rapunzelexplores — Half Moon Bay

: As your Bay Area Bestie, it’s my job to tell you things Google won’t. Here are 11 spots in the Bay Area that look like you flew somewhere. 🌍 🇬🇷 Pulgas Water Temple, Redwood City — a literal Greco-Roman temple with lavender and a reflecting pool. Free. Weekdays only. 🇧🇴 Alviso Salt Ponds, San Jose — pink and crimson water from salt algae. Looks exactly like Bolivia’s Laguna Colorada. The salt here ends up in your Morton’s shaker. 🇮🇳 Sikh Gurdwara, San Jose — the largest Gurdwara outside India. Golden dome, marble courtyards, and free food served daily to everyone. 🇵🇹 Golden Gate Bridge — same International Orange color as Lisbon’s Ponte 25 de Abril. Designed by the same company. Bay Area visitors to Portugal do a double take every single time. 🇮🇹 Sausalito — literally nicknamed “California’s Italian Riviera.” Take the ferry. 🇪🇸 Allied Arts Guild, Menlo Park — modeled on the Alhambra in 1929. The tiles on those walls were physically brought from Spain and Morocco. 🇫🇷 Filoli, Woodside — compared to Versailles in every architecture magazine that’s ever covered it. Roses are at peak bloom right now. 🇯🇵 Japanese Friendship Garden, San Jose — 6 acres of koi ponds, bonsai and moon bridges. Free entry on weekdays. 🇮🇪 Half Moon Bay — Scotland of the Bay Area. Every evening at sunset, a live bagpiper plays on the lawn of the Ritz Carlton overlooking the Pacific. The fog, the cliffs, the ocean. You will forget you’re in California 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Hawk Hill, Marin — rolling green headlands and ocean views that feel straight out of Hawaii. Save this and tag someone who needs to see the Bay Area differently 🔖 Follow for everything bay! #sfbayarea #bayarea #california #bayareaeats #bayareacreatives