San Francisco is definitely not short on coffee shops. There were so many so besides Blue Bottle, which we had heard about before, we stopped by whatever looked good! Luckily it worked out for us and all of the coffee we had was amazing! Something I loved about almost all of the cafes was that they did not use plastic stirrers for you to mix your coffee with - there was a cup of clean spoons and a…
Read MoreWhen we first started looking for lodging near SF, I told Jess that I wanted to stay near Daly City or Millbrae because I have a couple friends who live out there. After a few recommendations to check out Oakland instead, and also a few peaks at the price difference between the two, we made the call to stay in Oakland. When we’re travelling, we always make sure to check out…
Read MoreWhen we first started looking for places to stay in San Francisco, we were blown away by how expensive the lodging is. We knew we had to look into the suburbs, and because neither of us had ever been there, we didn’t know where to stay. We had heard that Oakland was great and found some cheap airbnbs there, so we decided on that. Once we got there, we realized we were right…
Read MoreNick and I took a day trip to Napa Valley to go olive oil and wine tasting. Since neither of us particularly like wine, we wanted to fill our trip with non-wine activities, which is pretty hard to do in wine country. One of our favorite things was visiting Gott’s Roadside. Nick loves diners, and when I saw this place online, I knew we had to go. There are several scattered throughout Napa Valley…
Read MoreWhen we were first planning our trip to San Francisco, we knew we had to go to Napa Valley - we were so close! We looked into every different way to get there and the easiest we could find was renting a car ourselves. Especially since neither of us are wine drinkers, a wine tour would have been way too much for us. By renting a car, we were able to plan our own itinerary and go at…
Read MoreSome of our favorite places were found on Haight Street and in Mission District. Both places are loud, colorful, and filled with culture. If I could have spent more time anywhere, it would have been in these two places. We started the day walking all the way…
Read MoreWe had planned from the beginning to explore San Francisco’s Chinatown and had saved it for our last afternoon. During the day, I found a cool instagram of someone who lived in SF. She posted about North Beach, which is SF’s Little Italy. Her description of…
Read MoreWe were lucky to be able to meet up with a few friends who live outside of San Francisco. Our first day in SF, we met up for breakfast with a friend. After, he offered to drive us to Fisherman’s Wharf, which was great because Fisherman’s Wharf was…
Read MoreWe started planning a trip to San Francisco in the spring to celebrate Nick’s birthday. Every year for our birthdays, we give each other “experience gifts” instead of a material gift. His birthday was in June, which makes this end-of-August trip a little late, but it was the only time we could go this summer. Neither of us have ever been to San Francisco (Nick had been outside SF last year…
Read MoreIn the middle of paying for a wedding, we did not have much extra money to spend on a honeymoon. We knew we wanted to go somewhere in Europe, and after looking at all of our options, it was clear that Budapest would be a great adventure at a third of…
Read MoreNow that we’re back home, everyone is asking us how the trip was. Although we talk about the architecture and history, we can’t stop talking about the food! Before the trip, we didn’t know what traditional Hungarian food was. Whenever we looked, the top answers were goulash (a meat and vegetable stew) and sausage. To our surprise, Budapest has incredibly diverse options for…
Read MoreWe were able to stay in a hotel at the very bottom of Castle Hill, and we could actually see the top of Buda Castle from our hotel room! It was funny that we spent every day at the base of it but never explored it until our last few hours. Most attractions…
Read MoreOur most memorable experience was definitely our morning at the Széchenyi Thermal Bath. Gellért Bath is closer to the heart of the city, but its mostly tourists. We wanted the local experience, and although there were definitely tourists at Széchenyi, you could tell that most people there were regulars. Most people were just soaking, but our favorite were the old men playing chess! We…
Read MoreOut of all the streets we walked in Budapest, our favorite spot was the Jewish Quarter. We walked through this area of the city several times, trying to find the many Holocaust memorials, snapping pictures of street art, and trying out the ruin bars. We also stumbled across a design shop where they print local artists’ designs. It took a long time, but we finally decided on a simple…
Read MoreAs much as we try to value local favorites over tourist traps, there were a few things we had to check out. One of the most recommended places to visit was the Central Market Hall. It was on the complete other side of town from our hotel. Along the way, we walked through Váci utca, which is a famous street known for tourist gift shops and tons of restaurants. At the end of the…
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I had never really been into architecture before coming to Budapest. However, everywhere you look in Budapest, the buildings are gorgeously crafted. Even the McDonalds is located in a 100 year old baroque building. Nick and I crossed the Lanchid Chain Bridge every day to go from our hotel in Buda to all the activities and cafes in Pest. One day, we paused in the middle of the…
We didn’t quite know what to expect when we decided to honeymoon in Budapest. Neither of us are Hungarian, and we actually chose Budapest because we wanted to have a different destination than most honeymoon hot spots. Everything in Budapest completely surpassed our expectations. The best thing about Budapest was that everywhere you went, there was something…
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