back to the united states for my third time !! after having visited my uncle in colorado with 11 years & fallen in love with new york after finishing high school i was more than excited to get to know the west coast of the u.s.a. now :)) first stop: `San Francisco´ or better `Frisco´ !! i would love to start my travel report with `the smell of freedom´ but honestly all i was smelling was weed :)) not a big surprise as smoking weed is legal in california since 2o16 .. why can’t vienna be as cool as that ?! however the next thing i honestly wasn’t expecting was the hostel i booked being so damn cool: `The Green Tortoise Hostel´ definitely exceeded all my expectations. not only is it perfectly located between downtown & the coast in the most popular district of `Frisco´ called `North Beach´ but it also offered various activities every evening including cooking dinner together & going for a pub crawl. only thing i didn’t think of: you gotta be 21 for being allowed to drink !! luckily backpacker hostels are not that strict in this regard :)) i kind of really missed the solo travel life: sleeping in cheap hostels meeting new people from all over the world & getting to see places you have never been to before every single day !! this is pure freedom mixed up with happiness & a pinch of insecurity alias feeling a little bit lost somewhere on the other side of the planet all on your own :)) on my first day here in `Frisco´ the weather already showed off with a clear blue sky & almost 2o degrees (just as the following days would .. which is not that common in cali at that time of the year) after a delicious breakfast with bagels fruits & coffee i made my way to the city center via `Chinatown´ where i visited the famous `Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Bakery´. did you ever try fortune cookies with caramel flavour ?! spoiler: it was good !! then i went on cross the hilly streets of `Frisco´ passed the huge `Transamerica Pyramid´ also known as the second highest but most popular skyscraper in town & found myself staring at all the beauty surrounding me while smiling like a fool. i could have walked on like that for hours & hours for sure .. only if there wouldn’t have been those cute little bookstores right in my way !! `The City Lights Bookstore´ as well as the `Architectural Books´ were absolute treasures & a must go for any book lovers coming to `Frisco´. then i finally reached the `Financial District´ where i got to feel the real hustle & bustle of the big city. this was when i realized i actually arrived in cali !! honestly a little dream came true with this journey & even though i only got 3 weeks at the west coast of the u.s.a. i am more than happy for having this chance & to be able to make this experience. but wow i’m still telling you about day 1 from 21 i should keep going :)) so as a history of arts student my way led me straight to the `Museum of Modern Art of San Francisco´ where two of my fav artists were waiting for me. not in person of course but still there paintings were pretty amazing !! `Roy Lichtenstein´ & `Andy Warhol´ never get boring. my next cultural stop over was the `Jewish Museum´ which has free admission on tuesday just in case you wanna go !! not only is the exhibition absolutely worth visiting but also the building itself makes quite an impression from the outside. `The Yerba Buena Center of the Arts´ located right next to it containes a beautiful park area where people from all over city go to spend their lunch break. this is what i did as well :)) just lying down on the grass with the sun on your face thinking about what part of `Frisco´ to explore next !! so after a little bit too much of sunbathing i restarted my little sightseeing tour & went to see `Union Square´ the main plaza of `Frisco´. also i just had to check out `Macy’s´ the number one shopping center in america !! didn’t buy anything there though but instead helped myself to a lavender latte at `The Iron Horse Coffee & Cockatil´ in the beautiful `Maiden Lane´ where you can find one fancy coffee place next to the other .. can you guess i liked it there :)) however what i loved the most here in `Frisco´ honestly were the people & i am not the kind of person saying this just like that. actually i am not that much into people. but omg everyone was so freaking friendly & courteous !! the busdrivers waved at me a random lady on the street told me she loved my style (whatever my style is) & once a man spoke to me while i was taking photos & mentioned my great photography skills (true or not it made me happy) so my first impression of cali people: i am not a total misanthrope :)) on my second day in `Frisco´ i went to explore `North Beach´ alias my actual neighbourhood which turned out to be more like a little italy with lots of pizza & pasta places (which i didn’t mind at all) i checked out several hot spots such as `Lombard Street´ `Washington Square´ & `Powell Cable Car Turnaround´ which led me right towards the famous `Fisherman’s Wharf´. the perfect place to take a walk along at the coast !! also this was where i first saw the small prison island called `Alcatraz´ & a small shape of a red bridge somewhere on the horizon :)) the sun was shining tulips were growing everywhere & some sea lions were chilling in the shade. from `Fisherman’s Wharf´ (where you’ll find the only `In & Out Burger´ in inner `San Francisco´ by the way) i walked to the `Pier 39´. if you are into souvenir shopping & touristic boat trips that’s the place to go. i rather preferred sitting down on a bench watching all the people passing by getting a little bit more sun burned & feeling like i was at the right place at the right time .. you know what i mean ?! in the evening we cooked dinner in the hostel all together drank wine (only after making sure everyone was over 21 of course) & had a great evening talking about time & travelling & time travelling :)) my third day here probably was the most spectacular one: i stood up early & walked up one of the highest hills of `Frisco´ from where i had an amazing view all over the harbour & my final destination for the day: `The Golden Gate Bridge´. but before heading there i checked out `Fillmore´ a small district in western `San Francisco´ where you can find op shops & cool coffee spots in their natural habitat :)) honestly it reminded me a bit of the 8th district in vienna alias my home. probably this is why i loved `Fillmore´ that much !! but i had big goals to reach that day :)) i kept walking towards the north passed by the imposing `Palace of Fine Arts´ crossed `Crissy Field´ & finally found myself at the beach. `Alcatraz´ on my right side deep blue sea ahead (with a few white sailing boats drifting on it) & the famous `Golden Gate Bridge´ to my left .. one crazy place !! together with an asian girl i met at the `Bay Area View Point´ i crossed the bridge & tried to not look too excited :)) but damn i was !! we reached the other side of the `Golden Gate Bridge´ right in time for sunset & got rewarded with an amazing view all over the stunning skyline of `San Francisco´ !! some moments simply are gold .. this was one of them.