Erica Gies's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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San Francisco, California

Bourbon & Branch

A nondescript building that's been functioning as a speakeasy for nearly a century and a half.
San Francisco, California

Palace of Fine Arts

The last remaining relic of San Francisco's glittering 1915 Panama Pacific Exposition.
San Francisco, California

The Parrots of Telegraph Hill

Staircase winds down the side of Telegraph Hill through gardens, wild parrots flying overhead.
San Francisco, California

Paxton Gate

A shop full of natural curiosities, carnivorous plants, and costumed taxidermied mice.
San Francisco, California

The Tonga Room

Tiki luxury on Nob Hill.
San Francisco, California

Ruins of the Sutro Baths

The seawater playground of gilded-era San Francisco burned to the ground in 1966.
San Francisco, California

Exploratorium

San Francisco's newly reopened hands-on science museum.
San Francisco, California

Mescaline Grove

A favorite haunt of dinosaur loving children and hallucinogen loving hippies alike.
San Francisco, California

Audium Theatre of Sound-Sculptured Space

The only theatre in the world constructed specifically for sound movement.
San Francisco, California

San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers

Carnivorous plants, medieval aphrodisiacs, and the largest original wood structure glass conservatory in the western hemisphere.
San Francisco, California

Japanese Tea Garden

Relics of the 1894 Midwinter Exposition continue to delight visitors today.
San Francisco, California

Alcatraz Island

In all of the 29 years it was in operation, no prisoners ever escaped successfully... or so they claim.
San Francisco, California

Secret Tiled Staircase

An artsy hidden staircase leads to breathtaking views of San Francisco.
San Francisco, California

The Wave Organ

A huge musical instrument played by the ocean.
Los Angeles, California

La Brea Tar Pits Dragonfly Fossils

These delicate buggers are some of the rarest fossils that have bubbled up from the Tar Pits.
Los Angeles, California

Griffith Observatory's Tesla Coil

High on a hill overlooking Los Angeles lives a world famous, high power conical Tesla Coil.
Rome, Italy

Via Appia

2300-year-old Roman road connecting the empire.
Fez, Morocco

Chouara Leather Tannery

Traditional 11th-century outdoor tannery.
Fez, Morocco

Fes el-Bali

Thousands of narrow alleyways in an ancient medieval city make up what's believed to be the world's largest car-free urban zone.
Fez, Morocco

The Blue Gate of Fes

The other side is actually green.
Chiang Mai, Thailand

Elephant Nature Park

Thailand's distressed elephants find peace at this Chiang Mai sanctuary.
ambon Kalai, Thailand

Ko Ta Pu (James Bond Island)

A tall karst islet popularized by 007.
Cape Town, South Africa

Chapman's Peak Drive

This road winds through the steep coastal cliffside offering spectacular views for those who brave the drive.
Cape Town, South Africa

Boulders Beach Penguin Sanctuary

This African beach is home to thousands of rare mainland penguins that are known for their annoying voice.