“If you’re going to San Francisco be sure to wear some flowers in your hair” advised Scott McKenzie few decades ago. His famous 1967 hit single inspired many people to visit San Francisco. Well, I didn’t have any flowers in my hair but I expect that very little has changed since this song was popular. California in general and SF in particular is still a very liberal. This is a very particular mix of hippie style, mild climate and relatively long history (as for an American city). Here are three things that I really liked in San Francisco. Chinatown This is the oldest and biggest of all american Chinatowns. Not only occupies few blocks in the city center but, over the years, it became a tourist attraction. It is dated back in mid nineteenth century and started with arrival physical workers called coolies. Hundreds of young single man came to participate in railway construction and golden rush in California. Just like other Chinatowns it gradually absorbed more woman and eventually became a family migration.  Currently this is like city within city. Stores, restaurants, library, churches it is all provided in Chinese. This community is successful in terms of sustaining ties with mainland China and their culture. Chinese in the US are often called a perfect minority. Entering through a gate guarded by two dragons is like a travel in space and time. The noise and smell brings you to China and although this is an American version of it, it still marvels people from all over the world. Cable car museum This was the best museum I visited in San Francisco. It is located in old power station and barn used from the very beginning of trams in SF. And it is a working one so you actually enter a real place. As authentic as you get. There is a background noise all the time produced by huge wheels and lines which make this whole tram business going. There are still three lines working and for many this is a landmark just like the Golden Gate bridge. We can’t think about SF without imagining one old wooden cable car, can we? I like the way this museum is organised. Entrance is for donation, you watch people working and you can know the history of this company and San Francisco at the same time. 1906 earthquake and fire left this city almost destroyed. Pictures taken back then are touching. There was one particular that made an impression at me: a tram and a totally ruined city in the background. Trams are such important part of this city history that when there was an idea to get rid of them there were some people who stand out and defended the trams. They collected the money and saved the trams. And although now it is very limited comparing to what was before, tourists from all over the world may have their ride up and down famous hills. Hills I think that hills are the most picturesque element of San Francisco cityscape. Some of them are really steep and this make the city so beautiful. The views on the bay from every street and boulevard on the hills are just fantastic. In a sunny day you see bright stylish houses with a deep blue background and it really is wonderful.  Crossing the city north – south or east – west will make you sweaty in a warm day. Up and down the streets go but every crossroad is levelled which make driving San Francisco possible. Some of the streets and sidewalks are so steep it is hard to believe that people are able to park their cars this way. There are typically American organised blocks but this is one of few cities constructed on hills. And for me this is like the one that stands out and challenges the utilitarian America. These are the things I liked in SF. I’m not saying this city has no problems or dirty and dangerous neighbourhoods but I think it is worthy to come and visit it at least once in your lifetime.   

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It’s the middle of the summer and a book like this is far from any holiday literature. It’s not light. It’s not optimistic. But it’s worthy to read. By all means! Here is my review with few details to encourage you to read it. Reading it is a real travel: back in time and space.  The Trouble I’ve Seen Few weeks ago I finished reading another book sent by Eland Publishing House. This time it was a book written by Martha Gellhorn and it is titled: “The Trouble I’ve Seen” (first published in 1936). The book tells four unrelated stories of people who survived Great Depression in the US in the 30. of the twentieth century. What is most important about this book is that despite describing authentic way of life in these horrible times it is actually fiction. Perhaps I am spoiled by the travel literature that is considered non-fiction but it changed my reception of this book. Despair All four stories are tragic. The leading characters are people who found themselves in a very difficult position due to financial crisis that hit the country. We have portraits of old and young people who were struggling with their everyday life and they lost their battles. Unemployed, hungry, homeless and desperate. The author is cruel and her description is very clear about hardship of their lives. Excellent description of cold in winter and extreme hot in summer or tiredness of employers was so good I could have imagined all poor houses and burnt field described by the author and felt sorry for the people who experienced it. Poverty Although the book tells stories from this particular moment of the American history the characters are pretty universal. What is most striking about their situation is shame and distaste towards support provided by the government. It is true for all and at all times. People prefer to earn their money rather than just get them. The relief received in a dead end situations of starvation crushes their sense of being a decent person. It strips off their dignity and left them powerless. There is no hope in this book. Not even a small ray. Worst case scenario Because Gellhorn writing is so good and so convincing a reader suffers together with leading characters. And going through pages of this book, one after another, you sink into this atmosphere of an overwhelming disaster. By the time you finish the book you feel tired with these stories. And you are ready to protest against any poverty or war on earth. So no one would be in a situation described by the author. Heartbreaking The last story in a book focused on Ruby – a young teenager – was too difficult to read. Although I finished reading the last chapter this was a tough one. The truth is that we are able to understand the difficulties of adults, their anger and despair, but harming innocent kids is something we cannot pass by. The clash of innocence with brutality of life was simply unbearable. And it left me very troubled.  

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Summer time is flourishing so more and more of us travel. While nice weather encourages everybody to outdoor activities some tourists decide to visit museums while travelling. Here is my list of best museums I have ever visited. Obviously, I haven’t seen them all but of all I visited these are particularly interesting. Galleria Borghese (Rome, Italy) I have never thought I was a fan of sculptures until my first visit in this museum. All Bernini’s sculptures were simply awesome. Apollo and Daphne, David, Pluto and Proserpina, makes you wonder if the sculptures aren’t real. The details of human bodies frozen in marble are stunning. Also Pauline Bonaparte  by Canova is simply beautiful. While it is tricky to buy a ticket as it needs to be purchase in advance and it allows you to visit this museum in a particular slot of time (about 45min.) it is still worthy of the effort. Villa is remarkable itself so if you can’t buy the ticket via internet go to the garden in early morning, try to buy a ticket for the same day and wait for your turn sitting on a bench and watching this perfect building blended into the garden. Ah, yes, and don’t bother to visit their website, it is rather old and it might discourage you. Van Gogh Museum (Amsterdam, Holland) I enjoyed this museum very much. First of all, I went there with my dear friend and this was a nice conclusion of the whole day spent in Amsterdam together. Second, this is the world’s largest collection of works by Vincent Van Gogh. Third, the building is stunning example of modern architecture so don’t think twice before visiting it. No surprise the Van Gogh museum exhibits more than 200 pictures of this author, but what is really great about it is the narration of this exhibition. It tells you a fascinating story, showing particular periods of artist’s activity, his relation with brother Theo, moving around France and Belgium, friendship with other artists and temporary insanity episodes. The exhibition attempts to show the influence of the particular events on his works and by the time you watch the Wheatfield with Crows (1890), one of his last paintings, you are deeply touched with his story. I think this is a must-see in Amsterdam and encourage you to visit by all means. Postal Museum  (Washington, DC, USA) I described this museum before and to avoid repetition please visit this post for the details. Mauritshuis (The Hague, Holland) Long before the movie starring Scarlett Johansson the picture Girl with a Pearl Earring was in my mind. I saw the first picture painted by Vermeer- The Lacemaker kept in Louvre- in the late nineties and admired it at once. Most of all the size of the picture was unexpected and knowing he was working on it for more than a year made it even more eccentric. Mauritshuis located in the Dutch capital The Hague is much less visited than other museums in Holland, however, it is worthy of every penny. Its location is beautiful: an old building surrounded by the water in the city center. Apart of its main attraction this museum is exhibits other famous works of art, including Rembrandt’s Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp and The garden of Eden with the fall of man by Jan Brueghel the Elder. The museum is small but well kept and apart of the works of art it also gives you a good opportunity to watch the traditional Dutch houses inside. Phillips Collection (Washington, DC, USA) Washington DC is widely known for its museums and thousands of people visit this city every year for this purpose. I am always amazed with quantity of impressionist pictures exhibited in the United States. Even having seen the biggest impressionists’ museums in Paris and in the Netherlands I am impressed with the exhibitions watched in the States every time. Phillips Collection is a beautiful example of excellent paintings and well thought exhibition mode. It is situated in elegant district of Washington, in a charming old building surrounded by garden. If you’re lucky and visit Washington during the Cherry Blossoms Festival you’ll see it in its best. Luncheon of the Boating Party by Pierre-Auguste Renoir remains the best known and most popular work of art at The Phillips Collection, however, it is full of European impressionism. Dancers at the Bar by Degas,The Road Menders and Entrance to the Public Gardens in Arles by Van Gogh, or Ginger Pot with Pomegranate and Pears by Cezanne are examples of excellency of the Phillips Collection. This museum keeps a good balance between famous and less known paintings and all works of arts are shown with care. The story told in this museum is framed with very nice interior and good light so your journey to the past is just perfect. Watching works of art is a good opportunity to get closer to the culture of a visited country. It’s not that you need to visit all museums and spend all your holiday inside but if you picked up one or two in a place visited it’s no harm. If you’re not an art enthousiast start with the most famous one to get encouraged to the less known. Which museum would you recommend to other travelers?  

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It is justified to visit Washington DC for its museums. One of them- National Postal Museum- became one of my favorite. This museum was recommended by one of my American friends and, as always, this is an excellent way to know fascinating places. I don’t think I would go there if it hadn’t been recommended. Whenever it’s possible ask the locals. The museum is rather small which is a great advantage.  In couple of hours you can enter to all rooms and see the majority of exhibits. Each museum tells you a story. There are good museums and lousy museums, to make the long story short. After a visit in a lousy one you have a chaos in your had, you can’t say any sensible conclusion on what you have just seen or you feel overwhelmed with the exhibits. I will write about one really lousy museum in Berlin I visited some other time but let me tell you this: National Postal Museum in Washington DC is excellent! There is a charming story told about the origins of American post, about the challenges of developing country, about the heroes and even about a dog who assisted in mail delivery (Owney the Railway Mail Service Mascot). The main hall hosts a variety of post vehicles and above your head small airplanes are placed to your delight. ‘Moving the mail’ – a permanent exhibition on mail vehicles is especially attractive. A railway postal car is placed and available to see from the inside which I found really cool. There is also a romantic part of the story: the letters written in the old days by the immigrants and sent from the US to their loved ones. The letters are well displayed and some of them are recorded so you could actually hear it. It shows the importance of post services and the emotional aspect of writing letters and sustaining the family and friendship ties. Another romantic part of the exhibition is devoted to the Pony Express and tells an interesting story of a private venture to transport letters from California to Missouri across dangerous lands. To tell you the truth: each part of the permanent exhibition I saw was great. No, I’m not going to spoil your visit and describe here all details. So if you’re in Washington DC the National Postal Museum is a MUST! Here is one of my most precious pictures taken in the museum: stamps from Bhutan!  

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When I went to Washington for the first time I didn’t know what to expect. For many reasons the city was puzzling. Being a home for the government, embassies and all this official business it was so diverse than New York city and other American metropolis. Washington is really special: without skyscrapers and overwhelming noise it tries to convince you that the most important things in this country take place in appropriate context of beautiful buildings and vast avenues where memory of the past events is well preserved. I remember that the beginning of this trip was pretty turbulent before I even took off! In the morning the first stressful event woke me up: there were no places available on the parking place despite my reservation. I wanted to left my car in Bologna in Italy to take the plane to Frankfurt in Germany to continue my trip further west, to Washington DC. After almost half an hour the employees of the parking came to work after their breakfast and found my reservation, took my car and gave me a lift  to the terminal, where a wild crowd occupied the desk, the main hall and, to be exact, the whole airport. I was already late. And a bit nervous. It caused a wired reaction of retreat and for a split second I thought I should get back home instead of going somewhere. But just after this thought came to me I smiled and simply decided that despite these inconveniences this trip will be FUN! After a while, the ladies at the desk called all ‘late passengers’ to report at the desk IMMEDIATELY and so I started a difficult activity: pushing through a crowd with a suitcase. Although I haven’t become a world champion in this competition I was able to get to the desk on time to be further delayed by the bus that wasn’t there. All in all, everything was LATE. Fortunately,  my plane in Frankfurt was also late and so after this turbulent morning I finally got aboard of my plane heading to Washington. As you may imagine the plane in Frankfurt broke down and all passengers had to wait for a different plane to be prepared, including the luggage re-dropping. Right, it didn’t seam to be a perfect holiday but this nasty beginning drained the limit of bad luck for the whole trip. After all, this is not a bad combination. Unless you are fearful and the difficulties at the first stage discourage you to continue. In my case it was a favorable circumstance. Therefore, after less than 24h I landed in Washington. My visit in Washington started with an excellent breakfast next morning. I found this place by chance but I can recommend you to eat there a full breakfast, brunch or lunch. It’s Annie’s Paramount Steak House on 17thNW street (full address: 1609 17th Street Northwest). Everything I ate there was simply delicious, but it’s not only the quality of food that made me to go there more than once. It was the atmosphere of a neighborhood pub where people know each other. I enjoyed a noise of such place: I believe that you can actually hear the difference between an ordinary noise in, let’s say, subway where all people are strangers and the noise of a place like Annie’s Steak House. So, I was sitting in this pub and listening to the voices and laughs of the locals and enjoying my pancakes. Lovely start of a perfect day! With full stomach life is good! I started my official visit in Washington from a short stop in a National Museum of American History, just to refresh my memory. With its vast collection of interesting objects this museum is really pleasant to visit. You get an impression of what the American life is. I really like the idea of showing every-day-objects in a museum, especially when a huge truck or a train make a real noise! The objects displayed are not old or at least in Europe they would not be exhibited in a museum. But in order to understand the United States and the way the things are organized you need to get familiar these modern objects considering their novelty when they were first produced. I found this picture below with a funny note: It’s OK if you need to cry! Love it! As I wrote in first paragraph I was very lucky to find myself in Washington when all cherry trees were blossoming. It made every outdoor activity so spectacular! Walking around Tidal Basin or National Gallery of Art brings you to the endless flower shop. This elegant pastel pink color of cherry blossom with blue sky as a background is simply beautiful. I knew I was lucky to see it because I bought the plane ticket in advance and had no idea if I make it. But I did. And it was so bloody special! To write about Washington one post is not enough. As I spent there more than a week and saw many fascinating sites I think I will publish another post.  

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