San Francisco, USA - Making the most of a work trip!

Work trips provide an amazing opportunity to explore new places. Check out what Cat and Al of Flat World Media, got up to on a 5 day trip to San Francisco!

Inspiration:

We had a business trip for our commercial side, Flat World Media Productions. We had 2 days of shooting scheduled with our client but had evenings open. The shoot was also on my birthday so we thought we may as well add on a couple of days for ourselves so we could explore more. It had been years since I had been to SF and Al had never been. so we thought- what a great idea to combine business and pleasure!! SF is such a beautiful city and the temperatures were going to be a lot cooler than an East Coast City in the Summer. (Actually it was even chillier than we had expected so I bought a scarf!!) 
We wanted to explore the different tourist areas as well as get off the beaten path. And we Knew we had to spend time hiking in Muir Woods and walking through the quaint town of Sausalito. 

Getting There:

We had our flights covered by our client so we had no added expense there. And we made sure to fly with American so we could also earn points!! Once there we rented a car. We only did that because we had filming equipment and shoots all over the city. But honestly it is so easy to take the Bart from the airport and the subway system there is great. And if you need a an Uber driver- make sure to check out @colorfulrides on IG! Met him along the way and his IG is Fantastic!! Just make sure to pack Very comfortable shoes- those hills are No joke!!

Local Knowledge:

There are so many things that are unique about San Francisco. Being a West Coast city it is such a different vibe than Philadelphia or New York. The people are in less of a hurry, a laid-back chill vibe. There are so many different neighborhoods to just sit back and people watch, and there is something for everyone. We asked some locals at the shoot we were doing for some tips of where to go and places to eat. Most of the sights were on the Scenic  49 Mile Drive. Honestly this is a great place to start to map out the sights you want to see. It was nice to ask locals what they thought of certain places like Lands End where we hiked to the point and then sat and watch a group of 6 whales playing in the bay waters for over 30 minutes.

Where To Stay:

since it was a business trip 3 night of our 5 night stay was covered. We searched a ton of hotels and Airbnb's.  We narrowed our search to include free parking since we would have a rental car. Not paying for parking can save you some serious cash! We also wanted an outdoor balcony so we could sit out at night and relax overlooking at least part of the city. 
We chose a place in Pacifica Heights in a restored gorgeous SF mansion. You know one of those colorful homes with a turret and all!! Pacifica Heights was a good district that was close to where our shoots were mostly taking place. And it didn't take us more than 20 minutes to drive to any part of the city we wanted to go.

What To Do:

We are great at doing a LOT in a little time! and WOW- we did a lot!! We really like exploring The Castro, Chinatown, Mission District, The Ferry Building and stopped through Fishermans Warf to get some homemade authentic SF sour dough bread to take home. We arent big into a lot of torusits places so we didnt spend much time there besides getting the bread and checking out the sea lions. We mostly enjoyed all the great nature at Lands End and the Presido. We also had a blast renting those crazy pedel bikes in Golden Gate Park and walked all around Stow Lake which was Gorgeous! We are big nature buffs so going to Muir Woods and walking amongst the Redwoods was certainly a highlight. And you can't beat the Amazing pancakes at the Light House Cafe in Salsulito when you are done. You want to get to Muir Woods early if you ahve a car beacause the parking lot fills up fast. We really wanted to go to Point Bonita Lighthouse but it was closed. It is only open Sat, Sun, Mon 12:30-3:30.