Date: 28/08/2012 à 06/09/2012

Saímos of: Monterey, CA

Destination: San Francisco, CA

Distance: 193 km

Travel time: Near 2 ½ hours

Path: We peeled Highway 1 to the height of Santa Cruz, where we took a detour through Santa Cruz Highway to US-101, que leva direto ao coração de São Francisco.

Where to sleep: Lodging in San Francisco is very expensive. Thus, stay in nearby towns become interesting options. We rented a house in Richmond in the early days and then stayed in a motel roadside in the city of El Cerrito, both to near 15 the 20 km do centro da cidade.

What eat different: Clam Chowder, a tradicional sopa de mariscos. No pass Pier 39 and try this delicacy is like traveling to Salvador and prove a acarajé: mandatory!

Tire cheio: Golden Gate Brdige of a cross bike até Salsalito. Through a bicycle tour of the city by Piers, can feel close to what San Francisco has to offer. Cruzar a emblemática Golden Gate Bridge até a simpática cidade vizinha de Sausalito foi um dos pontos altos da nossa passagem pela cidade.

Tire murcho: Who called this ice cream fan? Do not expect to pass heat in San Francisco. Even in the summer, the temperature does not usually spend a lot of 20 degrees, and windy. Essa época é justamente quando a neblina fria desce à cidade.

Exciting diversity in prime rich uncle Chico – San Francisco, USA

Diversity set the tone of our passage through this megalopolis of Northern California. Pole of the hippie movement and counterculture of the years 60, San Francisco also hosts the liberal thinking and carefree time of, Now that mixes the speed of economic development of the city, which occupies the status of one of the main financial centers of the United States. SanFran has it all and then some. A unique blend, em meio aos inúmeros atrativos para os turistas de plantão.

Staying close to the main sights of the city can be quite expensive and difficult. As we are traveling relative to the wind, without a well-defined roadmap, just leaving to look for a place to stay last minute again. The problem is that many hotels were already filled or were more expensive than we would like to pay. The best solution was to stick around the city. We spent our nights in the cities of Richmond and El Cerrito, between 15 the 20 km away from the city. In the first, we were lucky to find a family home super neat for rent at a great price! It was a house to us, very good deal. Unfortunately it was not available for every day that we would be in town, so we had to change accommodation. We stop again those typical roadside motels Americans with questionable quality and unbeatable price. But for us it matters little, o importante era ter um lugarzinho para dormir.

Our first day in SanFran were last with our dear friend Lu. His renewed presence batteries Expedition, broke our "routine" and will leave even more homesick! We wondered how it would be nice if we could always have friends around. If on one hand it is not physically possible, por outro temos a certeza de que estamos sempre com eles aonde quer que estivermos e seu apoio incontestável conforta um pouco da saudade.

San Francisco may have been the city that most explored in terms of tourist attractions. And still leave much to be done, and again we would do most of the things we've done. Buy um CityPass ($ 69 each), which entitled to five distinct attractions (tickets for California Museum of Science, Aquarium of the Bay, de Young Museum, Legion of Honor, SF Museum of Modern Art and a cruise through the bay to the Golden Gate), plus unlimited access to the city's public transport (Muni), including the historic trams. It was a great buy in my opinion! We were able to wear the shirt of tourist for a few days and go to all corners of the city. The neighborhoods are so different from each other, you can say that San Francisco is home to several cities within one. No entanto, at least one thing is common to all neighborhoods: the extremely cold wind hitting the town when the summer fog descends. We spent colder than expected, especially after a very pleasant climate in the rest of the passage by California hitherto. Only a detail, nada que prejudicasse nossa experiência.

Union Square na Alguns minutes, in the heart of downtown San Francisco, and you can see some of the tribes that make up the exciting diversity of the city. While executives pass rush, probably towards the financial district, young people relaxing in the sun with their books in hand, at the same time when tourists trigger their cameras. It is not uncommon to see gay couples walking without any look crossed. The art is present in every corner, with painters exhibiting his paintings and musicians coordinating the sound environment. Cultural performances occupied a stage set up in the week we spent there. All this contrasted by the glamor of the big designer stores and fancy hotels, often scenarios film, that surround the square. E Moluccan, many crazies, quoting poetry to read, or trying to share conspiracy theories about the latest issues in their platelets cardboard. By sinal, a praça leva seu nome por ser um local onde as pessoas se reuniam para ouvir discursos inflamados durante a guerra civil americana.

Our first turistada it could not be the traditional picture-postcard with the Golden Gate Bridge. Can not go to San Francisco and do not. Uphill toward the Presidio (National Park assembled from a former military base dating from the eighteenth century, that alias, worth a visit apart) has a privileged view of the bridge (and also a nude beach on the hillside who want a peek!). That if you have a lucky day. During the summer, the city is covered by a constant fog that covers the bridge and invariably frustrates the pictures of thousands of tourists. There were several attempts before our get a clear view of the bridge, maybe if we had less days in the city, talvez não conseguiríamos.

The turistada Next was a tour of the historical lines of trams. Are basically three lines in operation - Powell-Mason, Powell-Hyde e Califórnia – offering a very pleasant walk through some of the main sights of the city. Trams are also an attraction in itself. Held in the city by popular will, which prevented the replacement of these lines by bus, the trams even has a museum in his honor, the Cable Car Museum, onde se pode entender como funcionam e conhecer um pouco mais da sua história.

Two bondes, Powell-Hyde line is that we find more interesting to do. Ascending and descending points of interest, she gives a ride to various points of interest in town. After spending close to Union Square and the Cable Car Museum, aforementioned, ALS provides uma bela top view Russian Hill, a neighborhood quite cozy amid the hills. The Lombard Street is a must stop for a photo. His downhill curves give a special charm to the region. The street is usually crowded with tourists and has a long line to go down by car, but it was worth stopping to appreciate the visual. The tour ended at Fisherman's Wharf, region docks filled with restaurants and shopping. A walk further leads to Ghirardelli Square, where we enjoy ice cream with those pretty well and with a lot of chocolate. A fun part was at the Musée Mécanique, bringing together a collection of old arcade, since we had to childhood favorites of our grandparents. We could spend a whole day there remembering the good times Street Fighter e afins.

Following the script, took only a day to Golden Gate Park west of town. Half day spent in California Museum of Science, one of the museums that we are interested in the trip here. The Planetarium is simply sensational! Not to mention the aquarium! Also interesting is the concept of green roof (See more by clicking here ), part of the sustainable construction of the museum building. We could not miss also the de Young, museum that encompasses American art from the colonial period and also art exhibitions of the Americas, Asia and Africa. Climb the tower for a view of the museum of the city is good and it's free! The park is also home to the Japanese Tea Garden, the Botanical Garden and many other attractions. And for those who still have breath for more museums, further north of the city, already out of the park, is or Legion of Honor. Part of what they call the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco) together with the Young's, This beautiful palace is home to several major paintings of Renaissance artists. But, what draws even more attention are the sculptures of Auguste Rodin French, among them one of his masterpieces: The Thinker. The museum also offers a beautiful view of the city and Golden Gate.

Another mandatory stop in San Francisco's Alcatraz. This was one of the rides that were more eager to do before coming to town. We went to Pier box office 33 innocence in time to buy tickets, but then we were told that not only were completely sold out for the day, and also the following day, to the next and for the rest the whole week! There were only a few entries available for 5 days ahead. We learned the lesson: if for a Alcatraz, book in advance! But, the only alternative is to buy the ticket agencies include in their packages Alcatraz, those with a tour bus sightseeing, usually no one wants to do, by an absurdly high price. This was one of the reasons why we decided to spend more time in the city, what ended up being great. A visit foi fantástica! Even better with the audio guide in Portuguese, we felt like laughing every time the party forced a hillbilly accent or gangsta American. Hard to imagine how a prisoner could survive on that island iced, with society being so close to your eyes through the window. Praticamente uma tortura.

What most amused us in SanFran was a bike ride through the city. We got a good deal close to Fisherman's Wharf ($ 20 rental for the entire day and included - do not know why - an appetizer at an Indian restaurant). We started toward the Golden Gate and cut the fog and cold wind up the slope that leads to Sausalito. The small town is extremely cozy and offers a good variety of restaurants. Sausalito, There is the option of returning by ferry to San Francisco, but with our spirit athlete in high, despite the low fitness, prefer to go back in the race. We climbed up to the Presidio after crossing the bridge back. On the way, we miss. We shot, ask for information, shot, ask for information, sat, ask for information, and we lose again. But in order, managed to finally get to the city. Hours were lost in the neighborhood of the Presidio, but we fail to seize the opportunity to have fun with it. Half that by chance, we face with the beautiful building Exploratorium, um museu interativo de ciências que vai ficar para a nossa próxima visita.

The great advantage of spending several days in the city was able to meet her neighborhood by neighborhood, walking the streets and observing their differences. Chinatown and its many restaurant and tearooms, articles of shops made in China elderly smiling and playing cards in the squares (kicked be some variation of the game in Brazil president). North Beach and its large concentration of Italian restaurants and bars as Vesuvio, where Jack Kerouac used to drink their drinks. The district with the grandeur of its buildings and the rush of suits in Montgomery St, What makes us think we were in the heart of NY (mainly to be amazed by the height of the Bank of America Center). The Embarcadero and Piers its sequence, each with its charm. Moreover, there is no better place than the Pier 39 to enjoy a traditional seafood soup (a famous clam chowder) in the cold of the night and to confabulate theories about the behavior of sea lions (Why have so many unemployed give them food?!). The Embarcadero also houses Aquarium of the Bay, where we could see up close and even touch on some marine specimens. From, depart cruises the bay to San Francisco (included in both tours CityPass).

It also has the Mission and its mix of cultures, hoje predominantly Latino, with art criticism and socio-cultural scattered by the walls. O Balmy Alley (entrance a Folsom St. e a Harrison St., coming on 24th St) é uma exposição a céu aberto e um ponto de reflexão sobre a situação dos latinos nos EUA.

Could not help but taste the famous burrito in the vicinity of Mission St and spend the afternoon with the youth in the square Dolores, like the hippies did years ago. The prosperous and liberal neighborhood of Castro, where the community focuses homosseuxual San Francisco. Not to mention the historic buildings and museums of the Civic Center and SoMa (South of Market), as or San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (or SFMoMA), that is very worthwhile and was also included in our CityPass.

Each has his favorite place in San Francisco and there is room for all tribes. We fell in love for the city, that from now is one of our favorites in the U.S.. Perhaps even better would be if the cold wind desligassem!

For more photos of San Francisco, click here!

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