Lee’s World
California May 2007
For a couple of weeks in May 2007, Mark and I travelled around California - taking in Los Angeles, the coast road including the Big Sur, the Napa Valley and finishing in San Francisco.
In Los Angeles
we both love staying in the downtown area, so checked into the
Miyako Hotel
in the Little Tokyo district. The hotel was in the shadow of the huge new Caltrans building, which has been likened to the Star Wars' Death Star!
Whilst in Los Angeles we were hoping to visit the newly restored Griffith Observatory, but fires raging through the park meant that was not possible. In it's place we took a tour of Frank Lloyd Wright's Hollyhock House, which was well worth visiting. The house is still being restored, but it is truly a beautiful masterpiece, and the furnishings being recreated are stunning.
We also visited the Weisman Collection - a private house/museum housing Fred Weisman's amazing collection of 20th Century and Modern art. Everything from Hockney, Picasso and Warhol - when he ran out of space, he hung paintings on the ceiling, and bought the house next door to convert into a second gallery.
Food was a little disappointing in Los Angeles - we ate at the highly rated Hatfields and at the Palm steakhouse, West Hollywood, neither of which lived up to their reputation. Brunch though at the Fountain Cafe in the Beverly Hills Hotel was well worth seeking out though.
After a few days
in Palm Springs we set off for the Napa Valley, via Paso Robles, the Big Sur
and Carmel.
The route to Paso Robles took us down Pearblossom Highway, made famous by David Hockney. Paso Robles turned out to be a pretty town living off its proximity to the Santa Ynez vineyards. We stayed at the Adelaide Inn, which was okay but looked better on its website than in real life! A real find though was the Artisan Restaurant for dinner where we enjoyed a very good dinner with local wines.
The following
day we set off for the Big Sur - we got lost trying to take a cut through a
military base. Eventually we reached the coast, and drove the spectacular
coast road - we had already driven the coast road South of this area, from
San Diego to Hearst Castle last year. Lunch was at the renowned
Post Ranch
Inn's Sierra Mar restaurant. We were disappointed to find the main
restaurant closed, and temporarily located in a field with no ocean view.
The food was excellent, but there was no ocean view. We continued after
lunch to the beautiful town of Carmel. We drove down the ocean scenic drive,
and found the house there designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
And so to the Napa Valley - on the way driving through Pebble Beach and over the Golden Gate Bridge. On the way we had lunch at Filali, a historic house just south of San Francisco, the set for Dynasty, and stopped at the futuristic Frank Lloyd Wright designed Marin County Adminstrative Centre. We had originally planned to stay at a motel, but we took one look at the room (and the beds) and walked out - we ended up staying at the Doubletree Sonoma County in Rohnert Park and then got a Priceline deal on the Hyatt Vineyard Hotel in Santa Rosa.
In Napa/Sonoma
we visited several wineries including Robert Mondavi, Opus One, Clos Peguse,
and Imagery, as well as Bodega Bay, where Hitchcock filmed "The Birds". And
we ate at Charlie Palmer's Dry Creek Kitchen (amazing duo of pork),
Thomas
Keller's Bouchon, and at the Olema Inn - all wonderful.
And so to San
Francisco for the final stage of the trip. We had checked into the
Meridien
Hotel in the Embarcadero
district. As this was my first proper visit to the city, we took in the main
sights - Alamo Square, Grace Cathedral, the Museum of Modern Art, and the
amazing de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park. Again we ate well at
Zuni Cafe,
Delfina and
Nopa, as well as drinking lots of
Blue Bottle Coffee and
shopping in Union Square.
Another amazing trip - thanks Mark for sharing it with me.