Путешествие (“Good Herb”)

You have probably heard that San Francisco is considered the world's favorite city and now lets see why. In 1835 this beautiful city was known as Yerba Buena, which was Spanish for “Good Herb.” It referred to a native plant which was growing near a shoreline. First of all it should be mentioned that there are few cities in the world with such beautiful variety of sceneries.

Only 3 hours by car and you will find yourself at the beach, near a mountain cliff, or in the middle of a desert. It is up to you. I can say, without a doubt, that there are few cities in the United States where you can find mountains, desert and beautiful ocean so close to each other. And it is truly fascinating.

In 1848 the first gold was discovered in San-Francisco, California. In just a month, city was considered to be the greatest central port of Gold Rush. San-Francisco was broken and lawless city. Illegal gambling was really popular there for decades. But when Gold Rush was finally over the city was cleaned up and returned to its normal state.

Climate is very pleasant in San-Francisco. It is very hot out there in summer, but, talking about the flaws, you can not really go for a walk or sit outside the restaurant at night, because it is quite chilly. There are more then one and half million tourists there every year. And there are plenty reasons why.

One of the reason is that everyone wants to visit Golden Gate Bridge. Because it is such a beautiful and vast piece of architecture. There are a lot of important historical events connected with this place. This bridge is considered to be the most photographed sightseeing out of the whole city. There were times, when this bridge was named the best man-made sight in America.

Golden Gate National Recreation Area is a vast area situated across the Golden Gate Bridge. It is just a perfect place for tourists to enjoy nature and all its charm. Fisherman's Wharf, also known as a little Italy of San-Francisco, is a nice and lovely place for tourists who want to get a tour on a cruise around San-Francisco. (The sunsets there are just breathtaking.) Near a wharf there are a lot of sea-dogs beloved by tourists and also by locals. If you want you can feed them fish and rub their tummies (if they will let you). There are a lot of stalls around this area where people can buy different types of fish for sea-dogs. The population in San-Francisco is less then a million and people mainly are friendly and cheerful there.

The Bay Area is widely known for a wide range of latest high-technology firms, which attracts residents to this famous region. Surprisingly, this bay is not deeper then swimming pool, about 3-5 meters deep. If you want to see «the heart of a city» you should definitely take a cable car. Since 1873 it was the most popular way to get around. Cable cars now are known as historic monuments but it is still very useful transport for you, if you want to regard the best of San-Francisco sightseeing.

City is also well known for its spectacular annual festivals. If you are going to visit San-Francisco in September, you should go on San Francisco Blues Festival. It is the annual affair in United States, were plenty of talented musicians are gathered in order to share their talent with a whole world. In January usually the other event is held which is known as Chinese New Year celebration. This event is famous for 2 fairs: Chinese New Year Flower Fair and Street Fair. The culmination of this event is usually an amazing and impressive Chinese New Year Parade downtown San-Francisco.

Another place worth seeing in the city is a Twin Peaks. You should definitely go there if you want to see the most beautiful view on the bay and whole city. Twin Peaks are not the highest hills in San-Francisco because it is only about 305 meters, but you can easily get there and you will be able to observe the extraordinary view. And it is definitely stunning. It is really hard to believe but San-Francisco is exquisite city which was actually built on 43 hills. And very little people know that famous Irish coffee was invented in San-Francisco and not in Ireland.

So, as you can see, San-Francisco is full of surprises. Everyone can find something appealing there. There are a lot of sightseeing for tourists. Such beautiful constructions as Golden Gate Bridge and lovely places to visit as The Bay Area. And there is no doubt that people will be admiring this stunning city for a very long time.