San-Francisco, USA

Текущая версия на 09:29, 5 декабря 2012

I suppose each and every one of us knows the song by Scott McKenzie about a city in California called San-Francisco. But not too many of us got the chance to see its beauty with their own eyes. After all, it’s situated on the other side of the world! (In case you live in Russia or somewhere near, of course) That is why I would like to share my short trip to San-Francisco with you.

Let me start with some geography. Now imagine the map of the USA. There are 50 states in this country, a whole bunch! But you can’t miss California; it’s along the so-called East coast. Have you found it? Now look at the coast carefully. You will find San-Fran somewhere in the middle. As you can see, this city is situated by the water. It was founded by the Spanish people. There are many Asians living in San-Francisco, too.

There are some bridges in the San-Francisco area, including the world-famous Golden Gate Bridge. This bridge is greatly appreciated by the tourists and is considered to be one of the most fascinating bridges in the world. Despite its name, the Golden Gate Bridge isn’t made of gold, that’s a pity. But it’s still extremely beautiful and breathtaking. As you can see in the attached picture, it’s painted in deep orange color.

If you’re fond of shopping in an extraordinary atmosphere, welcome to Pier 39! It’s a place where you can have a lot of fun while enjoying the cool ocean breeze. Besides the numerous shops, there are many cozy cafes where you can treat yourself with a delicious meal.

As any other big city in the USA, San-Francisco has its Chinatown. This place has its own special atmosphere; while staying there you can almost forget that you’re actually in America. Some of the people in Chinatown can’t even speak English properly! Look at the attached picture. The streets in Chinatown are always crowded and noisy; everybody is in a hurry. There are some street performers carrying the Chinese dragons in the background. Don’t they look spectacular!

You probably wonder if there’s any public transportation in San-Fran. Oh yes, there is! There is a very unusual way of traveling around the city – cable cars. San-Francisco cable car system is operated manually; it’s the last of its kind in the world. Cable cars are much fun to ride. See, they are always very crowded and sometimes you have to step the side platform, grab the handrail and basically have your back hanging in the air throughout the whole ride! You have to be careful, or else you might hit something and fall off. What an extreme way of riding! I also have to notice that there are lots of hills in San-Francisco, which makes it even more risky to take a cable car. But just look at the picture and notice how beautiful this cable car is… You can’t possibly resist trying it!

As you see, San-Francisco is a great city and is sure worth visiting. I hope that someday you’ll get a chance to go there and experience all its wonders yourself!

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  Golden Gate Bridge

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  Flags of Pier 39

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  Chinatown in San-Francisco

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  Cable car

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  Another cable car