Off To San Francisco: A Foggy City By The Bay

Today, San Francisco is a popular international tourist destination, renowned for its chilly summer fog, steep rolling hills, eclectic mix of Victorian and modern architecture and its famous landmarks, including the Golden Gate Bridge, cable cars, and Chinatown. The city is also a principal banking and finance center, and the home to more than 30 international financial institutions, helping to make San Francisco eighteenth place in the world's top producing cities, ninth in the United States, and fifteenth place in the top twenty Global Financial Centers.

San Francisco is famous for its hills. There are more than 50 hills within city limits. Some neighborhoods are named after the hill on which they are situated, including Nob Hill, Pacific Heights, and Russian Hill. San Francisco is considered the second hilliest city in the world, next to La Paz, Bolivia.
Tourism is the backbone of the San Francisco economy. Its frequent portrayal in music, film, and popular culture has made the city and its landmarks recognizable worldwide. It is the city where Tony Bennett "left his heart."
Many tourists are fooled by the claim that it is always pleasant in San Francisco, for when they come here they realize it is very cold, and immediately fall into the trap of the jacket/ sweater/ coat shops that mainly thrive on such tourist's ignorance. So it always makes sense to travel with a good jacket with a hood/ light sweater or coat.
Looking for the best hotel deals in the Internet would give you some very good hotels in the most central area from where you can just walk to many places of interest or use the public transportation for the city is small and all tourists sites are close together. Like I have said before it helps to plan your trip at least 3 months in advance so that you can really get good affordable deals especially when you are travelling by yourself and not through some conducted tours. Believe me, by planning your own trip, you not only save a lot of money, but also end up seeing a lot more, when you are on your own, and at your own pace.


 Like many other cities, San Francisco is best visited on foot for this is the only way you'll truly get to appreciate its beautiful architecture.  It is an amazing place to walk around, we walked everywhere! No two streets are the same and that is the beauty.  We never felt uncomfortable or unsafe walking around. This way you also get an idea where you can find good food to eat. The weather too was really good, we were there in September last year.

Please avoid eating in any of the seedy restaurants at the Fisherman's Wharf. Also to get the true feel of the iconic landmark the Golden Bridge, stroll the sidewalk, even if you only go out a little way, and also make it a point to see it during  the night too.

Ferry Building Marketplace is a people's marketplace serving residents and travelers alike.

Located within the historic Ferry Building at the foot of the Market Street, shops large and small celebrate food in all its forms, offering everything from artisan cheeses to the freshest of local fish.
Restaurants and cafes serve cuisine representing the quality and cultural diversity of San Francisco's best chefs.


The Ferry Building Marketplace is located along the Embarcadero at the foot of the Market Street. It is the center of a transit hub that connects all of SF's neighborhoods and the surrounding bay communities. The market place is accessible by MUNI, BART, and Ferry Boat.

Inside the cable car

Off we go to see the Golden Gate Bridge     
One of the best ways to see San Francisco is from the waters of San Francisco Bay. There are many companies offering harbor tours of varying durations and prices they and all provide marvelous views of the bay, the bridges, the island of Alcatraz and the city.  A typical harbor tour will circle the island at a slow crawl, giving you plenty of opportunity to photograph the now-inactive prison from the water.

The view is simply superb

The Golden Gate Bridge: When the Golden Gate Bridge was first built in 1937 it was the longest suspension bridge ever built in the world. It is currently the second longest suspension bridge in the United States and the ninth longest in the world. Even though it’s not the longest anymore, it’s still the most beautiful!

The bridge was built because it was necessary to create a transportation link between the North Bay and the city. At the time, the only way to get between the two areas was by ferry. Although it’s still possible to ferry between the areas today, most people find it more practical to travel across the bridge. Before the bridge was built, San Francisco’s national growth rate was smaller than average because it was just too inconvenient to get in and out of the city. The bridge succeeded in helping to grow the city. It also became a symbol that defines the city.

The Golden Gate Bridge design echoes an Art Deco Theme. Wide, vertical ribbing on the horizontal tower bracing accents the sun's light on the bridge.
Irving Morrow- an architect hired by Strauss to design a architectural treatment for the bridge- chose the 'international orange' paint color to blend with the setting while still being visible to ships.

At the completion of his mighty bridge, Joseph Strauss, penned an impressive ode which he entitled " The Mighty Task Is Done";  it epitomizes his personal travail in building the bridge.
These lines gives evidence of the dedication of the man who brought the bridge from his brain, heart as well as his drawing board:

At last the mighty task is done;
Resplendent in the western sun;
The Bridge looms mountain high

On its broad decks in rightful pride,
The world in swift parade shall ride
Throughout all time to be.

Launched midst a thousand hopes and fears,
Damned by a thousand hostile sneers.
Yet ne'er its course was stayed.
But ask of those who met the foe,
Who stood alone when faith was low,
Ask them the price they paid.
High overhead its light shall gleam,
Far, far below life's restless stream,
Unceasingly shall flow.....

As the bridge was ready to open, his hands trembling, Strauss spoke in a low voice: "This bridge needs neither praise, eulogy nor encomium. It speaks for itself. We who have labored long are grateful. What Nature rent asunder long ago, man has joined today . . . ."

When you are travelling towards the the Bridge it is too windy, and very cold but once you return back it becomes absolutely still and more pleasant. Even on a sunny day the bay can be chilly, so be sure to bring a sweater as well as sun screen and also Sun glass.

One cannot help taking pictures of the beautiful scenery. 

Passing below the Golden Gate Bridge

Foggy SF

Alcatraz : it was not conceived as a facility for rehabilitation. It was a place for total punishment and minimum privilege. And those who survived it often did so at the cost of their sanity.... and some believe their souls.

There is lot more to see like the Golden Gate Bridge during the night, the China Town, the Union Square and many more, which I would definitely share with everyone in my next blog. 

Tell me was the trip interesting enough?