The lure of Big Sur Great blog of a very special place. I consider Big Sur one of the highlights of my own road trip, and your writing brought it all back. "We ... agreed that ditching our pre-booked 8 hour bus journey would be one of the best things we could do" ... indeed : )
Re: The lure of Big Sur Thank you. We loved driving along that coastline and stopping off at the various spots along the way. It's already inspired a future trip for us in the US.
Not wow'd by SF One of our favorite cities. Maybe next time it will hit you differently. Glad you got into Alcatraz. The lines can be long but you were crazy enough to go early. A good story for the future. Eager to read your summary.
What a day! Up at 3:15, and then packing in so much--yes, you work hard at your travels! Love your photos of the Golden Gate Bridge, your creepy experience on Alcatraz, and finding one of those fabulous SF thrift stores--hope P got some great goodies! When I've gone to SF, I've always had my little manual-shift car, and I'm always terrified (and sometimes roll back down) those incredibly steep streets--much better to walk them. And SF is always cold, windy and foggy.
Now you know why so many people live in California The beauty of that coastal drive is stunning and endless. I know California will lure you back to the U.S. and hopefully we can meet you when you come back. Let's make that a plan.
Californian living It was just incredible. We would certainly love to take that journey again. Don't hold your breath with Mexico... it was short but sweet. ?
Home, Sweet Home! What a fantastic journey you took--so wise to get a car for our wonderful central coast! While I love all your photos, this one of my hometown makes me so nostalgic. So many people just pass through Santa Barbara--I'm thrilled that you stopped to savor what a special place it is. And you made brilliant decisions--skipping pricey Hearst Castle and San Luis, which is similar to SB, and going for the elephant seals and Big Sur coastline. You've transported me back home--thanks so much!
Home, Sweet home We're happy we were able to take you home and understand completely why you would choose to live there. Santa Barbara had a lovely ambience to it, seems to us like it would be a good place to relax and call home in between your travels ☺
"Playlist at the ready" - sounds like a road trip to me! You've just confirmed everything good I've heard about this drive. Your photos are gorgeous, and it doesn't look crowded - which must have been really nice.
Ha LA... not what movies make it looks like I believe LA is one of our most unimpressive cities and has been overhyped. Venice is a great town for people watching. Hollywood a contrast as you found. A string of interesting cities and towns surround LA so the trip is not wasted. Overall you've had the LA experience. A wealth of absurdity.
That wealth of absurdity LA is one though places that has to be experienced.. to really get to grips with that real sense of absurdity. Glad to have witnessed it though! Would love to visit again to visit the other areas of LA people talk so highly of!
Gritty side of things... If you'd hired a car, you may have saved time, but would have possibly missed out engaging with the very diverse population that LA seems to have. Some cities go to such great lengths to hide what they see as their unsavoury aspects from tourists - clearly, that's not an issue here. Regardless of where I sit in the audience at a comedy gig, I always seem to get picked on! :)
Gritty side of things Oh no. So your that easy target hey ?. I hate that moment you make eye contact with them and you know your next. To be fair we was picked on a few times both in NYC (on our complexions questioning what sort of mix P is, then suggesting..all sorts, while stating Chris was plain African) and in LA (on our relationship). In Washington they didn't take much notice of us! Yes it's not something that was well hidden even without passing Skid Row. LA is certainly home to the diverse and like you said public transport and on foot is a great way to witness it.
California dreamin' on such a winter's day! So, there you were in your shorts on the beach in the middle of winter--ah, LA! Brilliant to stay in the famous Banana Bungalows and hang out on the beaches after your intense travels around the country. There's a fabulous new metro system in LA, but too bad it doesn't yet go to the beaches, but at least you got to see some characters on the buses. The homeless problem is huge in LA, and in fact not too far from skid row, there are incredible museums and concert halls. The government and NGOs are always working on projects, but little seems to get down. So terrible in such a rich city. But as you experienced, so many sides to that crazy city.
California dreamin' on such a winter's day Whenever can we say we wear shorts in the winter? Ha. California has perfect winter weather!! It sounds like such a complex problem. It's great to hear that projects are taking place. Big change needs to happen. Such as shame given the area has a lot to offer.
Welcome to LA? LA is the center for strangeness in California and it seems like you met a good portion of the odd people that populate our state. Maybe this is why so many people drive cars there and don't walk or use public transportation. Maybe if you are moving fast enough, you don't notice the bad parts... I'm glad you kept your spirits up and still enjoyed your visit. As I'm sure you were told, Hollywood and downtown are not really the hotspots of the city. There really are a lot of nice things to see and hopefully you will get a chance to get back! We are enjoying seeing our own country through your eyes and have enjoyed all of your blogs. Your trip continues to be amazing! Thanks for taking us along!
No problem, we're happy that it still proves to offer enjoyment to others apart from ourselves. Yes, we agree we can not say we touched more than the surface in over 2 days there and would love to explore more on a future visit. You will have to give us some insider tips!! That's what people say about public transport, although at the same time we happily travelled using it without any problems and actually enjoyed using it (except for the delays). Thanks for the lovely comment.
California is living Now you know why so many people live in California. It has a lot to offer but for most of us it has gotten too expensive to buy property there. California beaches are amazing. Oktoberfest is an excuse to eat too much and drink too much but who can turn down a bratwurst.
California is living We can certainly see the appeal. Many times we would find ourselves daydreaming about what it would be like to live there for us :)
Hi we're Chris and P. We have quit our jobs and sold our house to follow our dream of travelling around the world for 12 months!!!
Let’s jump back about 2 years - We're driving to P's friend’s house for an evening meal when she turns and says "I've been thinking..."
And what a thought that was indeed. That thought turned into buying a dilapidated property and spending a total of 2 years 'doing it up' ourselves coupled with a new job and a wedding thrown into the mix for good measure. We even questioned ourselves at times on whether travelling would actually become a reality or be j... full info
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The lure of Big Sur
Great blog of a very special place. I consider Big Sur one of the highlights of my own road trip, and your writing brought it all back. "We ... agreed that ditching our pre-booked 8 hour bus journey would be one of the best things we could do" ... indeed : )