West Coast: My American Summer Fun

DURING MY THIRD VISIT to the US last summer 2006, I was able to stay longer (for almost 4 weeks) and visited some part of California State. San Francisco is one of them for the very first time. A month prior to my departure from Britain, I contacted my friend working in San Francisco with an IT firm if I could stay at his place during my short visit. Being a close friend and the godfather of his only daughter, he did not hesitate to answer 'yes' to my request. So, my accommodation for few days at the city is completely ok except that I will be travelling from my cousin's place in Menifee (one hour away from San Diego by car) to Los Angeles, and then finally from San Fernando Valley to SF.

To save some dollars during my trip, I decided to travel by bus (Greyhound) which took me more than 10 hours along the road, having a two-day stop in San Fernando Valley (LA) and had a quick visit to the Universal Studios. Well, within that long journey it took the bus more than 6 hours to reach SF from San Fernando Valley. But it was a quick journey from the bus station to my friend's apartment in the downtown area using the city underground Muni Metro (light rail) train. After an hour of chatting/exchanging stories with my friend of not seeing each other for almost 6 years, my ultimate mission to experience San Francisco's hospitality and its tourists-friendly environment begins!
Frankly, having spent 3 nights was not enough to explore the entire Bay area and the neighbouring towns like Berkeley and Oakland. Nevertheless, I was able to visit some of its popular tourist attractions within that limited time, consequently enjoyed every minute of it. It is also worth mentioning of my half-day visit to UC-Berkeley's libraries (Engineering, Planning/Architecture and Business) as part of my learning experience, and was able to gather valuable reading materials for my on-going research. And surprisingly using my Olympus digital camera, I was able to capture more than 150 shots (equivalent to 4 film rolls) from my three days tour in SF. Overall, SF is an ideal place for young and old, and an ideal place for everyone where you always want to be during your next summer escapade!

For additional information about my San Francisco trip in terms of siteseeing, dining, shopping and many more, visit this link: San Francisco Summer Holiday

By the way, I also visited San Diego, Los Angeles and their towns during my four weeks vacation in the US. It was the longest summer break I had experience!