According to the script, our 4th day is through the Marina District neighborhood and Madame Tussauds!! Shall we check it out?
Marina District: what once was a bay of shallow waters, natural pools, sand dunes and swamps was transformed after the 1906 earthquake into the neighborhood of Marina District. Which had to be done up once again after the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989. The neighborhood became known when it was selected to host the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in 1915, which celebrated the end of the construction of the Panama Canal and which had the purpose of showing that San Francisco had recovered from the earthquake that had devastated the city. Marina District is located by the bay of San Francisco, between Fisherman's Wharf and The Presidio. These days it is considered one of the most beautiful neighborhoods in the city with many shops, restaurants, historic places and a lovely view of the bay. Besides being mesmerised by the Palace of Fine Arts, you may also have a wander around the Marina Green (which is a long patch of vegetation with an excellent view of the Golden Gate Bridge and some other attractions like the Wave Organ - an acoustic sculpture that produces sound) and the Fort Mason (built as a US army military complex nowadays an art and culture center), have a nice picnic in Little Marina Green Picnic Area, explore the streets around Marina Blvd and Chestnut St (famous for having a good variety of modern restaurants, bars and shops, though a busy street for the great number of apartments around).
Palace of Fine Arts: a piece of greco-roman architecture, originally built for the Panama-Pacific Exposition in 1915 to host works of art. The palace in ruins was projected by Bernard Maybeck, who found inspiration in the Château d’eau na Promenade du Peyrou, in Montpellier, France (which was then projected by Jean-Antoine Giral in 1766). When the 1915 exposition was over, a group of residents founded the Palace Preservation League so as to prevent it from being demolished along with other palaces built for the exposition. As its structure was created only for that purpose it was deemed unstable, so in 1964, the original palace was destroyed and rebuilt in the same place and with the same features, having a lagoon, bridges and gardens added later. Nowadays, besides hosting expositions, the Palace of Fine Arts is an 'instagrammable' turistic spot, favourite location for weddings and engagement parties, and there's also a small scale replica at Disney California Adventure in Anaheim. Follow the link for more info.
Lombard Street: it is one of the most famous streets in San Francisco for its Zig-zag shape, attracting many tourists looking for a nice picture as well as to drive through it at 8km/h downhill. Although the street is much longer than most people think, and it is situated between LeavenWorth St and Hyde St. The famous stretch was idealised in 1922 by Carl Henry, being a one-way street made of red bricks and with 8 bends and flower beds. It is also possible to access by foot through the lateral steps. Ah, and Lombard Street was the background for several films... but that you'll see in the Clapboard!!
Madame Tussauds: did you know that Madame Tussauds was a real woman? That's it, she was born in 1761 in Strasburg (north of France) under the name Marie Grosholz. She made a sculpture of the author the author and philosopher Francois Voltaire and was an art teacher to Louis XVI's sister. In 1792, Marie was arrested during the the French Revolution, and to show her loyalty, she started to make masks of the noblemen who were killed. She then got married in 1795 to Francois Tussaud, therefore inheriting the famous name Madame Tussauds. In 1802, she had her first wax and French Revolution relics Exposition in Great Britain. The Madame Tussauds Museum exists for over 200 years captivating millions of people all over the world. The San Francisco branch was opened in 2014 and it is divided in 6 areas, these being: Music Zone (Taylor Swift, Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, Madonna, among others), Leaders & Entrepreneurs (Steve Jobs, Barack Obama, Abraham Lincoln, and many more), Sports Zone (Tiger Woods, Serena Williams, Stephen Curry, among others), Spirit of San Francisco (Robin Williams, Francis Ford Coppola, Harvey Milk, and many more), Film Zone (Groot, Steven Spielberg, John Travolta, E.T, among others) e A List Zone (Morgan Freeman, Lenardo Di Caprio, Jennifer Aniston, and many more). The entry is between 23 and 56 dollars. for more info on Madame Tussauds or on tickets, please follow the link to the museum's website.
I hope you're enjoying this tour. Stay tuned to the next posts here on Let's Travel the World!