Island Life Magazine Ltd April/May 2018 | Page 63

Travel By Terry Willey Our short stay was for three days, and we arrived on a very clear sunny morning from the County of Idaho, with its spectacular views over San Francisco Bay. Mornings are often foggy with the afternoons generally clearing up most of the time, but on this occasion we were fortunate that there was no sign of any fog or mist whatsoever. San Francisco is one of California’s – and the world’s - major and most beautiful cities, situated along the Pacific coast and with a population of over a quarter million people. As we made our way to our hotel in the city centre we passed through a variety of neighbourhoods, all notably different and with some spectacular Victorian period houses overlooking the Bay. We were reliably informed that some were owned by rich and famous people, although the names weren’t disclosed to us. Well, not precisely! I cannot count the number of times that San Francisco has been recommended to me as a ‘must’ place to visit, and having finally made the trip I can report that the city certainly does hold a special appeal. The steep contours of the city streets provide a unique backdrop for tourists to enjoy, and over the years these have served as locations for film productions such as ‘Bullitt’ and ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’. The former includes what was arguably one of the finest car chases ever filmed! The city attracts many migrants including Russians, Japanese and Germans who tend to live in their own communities and ensure that there is a wide range of restaurant options catering for all nationalities. In 1906 almost the whole of the www.visitilife.com 63