In the month of May, my boyfriend and I decided to drive the Californian coast. We took a flight from Vancouver to San Francisco and from there we drove south to Palm Springs. We stopped into a handful of places on the way: Big Sur, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles. The drive is a must do “bucket list” item that should be on everyone’s list. So the trip starts in San Francisco…

STAY: Since we were only staying in SFO for one short night, we wanted to find something affordable yet “fun” to stay. We decided to stay in Jap-Town at the Hotel Tomo, a hip Japanese Anime themed hotel, part of the Best Western group. Prices range from $100 - $145 during low seasons and $250 - $270 during high time.  Anime murals and Japanese pop culture set the tone for this fun and whimsical hotel in San Francisco’s Japan-town. Oh yeah, free wifi as well which is a mega bonus nowadays.

1800 Sutter Street, San Francisco, 415.921.4000

EAT: If you are a pasta lover like me, you must eat at “Flour + Water”, an Italian restaurant located in the Mission  District. The food is simple, authentic and set in a warm, casual setting. All the pasta is made fresh and by hand (to die for), and they also specialize in Neapolitan style pizza. Portions are just right and I walked out content: I had a starter and pasta dish to myself and shared a pizza.

2401 Harrison St (between 20th St & 21st St), San Francisco, 415.826.7000

Photo Credit: Eric Wolfinger

SHOP: The Hayes Valley area is probably my favourite area for shopping. A new shop popped up by the same owners as Azalea and Welcome Stranger…Rand+Statler. (Apparently they opened without a name for 2 months and now it’s finally been named). Their roaster of labels in the store can almost make it a one stop shop: Rag & Bone, Helmut Lang, Pamela Love, Parker, Alexander Wang, Acne,Rachel Comey, Surface to Air…the list goes on. They sell ladies and men’s apparel, footwear and some accessories.

425 Hayes Street, San Francisco, x-street is Gough, 415.634.0881

BREAK: Last but not least, a final destination in Hayes Valley…Blue Bottle Coffee.  They have a teenie kiosk location on Linden Street, looks like the back of a small car garage. There is barely any room for sitting, you just grab your coffee and go. As my hunt for the best brewed coffee continues, I picked up some of their “Giant Steps”, recommended by the staff.

315 Linden Street, Hayes Valley area, San Francisco.

Next stop on our Californian drive, Big Sur.

Sunny Shum, Footwear Buyer, Blogger & Your Industry Insider | Follow me @partly_sunny