Great American Vacations

San Francisco

Hop a ride on America's first mobile National Historic Landmark - San Francisco's cable cars. The 38-car fleet scales the city's corrugated surface from dawn to midnight, which, by the way, are the best times to ride; the California Street route is often the least crowded.

Located on the California Street line is California's oldest restaurant, the Tadich Grill, established in 1849. It's an unpretentious spot, despite that the waiters are dressed in white jackets, black ties and black trousers.

Survivors of the 1906 earthquake and fire gather at 5:12 a.m. at Lotta's Fountain every year on April 18 for a wreath-laying. The fountain dates from 1875, and is one of the oldest pieces in San Francisco's public art collection. Another lesser-known monument to the quake is the Golden Fireplug located at 20th and Church Streets - one of the few sources of water (other than the Bay, of course) to survive the quake and help fight the fire.

Don't miss the free tour of San Fran's City Hall. Opened in 1915, it is one of the finest examples of municipal Beaux Art architecture in the country.

The famed prison Alcatraz has been accessible to visitors for more than 30 years, but a just-completed renovation brings "The Rock" to life. Visitors now follow in the footsteps of actual prisoners and correctional officers for a provocative look at what life was like at America's most notorious prison.

In 1910, the Immigration Station opened on Angel Island and became the "Ellis Island of the West." More than 175,000 Chinese passed through here, many of them posing as "paper sons and daughters," because records had been destroyed during the 1906 earthquake and fire. Grilled by immigration officials, they were detained for weeks and months. Their desperation is reflected in poems on the walls of the detention center.

San Francisco's Japantown (Nihonmachi) is one of only three in the United States, all of which are located in California. This one is the oldest, having celebrated its centennial in 2006. The Fillmore Jazz Preservation District is nearby.

All cities have a history. However, relatively few have History in the capital "H" sense of the word, meaning their histories have national as well as local significance. Here are four cities where visitors literally can eat, breathe and sleep history.

Philadelphia

A trip to Philadelphia can transform quickly into a tour of our nation's Colonial history. The Liberty Bell is all a luster in its new light-filled digs at Liberty Bell Center, Independence Mall, 6th and Chestnut Streets. A short block away is Independence Hall where patriots gathered in 1776 to defy the king of England and where 11 years later, representatives from 12 states shaped the Constitution. Highlights of the guided tour led by National Park Service rangers include George Washington's "rising sun" chair in the Assembly Room, still arranged as it was during the Constitutional Convention; the original inkstand used to sign the Declaration of Independence; and an original draft of the Constitution.

Treat yourself to story time with a walking tour by Ed Mauger of Philadelphia on Foot. A captivating blend of historian and gossip, he'll take you to behind-the-scenes places and tell true tales that involve everything from 18th-century sex to surgery. (The oldest operating room in the world is here, in the first public hospital in America, where the public paid to watch "lunatics and the deserving poor" undergo surgery in the days before anesthesia.)

An author of several books about Philadelphia, Mauger customizes tours. He'll escort you to a ballroom where Washington danced the night away with Revolutionary War friends as well as point out the church steeple that Franklin commissioned so he could experiment with electricity. With Mauger, antsy kids not only tolerate tours of houses with cordoned-off rooms, but also enjoy them.

Revolutionary War buffs will enjoy The Lights of Liberty Show, an hour-long outdoor sound-and-light show on the cobblestone streets of Society Hill, which dramatizes the role of Philadelphia during the Revolutionary War.

For an authentic - and delicious - 18th-century dining experience, nothing compares with the City Tavern. Ben Franklin discussed the hot topics of his day with other Founding Fathers in this "Most Genteel Tavern." Chef Walter Staib's West Indies Pepper Pot Soup, Roasted Duckling and Tavern Lobster Pie (to name a few menu selections) are prepared according to historic recipes and served on Colonial-style dishware by a wait staff in period dress.

For dessert, belly on up to the counter for an egg cream or ice cream soda at The Franklin Fountain, an authentic early-20th-century soda shop.

Boston

Boston, which reimbursed Great Britain on the 4th of July in 1976 for the tea that its citizens dumped into the harbor, is steeped in Revolutionary War history. Sixteen nationally significant historic sites along a red brick path easily followed by tourists comprise the 2.5-mile Freedom Trail. This collection of patriotic places where American democracy was born comes alive during the 90-minute-long Walk Into History Tour, guided by members of the Freedom Trail Foundation. Historian-guides dressed in 18th-century garb take on the characters of real people who lived during the American Revolution. Dorothy Quincy Hancock and Rachel Revere - the original "desperate housewives" - will tell you firsthand how worried they are about the safety of John and Paul.

The Freedom Trail Foundation also conducts a Historic Pub Crawl, which takes visitors to four original taverns, offering beer and food while guides tell the story of how the American Revolution fermented here. A top-hat-and-tails Historic Holiday Stroll happens during winter months; this tour ends with hot chocolate and Boston cream pie at the Omni Parker House Hotel. New this year is an African American Patriots Tour that celebrates the contribution of African Americans who fought in the Revolution and were instrumental in the decisions and actions to break from Britain.

Visit the Faneuil Hall Marketplace on Fridays and Saturdays when there is an open-air market much like there was during Revolutionary War times.

One of the oldest neighborhoods in the city - the North End - is where Paul Revere's house and the Old North Church are located. Still colorful today, this now-Italian neighborhood has lots of shops and restaurants.

Just because the Founding Fathers didn't have burgers and Bloody Marys at Cheers Beacon Hill, 84 Beacon Street, doesn't mean you shouldn't. It was known for years as the Bull & Finch Pub, and was the inspiration for the TV classic, 'Cheers!'. If you're hungry for history as well as a hearty portion of Yankee-style seafood, dine at the Union Oyster House, 41 Union Street. Celebrating its 180th anniversary in 2007, it's America's oldest restaurant. Don't forget to ask for a toothpick, as these little implements were first used right here.

Chicago

Chicago's name derives from Native Americans. One generally accepted theory is that "Chicago" comes from the Indian words for wild onion or skunk; another is that the name means great or strong. You can always ask knowledgeable locals what they think, of course: Chicago Greeter is designed to match a friendly, enthusiastic and city-savvy local with visitors for two- to four-hour informal, insider orientations to Chicago's sights. Chicago Greeter highlights more than 40 special interest areas and more than 25 neighborhoods for visitors to explore. Visitors are matched with greeters through an online registration system based on special interest and language.

Stay at The Palmer House Hilton, not only because it's North America's longest continually operating hotel, but also because the brownie was invented here. (History doesn't get much richer than this.)

The Chicago Architecture Foundation's "Devil in the White City Tour" focuses on remarkable events that occurred in Chicago in 1893, notably the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 and the emergence of America's first mass murderer.

Don't miss:
Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio; the Chicago History Museum, where artifacts include the bed on which Abraham Lincoln died and George Washington's compass. The museum features The History Cafe, a restaurant operated by Wolfgang Puck.

Maxwell Street first appears on a Chicago map in 1847. Named for an early settler, it was originally a wooden plank road that ran from the south branch of the Chicago River west to Blue Island Street. This historic "gateway" neighborhood for immigrants is home to the colorful New Maxwell Street Market, Canal Street and Roosevelt Road.

(πηγή: www.travelchannel.com, 28/2/2008)