inspired
Scotland. The land of haggis and kilts. At least that’s what most people think of when they hear about Scotland. Unless if you’ve watched Outlander. In that case, you probably think of Jamie Fraser, shirtless, on a horse, galloping through some lushes green forests… Anyway, …
This is the third and finally post on my trip to Moscow. I already can’t wait to go back during winter for a third time (if you missed my first post where I mentioned going as a child, you can read it here). Maybe when …
Around Halloween last year, I went to the city of Columbia for the first time. For those of you who don’t know the geography of California, it’s located about an hour outside of Yosemite. Most of the area is populated with different campgrounds and hiking trails. But more importantly, it’s where the Gold Rush was taking place in the 1850’s. I’m not sure how big of a deal the Gold Rush was for school children outside of California, but it was a major topic during our state history studies in 5th grade. We dressed up, did fake gold panning, churned butter, made candle wax… They really transported us to the 1800’s. Knowing what a big deal the Gold Rush was to California, it made visiting the “Gem of the Southern Mines” and a Gold Rush boomtown that much cooler.
It’s hard to believe that this was really how the towns were built almost 200 years ago. And that Columbia was one of the largest towns in California at the time! The park looked like a movie set I would see in Universal Studios. (It doesn’t surprise me that scenes from Back to the Future III were filmed in the area.) I’ve seen old Western films before, but never really thought, “this was a real thing. America really looked like this.” It’s silly to say, but the old west movies have done a good job because the set designs looked exactly like this historic park. Note: The town has been rebuilt a few times due to fires and deterioration.
We spent a few ours walking through the park and going inside each little store. The staff in these stores are actually dressed up for the time period. It’s a cute place to shop and the stores are real places you can buy from! My favorites were probably the candle store and the candy store. Both have A LOT of goodies inside. Across the street from the candle store, back on the main street, was a place to make your own candles! They were closed for the day when we went, but it would be a fun activity for kids and candle lovers.
The City Hotel is one of a few hotels in the area, however, this is the one located right on Main Street in the park. The woman working at the hotel on this day told us a bit about the history of the hotel while we looked around the rooms. We didn’t know this before, but she said the hotel is haunted and a very popular place for guests to stay the night around Halloween. Lucky us for coming in October. If haunted hotels are something that excites you, the room rates were very reasonable and the bathrooms have been modernized. Almost everything else in the hotel is accurate for that time period.
We didn’t look inside the Fallon Hotel and Theatre. But it’s by the famous Jack Douglas Saloon where you can try sarsaparilla, order dinner, and watch a show before going to bed. This hotel seems larger and had room options from $115 to $50 a night. Hopefully this one isn’t haunted too…
Close to the Columbia State Historic Park is the Moaning Caverns Adventure Park. I have a previous blog post that mentions my visit to the Caverns. I recommend visiting both if you are planning a trip to Colombia or even just driving through with your family.
Happy Halloween! Let me know in the comments if you’re going on any spooky trips this month.
-Ayla♥
I wanted to share with you pictures from my day in an area of San Francisco many of you may not know of. Mission District is a part of San Francisco that even I rarely find myself in. I am a major foodie, so the …
I said in a previous post that I was going to start writing more travel posts about places that are near me in California. This is me finally delivering on that promise. As you probably guessed, I am avoiding any long distance travel due to …
As many others, I haven’t traveled much at all in 2020 due to the on going pandemic. Many of my fellow travelers can agree that it’s really unfortunate to be stuck in the confines of our own town. Our Home Sweet Home that is now bitter. Although, I’ve recently had a change of heart. Instead of feeling bitter, I can take this opportunity to explore my own neck of the woods and share with you the places I call home, which for you may be an actual vacation. So I’ve decided no moping around and feeling bad that I have no place to travel to, therefore, no places to share with you. I could actually spend sometime writing about my local area! As you can already tell, I am starting off with a Travel Guide of San Francisco.
You can choose to either start at Pier 1 or go straight to Fisherman’s Wharf if you are limited on time/don’t want to walk. The Ferry Building is a nice stop if you want to see the Bay Bridge (especially at night), or if you are coming from Union Square and heading to Fisherman’s Wharf by foot. You can take some photos of the Bay Bridge or look around the market that is held on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday mornings. From there, you can make your way up the pier, stopping inside a few of the open pier buildings until you reach Pier 39 where all the real action is.
Fisherman’s Wharf is a must, especially if you are in San Francisco with children. The Piers are full of activities, such as, Sea Lion Center, ferry rides to Alcatraz Island, live entertainment, Madame Tussauds, shopping, antique arcade games and a carousel . Make sure to try some delicious seafood and get dessert at Ghirardelli Square.
I included the Place of Fine Arts simply for its beauty. It’s probably the most romantic spot in the city due to the design and the lagoon populated with swans and ducks.
The Golden Gate Bridge is to California what the Eiffel Tower is to France. So there’s no way you can miss it. You can choose to either walk, bike, or drive across the 1.2 mile Golden Gate Bridge. I recommend walking to immerse yourself in the view and get the typical, “I went to San Francisco,” photo of yourself next to the bridge. It takes about an hour round trip to walk. Baker Beach is also a good photo spot for the bridge.
Located in the Russian Hill district, this street is famous for being the “Crookedest Street in the world.” I remember driving down this street as a child and actually feeling car sick. But don’t worry, driving isn’t necessary. Many people walk up/down the 40-degree street instead to snap some photos (Leavenworth Street seems to be the best place to stand for a photo). You can hop on the Powell/Hyde Cable Car line to get to Lombard Street if you really want the full tourist experience. Warning: This can be a very popular line! Make sure to plan ahead and be prepared that you may have to wait a while before a cable car will take more passengers.
North Beach is one of the districts in San Francisco and it isn’t too far from the Crookedest Street. If Italian food, or SF’s version of Little Italy, is something you are interested in, stop by the North Beach district. There you can climb up Coit Tower, go to Grace Cathedral, Church of Saints Peter & Paul, and try some delicious Italian food and desserts. Gelato and awarding winning margherita pizza from Tony’s Pizza Napoletana, anyone?
San Francisco has one of the best Chinatowns in the whole country. It really does feel like it’s own town within a city. As soon as you arrive at the Pagoda Gates, you’re greeted by bright colors, unique cuisine aromas, and foreign languages. Going inside all the stores is a real treat because many of the things you’ll find are very traditional to Chinese culture. Herbs, fruit, clothing, decorations, nicknacks and toys you’ve probably never seen before. It will be hard to leave empty handed.
If shopping and dining out isn’t something that interests you, you should skip Union Square. However, if you’re a foreigner who loves shopping in American and designer stores, you could spend an entire day here. Almost every store you could think of is located within a six block radius of Union Square. I’ve gone to Union Square many times as a teenager to go shopping and eat at Cheesecake Factory, but also to go ice skating and see holiday lights in winter.
I love visiting Japantown for the unique food and shopping inside Diaso (a Japanese dollar store). It’s a small neighborhood located around the Peace Pagoda in Peace Plaza. There are supermarkets, restaurants and stores inside the plaza. It’s a great place to get Japanese food as well as buy Japanese anime, toys, and gifts.
It’s hard to believe but this park is actually larger than New York’s Central Park. It’s pretty incredible how much there is to do in this one park and explaining all of the attractions would take up a large chunk of this post. Perhaps in the future I will write a separate post solely on this park. For now, I will simply share with you which attractions you should visit if you are going:
You shouldn’t miss the de Young Museum, California Academy of Sciences, Japanese Tea Garden, Botanical Gardens, Stow Lake, Conservatory of Flowers (check out my photo diary HERE), Garden of Shakespeare’s Flowers, rose garden, historic Dutch & Murphy Windmills, and Bison Paddock/Enclosure. After a long day going around the park, you may want to end it by going to Ocean Beach to watch the sunset.
San Francisco has a special place in my heart as I’m a Bay Area girl. It was a bit difficult figuring out what to include and how much to say as many of these places (and more) I’ve visited a handful of times. If you’re traveling to San Francisco, it would take about a week to see most of the city. Even then you will really have to pick and choose what you are most interested in seeing as some activities will take up a large chunk of a day (i.e. San Francisco Zoo). If you will only be stopping by for a few days, the most popular spots to visit are The Golden Gate Bridge/Park, Fisherman’s Wharf, Lombard Street and Chinatown.
If you think I should share a more detailed travel guide for any of these spots, let me know. I may do a San Fransisco food guide and museum guide in the near future.
-Ayla ♥
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There are amazing, incredible, beautiful cities all over the world but no city has as many songs written about it, films based in it or novels written about it. Half of which are practically a love letter to New York City itself. Hello? Sex and …