Destination: San Francisco, California (Getting Brunch, Taking the Ferry, and Burmese Dinner– DAY 4)

Taking the ferry (March 2024)

After three, intense days of sightseeing San Francisco, my partner and I took it easy on our last full day in town. Even though the past three days were exhausting with all-day excursions, it was wise of us to slow down on the final day, so that we would still have the energy to sightsee and to appreciate the trip. That said, we only had a few things on our agenda for the day, and we took our time with each of them.

We had a later start, heading out to get brunch just a quick bus ride away. It was a sort of Asian-fusion brunch spot, which served dishes like rib-eye omurice, which I ordered along with a latte. Portions were huge, food was rich, but still quite expensive at $25 USD per person. Brunch was a bit bougie, not going to lie, but still good for the portion sizes, as the food kept us going until later that day.

Ribeye omurice

Next, we took the bus over to the Ferry Building. Not only is it the ferry terminus for getting to other parts of the Bay Area, but it’s also a covered marketplace with plenty of restaurants, cafés, and gift shops that tourists and locals can wander around in as they wait for the next ferry. My partner and I didn’t have much time to look around, as we purchased tickets for the next ferry over to Larkspur around 10h00. It was a quick, half-hour ride along the water, and we enjoyed the SF skyline and the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance.

Ferry Building

Inside the Ferry Building

Golden Gate Bridge in the distance

We soon pulled into Larkspur, where my partner’s friends (who live in the area) picked us up and we spent the afternoon at their home and got lunch in town. Outside of SF, the cities and towns are smaller and more spread out, but there’s no denying the lush greenery and great, temperate weather. My partner’s friends dropped us back off at the ferry terminus at 15h30, where we caught the ferry back to SF, returning around 16h00.

My partner and I had a rest at our hotel before we headed out again, catching the bus to a Burmese restaurant for dinner. Interestingly, SF has a small, but notable Burmese community, and it’s evident in a small handful of well-known Burmese restaurants in and near the Richmond district. We arrived early (around 17h30), but the restaurant was already packed– however, there was outdoor seating, so we sat outside– it was a bit chilly, but we managed!

We settled on a few items: samusas, garlic noodles, mohinga, and tea leaf salad. The samusas were similar to Indian samosas, and the garlic noodles were nice, although it didn’t personally stand out. The mohinga and tea leaf salad, however, were the stars of the show. The mohinga is the national dish of Myanmar, and it’s a catfish noodle soup that’s full of complex flavors, from lemongrass to turmeric to fish sauce– you’re left with a sour and spicy dish that’s punchy and delicious! The tea leaf salad (called lahpet thoke) is another distinctive dish that is made from fermented tea leaves accompanied by condiments such as fried garlic, chickpeas, and ginger. The flavor profile is very unique, as it has an acidic, yet earthy taste, and it makes for a refreshing dish.

Clockwise from top left: garlic noodles, samusas, tea leaf salad, and mohinga

Following dinner, we headed to a little Japanese market just across the street, which interestingly also served crêpes— we were craving something sweet after our meal, so we got a simple, but wonderful crispy crêpe filled with Nutella, strawberries, and bananas. We then returned to our hotel for the rest of the day, as it was our final night in town and we also needed to pack up.

We woke up early the next morning and had one more tasty breakfast at the French pâtisserie we’d gone to during our second day in town– as usual, the pastries were fresh and decadent, and we were happy we got to go one more time before leaving SF. It was then a matter of returning to our hotel, packing up, and checking out by noon before we got an Uber to the airport. Our flight was utterly packed, but we took off promptly at 14h00 and landed in Los Angeles by 15h00, tired but happy to be back home.

Last French pâtisseries for the road!

Overall, it was a wonderful, extended weekend trip to SF with my partner. It was four nights exploring the city I hadn’t been back to in almost 14 years, and it was fun experiencing it as an adult. Despite what you might hear in the news these days, I found SF wasn’t that bad or dangerous– while it’s still important to be careful, I think the city really cleaned up in the past two years. We also just stuck to the main tourist spots (e.g. Chinatown, Golden Gate, Fisherman’s Wharf) and didn’t go out at night, so our experience might be different from others. All the same, though, we found SF quite safe.

My partner and I relied on public transport to get around town, and we found this incredible price of $5 USD for a Day Pass! It was a lot cheaper to buy the $5 USD day pass every day we were in town, as the multi-day pass and other options were quite expensive and weren’t worth it– I highly recommend anyone who visits SF just to get the day pass, as it’ll pay itself if you take at least two rides per day. It’ll save you money, I promise!

Thank you so much for reading this SF series, and I promise more travel adventures are coming soon. Have a wonderful day! 🙂

— Rebecca