Explore a new city: Coupa Inspire’18 San Francisco
Coupa Inspire’18 is set to take place this year from 6th – 9th May 2018 in the beautiful city of San Francisco. This isn’t the first time our team as taken to California’s gem of a city. For a small city, there are huge adventures!
See the history behind the famous Alcatraz Prison, or take a photo of one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World, the Golden Gate Bridge. The city is jammed packed with history, beauty and fascinating architecture. It’s one not to miss out on!
Golden Gate Bridge
Would it even be a San Francisco post if I didn’t mention the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge? Once called “the bridge that could never be built”, it is San Francisco’s most famous landmark. It opened in 1937 after a four-year struggle against high winds, dense fog, rocks and treacherous tides. The bridge cost $35 million in principal, $39 million in interest and 11 workers’ lives. With 746-foot tall towers, sweeping main cables, it’s signature International Orange colour, and Art Deco styling, the bridge is a sensory experience featuring colour, light, and sound.
Golden Gate Park
As mentioned in previous posts, Dublin has Phoenix Park, New York has Central Park, Berlin has Tiergarten Park and San Francisco has the Golden Gate Park. You could visit the Conservatory of Flowers, the oldest Victorian greenhouse on this side of the Thames or take a Segway Tour (yes, that’s right, Segway’s!) around the park’s 1,000-acre area. In this man-made oasis, you will discover a variety of playgrounds, lakes, gardens, picnic areas, trails and monuments.
Cable Cars
Some of us may only know of these from movies, but the famous Cable Cars of San Francisco have made their mark on the city. The cable car system in San Fran is the last permanently operational, manually operated cable car system in the world. Named as a national landmark in 1964, these cable cars are refurbished and equipped with new tracks and cables. They operate as close as possible to when Andrew S. Hallidie guided his first car down the Clay Street grade in 1873.
Pier 39
Developed by Warren Simmons and opened in October 1978, Pier 39 is a must on your list of things to do on your visit! It is known for its shopping centre built on a pier including shops, restaurants and waterfront dining, a video arcade, street performances and the Aquarium of the Bay. Views of the Californian Sea Lions can be taken in here where they haul up on the docks of Pier 39’s marina. Located towards the end of the pier, its more dominant feature lies, the two-story carousel – something fun for everyone! From the pier take in the prodigious views of Angel Island, the Golden Gate Bridge and the well-known Alcatraz Island.
Alcatraz Prison Island
The site of the first lighthouse in the Western United States, Alcatraz Island is most famously known for its federal penitentiary from 1934-1936. The prison housed some of the most infamous convicts in the world such as Al Capone and George “Machine Gun” Kelly. You can take a tour of the cell house, and get an inside look into what prisoner’s day-to-day lives were like. Although the last of the prisoners were transferred off the island, the prison cells, mess hall and “dark holes” in the main block are still intact, giving a realistic feel into what life was like for the prisoners of Alcatraz
