As I always say – new day, new emotions:)
Today my day started with new taste 🙂 To be in USA and not to try Pepsi, hmmm. Let’s do it! Good try Pepsi, but no:) Always Coca Cola 🙂
Today we start our day in Monterey, classic American style motel
Day will always be incredible if you have an opportunity to walk by the ocean! Place where sky meets ocean and wild waves crash and kiss a beach! Ohhh, romantic place.
It’s awesome place to feel the freedom and bracing wind in your hairs!
Thank you and Goodbye Monterey! It was the perfect launching point from which to start our trip today)
We are heading to the 17-Mile Drive, Pacific Grove gate!
17-mile Drive is a scenic road through Pebble Beach and Pacific Grove in Monterey Peninsula in California.
This is the place I fall in love !!! I’m so glad I’ve been here!!!
It’s 10,25$ per car, but it’s worth every single penny!!! Remember that motorcycles are not allowed! 😦 Walking or biking is for free 😉
Once you get inside the gates, they will give you a map, take it, it’s useful. You can find signs and red-painted dashed lines on the pavement to help you follow the route.
A winding road will take you throw vast variety of view points!
These scenic coastal views are one of my favorite memories in California!
Our first stop is “Point Joe”. It’s foggy? Just 5 min ago the sun was shining and the weather was 100% nice, and now ?? Hmmm, what’s going on?
The wind is so strong and waves are crashing the rocks. The ocean is restless!! Small and salty water molecules are in a air!!!All around us!! That’s incredible ocean’s power!! Enchanting! Spellbinding!
Let’s move further. Here is a “Bird rock”. A typical day, you can see Brandt’s cormorants, pelicans and sea lions sharing the rock 🙂
We are moving … and the weather/ocean is changing…. Fascinating!!!
5 min later. Look at the ocean!!! Unbelievable!!! I can’t believe I’m still in one place!
We reached our next point.
+ one more astonishing view.
On you way you will see forested areas…
gorgeous houses…
golf courts…
This is my favorite place!!
It’s called lone cypress. It is really lonely on it’s granite pedestal!
Lone cypress is a western icon! This tree for Monterey Peninsula is same as Big Ben for London and Eiffel Tower for Paris 🙂 It has been called one of the most photographed trees in North America 🙂 +1 photo for me!
I’ve taken a lot of shots in this place! I can’t find words to express my feelings while moving along these 17 miles! It is breathtaking and each single road corner will bring even further to ecstasy! 🙂 That was 100% spectacular drive! A MUST SEE place for everyone visiting California!
We exit Carmel Gate and plan to visit Carmel-by-the-Sea!
Carmel-by-the-Sea is among the most charming small towns in California. We found free parking to explore this fairyland!
It’s interesting with it fairy-tale architecture! Local builder Hugh Comstock designed most of buildings in the 1920s.
Ocean Avenue is a good place for a stroll:) with all kind of shops! (prices are, hmmm, higher than any other places we’ve visited)
Here was our first visit of cowboy shop! Here you can feel that you are in America:)
Look at these small garden courtyards! They are so charming!
We enjoyed our walk, made nice shots, get delicious bagels and ready to go further!
If you traveling somewhere near Carmel and you have some spare time I really advise you to go here to enjoy this fairy-tail city!
Another thing I wanna to say is how great farming in California is. Look at these fields of cabbage
Or here , these are fields of strawberries!
All over the road there are a lot of fields not only mountains, forests and wastelands 🙂
Yeahh, can you imagine where will be our next stop on our way to San-Francisco?:)
I’ll give you a photo hint:) :
Still no ideas?
Ok, let’s try one more time: 🙂
Right, we are in Silicon Valley 🙂 in Palo Alto!
OK Google, Hi there!!! 🙂
The campus is like a small town, look..
We planned to spend about half an hour here, just take some photos, BUT! this campus is a city!!
You can always ask for a map to not get lost here:)
We were searching for android sculpture garden 🙂 and here it is 🙂
Attractive and cozy place!
Apple guys can scroll down 🙂
I just can’t stop to take shots with these green ones 🙂 They are sweet 🙂
They are all over the campus:) and there are a lot of squirrels:) find one in a photo below 🙂
Could you imagine there is even Google street? 😉
One more photo to our family album 🙂 with an older one 🙂
It was great! One more dream came true:) Now we are heading to San Francisco!
City center is a bit messy with many homeless people
But we are going to more touristic places 🙂 First point of interest is the famous Pier 39!
There is so many opportunities at Pier 39. Wear your walking shoes and plan to stay here for a while!
Let’s start with best and most iconic part! The large group of sea lions together! Relaxing, playing and making a lot of noise. Ok, I would like to admit they’ve stolen my heart!
Here is a great bay viewpoint! enjoy Alcatraz in the distance:)
A gorgeous double decker carousel!!
Plenty of shops
Get your specific souvenir 😉
Street performers: musicians, magicians, spray paint artists…. whatever you can imagine:)
There is one more thing to do at Pier 39. Try hot clam chowder and sourdough bread bowls, which have been a signature San Francisco dish since the mid 1800s.
Near the pier you can catch a cable car! The historic symbol recognized around the globe and offer real working transportation up the steep hills of San Francisco.
Hills are really steep! We were a bit surprised! I think I would be able to park a car here:)) My driving skills are hmmm… , but Andrew is with me:)!
Here is also a Russian Hill!! It is a extraordinary, upscale residential community known for the famously crooked Lombard Street. Here is a little unique zig zag part of Lombard St between Hyde and Leavenworth. It’s popular touristic spot:) It’s free to visit and doesn’t take very long 🙂
Walking (make sure you have the proper shoes 🙂 ) in San Francisco is a good way to burn off excess calories 🙂 So, we need some calories 🙂 and we are looking for a place to eat. In general it isn’t so easy ;( Cafes and restaurants are full of tourists.
Before we go to sleep 🙂 Let’s check great view of the city at night! The better way is go up the hill! We decide to visit Christmas tree point at the top of Twin Peaks! Twin Peaks are two prominent hills with an elevation of about 925 feet (282 m) located near the geographic center of San Francisco! The place to visit!!!
We are not staying in San Francisco, prices to rent a room in hotel are really expensive, so we booked a hotel in a small town Vallejo. It’s near San Francisco, just 40 min away:)
Here is the first time we are paying for the road!:)(from San Francisco to Vallejo)
Tomorrow will be new day and new emotions:)
See you tomorrow 🙂
The journey to be continued…
go and travel with me 