These are the famous sealions down at Fishermans Wharf. They made some terrible noises and smelt like rotten garbage.

This is the Castro area, the centre of the universe if you are a gay man.

San Francisco definitely is one of the most beautiful cities that I have been to. However, like Seattle it also had its fair share of homeless people. In the Haight area I saw many scruffy skater kids selling and buying drugs. I couldn’t quite figure out whether these were genuinely desperate people with no other choice, or just kids who had chosen to run away from their middle-class families to live a junkie lifestyle for thrills.

A few times I met up with Michelle, a Swedish friend of mine who has recently moved to San Francisco. One day we rented bicycles and rode through Golden Gate Park - a massive stretch of green space which was the centre of the 1969 “Summer of Love”. Hippies from all over America once congregated here to sing songs about love, talk about love, make love and take copious amounts of drugs.

This is me and Michelle. That big red thing in the background is the Golden Gate Bridge.

I also happened to be in San Francisco during the day of the presidential election. I knew that, whatever the outcome, there would be some exciting things happening in the city that night. Ever since the start of my travels the talk of the town had been who would be elected president. Many I met on my trip were appalled by the small-minded, “hockey-mom” ignorance of Sarah Palin and the possibility that she might become one of the most powerful people in the world. A few others feared that if Obama would win, the US would be run by a “communist”. One thing was for sure, this election would be a historic event for an America at a crossroads.

At around 8PM, when the first news came that Obama had been announced as the winner, I took the train into town. Many people had gathered at Union Square in the centre, and were singing, dancing and shouting in the streets. Cars were honking their horns and the crowd would yell “Obama, Obama!”. There was a festive mood mixed with a great sense of relief. Me and Michelle joined in with the rest of the people, yelling campaign slogans with a Swedish accent. I felt happy to have been there on that historic day.

During my time in San Francisco I stayed with Glen Allen who is a relative on my paternal grandmother´s side and lives in a suburb called Dublin. Glen was an extremely generous host and made sure that I had a really good time during my stay.

One night I got to meet Glen’s son Mike and his family, who live in nearby San Jose.

On another occasion I also met with other members of Glens family. This is over at the house of Glens nephew Mark (far left), after having celebrated his parents’ 50th wedding anniversary at a very exclusive local restaurant.

written by  niklasbergstrand on January 20, 2009 from San Francisco, United States
from the travel blog: Niklas in America
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The fella above was one of my many new friends I met in Monterey which included sharks, giant jellyfish, a huge octopus and a few dolphins.

The aquarium was impressive but the rest of the town did not excite me very much. Instead of continuing south, I decided to make a detour up to the surfer hotspot Santa Cruz. On the way I drove through some stunningly beautiful countryside with small apple-farms, breathtaking redwood forests and rolling hills.

That night I stayed at a pretty youth hostel made up of wooden houses with large verandas. There I made friends with a Swedish guy called Adam who was also travelling around America.

That night me and Adam went for a few beers in town where we became friends with Krista and Rose - two girls who were in town for a snowboard catalogue photoshoot.

The next day I drove out of town and explored some nearby redwoods. These gigantic trees stand tall and majestic, reaching far into the sky. It was a meditative experience to walk around in these quiet forests.

I also had time in the evening to drive along the coast and see the magnificent coast North of Santa Cruz.

written by  niklasbergstrand on January 20, 2009 from Santa Cruz, United States
from the travel blog: Niklas in America
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Just South of Big Sur, I stopped at a youth hostel in tiny Cambria for one night. In the evening I had a nice walk along the beach, feeling a bit sad that my trip would soon come to an end.

Early the next morning I made a visit to Hearst Castle, the amazing palatial home of newspaper tycoon William Hearst. Hearst was a real Great Gatsby figure, regularly hosting parties to the glitterati of the time. Some of his A-list guests included Greta Garbo, Charlie Chaplin, the Marx Brothers and Winston Churchill. In the hills around the castle, zebras, antilopes, tigers and over 70 other exotic species once roamed, altogether forming the largest privately owned zoo in the world. Most of these animals are now gone but you can still see flocks of zebras in the hills. The castle features two swimming pools, its own movie theatre and is filled to the brim with art and antiques.

This is the outdoor swimming pool, the Neptune pool.

This is the main entrance to the castle.

This is the indoor swimming pool, modelled after Roman baths.

written by  niklasbergstrand on January 20, 2009 from Cambria, United States
from the travel blog: Niklas in America
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Krista, one of the girls I had met up in Santa Cruz, came down to visit for the last three days of my trip and we had a really nice time together.

Together we explored some of the many things that Los Angeles has to offer, such as Hollywood boulevard, Beverly Hills, Mulholland Drive, Silverlake and Santa Monica.

This is me on Venice Beach, on the last evening of my trip. Despite being in the middle of November, the temperature was comfortably warm. I think this picture sums up my whole feeling that night. There is an element of sentimentality, knowing that my journey has come to an end and that I will soon be back in rainy London having to look for a job. But there is also a feeling of great happiness that I have had the chance to experience such a friendly, exciting and beautiful country. It was a great adventure for sure.

I hope to be back soon!

written by  niklasbergstrand on January 20, 2009 from Los Angeles, United States
from the travel blog: Niklas in America
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