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Published: April 29th 2009
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My dream was to study in California. I’ve always loved the sunny beaches and palm trees, and star struck at Hollywood’s glitz and glamour. I had gotten admission at the Academy of Art College in San Francisco, but one month before heading west, I changed my mind as being away from Rajesh for too long seemed like a heart breaking venture and instead ended up in the SUNY, Albany MBA program.
Finally, a visit to see Lavanya and Sathya was long pending as I was caught up with school. So we were glad to get away for 10 days in November. We landed in Orange County’s Santa Ana airport and L&S picked us up. Their apartment in Irvine was nice and cozy. Orange county is famous for its numerous beaches and we did a lot of day trips from there.
San Diego was only an hour from Irvine. We parked near the Balboa Park and went in. Normally parks bore me, but I was surprised to find the Balboa Park very entertaining. It is the largest urban cultural park in the US. The Mediterranean architecture was beautiful and there were many museums inside the park as well as botanical
gardens. The Japanese gardens were very beautiful and we ate lunch in a Jap restaurant there. Then we went on a harbor cruise which was a waste of time, because it reminded me so much of the Boston harbor cruise; the only difference was that we got to see masses of sea lions in this one. We also saw some of the ships used in ancient times docked in the harbor. After the cruise, we proceeded on to the famous gas lamp district of San Diego. The entire district is lit with gas lamps giving a medieval feel. Sidewalk cafes and open air restaurants, jazz clubs, late night dancing, resident artists, distinctive hotels and micro breweries, shops and galleries all contribute to the festive spirit of San Diego’s gas lamp district. We ate dinner at a funky Mexican restaurant called ‘Fred’s’; it was the most authentic Mexican food I had ever eaten.
Santa Barbara is beautifully sited on gently sloping hills above the Pacific, the town's ubiquitous red-tiled roofs and white stucco walls of its low-rise buildings form a backdrop to some fine Spanish Revival architecture. The golden beaches are wide and clean, lined by palm trees along a
curving bay. Walking through the Old Town on State Street past the numerous boutiques, shops and restaurants, the city felt very Mediterranean to me, and had a quaintly upscale yet relaxed character. I’ve fallen in love with this place. Surrounding Santa Barbara is wine country. And there is a beach park with a curving bay lined with palm trees. Beautiful!
Solvang is a delightful community founded by Danish immigrants in the early 1900s, looks very similar to a European countryside. Niki and I rented a 2-seater bike and cycled around the charming little village, filled with cute cottages and windmills. We ate delicious Danish pastries and home-made chocolates in the tiny coffee shops and bought souvenirs in the quirky little shops in the village. We stumbled upon Hans Christian Anderson museum here and it took me back to the fairy tale days.
We decided to visit Los Angeles in the weekend to avoid getting stuck in the week day traffic. Sathya took us on a winding drive up the Hollywood hills to see the famous Hollywood sign. The houses on the hill were gorgeous and had either a Mexican or Mediterranean architecture. Obviously home to some of the
rich and famous! Then we proceeded on Sunset Boulevard to Rodeo Dr., which I had seen on TV like a million times. I hoped to bump into someone famous, but was so overwhelmed that I couldn’t recognize a soul. We ate lunch at Cheese Cake Factory and walked on Rodeo Dr. for some time staring at the shops and boutiques. Then we headed out for a drive on Beverly hills past the famous Beverly Hills Hotel which looked like paradise to me.
Rajesh picked up a map of star homes from an old lady selling maps on Beverly hills and we were able to identify some of the star homes - Halle Berry, Tobey Maguire, Madonna, Britney Spears, Michael Jackson, the Hilton’s etc. I think going on a bus tour is a bit more fun though, as the driver can tell you interesting stories and facts about the homes and celebrities that you wouldn't know if you just drove around by yourself. We took heaps of photos but I can't remember who's home is who's now 😉. But nevertheless, I was glad to have had the opportunity to gawk at where some of the Hollywood stars and glitterati live
and hoped to maybe catch a glimpse of a leading lady walking the dog or a leading man mowing the lawn. But the stars treasure their privacy and so tall fences and dense hedges shield their homes from prying eyes, and you can't really blame them.
We headed off to Malibu beach in the evening. Robert Redford, Mel Gibson, Barbra Streisand, Richard Gere, Sally Field and Whoopi Goldberg (to name just a few) all own homes along the exclusive Malibu shore. I was so much reminded of the movie Spanglish, shot on Malibu’s coast. We parked by the ocean and played in the water for some time watching the surfers and admiring the many luxury homes scattered along the beach. Then we went to the Malibu temple, set on a hill. It’s a beautiful temple and I half expected to see Madhuri Dixit there, as I had read that she is a frequent visitor there.
Whenever Lavanya had to go to college, we would drive over to the Orange county beaches: Corona Del Mar, Laguna (Gilligan's island), Salt Creek beach and Newport (Fashion island), where there was a beautiful shopping mall and very kid friendly beach with low tide.
These are some of the nicest beaches I’ve seen. The pacific coast drive was also awesome.
I didn’t want to miss Las Vegas; Rajesh had already visited Vegas, but it was my first time. I had high expectations, but honestly, all that glitter and glamour didn’t impress me though people ooh and aah at Vegas. I like more natural, country style, small town, and cozy places as my taste is very European. We took a walk on the strip and visited some of the casinos: Bellagio (their fountain dances at night), the Venetian (Niki took a gondola ride here with L&S while we tried our hand at some gambling), Caesar’s palace, New York, Paris etc. We stayed at the pyramid Hotel where an inclinator that goes up slanting like the pyramid, took us up to our room. Niki had a great time at the pool there and we enjoyed an awesome brunch in their restaurant. Kids are not allowed inside the casinos, I hardly saw any kids in Vegas as the strip is very inappropriate. I felt that Vegas is a tourist trap, people who like touristy things will like Vegas.
Hoover Dam was a short drive from
Vegas and Rajesh wanted to go there. I liked the dam a lot in terms of its massive design and architecture as well as it’s location. When you walk across the bridge over the dam, you can see the border of Arizona and Nevada whereby the time difference of 1 hour occurs if you step over the border into Arizona. We took some pictures there and the dam and the surroundings reminded me so much of the movie - ‘Fools rush in’.
It was a really fun vacation and I was sad when it came to an end. I would love to live in California some day to enjoy some of these places even more.
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