One of my favorite places - Sausalito, San Francisco California!
- psuganthan@verizon.net
- Mar 17, 2022
- 2 min read
Updated: Mar 19, 2022
I started my first post-pandemic trip in 2 years to the west coast of the United States going to San Francisco, California in March 2022. While I was there, I visited a small city in Marin County, California, called Sausalito which is engulfed by the Pacific Ocean. The options to reach this city are taking a scenic car drive via the Golden Gate Bridge or a gorgeous and enjoyable 20-minute Ferry ride from San Francisco. This city welcomes over a million visitors each year with a population approximately 7000, based on 2022 demographics data. When we took the ferry ride and approached closer to the city it almost felt like being in a medieval Italian place, such as Sicily or Salerno: the spectacular views and the architecture of the homes in the mountains are truly breathtaking!
The beauty of this small city is further illuminated by the rich boutiques and art galleries showcasing the work of various artists. Three different styles of paintings really caught my attention as those artists had unique styles and the paintings were magnificent. One of those paintings was by an artist from Italy who used oil paints with a distinct style of application which had a finish that was comparable to a fresco. From as early as Ancient Rome and seen in the Italian Renaissance, the famous fresco paintings have been around for a millennium. Some of the examples of the fresco paintings that we previously heard of were those in the period of the late 13th to mid-16th centuries from Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel, Raphael’s Stanza Murals in the Vatican and in the 5th century the Sri Lanka’s famous Sigiriya maidens in the lion rock decorating a wall!
Another artist, whom I had the pleasure to meet, used acrylic paint combined with a heavy gel medium to create extraordinary pieces with a 3-D effect only using palette knives without any brushstrokes. Her art gallery and a working studio in this city displayed her stunning artwork collections, and she gave me a demonstration of her unique style of paintings as she was getting ready for the International Art Festival held in San Francisco in late April in 2022.
The abundance of seafood or extensive bike riding trails are additional reasons why this city is so popular among tourists. The ferry ride to this city gives a variety of great views, including sail boats, windsurfers, and many small islands to name a few. Lastly the most inquisitive, and intelligent bird that I admired during this ferry ride were many seagulls that demonstrated a distinctive and complex communication pattern. This indeed is one of my favorite places to live!
If you visited a similar city or an island that you really enjoyed, please feel free to share your experience!
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