Dear Italy. Wouldn't it have been more fitting to have thrown a model cathedral at the Pope and a sc...
Dear Italy. Wouldn't it have been more fitting to have thrown a model cathedral at the Pope and a scarlet woman at Berlusconi?
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My wife and I have undertaken two fly/drive holidays centred on California, and this is a digest of what we would recommend. Try to get an "open-jawed flight", i.e. two single tickets for the price of a return - this saves you retracing your steps in the hire car, just to come home. One way car-hire in CA is not a problem. We prefer to fly to San Francisco, cool off there for a few days, taking in the restaurant scene in this very easy going city. Even taking the car to a central hotel is no big deal. You won't need it all the time you're there anyway, what with buses, trolleybuses, MUNI (Metro), Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), CALTrain (commuter network) and of course those cable cars. Its also on a similar scale to Paris, but HILLY! So bring some walking shoes. The waterfront around Pier 39 has become very "Covent Garden" if you know what I mean, but eating clam chowder out of a scooped-out sourdough roll is fun - it's the equivalent of Soup In A Basket (Leak Soup?). Try the Stinking Rose restaurant for garlic-lovers, yes even the ice cream has it.
Once fed and watered take the coastal route south - go to Carmel, where Clint was mayor, or try Monterey's Cannery Row - if you can't get lodgings hereabouts, nearby Salinas is a few miles inland with an interesting farmer's market and murder rate.
San Luis Obispo is a pleasant spot, once voted America's favourite small town, and the first to ban smoking in public.
Then comes what everyone's been waiting for, CA Highway 1, that unique coastal route that features in so many films. Driving south puts you near the edge, with a better view of the coastline - a small point but worth making.
Santa Barbara is another overnight stop worth making before attacking LA.
LA came as a bit of a disappointment, being exactly how its portrayed on TV - mile after mile of suburban sprawl with most buildings only a couple of storeys high, and flat roofed. Any identifiable high-rise centre is the finance district which is about as interesting as the City of London on a Sunday.
Of course, you don't go there for the architecture, more to soak up the way of life - my favourite eatery had to be Barney's Beanery, advertised as the 2nd Best Chilli Joint in Town - argue with that at your peril. AND they had Youngs and Fullers on draft, just the job for a west London lad.
Of course, LA's other attractions are well documented - Disney, Universal, etc. I'm sticking my neck out here, but if you don't want to see these, give L.A. a miss. It will still take you about 90 minutes to drive past it!
San Diego is a fine place with a hint of spanish colonial meets Versace. Old pueblos and shopping malls. Micro brewery bars. See the distinctive clapperboard hotel at La Coronada, and imagine you're Tony Curtis sitting in a wicker beach chair.
Mix with fighter jocks from Top Gun school. It's all in southern CA if you want it. You just have to decide if you do.
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NH Hotels, the hotel chain leader in Europe, with more than 300 hotels in 20 countries in Europe, Latin America and Africa. Enter into our web site and find the best available tariff at all times
Advantages: Advantageous exchange rates mean it's a total steal! Disadvantages: Can't think of any off-hand, unless you don't like flying...or Americans I suppose.
stevethesleeve 20.01.2004 (20.01.2004)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of General: California
Dec 16th, 2000
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