If people want a different world near the sea where the inhabitants savor life with parties and other festivities, the best place best to visit on the southern part of Europe is Portugal. This coastal community once had a vast empire that stretched as far as Brazil. North America could have been colonized if only the king that time did not turn away Christopher Columbus who sailed for the kingdom of Spain. The country of Portugal flourished until the great earthquake of 1755 that devastated much of the countryside. Since then, a lot of reconstruction projects have tried to bring…
Golden Gate Park In 2006, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom made Golden Gate Park officially car-free on summertime weekends. According to the citys own report, recreational attendance at the park has doubled and tripled on these healthy weekends. More than twelve million people had already been visiting in a typical year. Golden Gate Park is a rectangular strip of land slightly larger than New York Citys Central Park; its 3 miles long and half a mile wide. The park was proposed in the late 1860s when San Franciscos rapid urban growth was leaving little green space. In 1868, San Franciscos…
Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge May 27, 1937 was Pedestrian Day in San Francisco. This kicked off a week-long celebration of the new Golden Gate Bridge. Pedestrian Day meant that the bridge was open to foot traffic for 25 cents per person. About 200,000 people paid the fee and crossed the 1.7-mile span in their walking shoes or on roller skates. For the first time, it was possible to walk across the San Francisco Bay, from the northern tip of San Francisco to the southern end of Marin County. Automobile traffic was permitted the next day at noon. Before…
