San Francisco and on Highway #1 to Monterey

On the first day after our arrival on the US West Coast, we took to the hilly streets of San Francisco. Along the 'Painted Ladies' - the colorful Victorian houses - we made a detour to Haight-Ashbury, the district where numerous small shops, bars, and colorful house fronts keep the hippie movement alive. Then we went down to Pier 39, where we rented bikes after the obligatory visit to the sunbathing sea lion colony and in the afternoon rode along the beaches of the Bay over the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito, where we enjoyed a touch of Californian Côte d'Azur. In the evening, we fell dead tired and 'jet-lagged' into our hotel beds. Before we picked up our rental car on Saturday afternoon, we took a walk to Lombard Street. Above the famous section with its 27% gradient and serpentine curves, we enjoyed the view towards the Bay and across to Telegraph Hill. In the afternoon, we continued along the wild Pacific coast on Highway #1, via the surfing paradise of Santa Cruz, to Monterey, where in the evening we strolled comfortably through the streets   of the coastal town.