5 Things to Do in San Francisco

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Naomie Gauchat, Switzerland

I lived In San Francisco for almost 4 months so I had the time to discover a lot of things. San Francisco is home with a little bit of everything. Whether you’re a first time visitor or a long-time local, you can find a lot of different activities to do.

1. The Golden Gate Bridge

First of all you should go to the Golden Gate Bridge. Once called “the bridge that couldn’t be built,” today it is one of the seven wonders of the modern world. You can cross the bridge by walking, by biking, by bus or by car. I recommend this trip during the sunset; it is beautiful !

2. Fisherman’s Wharf

The second place where you must go is Fisherman’s Wharf. Fisherman’s is a neighbourhood and popular tourist attraction in SF. It roughly encompasses the northern waterfront area of San Francisco. It is there that you can find the different boats to go to Alcatraz and also the famous Pier 39 with the sea lions.

3. The Coit Tower

The Coit Tower is an inevitable thing to do. It is a 64 meters tower in the Telegraph Hill neighbourhood, offering panoramic views over the city and the bay. The tower, in the city’s Pioneer Park, was built between 1932 and 1933. It is a little bit expensive; 9$ to go up by elevator but it’s worth it!

4. Alcatraz

Alcatraz Island is located in San Francisco Bay, 2 kilometres offshore from San Francisco. It is the second most popular tourist attraction in SF. The small island was developed with facilities for a lighthouse, a military fortification, a military prison, and a federal prison from 1934 until 1963. This last facility is why Alcatraz is famous nowadays. The departure is from Fisherman’s Wharf and you will arrive 30 minutes later on the Island. During this tour, you can get audio guides and discover the entire story of Alcatraz.

5. Castro District

In this neighbourhood, along the streets, you will find brightly colored rainbow banners fluttering from lamp posts. This place is the historic centre of the LGBT community reflects. It’s a lively neighbourhood. I recommend this district to go out with your friends, even if you are not part of this community. There are some different clubs and bars so you will have a good time there !

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California Music

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Camilo Sanhueza, Chile.

Why is California so famous? “The Golden State” is known for its beautiful beaches, Hollywood’s movies industry or its big cities, such as LA or San Francisco, but it is also well known for all the great artists that come from here.california-pixabay-fixed

Some of the most famous bands and artists that come from California are: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica, Guns and Roses, Kendrick Lamar or N.W.A. Just to name a few. tumblr_static_coachella1

In the 80s Rock was increasing its popularity. It was in this context that a lot of great and classic bands started to rise, some examples are RHCP, Metallica, Guns and Roses, Megadeth or Green Day. It is impressive that the most of these bands are still current, doing tours and releasing new albums.

metallica

The 90s was rap’s turn. This revolutionary genre was spreading rapidly by young people and in California it came to stay. In the 90s,  Dr. Dre, Ice cube, Snoop Dog or Eazy-E became famous, if we name the most important ones. These bands had songs that talked against the racial discrimination and the life in the neighborhoods of the USA.

N.W.A. Live In Concert

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Nowadays there are a lot of contemporary artists from California and there is a variety of music styles. We can name some famous pop singers, such as: P!nk, Maroon 5, or Katy Perry, rappers: Kendrick Lamar, Tyler the Creator. Also indie bands: 30 Seconds to Mars, Jason Mraz.

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It is clear that California has been a very great contributor to music history, bringing a lot of classic and famous bands for many decades in the past and it keeps bringing very good artists in the present.

If I have to name my favorite, I could not choose just one, but surely in my top 3 would be Kendrick Lamar, RHCP and Guns and Roses. There are very different styles, but that is the good aspect of California’s music, the variety and quality of the music.

kendrick-2019-project

 

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Education First Annual International Day March 8, 2019.

The Franceschi Park and its History

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franceschi-park sign

Naomie Gauchat, Switzerland

Next year, I will return in Santa Barbara with my family to show them the most beautiful place that I have never seen; The Franceschi Park. This park was once the home of famed botanist F. Franceschi. I discovered this place with my SPIN class ”I LOVE SB”. The purpose of this class was to discover the city, and it worked.  

The park is located above the city. By car, it is only ten minutes from Downtown or one hour by walking. The location is pretty easy to find. There are direction signs along the way so you can not get lost. It has a panoramic view of the city and it provides a tranquil horticultural resource. A lot of people go there to relax themselves, do sports, walking their dog or just enjoy the view.  In addition to the view of the city, you also have an ocean view. On sunny days, you can easily distinguish the different islands, like : Santa Cruz Island, Santa Rosa Island, San Miguel Island and Anacapa Island. Those four islands are quite far from the waterfront, more than 3 hours by boat.

View city

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Further into the park, you can observe a house. It was the house of M. Franco Franceschi. This house was used for botanical study and plant cultivation. This one became a botanical nursery for their experiments in plant propagation. Between 1894 and 1913, Franceschi imported over 900 species. He planted an enormous variety of native and non-native trees, like oak, camphor, cinnamon, avocado, banana, candlenut, and many species of citrus and palms. Many kinds of seeds were also grown on this area. Finally, through Franceschi’s efforts, almost 200 new plant species were introduced to California.

Unfortunately, F. Franceschi died in 1924 and M. Freeman inherited the house as well as the property. He was a huge fan of Franceschi’s work. Through his efforts, the property was enlarged and the house remodeled in a Mediterranean style. Freeman donated it to the city of Santa Barbara. That is why now everybody can go there. But the problem is that the city of Santa Barbara did not do the necessary renovations and maintenance and the house has fallen apart. For that reason the city of Santa Barbara decided two weeks ago to demolish the house and to rebuild something else. 

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Why Do Students All Around the World Decide To Study Overseas ?

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Thank you to all the students for their participation.

Wiwi : Personally, the reason I decided to study abroad, here in Santa Barbara, CA is mostly because I want to live in North America when I’m older so I wanted to improve my english, my accent, but above all to simply discover this country because it’s my first time here. I actually really like it but I think I might be overdosing on junk food.

Cam : The reason why I decided to study abroad in Santa Barbara is because I want to improve my english and because I really love to travel, so study here it’s the perfect deal.

Cam, Wiwi and Lola.