San Francisco has a way of mixing the historic with the whimsical, the educational with the indulgent. Our weekend in the city was exactly that kind of experience—a perfect blend of San Francisco’s past and present: touring the working machinery that powers the iconic cable cars, getting lost in mirror mazes at Pier 39, sipping $16 Irish coffees at a legendary cafe, watching football at neighborhood breweries, and letting autonomous Waymo vehicles navigate us through the city streets. Here is how we spent a weekend in San Francisco (we added 1 1/2 days onto a work trip).
Table of Contents
Inside the Heart of San Francisco’s Cable Cars
We checked into the hotel but our room wasn’t ready yet, so we decided to start our adventure. We began at the Cable Car Museum, a hidden gem that’s completely free and located in the Nob Hill neighborhood. But calling it just a museum doesn’t quite capture what makes this place special—it’s actually the working powerhouse for the entire cable car system.
The museum houses the winding machinery that keeps San Francisco’s iconic cable cars moving. Picture this: massive sheaves (wheel mechanisms) spinning constantly, pulling steel cables through channels beneath the city streets at a steady 9.5 miles per hour. The system operates on a brilliant bit of 19th-century engineering—the cable cars don’t have their own engines. Instead, a “gripman” operates a lever that clamps onto the continuously moving underground cable, and releasing the grip stops the car.
Standing in that engine room is an experience. It’s loud—the mechanical hum and clank of the turning wheels fills the space. But it’s mesmerizing to watch these wheels spin, knowing they’re pulling multiple cable car lines across the city simultaneously. The museum does an excellent job explaining the history and mechanics through exhibits, and you can even look through a window on the bottom floor to see the actual cables running through channels below street level.
We spent about an hour reading the displays and watching the machinery work. The best part? After visiting, every time you walk near cable car tracks anywhere in the city, you can hear and feel that distinctive hum of the rope moving underneath your feet. It’s like being let in on the city’s mechanical heartbeat.
Eating & Drinking
After a full morning of travel, the museum and lots of walking around, it was time for snacks. We walked over to East Brother Beer Company, a small place located in the Meteron for a beer. The Meteron is a four-story vertical shopping and entertainment center located downtown. There are several restaurants, a Target, movie theatre (apparently with the tallest IMAX screen in North America), and the brewery. We didn’t look this up before we went, we were hoping for a brewery with food — and its part of a food court area, so plenty of food was around but we decided just to have a beer. I had the Mexican Lager and Justin the Pilsner. We both found the beers to taste good and was cold and refreshing, just what we needed after all that walking.
But we were still getting a little hungry having skipped lunch now, so we rounded a corner, stopped at Oren’s Hummus for 2 humus to go and went to the Lark for another beer and to eat our snack. The Lark was decorated in sports memorabilia making it fun to look around when our conversation slowed.
For dinner we ended up getting Thai takeout from The ThongLor which is a small place with good reviews. Since their place is small, we figured instead of risking a wait, we’d just order takeout and watch a movie. We ordered a Pad Thai with Chicken and a Pad See Ew with Veggies & Tofu, both in medium spice level and the Vegetarian Rolls. At first the website said 40 minute wait, but it was really ready in 8 minutes. The portion was large, the food was still hot when we opened it, and it was pretty good.
A Playful Detour: Lost in Mirrors
The next morning we headed on the Alcatraz Tour (you can read that here) then spent the rest of the afternoon walking the north part of town. We made our way to Magowan’s Infinite Mirror Maze at Pier 39. For $10 each, we stepped into a disorienting world of reflections. They hand you disposable plastic gloves at the entrance—practical for keeping the mirrors spotless, but it also adds to the slightly surreal experience of navigating your way through endless reflections of yourself.
It’s the kind of attraction that could feel gimmicky, but honestly? We had way more fun than expected. And we were the only ones in there so we weren’t persuaded by others in their quest to the end. There’s something delightfully childlike about carefully feeling your way forward, unsure if you’re about to walk into a wall or through an opening. The maze isn’t huge, but it delivers exactly what it promises—a fun, slightly silly 15-20 minutes that made us laugh.
The Famous Irish Coffee
By late morning, we headed to Buena Vista Cafe, the legendary spot that claims to have introduced Irish coffee to America back in 1952. On a Sunday morning, the place was absolutely packed—every table filled with locals and tourists alike.
We managed to snag two seats at the bar, which turned out to be the perfect spot. Justin ordered their famous Irish coffee, while I went with hot chocolate. The bartenders work with practiced efficiency, lining up glasses in rows and preparing Irish coffees almost assembly-line style for the constant stream of orders.
Justin’s Irish coffee was excellent enough that he ordered a second, this time a Bailey’s—though at $16 each, it was a splurge. My hot chocolate, by contrast, was $3 or less. We didn’t get a menu at the bar, and we’d initially planned on lunch, but the crowd and the drinks were enough. The spot at the end of the bar gave us access to a small display case with the history of Buena Vista’s Irish coffee, which was a nice read while we sipped our drinks.
Game Time and Afternoon Beers
A few blocks’ walk brought us to San Francisco Brewing Company, where we settled in to watch the rest of the football game. The atmosphere was casual and comfortable—the kind of place where you can nurse a beer, share some appetizers, and watch the game without anyone rushing you along. We grabbed a couple of local brews and the spinach dip, enjoying the relaxed Sunday afternoon vibe.
Sweet Treats at Ghirardelli Square
After the game, we walked across the courtyard to Ghirardelli, because you can’t be in San Francisco without stopping at the chocolate company’s flagship location. We splurged on their chocolate lovers milkshakes—$15 each, which delivered its own moment of sticker shock. The sundaes on the menu were even pricier.
The shop itself is impressive, with an enormous variety of chocolate gifts and all the different flavors of their little squares displayed like a candy lover’s dream. I did look around for a 10 pound bar – curious the price on that, my Brother-In-Law got one as a gift in the early 2000’s and was probably $60-90 then….what would it be now? I didn’t see one. But after the milkshake prices (delicious as they were), we decided to skip buying any chocolate to take home. Sometimes experiencing a place is enough.
The Future of Transportation
By this point, we’d walked most of the day and it was time to head back to our hotel. We called a Waymo—Justin’s first experience with a self-driving car. I had him sit in the front seat while I took the back, positioning ourselves so we could both watch the steering wheel move on its own.
There’s something undeniably strange about watching a car navigate city streets with no human hands on the wheel. The steering wheel turns smoothly, the car signals and changes lanes, and you’re just… a passenger in every sense of the word. Justin found it fascinating, if a bit unsettling at first.
But here’s the thing about new technology: familiarity breeds comfort. By the end of our few days in San Francisco, Justin was completely at ease with Waymo and actually preferred it to traditional Uber or Lyft rides.
There’s something appealingly calm about a self-driving car—no small talk required, no wondering about tipping etiquette, just a smooth ride through the city.
Dinner by a Michelin-recognized chef
Dinner was at Copra, a place recommended to me by a colleague who said it was the best meal of her life. That is a huge statement, and I don’t know here very well when it comes to food – but it is a Michelin-recognized chef and they had an open reservation, and so we went. We eat a lot of Indian, but Copra is more southern Indian, which I am less familiar with. The server was patient to try to describe some of the dishes. Justin ended up getting the Black Cod Pollichathu which was wrapped in banana leaves and I ordered the Vegetable of the Day which was three different dishes. I thought the Cod was basic, but the curry sauce that came with it was absolutely delicious, and the rice had a few other things in it like shallot, pineapple, and raison. The three dishes I ordered included lentils, something tomatoes, and a cauliflower which were all OK. My favorite ended up being the cauliflower, even though it was dry, I used Justin’s curry sauce and it was amazing. Mine was served with plain basmatic rice which worked with the three different dishes. Having had Justin’s curry sauce, I instantly regretted not getting just a curry dish such as the Gongura Palkatt Kurma.
We were sat under the portico with plants and white ropes hanging down. It was really pretty. The service was good. But this was not the best meal of our lives, wasn’t the best Indian either. But it was nice to have a quieter dinner in a nice restaurant.
The city delivered exactly what a good weekend should: learning something new, indulging in local treats, experiencing moments of whimsy, and embracing the unexpected. From 19th-century engineering marvels to 21st-century autonomous vehicles, San Francisco spans eras in a single day—and charges premium prices for its milkshakes along the way.