in Istanbul! I missed those! It definitely a highlight. The first night we went out to a place called Taksim Square. It's kind of like the Times Square of Istanbul. It was alive and well at night and we just walked through the streets, checking out some stores, listening to music in the streets, and people watching. 

These ice cream guys were hilarious! They had these metals sticks that they used to scoop out the ice cream and they would do all sorts of tricks before they even put it in your cone. It was highly entertaining!

The second night we made probably one of the best decisions of our lives. I don't have all the pics yet but I wanted to get these posts up! We went to a place called the Sapphire which is a mall, a restaurant, and residential. It's the tallest building in all of Istanbul and all of eastern Europe!  It was unreal! You could see for miles. All the city lights, the bridges, the water. It was amazing! We just stood there in awe! You have to go up 54 stories on an elevator and then 2 more levels up on stairs. The elevator goes so fast your ears pop! You really do feel like you’re on top of the world. I was with JT, Jezz, Thomas, and Spencer. They made us feel pretty safe. I’m glad Jezz and I are both in agreement about how it’s just so much more fun and chill to be with boys haha! We stood at the top just enjoying the view and talking and taking pictures for over an hour. There was a huge Turkish flag up there as well. JT is obsessed with it haha! 

These next few pictures are taken in Canakkale, which is not too far from Troy. This horse is the one that was used in the movie! This hotel was on the water too and we really enjoyed walking through the little town and then sitting on the water, talking for the rest of the evening.