DAY 6 - TRAVELING IN THE USA

San Francisco!! (A city with a disco vibe)

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The city itself is small, and it's quite easy to walk to all the sights. Just be prepared for the steep hills—you'll feel like real rock climbers.

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The calling card of San Francisco is the Golden Gate Bridge, where we headed as soon as we arrived.

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Despite the city's beautiful architecture, the second super cute attraction is Pier 39. It's not just a pier—it's a pier with SEA LIONS. ⠀

No, there aren't just 2-3 sea lions kept in terrible conditions; there are 1,500 sea lions (according to scientists) that come and go whenever they want!

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Why are they there? Many years ago, there was an earthquake in California, and they swam to this pier on their own. After that incident, the government built them a wall (with access to the ocean) as protection from the cyclone. They felt safe and started returning voluntarily And then they multiplied, and now there are so many of them there))

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We also met American stars at Madame Tussauds and even took photos with them

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Then, we just went for a walk around the city. It's worth noting that San Francisco is incredibly green. The whole city is blooming; there are even wide streets where there is only one lane for cars, and the rest of the space is planted with flowers! The road itself zigzags, and it feels like you're driving through a botanical garden

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Bus stops are announced in three languages: English, Spanish, and Chinese. We also stumbled upon a large Chinatown and ended up at a Chinese market, where we drank milk tea with jelly

The city is just incredibly cozy and really makes you want to stay, except for one fact.

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The thing is, the number of disadvantaged neighborhoods in San Francisco is high, and if you are skeptical about it at first, when you see it in person, you get goosebumps.

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When we first arrived, a car robbery happened right before our eyes. A guy just took out some device, attached it to the car, the glass cracked, he climbed inside the car, grabbed a bag, and a car picked him up and drove off so fast that we couldn't even process it. To say we were shocked is an understatement. And I'm still so ashamed that we just stood there for those seconds and watched; we were in such a stupor that even after the incident, we just watched the car drive away and didn't know what to do. (A very interesting fact is that the car was very expensive—a new sports car—either they stole it or they find so much in the bags). ⠀

After that, when we were walking through those disadvantaged neighborhoods, where for a couple of kilometers (!) people are all covered in dirt, selling things, sleeping, feeding their children (right on the asphalt), smoking weed, drinking, and they aren't even your nationality (which makes you attract even more attention), it becomes just wildly creepy. And do you know where these neighborhoods are? Right in the center. I read on a forum that it's safer to walk on the outskirts of the city, I don't know how true that is