CitySightseeing – the Golden Gate Bridge, Sausaltio, the Palace of Fine Arts

Wednesday, August 12th, 2009 at7:41 am by Wanda

Golden Gate Bridge

Today is cold and windy, and of course this is the day we have decided to take the bus over the Golden Gate Bridge and go onto to Sausalito.

The Bridge is cloaked in fog but the view is not too bad.

There are a couple of new tours since Paula and I were here last year and the Golden Gate Bridge and Sausalito is one of them, although you can just do the bridge tour if you wish.

Our ride is a converted school bus and we sit in the uncovered section in the back, probably not the smartest choice as the wind whips bitterly and directly into our faces. I am chilled to the bone in fact I think there are ice crystals forming in my bone marrow.

But what an experience, I get just as big a kick out of doing this drive as I did the first time I did it, and Val is quite excited as well

Our first stop is the Exploratorium and the Palace of Fine Arts and this has to be one of my very favorite places. The Exploratorium is a hands on museum with interactive learning displays and exhibitions and an excellent place for both children and adults to while away a fascinating few hours.

As for the Palace of Fine Arts I just love the structure with its Corinthian columns and inward looking muses. The structure nestles in the park next to a lake with swans and ducks. When I first saw the structure I was undecided as to whether it was Roman or Greek in design but it is actually a combination of the two, being of Roman architectual style with the decorative style of Greece. I am particularly taken with the inward looking figures.

This majestic structure was designed by Berkeley architect Bernard Maybeck in 1915 for the Panama-Pacific Exposition. The construction was to built to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal and the rebuilding of San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake.

This is just a very small portion of the structure and you can see the inward looking figures at the tops of the columns. They apparently represent Contemplation, Meditation and Wonderment.

The Palace of Fine Arts San Francisco

We arrive at Vista Point for our next stop, which gives us a ten minute photo opportunity. It’s hard to get a good angle of the Golden Gate Bridge from this point but the views of the San Francisco skyline, the Bay Bridge and Alcatraz Island are quite magnificent.

Then its back on the bus and onto the coastal town of Sausalito. Like most coastal towns Sausalito has many boutiques, art galleries and bistros. There is another new tour that you can hook up with to Muir Woods National Park which is 550 acries housing some of the tallest and oldest trees in the world including the Coastal Redwoods.

As we drove back Val pointed out a black Shelby Cobra for Sale but sorry James I wasn’t quick enough to get a photo.

Palace of Fine Arts Columns