california honeymoon | san francisco

I used to seek out books that were set in San Francisco. There was something about a city that was full of all sorts of people and often shrouded in fog that captured my imagination. I would lay on my bed in my childhood bedroom, eating Oreos and dropping crumbs all over myself as I read countless stories set in the city of steep hills and free love.

We drove from Laguna Beach to San Francisco in one beautifully sunny day, along a highway (I-99) that was lined with bright pink and white flowers for hundreds of miles. When we arrived in the city during the late afternoon, I caught my first glimpse of it as we drove across the Bay Bridge from Oakland.

People think I'm crazy when I say the light is different in California, but when you spend as much time as I do looking at the dreamy, sun washed work of California phographers, or when you drive into a city and everything is bathed in silvery light, you know I'm right.

We only had a day and half in San Francisco, but I would have stayed for months. Not forever though, because my mom would live in constant fear that I'd be swallowed up in an Earthquake, but I digress.

Don't let the golden light fool you — this San Francisco in May is as cold as Montreal in November. Before we went out walking the first night, I'd been wearing the outfit below and had to stop at a store to hastily buy a jeans and a sweater!

The next morning, we woke up and pretty much walked for eight hours straight, taking in as much as we could in one day.

That night, we went for dinner at Lolo, a great restaurant in the Mission District. We ordered as many small/sharing plates as we could eat/afford and the food was spectacular. Then we met up with our friend, Rebecca, for a few cocktails and some catching up.

Before heading out the next morning, we stopped into the Ferry Building Marketplace for breakfast. While I was at the Jasmine Star Workshop, lovely fellow photographer and San Jose resident Kimberly Chan had suggested we check out the building for some great food. Kimberly, thanks so much for the great recommendation! I had a Dungeness Crab burrito and it was the best breakfast I've ever had!

As it was a Saturday morning, the market had swelled to 3 times its size as it hosted a farmer's market around the perimeter of the building. It was the most extensive market I've ever seen, selling all manner of things including beautifully coloured fruits and vegetables I'd never seen.

After breakfast, we hopped in the car and headed to our next stop: Monterey.