A Weekend in San Francisco on a Budget

This past 3-day weekend the boyfriend and I decided, totally last-minute-spur-of-the-moment-like, that we would spend a couple days in San Francisco. I have never been and it just seemed like the perfect chance to go. The first way we saved some money was by driving overnight to get there. Driving is cheaper than flying (especially last minute and in my Corolla) and by driving all night (it took about 8 hours) we didn't waste any time.

 Our first stop was fisherman's wharf. Although freezing, a great place to visit in the early morning. 

Since hotels in the city are pretty outrageous and we knew we wanted to stay in a good location, we used airbnb. This was our first experience with the website and while I was a bit nervous, it could not have worked out better! I felt comfortable with our choice because the listing had good reviews and I got a chance to talk to the host before I booked it. This cost us 185 for two nights (three days because we got there early and left late.) I would have paid much more for our amazing comfortable room and the awesome location in the Richmond area, right by a great little Chinatown and the Golden Gate Park.

 Although you can hardly see much about the apartment, you can tell the vibe was homey and perfect. I mean, fresh flowers and succulents. Perfection.

There were all these beautiful, exotic, unique flowers all over Golden Gate Park. Again, perfection.

 Oh my goodness I felt like such a hippie at this moment.  I had on the flowy pants and everything...When in Rome, right?

Since parking in SF is ridiculously expensive, we just left my car parked the entire trip and used Lyft to get around. Lyft is a lot cheaper than taxis and we both had $25 credits. We reaaaallly wanted to go to Alcatraz, but instead of spending a hundred bucks each for sold-out package tickets by other retailers, we got in line at 6 am for day-of tickets (they only had 150.)

This photo was taken in the old hospital at Alcatraz. The whole place was pretty eerie but very interesting.

 I was planning on indulging on good food, so we brought snacks and water to hold us over and save money. We also bought local beer and wine from the liquor store before we went out.

This was the clam chowder we had in fisherman's wharf. Delicious! 

There were a ton of little cafes in the area so every morning we would walk to one and enjoy the gloom with our yummy breakfast and coffee. Arguably one of my favorite moments of the weekend.

Overall, it was an amazing (although quick) getaway from reality. I loved the city equally as much as I thought I would (I had high expectations.) I cannot wait to go back, and if that means in a couple years with a giant moving truck with me, I mean... I would not mind it one bit. ;)