Sponsored content – Get on the road, drive for few hours and discover the coast South of San Francisco with Alexis Orand and Virginie Goubier’s video. MerciSF is not responsible for the elements contained in this article.
Beat Generation writers, hippies, yoga enthusiasts, personal development coaches… All went to Big Sur, south of San Francisco. Since the 1950s, this land, stretching 140 kilometers along the Pacific Ocean, has been the coast of all the protest movements, which have found themselves here to commune with nature in all its immensity.
We went on a road trip on the famous California State Highway 1 that crosses this region called “Big Sur”. Because here everything is huge, the cliffs, the rocks, the ocean and the trees, it seems to have been multiplied by 10.
We discover the most mythical places, such as the Bixby Creek Bridge inaugurated in 1932 and which connects for the first time the Big Sur region to the outside world; or the bookstore that pays homage to Henry Miller, one of the first writers to fall in love with the place. In 1944, Henry Miller set up his writing studio in a small hut above the ocean and spent 18 years of his life here. We discovered the little secret beach where he liked to come and contemplate the waves crashing on the rocks.
Along Highway 1 hides unsuspected places. This is the case of the Post Ranch Inn, an eco-friendly luxury hotel where you sleep in the trees or in the hollow of the mountain.
Our last stop is perhaps the most magical. We will discover the Esalen Institute, an alternative education center, a center of counterculture in the 60s, which has popularized new age and personal development. Today, the Esalen Institute continues to welcome in its enchanting and lush garden, those who want to take a step back on the current society.
This ride just a few hours from San Francisco is a must, but take the time to leave the busy road for tourists to go walking near the ocean or in the many regional parks.
Alexis and Virginie, who are we? We are two film directors based in San Francisco with a common passion: telling stories! We produce documentaries for French TV channels and films for the companies of the bay with our company Backbone Production.
