SF-Oakland Bay Bridge
I arrived in the United States towards the end of December 2017, for a semester in technology and entrepreneurship courses at Berkeley. The intent of coming was for academic fulfillment, but here I am, writing about my tourist experiences (which, interestingly, is a part of my academics!).
The first few places I visited upon arrival were the typical touristy attractions in San Francisco.
Twin Peaks
The first was Twin Peaks – a pair of hills overlooking the Bay Area. The hills offer breathtaking views from the summit, and the views become more scenic as nightfall approaches. The Twin Peaks visit gave me a first-hand taste of what the Bay Area actually looked like (for until then, my physical estimate of locations was based on Google Maps).
I was next looking forward to what is called “Painted Ladies”; I expected this to be a museum or a display of art. In sharp contrast to my highly intelligent expectations, the Painted Ladies turned out to be a set of spectacular houses – each painted differently and marvellously.
Speaking of museums, the next stop was the Cable Car Museum (which isn’t actually a museum) – it contains the power house of the San Francisco cable car system. However, it also has samples of old cable cars and other historical exhibits, thus, in my opinion, justifying itself as both a museum and a transportation base.
Painted Ladies
The day’s tour also included the Japanese Tea Garden, Crooked Street and Pier 39 (lots of adorable sea lions!), and concluded at Ghirardelli Square – the dessert (read dinner) of the day.
If you’ve noticed, my trip to San Francisco hasn’t covered the Golden Gate bridge. Surprisingly enough, I haven’t gone there yet, even though I see it afar from Berkeley nearly every day.
However, I’ve sat by and watched the Bay Bridge at night a number of times, and in fact, I still find excuses to visit Downtown SF so that I can walk down to Rincon Park and enjoy a spectacular view of the starry lit bridge in the evenings.
Pier 39
Another day of tourism was a long drive to Big Sur and back – a hundred-mile journey but undeniably worth the time. One gets a calming and glorious view of the Sun setting by the Pacific, along with Bixby Bridge on the way. Big Sur is now my favourite place in the US; along with the natural beauty, I find the peace, clouds, hills and breezes to blend wonderfully with the magnificent sunset.
Bixby Bridge
On various other days during my term here, I have had the privilege of visiting prominent places in the South Bay for social events, including the Computer History Museum (yes, this one is actually a museum), and Stanford University. Along the way, I also cycled through Google’s headquarters on a G-bike, and found it refreshing; the campus is filled with interesting sights that include Android statues, playgrounds and lush greenery. Looking at Google HQ from the outside makes me think of it as an atmosphere that is enjoyable yet conducive for work (and play!). I also realized my long-cherished wish of visiting Googleplex, ever since I saw the 2013 film The Internship.
As a student who is here for only a semester, I initially expected my academic goals to consume most of my time. Being touristy has been its own education, however, and I look forward to exploring more of this area. Meanwhile, I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about my tourist experiences thus far. Do feel free to drop me a line, if you wish to know more, or have any suggestions for things I must absolutely do!
Musical-Laneous 