Vacation Recap | San Francisco Weekend

November 5, 2015


In my senior year I finally got to experience the magic of the Weekender, aka the weekend when USC plays either Stanford or Berkeley and half of the student body travels up to the Bay Area. I got to hang out with friends who are from San Francisco, party it up in the Marina and the Mission District, and of course watch the USC Trojans beat the Cal Bears! All in all, a pretty good weekend!

It was also Halloween, which meant my Chanel Oberlin costume made its debut in downtown SF. Seriously fun times.

Here's my photo recap of the best moments of the weekend, and read on for recommendations of the restaurants and bars we hit up while in the city!

USC/Cal Game


Early on October 31st we took the BART out to Berkeley and traversed campus in search of fun tailgates and cool bars to watch the game (since we didn't buy tickets). We got super yummy burgers at Eureka! and then watched the second half of the game at a dive bar on Telegraph. It was a 50/50 mix of Cal and USC students, so when the final whistle blew we had plenty of people to celebrate with. It was awesome to see our trip up to the bay include a win!

Halloween


After a post-game siesta (so needed) we refueled and headed to the very-happening Mission District for Halloween festivities! Mostly we just bar-hopped, treating ourselves to artisanal cocktails and dancing the night away. There were some pretty kooky costumes (what else would you expect from San Francisco?) and we didn't get back home until 3am (don't even ask me about Uber surge pricing) so I'd say the evening was a success! And people understood my costume, which I always fear that they won't, so that was good!

Sunday Brunch

WEARING sweater and jacket from Anthropologie, BDG skirt, Urban Renewal bandana,
Steve Madden boots, and Rebecca Minkoff purse

On Sunday we recuperated with brunch in the Castro and some Philz Coffee. It was wonderfully gloomy and fall-like (I got hot chocolate!!!) and I just love the energy of San Francisco. It's very different from Los Angeles, and while I love my palm trees and sunny skies, it's nice to get out of LA every once in awhile and see how other cities do it.

After brunch most of our friends hit the 5 for a long day of driving, but my friend Steph and I didn't fly home until Monday, so we went shopping at Union Square in the evening and caught the last inning of the World Series at a bar in the Marina District.

And now, back to reality!

Lindsey's San Francisco Recommendations:


  • Philz Coffee lived up to its Instagram hype
  • For a delicious brunch or any other meal of the day, we were extremely satisfied with Chow in the Castro
  • Smuggler's Cove specializes in rum drinks and is a tropical oasis in the midst of Fog City, but it's definitely more of a hangout spot than a dance party
  • Zero Zero has wonderful food and killer drinks (seriously, the absinthe-based Violet Death in the Afternoon is not for the faint of heart)
  • Another great spot for trendy drinks: The Dorian. Didn't have a chance to check out their food other than a brussel sprouts appetizer, but if that was any indication their food is probably amazing too
  • If you're looking for a wildly fun dive bar or a place to play beer pong, Bar None in the Marina District is the perfect spot


What are your favorite spots in San Francisco?

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I love hearing your thoughts! Thanks for reading! ♥︎Lindsey