જ્યારે અમેરિકાના સ્ટુડંટ વિઝા લેવા મુંબઇ જવાનુ હતુ, તો એક મહિના પહેલાથી દરરોજ એની તૈયારી... 'કોન્સ્યુલેટ ઓફિસર' કોઇ પણ સવાલ પૂછી શકે. બધાને પૂછાતો એક પ્રશ્ન, 'કઇ યુનિવર્સિટિમાં જાવ છો?' એનો જવાબતો હતો.. "ગોલ્ડન ગેટ યુનિવર્સિટિ". પરંતુ એ પૂછે, કે તને ખબર છે કે 'ગોલ્ડન ગેટ' શું છે? તો એ મને ત્યારે ખબર નો'તી. યુનિવર્સિટિના પ્રોસ્પેક્ટસમાં વાંચ્યું કે સેન ફ્રાન્સિસ્કોમાં કોઇ વિશ્વવિખ્યાત ગોલ્ડન ગેટ બ્રિજ આવેલો છે. બસ, એ યાદ રાખી લીધું.
સેન ફ્રાન્સિસ્કોમાં રહેવાની અને ભણવાની ખરેખર મઝા આવી. એનું સૌથી મોટુ કારણ એ કે સેન ફ્રાન્સિસ્કોમાં દુનિયાના દરેક ખૂણેથી આવેલા લોકો જોવા મળે. રસ્તા પર ભીડ અને ટ્રાફિક જોઇને કંઇક અંશે મુંબઇ યાદ આવે. અઠવાડિયામાં બે દિવસ 'ફાર્મર્સ માર્કેટ' ભરાય, જે વાપીના શાક માર્કેટની યાદ અપાવે. અને મારા જેવાને સૌથી મોટો ફાયદો થાય અહીંની બસ - ટ્રેન નો. ( San Francisco is rated TOP among other cities of USA, in terms of public transportation. ) દોઢ વર્ષમાં મને કોઇ દિવસ Car ની જરૂર નથી પડી. મેં સાંભળ્યું છે કે અમેરિકાના મોટાભાગના શહેરોમાં ગાડી વગર તમે handicape થઇ જાઓ. પરંતુ 'Bay Area'(San Francisco and other cities nearby, which are around the Bay, so its called Bay Area )માં કશે પણ જવુ હોય, આસાનીથી બસ, ટ્રેન મળી રહે છે.
આમ તો સેન ફ્રાન્સિસ્કો બીજી ઘણી બાબતો માટે જગવિખ્યાત છે. તો ચલો, આજે મારા સેન ફ્રાન્સિસ્કોની એક ઝલક બતાવું.
Golden Gate Bridge
The Golden Gate Bridge, completed after more than four years of construction at a cost of $35 million, is a visitor attraction recognized around the world. The GGB opened to vehicular traffic on May 28, 1937 at twelve o'clock noon, ahead of schedule and under budget, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt pressed a telegraph key in the White House announcing the event. The Golden Gate Bridge's 4,200 foot long main suspension span was a world record that stood for 27 years. The bridge's two towers rise 746 feet making them 191 feet taller than the Washington Monument. The five lane bridge crosses Golden Gate Strait which is about 400 feet, or 130 meters, deep.
The American Society of Civil Engineers named the Golden Gate Bridge one of the "Seven Wonders of the Modern World"
Alcatraz Island ('The Rock' fame )
Alcatraz Island history includes serving as a military fortification in the 1850’s, an incarceration facility for Spanish-American War prisoners, and a federal maximum-security prison from 1934 to 1963.
Alcatraz Island was seized and occupied by a group of American Indians from 1969 to 1971 in a successful protest against the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The Occupation of Alcatraz Island served as a catalyst for change; a starting point for major events, protests, occupations and legislation that has effected the lives of American Indians ever since.
The Cable Car
The driving force behind the San Francisco cable car system came from a man who witnessed a horrible accident on a typically damp summer day in 1869. Andrew Smith Hallidie saw the toll slippery grades could extract when a horse- drawn streetcar slid backwards under its heavy load. The steep slope with wet cobblestones and a heavily weighted vehicle combined to drag five horses to their deaths. Although such a sight would stun anyone, Hallidie and his partners had the know-how to do something about the problem.
1873 Sept. 1 - Clay Street line starts public service at an estimated cost to build of $85,150
1906 April 18 - San Francisco's Great Earthquake damages the cable cars, allowing United Railroads (URR) to convert much of the city to streetcar service
Today, Cable Car is the major tourist attraction of San Francisco
Fisherman’s Wharf
San Francisco’s most popular destination. Known for its historic waterfront, delicious seafood, spectacular sights and unique shopping, Fisherman’s Wharf offers a wide array of things to do for everyone.
The Transamerica Pyramid 
The Transamerica Pyramid is both a distinctive structure revered by San Franciscans and a landmark of international recognition.
The Transamerica Pyramid is located in the heart of the Montgomery Financial District in San Francisco, California. It is a part of Transamerica Center (a complex that includes Two Transamerica Center and Transamerica Redwood Park) and encompasses nearly one city block.
Lombard Street 
Lombard Street is San Francisco and America's crookedest street. What does this mean? The steep, hilly street was created with sharp curves to switchback down the one-way hill past beautiful Victorian mansions. The street is paved with bricks and is an amazing site to see as demonstrated by the photos.
The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge 
The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge known locally as the Bay Bridge) is a toll bridge which spans the San Francisco Bay and links the Californian cities of Oakland and San Francisco in the United States. The bridge consists of two major segments connecting a central island, Yerba Buena Island, with each shore. The western segment terminating in San Francisco consists of two suspension bridges end-to-end with a central anchorage. The eastern span terminating in Oakland consists of a truss causeway, five medium-span truss bridges and a double-tower cantilever span, scheduled to be replaced by an entirely new structure now under construction. The original bridges were designed by Ralph Modjeski. The Bay Bridge opened for traffic on November 12, 1936, six months before San Francisco's other famous bridge, the Golden Gate.
Ferry Building
Opening in 1898 on the site of the 1875 wooden Ferry House, the Ferry Building became the transportation focal point for anyone arriving by train from the East, as well as from all the East Bay and Marin residents who worked in the city. From the Gold Rush until the 1930s, arrival by ferryboat became the only way travelers and commuters—except those coming from the Peninsula—could reach the city.
The Ferry Building redevelopment represents approximately 65,000 square feet of first floor Marketplace space, and an additional 175,000 square feet of premium second and third floor office space. The Marketplace, organized along the central Nave, provides a distinctive space for bringing together the greater Bay Area's agricultural wealth and renowned specialty food purveyors under one roof. The exterior and main public hall have been restored to their original grandeur for use by ferry passengers and the public at large.
The Palace of Fine Arts
On land originally belonging to the Presidio, the Palace of Fine Arts was built in 1915 for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition. Today the site, which belongs to the City of San Francisco, features a classical Roman rotunda with curved colonnades in an idyllic park setting. Visitors may picnic, stroll by the lake, or visit the Exploratorium's hands-on science exhibits in the adjacent museum.
The Muir Woods - Redwoods Forest
Chine Town
Ocean Beach
At last, but not the least...
ઊંચી નીચી હૈ ડગરિયા.....
