Mirjam's World - Travel - USA - San Francisco, CA

As the song goes: "I left my heart in San Francisco..." I can't quite point out what it is about this city but I have yet to find a
person that doesn't like it. It has a special charm that keeps you coming back over and over again.

When I visited the city for the first time I was surprised how hilly it was and how
steep some of those streets are. I have also noticed how many streets I recognized
from the numerous movies that were shot there. I decided to take one of those
charming bus tours to get familiar with the city and it turned out to be an
excellent decision. The guide was extremely knowledgeable so in a short time
we learned, not only the history of the city and its devastating fire in 1906 and saw
all its main attractions, but we also learned a lot of details about Victorian
architecture, current popular places to eat, sleep and shop and even where Mrs.
Doubtfire lived. It was a perfect way to get the orientation of the city and be able
to further explore it on my own.

One of the most popular places in San Francisco is the Fisherman's Wharf.
Restaurants, little shops, street entertainers and the renowned Sourdough bakery
Boudin attract a lot of people therefore expect crowds wherever you go.

The bakery offers daily tours of the facility and has a big glass window that faces
the street where you can watch bakers make their famous San Francisco sour
dough bread. It is also the place where you can catch a boat to tour the San
Francisco Bay or the famous prison Alcatraz, which is the most popular tourist
destination at the moment. Tours of the city usually also start and end there. A
short walk to the beach, which is located on the west side of Fisherman's wharf,
uncovers a beautiful view of the Golden Gate bridge, which is the most famous,
but only one of five bridges that cross San Francisco bay.

San Francisco has the
biggest Chinese
community in the United
States. China town is big,
very clean and a lot
nicer than the one in
New York. It has many
cute little shops with
thousands and thousands
of purses and $5 t-shirts.

Little Italy is also a great place to visit and
maybe have a dinner in one of those lovely
restaurants after a whole day of exploring...

Beside the cable car the city also has a
good and inexpensive bus transportation
system and a big train station that connects
you with other surrounding cities.

There are so many things to explore in San
Francisco so you probably need more than a
couple of days to see and experience all of
them, but if you get bored for some reason,
than get on your feet and ketch a ride to the
wine country, which is only about 60 miles
north of the city and experience an American
version of La Dolce Vita.