San Francisco is a wonderful place to travel with kids. We travelled with our 5-year-old Kidsetter at Christmas time. What a treat !
We are always on the look out to find unique experiences and visiting Fairmont San Francisco at Christmas time was no exception. Fairmont’s elves worked overtime to create a dazzling two storey life sized Gingerbread House in the hotel’s grand lobby.
The Victorian mansion made of thousands of gingerbricks is a masterpiece. Sometimes you’ll spot the odd lolly missing as it’s been too tempting for a fellow admirer. The elves replenish any missing pieces overnight. Our Kidsetter was in awe !
We had pre-booked a Gingerbread Holiday Tea. We were led through the gingerbread house into the dining room.
Once seated it wasn’t long before the delicious food was served, we iced gingerbread men together and the greatest surprise of all…. a real elf visiting all the Kidsetters at the tables. She was a barrel of laughs. Fun family moments were turned into cherished memories.
Of course, whilst in San Fran it’s hard to pass by the typical touristy hot spots.
We caught a cable car which have been used by the locals since 1869. We ventured to Lombard street “the crookedest street in the world” encompassing eight hairpin turns. We started at the top and walked down to the bottom. The view of the bay is incredible. Our Kidsetter enjoyed using his legs going downhill counting his many, many steps.
We visited the infamous Golden Gate. A stunning day and bitterly freezing wind. Perfect weather to be viewing this incredible structure. I felt it was important for our Kidsetter to see up close so he could absorb the details to remember for future geography lessons.
Upon our return we passed the Sea Lions that have taken up permanent residence at Pier 39 since the earthquake that struck in 1989.
PIER 39 Marina has proven to be an ideal living environment for the sea lions. Depending on the seasons they can house up to 1700 noisy barking sea lions. We enjoyed watching them from the pier whilst eating an ice cream.
Heading back to the cultural hub of San Fran – downtown, we leisurely meandered along Union Square and Powell Street admiring the beautifully Christmas decorated shops.
Discovering the Cheesecake Factory on the top level of Macy’s on union square was a great find. The ultimate position to overlook Union Square and observe the Christmas ambience. A wonderful dinner as we were fortunate to be seated next to some like-minded travellers with their 2 Kidsetters in tow. Terrific fun !
