If you go from SF to LA you should take 2 days and drive on CA 1 or Pacifica.  Views along the road are amazing…and there are many sites to visit. However, it’s better to avoid this road during the night because it is very curve and on some parts the speed limit is 20-30mpH. Also, important component of your planning should be the weather. Yes, the rain is extremely rare in California, but quite strange clouds come and go every five minutes and they look like fog so they make driving difficult.

Except stunning coast we visited W.R.Hearst Castle in San Simeon – almost half way to Los Angeles.  Hm, what to say about this guy? He was famous publisher, owner of several newspapers and radio stations and is considered to be father of yellow journalism…Well, thank you Mr. Hearst…;) The castle, or better said the estate with several castles, is pile of different types of kitsch. He brought parts from all around the world from different centuries and different styles and combined all that into his homes… That includes art deco furniture from USA, Roman column from 1 century, sarcophagus from ancient Egypt etc. In Ctroatia we would say – kupus! Casa Grande looks like typical cathedral although it doesn’t have a single chapel inside. Allegedly, on the question why he did not bulit chapels, he said: As far as I m concerned you can pray in all rooms…All around the property there are statues and pictures with Biblical symbols even thought Hearst wasn’t religious or at least not practical believer. Among his guests were C. Chaplin, Hubble (he was invited to build planetarium on the property), Winston Churchill (he worked for Hearst before becoming PM, writing about politics in Europe)….

Hearst Castle is another example how Americans successfully turn nothing into something…

Enough about the Hearst…via LA…

The legend says that is impossible to escape Alcatraz and to swim to the coast (the Alcatraz is on the island, if you didn’t know). To us it seemed like exaggeration since the island is only about 2 km away from the coast of San Francisco and it turned out (internet, you tube) that is not only possible but also done many times. Moreover, 5 people did escaped  from Alcatraz and were never found again. Some people believe that they have drowned, but than again who wouldn’t try to stay hidden if he is fugitive. Clint Eastwood played Frank Morris in the movie about this event – Escape from Alcatraz.

The tour costs 26$ and includes a boat ride and an audio tour which is actually pretty good since besides the story you can hear authentic sounds of the prison – inmates talking, screams, sounds of riot etc…

Most famous inmates were Al Capone and Robert Stroud…as you maybe know if you watched some of many movies about this prison.

Don’t know what else to say, except that Americans really know how to sell things and they try really hard. Well done!

Parking on the Pier, where the tour starts, might be a problem. But we came on Sunday when on the street  you can park for free…

We have been at all tourist spots…short preview…

1.Lombard street – curve street in the city….

2. Golden Gate Bridge..

3.  Sausalito – overpriced city almost the same as Opatija in Croatia. Even in the guide you can read that it is similar to Adriatic Coast.

4. Twin Peaks…with stunntig view on SF…

5. and the best thing ever – Marlene’s bar with amazing trash show…all these girls that you see on pictures were once upon a time guys….it was super super super…Girls were singing and dancing and we were all having fun.

We have been  walking all day in Golden Gate Park which is huge –three miles long and bigger than Central Park in New York. Have to say that it’s exhausting to be a tourist. If you are smarter than us you will not plan to walk through the park to the Cliff House, there is a shuffle, free parking if you are with car and bicycles. All of mentioned smarter that to be pedestrian. So there is no sense in walking. However,  there is much to see in the park, first of all the Japanese Garden – completely manicured Japanese landscapes, sculptures and pagodas and nicely served Japanese tea. Entrance fee is 7$ and if you want to save money go there on Mon, Wed or Fri from 9 – 10 am cause that’s a free admission time.

Nearby to the Japanese Garden is SF Botanical Garden where you can see 17 different small gardens each with different vegetation. This nice area is home for ducks, birds, seagulls, fish and 7.000 kinds of plants from all over the world.

Buffalos are also inhabitants of the park but on our day they obviously had an afternoon off since we haven’t seen one. Many benches in the park have plates with names of people who either donated the bench or who dedicated the bench to a friend. When we finally reached the Cliff house and the ocean we were a bit disapointed because the weather was foggy and windy and visibility was only 100m…;)

We spent the afternoon in Haight Ashbury, former hippy neighborhood, and cruising in other parks Buena Vista and Alamo.

In the evening we wanted to see live jazz gig. Yoshi, famous SF jazz club,  is a bit over our budget (35$ entrance..;)) so we had choosen Savanna Jazz Club in Mission Street, between 25^th and 26st street. Mission is hipster hood, good for going out, with nice bars and good (and cheap) ethnical restaurants. We had dinner on Valencia and 16st street in a very good Spanish tapas bar. Afterwards, we had drinks in Radio Buena Vista bar, easy going and cool place.

When we came to Savanna, around midnight it was closed, since the concert started at 7.30pm… In Irish pub, in the street next to Savanna we had our last drinks before good night sleep.

To explore San Francisco best thing to do is buy Muni passport…for three days or seven. We bought a three day Muni  for 20$. This pass is valid on all Muni vehicles (buses, trams) including cable cars. If you don’t have Muni you’ ll pay one ride with bus 2.00$ and one ride with cable car 5$ etc. Muni rules! Btw, SF bought many vintage streetcars (look like tram) from all over the world and they use them as public transport. Dogs are welcomed! Check pic.

You can also rent a bike (8$ an hour – don’t even think you should rent them for a day) which we have done today. If you are lazy you should consider electrical bike because SF has many hills and it’s really exhausting to drive up the hills…;) We took a ride from Fisherman’s Warf to Golden Gate Bridge and our advice is don’t do that if weather is not extremly nice! It was foggy and windy and we didn’t see anything not even the bridge on which we were standing…;)

The weather here is quite strange here…somebody said (I think Mark Twain): The worst winter I have ever experienced was the summer in San Francisco. Meaning, in the city weather is changing all the time. It’s foggy and windy and sunny at the same time. I think that their real summer is in October…Last night when we went to Oakland (for a BBQ at friend’s house) the weather there was like we have changed the continent. Sunny and warm in Oakland and windy and cold in SF (btw, it’s only like 15 min drive).

Regarding the neighborhoods in SF, we have visited:

1. Castro – nice place, gay community, friendly people, good shops, good bar Twin Peaks

2. Mission – many restaurants, excellent burritos (good jazz club Savanna)

3. China Town – cheap food and (if you like) cheap souvenirs (T-shirts for 1.98$)

4. Telegraph Hill with Coit Tower – amazing view and that is it

5.  Fisherman’s Warf – ok, of course Pier 39 where you can see  Sea Lions that are actually wild and just coming to rest on the pier. They have been coming on the pier since the big earthquake (1989) mostly to rest and because the area is rich with food.  On the pier you have to try crabs (rakovice, grancigule ili tako neke).  Don’t buy anything else on the pier because it’s expensive.

6. Ghirardelli Square (pronounced with G)- former chocolate factory, now shops with chocolate and famous ice cream. Very tasteful but expensive – one scope 3.75$…

6. Haight Ashbury – during 1960s hot spot for hippies and  rock artists such as Greatful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin etc. Nowdays, vivid shops, let’s say interesting people and good atmosphere…

For tomorrow the plan is hanging in the parks – Golden Gate Park and Presidio Park. And in the evening hopefully jazz club with live gig…good night…

Ok, here I’m staying…love San Francisco…love love love…

Again nice flat…Fell Street 563 – good location and everything else…For good vacation rentals try: vrbo.com or homeaway.com…

San Francisco is super city. It has great arhitecture, interesting sites, cable cars and funky people…First day, we had breakfast in Kate’s Kitchen famous because of this cover… jazz record…

Food is good and the portions are typical American – huge.

We are going with bicycles on tour de San Francisco…talk to you later…

Before leaving for San Francisco, we went for a small hike in Mariposa Grove to see Giant Sequoias. They are not as huge as the one on Pacific, but for trees they are enormously big. Sequoia is type of tree, biologist say they are largest living things known to human. Some of them are more than 3.000 years old and more than 150 m high.

On this next picture is Fallen Monarch, a tree that is down for centuries and still did not rotten..

Impressive…

May 30 – Today we woke up early and took a hike on Yosemite point. We walked for approximately 20 km – roundtrip. The hike lasted approximately 7 hours on a very steep and strenuous trail. Since, I am not very experienced hiker I thought it would be exhausting but actually it wasn’t. It was of course hard but you are really rewarded when you reach the top:  amazing waterfalls, stunning views on Half Dome, Yosemite Valley and spectacular rainbows. Yosemite fall, three-tiered waterfall, is the highest fall in North America and the fifth-highest in the world.

Igor saw a bear. The rest of us didn’t since we were driving in the car and  did not look at the right time. We still hope to see a bear from our balcony…;) not closer…

Now we are drinking Californian vine (you can buy good vine for 2$) and enjoying steak that we prepared at home. Tomorrow again hiking – on Misty Trail.

May 31 -Misty trail includes Vernal and Nevada falls and round trip is around 11 km. Try to guess why the hike is called Misty Trail? You get covered with spray close to two of Yosemite’s rock-star waterfalls – we were actually not sprayed, but completely wet…;)  The trail is steep and moderately difficult, but the last few hundred meters up the Vernal Falls trail are stairs cut into the cliffside and it was exhausting. Igor is, by the way, a hiking Nazi and he was to one insisting that we hike every day.  Nevertheless, the views are stunning and the power of water is impressive…

During the evening walk on Glacier road we again saw Black Bear…the photo was taken approximately from 20 m…enjoy…

And for the end…stunning sunset..

Yosemite National Park is located in the central Sierra Nevada Mountains….nice.

From all places that we have visited so far we all agreed that the best thing in USA are national parks and nature. Cities are interesting and ok, but nothing really special. But environment is impressive. The best way to approach the Yosemite is via Tioga Pass which is a mountain road, now closed due to severe winter conditions.  In Yosemite you can see – the highest waterfall in North America, Yosemite fall; the most famous vertical rock face in the world, El Capitan; and the largest organisms of all time, giant sequoias.

We rented amazing condo in the park. It was expensive but worth every dollar.

From our balcony we just saw coyotes, ravens and mule deer (similar to deer that you know – cannot tell the difference).

On the park entrance you get the Yosemite newspapers (monthley editon) in which you can find all important information to keep you safe from the animals and the animals safe from you.  For example, you are not allowed to leave food anywhere because black bears will smell it and you can assume what goes afterwards…;) Below you can see garbage cans specially designed for bears…;)

Bears have excellent smell, vision and can see in colour so they recognize food…you know the rest. If you see a bear you are supposed to scare him…I’m not quite sure how to do it, it is a damn bear…but ok…We’ll try to stay away from them. If we see a mountain lion and coyotes we are supposed to stay calm…hehehhhehe….ok…I’ll try to remember that.

If you want to go on Half Dome you’ll need a wilderness permit which we don’t have cause due to the weather conditions Half Dome is closed. Since I have just saw Half Dome, I have to say that I’m glad we don’t have the permit. Today, we came late and only took  the drive through Yosemite Valley. The most impressive was the tunnel view from which we saw El Capitan, Half dome and spectacular Bridal veil fall.

1. no toll on USA roads (on majority anyway)

2. the price of gas varies from 2,70 (Nevada)- 3,30 (California) per gallon (3,78l)

3. best fast food is Smoothies Tropicana Caffe (absolutely delightful smoothies)

4. 55.000 lightenings per year in Grand Canyon

5. max speed in California is 65 miles/h which is around 104 km/h (yes, on highways)

6. on the road you can trun right even if you have red light, if not marked as forbiden

7. on the freeway in California you can see left turn lanes without light which intersect lanes from opposite direction