R didn’t do justice yesterday to what we now realise are known as Infomercials: those half hour advertising programmes as gripping as any soap. We have now clocked up hours of infomercials on the tv screen in each hotel we’ve stayed in, and since we’ve not spent hours in the rooms, it must mean the … Continue reading
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Hola La Jolla
La Jolla beach After a final pineapple juice-soaked carb-high session of late night poker, we left Surf City on a high note and headed still farther south to San Diego via La Jolla. We couldn’t miss La Jolla since a close friend spent a couple of expat years there with his family after considerable extensive … Continue reading
Surf City
We have landed in Huntington Beach. Aka Surf City. Immediately on arrival we abandoned the Chevy with all its air-conditioned comforts for an afternoon scrabbling on miniature towels on the beach. This is a bigger deal than it sounds. We Kempners don’t do beaches very well. Well, we like the idea of them as an … Continue reading
A Spiritual Side to Beverly Hills
The Caffe del Arte, Beverly Hills There are a couple of tried-and-tested ways to get under the skin of a place when you have relatively limited time available. Our favoured approach is to do all the stuff we do at home as much as possible: except do it in the unfamiliar/exotic location. A good starting … Continue reading
Street Walking Beverly Hills
The only pedestrians down and out in BH mid-morning were of the Kempner variety Couldn’t see the seven dwarves anywhere The only jogger in town at that hour I’m very non-discriminatory in my obsessive interest in suburban edgelands. An ultra-wealthy enclave is just as worthy of close examination as a light industrial estate or the … Continue reading
Advice for Travellers on Viewing LA at Night
1. Get proper directions to Mulholland Drive, not half-baked instructions from a helpful Italian waiter. 2. Or get a decent map/street plan. 3. Travel in any vehicle substantially smaller than a Suburban Chevrolet. 4. Do not miss turning for Mulholland Drive and think you can then easily escape the slip road to the Highway. 5. … Continue reading
The “Real-ness” of Santa Barbara
An enticing glimpse over the hotel balcony into the hidden alleyway opposite Classic promenade view Travel always feels to me like a search for the real. Distinguishable from mere holidays, of course, which are a search for hedonistic pleasure. I’m generalizing, of course. It’s a bit of an intellectually arrogant distinction with a kernel of … Continue reading
When is a View Not a View?
Cliff top dwellings I was very excited to wake up yesterday morning at Shell Beach and see a view of the Pacific out of the bedroom window. A beautiful view, framed by the ubiquitous cochineal-red oleanders, grey-blue succulents and ochre gravel. To the right, a cliff top path. To the left, another cliff top path. … Continue reading
Jogs, Runs and Managing Expectations
The path to nowhere This last week, I’ve been spoilt with my early morning runs. The San Francisco Bay Area, the Carmel Valley upland trails… Delightful exhilarating scenery. Then comes a night at the Hampton Suites and Inn, Paso Robles: the hotel trapped within a major Highway 101 interchange with a few local main roads. … Continue reading
Passing Paso Robles
Cambria Main Street This morning saw a successful and timely win against Satnav, who in a spirit of provocative meanness tried to force us down Highway 101 again for our journey south. It took a hundred miles before the spoilt brat stopped demanding a legal U turn at the earliest safe opportunity, but we closed … Continue reading
A Chevy for Six, Please 