grand view park + mosaic steps

last saturday we woke up feeling like brunch...
but we knew we hadn't earned it quite yet :)  
so, we worked our appetites up by biking 
to grand view park to see a new {incredible} 
view of the whole city, and to see the artsy 
16th street mosaic steps right on the other side 
of the park. we picked a beautiful day for this
outing, we could see 360 degrees around the city!
i face-timed everyone i knew to show them this view, ha.

when we have a free weekend i have 2 goals:
to see something new & eat somewhere new.
check & check ✓✓
(luckily, in this city those things are always possible!)

it's easy to fall into comfort zones...AKA ours would be:
 waking up late, having a smoothie, eating at our 
favorite brunch spot {farm:table}, running our favorite 
familiar route along the embarcadero, & ending at 
the ferry building for lunch and farmers market samples. 
that is a great saturday to us! but, part of the reason 
i love living in this big city is that we get to know it 
so well and there is ALWAYS more to see. the ins and
 outs, the unique finds, the unknown areas, the places 
that are off-the-beaten-path that we've never made it to.

that is why i force us to get up and act like tourists 
in our own city. as much as i love familiar favorite 
things, i love nothing more that seeing something new. 
it's what keeps me going and makes me feel most 
happy and alive. this is also why i love travel so much: 
it's endless exploration and experiencing of new things. 
there's no better feeling in the world in my book!

sure, the bike ride may have been a little bit longer
and steeper than expected, and we may have gotten 
a little bit lost in golden gate park when we rode 
through a big soccer game (oops).. and we may have 
gone up some extra hills trying to find those famous 
mosaic steps...but that's the fun of it all! getting lost in 
your own city -- going and exploring -- seeing new 
things and connecting more to the place you live.
okay, off my soapbox. you know how i feel :)

hello, city in the distance! we live right
among those tall buildings, so you can 
see how far we biked. you cannot see
the hills because we are standing on TOP
of them! :) there's nothing like a good
view to make you appreciate where you live.

and, these famous mosaic steps. they are designed
to represent the sea ---> to the sky from top to
bottom. they are so detailed + amazing. 

if you go, be aware that these steps are one street 
over from the stairs up to the park...go down and
over to 16th street and you'll find them! (we
just had to walk up and down a few hills before
we realized where they were ... sorry husband!)

after we had seen it all, it was back down
those hills we had worked so hard to come up,
with a few stops along the way at favorite spots.
{hi, painted ladies!!}

^^ i mean, that view!

i was so ready for some brunch after this that 

we literally biked STRAIGHT there...and it was 

well worth those hills. but more on that later! :)

for now --- we love you, SF.

we love your views and your warm fall days

and even your hills. we love your unique little

hidden gems and places to discover and we

love living here in the center of it all. 

xo