C + C Excursions: San Francisco

I had to travel to San Francisco for a couple days for a HR Test Prep Course. I've got a big exam coming up in December to get my Professional Human Resources (PHR) certification (eek!). So I went up there, alone, from a Tuesday night through late Friday night. I flew Southwest, of course, and stayed at a boutique hotel named Hotel Diva. I would not stay there again. It was a little too...unique? boutique-y? for me. That and my bed was uncomfortable. But it was close to the SF State University Downtown Campus and it was in my business budget. I had class Wednesday through Friday from 8:30am until 5:00pm and it was hell!! After class I would wander around the Market Street area. There's a ton of shops (not including the Westfield Mall) and sights to see. I did duck out of class early on Thursday and hopped on the cable car and rode it all the way down the Fisherman's Wharf. I was able to see Alcatraz pretty clearly (I wish they had a night tour available while I was there!), but I was very bummed that I could barely make out the Golden Gate Bridge due to the heavy marine layer. I didn't do too much sightseeing, I would have liked to do more, but I wish I had someone else traveling with me to make it more fun. I was very excited to come home, I missed Chris and I missed my pup :)

Tips:
I took the Super Shuttle from SFO to my hotel, which worked out fine. But I found out that I was close to the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) and they have a direct line that takes you straight into the airport.

There are three cable car lines. You can hop on either at the ends of the lines, or if you see the brown sign on the side of the street, you can flag down the driver and hop on. Tickets are $6.00 each way (you pay it once you are on board, or you buy it from the ticket counter at the ends of the lines), or I was talking to an older gentleman from Austin who bought a trip pass from Walgreen's. I checked out this link before I hopped on, just to be sure of where I was going and all the rules, etc.

SF has a TON of homeless people. There are homeless people in Marina del Rey too, but they don't bother you. The SF homeless will badger you for change. I found that it's best to just ignore them and keep walking (even if they try to walk with you).

Food:
SF is known for some great food. Although most of it is seafood (which I don't eat), and Chinese (which I'm afraid has MSG in it [I'm allergic]). So where did this picky eater eat? My top spots were:
Pinecrest Diner for breakfast - I had a cheese omelette with hash browns and an English muffin. It was probably THE best breakfast I ever had!
Burger Bar - Located in the huge Macy's next to Union Square, it's the same as the Las Vegas location. I love the LV Burger Bar, so of course I had to eat here as well! Downside, crappy service, and I wish I had ordered my burger medium well instead of medium. It was a tad too pink for me.
Cupola Pizzeria - My last meal in SF was SOOO good. But not a good idea if you're already checked out of your hotel (too much cheese O.o). For an appetizer I had the warm, pulled to order mozzarella (picture below) that was out of this world. Then I had the Bianca pizza that was so thin you could see through it!

I took a handful (or more) of pictures, so this is gonna be more of a "pictorial" post...Enjoy :)