Honeymoon in California -- a Traveblog, Part 1
For our honeymoon, we went to San Francisco and worked our way south to Los Angeles. Here are some (not all) highlights from the trip:
1. San Francisco -- Days Inn vs. Hyatt House: Our first hotel was a Days Inn in San Francisco. Now, for travelers in the know, you're probably thinking we were gluttons for punishment, but the fact is we've both stayed in a couple of decent Days Inns in the past, including a pretty nice one in Boston.
This was not one of the pretty nice ones.
The parking garage had only about six spaces. There was plenty of street parking, so the limited space in the garage may not seem like a big deal, but in order to enter the building, you had to walk up the parking garage driveway -- which struck us as not only odd and off-putting, but also unsafe.
The free breakfast is pretty standard with hotels these days -- out of five hotels we've stayed on this trip, every single one has offered it -- but here, it was like a cruel joke. Continental breakfast only, but literally nowhere to eat it! They didn't have a sitting room, dining room, or lobby, just a check-in window (behind safety glass, no less), and there was no elevator, so we would have had to trundle up the stairs with our breakfast! Ridiculous.
Oh, and speaking of "ridiculous," get a load of this: The bathroom in our room didn't have a sink. No sink in the bathroom? I don't think I've ever seen that anywhere, in a hotel or otherwise.
Furthermore, the hotel was so far removed from everything that the only places nearby to eat anything was a deli (which had some unsavory characters hanging out in front) and a very greasy pizzeria.
So we checked out of the Days Inn and checked into the Hyatt House in Emeryville. Remember when I said that the Days Inn was far removed from everything? Perfect illustration: Although the Days Inn was within the city limits and Hyatt House was in a different town, the Hyatt was still closer to the heart of downtown San Fran!
And the Hyatt House was pretty impressive for how much we were spending: $125 (+ a nominal tax) a night got us a bedroom, living room, fully equipped, fully stocked kitchen, and balcony with a great view of the bridge and S.F. skyline.
2. San Fran --- Alcatraz! One of my favorite -- and one of Shu-Chuan's least favorite (due to the "negative energy") stops on our entire vacation! We didn't get to do everything; there are four themed tours: the Civil War tour (as Alcatraz served as a Civil War fort before it became the infamous prison), a prison tour, a tour focusing on the Native American occupation of the island, and a tour focusing on the wildlife that has started to take over the island since the prison was abandoned. We did the prison tour, and when I found out that it was an audio tour, my heart sank, expecting one of those cheesy "Hi, I'm Dave, and I'll be your guide today!" lame-o jobs. No sir! The Alcatraz audio tour is hosted/ narrated by four former prison guards and four former ex-cons who were held prisoner on the island. The addition of extremely realistic sound effects -- making expert use of the stereo headphones, and perfectly timed with wherever you were standing in the prison -- made you really feel like you were in the prison during the time of its operation. It was really awesome!
3. Napa Valley -- Castello di Amoroso: Literally, the "Castle of Love" in Italian, this trip to Napa took up the whole day if you include travel, but it was perfect for a honeymoon. Several things about this winery make it unique: It includes not only a winery, but a complete farm, with goats, sheep, chickens, and even a farm-cat (a very friendly tabby, to be exact) roaming around the castle. But that brings me to the main reason why we liked this stop so much: It was a full and complete castle! Okay, so it was built in 2007, so one could argue that there isn't much history to it, but the castle was assembled from bits and pieces of European castles dating as far back as the 15th Century. So even if this particular castle is really new, you are always surrounded by history while exploring it.
A great thing about the Castello was the tour guide, who seemed sincerely friendly (instead of "I'm polite because it's my job" friendly) and took obvious pride in both the wine, and the castle and its history. A great tour, highly recommended even for non-wine drinkers such as myself.
4. Emeryville -- Trader Vic's: I don't know if this Polynesian-themed restaurant is really as unique as it feels, or if it's part of a chain (I didn't ask) but it comes highly recommended for anyone visiting the San Francisco area, as, for one thing, it's right on the shore, and so most seats provide splendid views of the bay. But speaking of splendid views, your eye may be too distracted by the decor to ever look outside, and I mean that as a compliment, as the interior is just a wonder to behold. Totem poles, straw canoes, and stone idols fill the room with an exotic feel. I know next to nothing about Polynesian culture or history, so I have no idea if the decorations are authentic even by recreation standards, but it's so much fun, we didn't care. Speaking of "authentic," the cuisine is anything but -- unless, that is, Maine lobster and Atlantic crab are popular in the South Pacific -- but who cares about cultural authenticity when everything tastes so amazing! Despite the wealth of interesting restaurants in the San Fran area, we ate here twice, including on New Year's Eve, when a house cover band -- using ukuleles as their primary instrument -- kept us highly entertained throughout the festive night. Added bonus: The staff is delightfully cheerful.
5. San Fran -- Ripley's Odditorium: This was a lot of fun, although it turns out that these museums based on Ripley's "Believe it or Not!" are all over America, which we didn't know at the time. Robert Ripley had an obsession with weird stuff from all over the world, and this museum honors and carries on that tradition.
6. S.F. -- Rain Forest Cafe: This restaurant (it's technically a chain, but there aren't that many) has to be seen to be believed. The entire restaurant is dedicated to recreating a rain forest, and plopping you down into the middle of it as you eat. You're surrounded by plants and waterfalls, and even the ceiling recreates a night sky. Every once in a while, "lightning" strikes, freaking out the animatronic animals that surround you. Cheesy fun, fun, fun! (We had a waiter with a bit of an attitude problem, but we still had fun anyway.)
7. San Jose -- the Winchester Mystery House: This was a huge disappointment, considering how much I was looking forward to it. In 1886, Sarah Winchester, heir to the fortune made by the Winchester Rifle Company, was told by a psychic that she was doomed to be haunted by the spirits of every single person killed by a Winchester (the Weapon That Won the West) and that her only defense would be to continually build her house -- the moment she stops, she was told by this imaginative psychic, was when the ghosts would get her. So she started building a mansion in San Jose, and kept building 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for 38 years. As a result, even after half of the mansion was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake, what's left is plenty of house! What makes the house, which is now open to the public, even more interesting is that Mrs. Winchester went to a lot of trouble to make sure that any ghosts that haunt the house could never find her. The house is filled with doors that lead to nowhere, windows into other rooms, false stairs, secret passageways, etc.
Sounds like a lot of fun to visit, right? Think again. Most of the house is closed to the public, and your tour guide ends up spending a lot of time explaining what you would have seen if you'd gone through a certain door or gone down a certain hallway. But you don't get to see it. What the heck is the point of that? Then, at the end, the guide has the audacity to review all the many corridors, rooms, and crazy staircases you've seen, which just about drove us all nuts, because no, dude, we actually didn't get to see most of the stuff you're talking about, you just told us about it as we walked past! To make matters worse, our tour guide had some serious stage fright, and it really, really kills the mood when your guide through an allegedly haunted house is more scared of the tourists than the ghosts. As for the cafe -- between the lousy service and exorbitant prices for mediocre food, the less said the better.
8. San Jose - the Nightcats: There aint' much to do at night in San Jose, as the hotel desk clerk was quick to tell us. But we found a New Orleans themed restaurant that wasn't much to look at, but offered live music, so we figured why not? What a pleasant surprise! The Nightcats (a.k.a. "the Nightcat Trio") that performed that night were kickin' some mean blues rock all night long. These guys were good.
9. San Simeon: This small village has two draws, and two draws only: the spectacular views and the Hearst Castle. For us, these two draws made the trip to San Simeon more than worth it, but I cannot stress this enough: If you are looking for more to do than that, don't go to San Simeon. There is absolutely nothing else to do. I was not kidding when I called this place a small village. How small? You can drive the entire length in under five minutes if you go the speed limit. They refer to nearby Harmony, with its population of 48 (no, I did not forget any zeroes) as "the city." Yeah. It's that small. But by God is it worth it. The views on your way there (down the California coastline highway -- that's the only way into the village), and also after you get there, are breath-taking. Ocean, mountains, desert, forest, you can see it all, often at the same time. Glorious views, simply gorgeous. Especially from the top of the Enchanted Hill, the mountain where Hearst Castle is located. Which leads me to . . .
10. San Simeon -- Hearst Castle: Wow. Just wow. I don't have any research to back this up, but my speculation says that William Randolph Hearst simply had to be by far the wealthiest American in his day. Sitting atop the highest mountain in the San Simeon area, providing spectacular views from every angle, the Hearst Castle simply has to be seen to be believed. The castle is made up of three guest houses and a main house, all connected by lemon and orange gardens and a huge courtyard decorated by ancient Greek and Roman statues and Egyptian artifacts. The Neptune Pool alone is surely the envy of Club Med investors everywhere. But the main draw is the main house, which is astounding. Between the art and sculpture collections that rival most museums, the scholars' dream libraries, the antique furniture, the glorious views from the windows, and even the intricately designed ceilings, Hearst made absolutely sure that no matter where you looked, every square inch within your view would be able to take your breath away. I am doing a truly horrible job explaining the splendor of this place. I actually feel it's a real shame no one lives there any longer, because I feel like somebody should. I mean, yeah, it's great to be open to the public, but for all those wonderful bedrooms to be used as nothing but a museum. Man!
Oh, and added bonus: The audio tour during the bus ride to and from the castle is narrated by none other than Mr. Alex Trebek! You know how, on Jeopardy, he always pronounces foreign language words with such precision that you can almost hear the quotation marks around them? You get the feeling that he's secretly delighting in the feel of the words. He does that here too -- when he pronounces "La Cuesta Encantada," "Casa Grande," and, oddly, "zebras," which I never thought of as a foreign word, but it is to hear Mr. Trebek say it. Yes, my friends, zebras roam the Californian countryside, thanks to a few who escaped from Hearst's zoo, and, being fruitful, multiplied. I am not making this up. I saw a couple. And Alex Trebek backs me up on this, so there.
5. San Fran -- Ripley's Odditorium: This was a lot of fun, although it turns out that these museums based on Ripley's "Believe it or Not!" are all over America, which we didn't know at the time. Robert Ripley had an obsession with weird stuff from all over the world, and this museum honors and carries on that tradition.
6. S.F. -- Rain Forest Cafe: This restaurant (it's technically a chain, but there aren't that many) has to be seen to be believed. The entire restaurant is dedicated to recreating a rain forest, and plopping you down into the middle of it as you eat. You're surrounded by plants and waterfalls, and even the ceiling recreates a night sky. Every once in a while, "lightning" strikes, freaking out the animatronic animals that surround you. Cheesy fun, fun, fun! (We had a waiter with a bit of an attitude problem, but we still had fun anyway.)
7. San Jose -- the Winchester Mystery House: This was a huge disappointment, considering how much I was looking forward to it. In 1886, Sarah Winchester, heir to the fortune made by the Winchester Rifle Company, was told by a psychic that she was doomed to be haunted by the spirits of every single person killed by a Winchester (the Weapon That Won the West) and that her only defense would be to continually build her house -- the moment she stops, she was told by this imaginative psychic, was when the ghosts would get her. So she started building a mansion in San Jose, and kept building 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for 38 years. As a result, even after half of the mansion was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake, what's left is plenty of house! What makes the house, which is now open to the public, even more interesting is that Mrs. Winchester went to a lot of trouble to make sure that any ghosts that haunt the house could never find her. The house is filled with doors that lead to nowhere, windows into other rooms, false stairs, secret passageways, etc.
Sounds like a lot of fun to visit, right? Think again. Most of the house is closed to the public, and your tour guide ends up spending a lot of time explaining what you would have seen if you'd gone through a certain door or gone down a certain hallway. But you don't get to see it. What the heck is the point of that? Then, at the end, the guide has the audacity to review all the many corridors, rooms, and crazy staircases you've seen, which just about drove us all nuts, because no, dude, we actually didn't get to see most of the stuff you're talking about, you just told us about it as we walked past! To make matters worse, our tour guide had some serious stage fright, and it really, really kills the mood when your guide through an allegedly haunted house is more scared of the tourists than the ghosts. As for the cafe -- between the lousy service and exorbitant prices for mediocre food, the less said the better.
8. San Jose - the Nightcats: There aint' much to do at night in San Jose, as the hotel desk clerk was quick to tell us. But we found a New Orleans themed restaurant that wasn't much to look at, but offered live music, so we figured why not? What a pleasant surprise! The Nightcats (a.k.a. "the Nightcat Trio") that performed that night were kickin' some mean blues rock all night long. These guys were good.
9. San Simeon: This small village has two draws, and two draws only: the spectacular views and the Hearst Castle. For us, these two draws made the trip to San Simeon more than worth it, but I cannot stress this enough: If you are looking for more to do than that, don't go to San Simeon. There is absolutely nothing else to do. I was not kidding when I called this place a small village. How small? You can drive the entire length in under five minutes if you go the speed limit. They refer to nearby Harmony, with its population of 48 (no, I did not forget any zeroes) as "the city." Yeah. It's that small. But by God is it worth it. The views on your way there (down the California coastline highway -- that's the only way into the village), and also after you get there, are breath-taking. Ocean, mountains, desert, forest, you can see it all, often at the same time. Glorious views, simply gorgeous. Especially from the top of the Enchanted Hill, the mountain where Hearst Castle is located. Which leads me to . . .
10. San Simeon -- Hearst Castle: Wow. Just wow. I don't have any research to back this up, but my speculation says that William Randolph Hearst simply had to be by far the wealthiest American in his day. Sitting atop the highest mountain in the San Simeon area, providing spectacular views from every angle, the Hearst Castle simply has to be seen to be believed. The castle is made up of three guest houses and a main house, all connected by lemon and orange gardens and a huge courtyard decorated by ancient Greek and Roman statues and Egyptian artifacts. The Neptune Pool alone is surely the envy of Club Med investors everywhere. But the main draw is the main house, which is astounding. Between the art and sculpture collections that rival most museums, the scholars' dream libraries, the antique furniture, the glorious views from the windows, and even the intricately designed ceilings, Hearst made absolutely sure that no matter where you looked, every square inch within your view would be able to take your breath away. I am doing a truly horrible job explaining the splendor of this place. I actually feel it's a real shame no one lives there any longer, because I feel like somebody should. I mean, yeah, it's great to be open to the public, but for all those wonderful bedrooms to be used as nothing but a museum. Man!
Oh, and added bonus: The audio tour during the bus ride to and from the castle is narrated by none other than Mr. Alex Trebek! You know how, on Jeopardy, he always pronounces foreign language words with such precision that you can almost hear the quotation marks around them? You get the feeling that he's secretly delighting in the feel of the words. He does that here too -- when he pronounces "La Cuesta Encantada," "Casa Grande," and, oddly, "zebras," which I never thought of as a foreign word, but it is to hear Mr. Trebek say it. Yes, my friends, zebras roam the Californian countryside, thanks to a few who escaped from Hearst's zoo, and, being fruitful, multiplied. I am not making this up. I saw a couple. And Alex Trebek backs me up on this, so there.
posted by Movie Man at
8:39 AM
0 Comments
