The Best of San Francisco
San Francisco is one of the oldest cities in North America. From its Spanish heritage to its modern American hustle, it’s a city of contrasts in one of the most fascinating parts of the United States. This is the Old West, the New West, and the American South West, all in one, and it’s a place you really have to see. It’s a couple of clicks away on your computer, too. You can get your plane fares, pick up your travel insurance for San Francisco online, and be on your way in a few minutes.
San Francisco- Shaped by history and the present
When you approach the city, you’ll see a huge modern city rising out of the horizon. San Francisco look like it’s built right in to the surrounding areas of coast and mountain like a tailored suit. From NASA satellite photos, it looks like crochet work next to San Francisco Bay, one of nature’s most spectacular harbors.
The old and new architecture, the hills and the quirky nature of getting around make San Francisco a very interesting place to visit. The famous street cars lumber up hills past elegant old style houses which were once the symbols of the future and now symbolize the past in this constantly evolving place. The big skyscrapers tower in the background, a meeting point between the desert sky and the sea.
Old San Francisco
San Francisco, like the rest of California, was originally an outpost of Spanish/Mexican culture. The original Californios brought with them some very elegant buildings, and styles of architecture that keep coming back in California. Old San Francisco was the most developed of these areas, and a lot of it has been preserved despite history and the Great Fire of 1906 which destroyed much of the new American city.
Old San Francisco was where the Gold Rush built fortunes overnight and lost them. It was where the Pacific trade began, and the Chinese laborers who built the western continental railroad came to take a “Chinaman’s chance” to make their money in America. The old city has been preserved lovingly, and is very special to the San Francisco natives. It’s something you need to see to understand.
The countryside
Outside the city is the tough country of legend, and it earned its reputation as being very difficult land to travel. It’s solid rock, it’s beautiful, and if you can imagine traveling a few hundred miles of that sort of territory on horseback or wagon, you’ll see what the early settlers had to deal with. This is fantastic country, perched on the side of a continent which is still moving, and it’s some of the most dramatic scenery you could wish to see.
The coast
The California coast doesn’t need to explain why it’s so famous. The coast people are as fond of their shores as the inlanders, and this is one of the most ecologically conscious places in the world. The coast includes the fabulous sea otters, Orcas, and giant kelp forests, as well as the surfing beaches. Grab a ticket, some good online travel insurance, and come and see for yourself.