Palm Springs – Desert Hot-Spot

by admin on April 19, 2011

Ingleside Inn

Ingleside Inn

Palm Springs was the first really hot place on this Spring trip.

Yes, Three Rivers, at the entrace to Sequoia National Park, had been nice and warm. Which was lucky – they’d had snow there two weeks earlier.

But stopping for a break, on the way to Palm Springs, we got out of the car and knew that the temperature had been taken up a notch.

Our hotel was a fantatstic gem – the Ingleside Inn. This has been the haunt of the rich and famous ever since escapees from Hollywood film industry began coming here 50 years ago. The hotel is a delight: the pool is wonderful and secluded, the welcome warm, and the hotel itself is intimate – a single storey place with only 30 rooms.

Rather like Palm Springs itself, really – classy, intimate.

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Pacific Grove, Monterey

by admin on April 14, 2011

Asilomar Beach, Pacific Grove

Asilomar Beach, Pacific Grove

Pacific Grove is a beautiful part of a beautiful city. And this hotel/motel – Sunset Inn – is the best place we have stayed on this trip.

The rooms are cabin-style: but luxury cabins. Ours is large, king bed, many cushions, I am drawn to use the word ‘beautiful’ yet again: this place is really superlative. All is modern and fresh: there is a coffee maker in the room, a full-sized fridge, open-able shutters, free wi-fi, roomy wardrobe, luxurious bathroom – with bath.

And you can walk to the very attractive Asilomar Beach in 3 minutes. The beach front itself is very pretty, and you can imagine the high price of the houses located there.

We met someone in a tourist office 500 miles away who told us to come to Pacific Grove when we visited Monterey: it was a great suggestion.

The main strip of Pacific Grove itself – Lighthouse Avenue – is a long, straight run of pretty houses, full of character, and stylish shops. Restaurants and coffee shops abound.

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The Painted Ladies Of San Francisco

April 11, 2011

The Painted Ladies of San Francisco are are a delightful sight. One of the delights of San Francisco is the prescence of so many beautiful houses of stunning design and colour found at almost every turn. Some parts of the city have a high concentration of these architectural delights, and Alamo Park is one of [...]

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Canon P95 Fails At A Bad Time

April 11, 2011

I bought a new Canon P95 camera for my trip to San Francisco. It’s bigger than a compact and has many more features (which I had to learn to use) but it is still small enough to be carried hooked to a belt. I was very pleased with the P95 Canon had made a camera [...]

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Wow – some exhibit!

March 12, 2011

Incredible exhibit at Tate Britain. September 2010.

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Aracena – Lovely, Unspoiled, Spanish

October 2, 2010

Walking Around Aracena Aracena is such a beautiful town in Southern Spain, quite near to Seville. Seville is lovely too: but a large city, with the hustle and bustle which that involves. Yes, Aracena is quiet, attractive, friendly and a welcome oasis from its busy neighbour. In short, it is lovely to walk slowly up and [...]

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The Urge To Travel

June 9, 2008

If you have the urge to travel, then this blog will give you some ideas of where to go. I will talk about a variety of places which are attractive because of their fantastic location; wonderful people; cultural diversity – or because they are tremendously ‘fun’ place to be. Enjoy Malcolm

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