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.

Driving over the city limit on the way in, you see nothing at all scrubland. Yet you know you are only a couple of miles from the city centre. Urban sprawl there isn’t. They call it a ‘village’ and you can feel why.

As you arrive into the city itself yoou get the feel of a “one-street town” – a very nice one-street town. It has a community feel to it: and the shops are pleasant and the town has a good feel to it. Yes – Palm Springs has heart.

Lying by the Ingleside Inn pool in the afternoon, 25 feet from our room, the temperature was hitting the early 30s/late 80s. With shade offered by many trees and having the pool to dip into, that was not a problem.

Come the evening we walked ten minutes to the main “strip” and were listening to a live band performing note-perfect covers. America teams with such bands of highly competant musicians. We shared a huge chicken salad, downed a drink or two, and danced the night away – all for an extremely modest sum of money.

We returned to Ingleside Inn to the restaurant for a nightcap. A brilliant lounge pianist was there as well as several singers with absolutely excellent voices – clealy professionals. Friends of the pianist it turned out. They took it in turns to sing old classics which I would usually turn my nose up at – but listening there, hearing live, flawless performances it was a great pleasure to listen.

It is easiy to see why Palm Springs is such an attractive place for many – including celebs. A couple of McCartneys were staying at the Ingleside at the same time as us.

Yes – I recommend a trip to Palm Springs, and yes, I recommend the Ingleside Inn for a quiet, secluded, welcoming stay.

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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.

It is a short drive into  Monterey’s Fisherman’s Wharf at the heart of the ‘tourism experience’.

I am very pleased we were recommended – at a tourist office in Calistoga, hundreds of miles away – to stay in Pacific Grove when in Monterey. It was a great choice, and the Sunset Inn is a lovely place in Pacific Grove to relax and enjoy the place.

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The "Painted Ladies" in San Francisco

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 these places. This is where the painted Ladies are. Also from the park, which is fairly desolate in itself, you are up high and have a great view of many parts of the city. But it is the Painted Ladies you go there for.

But wherever you walk in San Francisco you come across more of these lovelies.

The colours sound awful – purple, sky blue, light green – and the whole house if often covered. But in practice, it really works, even when one discinctive colour is located right next door to a completely different colour.

Once you have got to Alamo Park, walk West to Golden Gate Park, and you pass many other architectural delights – houses and churches, most notably. Then you can go into the park if you wish, and pass a few happy hours taking in the many attractions therein.

On the way back to the town, jump off the bus at Haight, and browse the hippy-type shops – much like the North Laines in Brighton, if you are familiar with them, and grab a cheap, nutritious lunch in one of the many cafes there. I had roasted duck vermicelli soup, plenty for two for a mere $10.

The architecture of San Franciso is unique, and is beautiful. It is one great reason to visit the city, and the Painted Ladies around Alamo Park should be included in your tour.

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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 which gave many extra option for taking a picture – which was was perfect for an amateur like me. The P95 gives someone like me just enough options to be interesting, but not so many to be overwhelming.

All went well until I decided to fiddle about with it on the plane and take a few practice shots. On the plane, mind!

I turned it on and the lens just would not come out of its socket. After 100 tries using every variation I could think of it would still not work, and each time turned itself off.

I had taken 500 or so picture with the camera over the previous month since I bought it, so I was not a complete novice when it came to using it in California. And now it just refused to spit out the lens.

This was such a bad coincidence as to be almost unbelievable.

My fall-back – an iPhone 4.

At least I had that – it had quite a few pixel thingamajigs, and had a zoom. Not perfect – but it would have to do.

I could try taking the Canon P95 into a Canon shop in San Francisco, but I was pessimistic about any course of action short of returning it to where I bought it for a replacement.

Darn.

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Incredible exhibit at Tate Britain.

September 2010.

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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 down it’s typically Mediterranean streets. These were almost deserted when visiting in June. They get busier when the Spanish come to visit in their holidays, in July and August.

The weather in early June was a very pleasant 28 degrees Celsius (around 80 Fahrenheit) – a delightful temperature to wander slowly around the town.

Cobbled streets wind around past colourful window boxes, well tended. The whole town is clean and tidy. There are few cats or dogs visible, and no teens hanging around on corners.

It feels a very safe town. The central square is similarly clean and tidy and wonderfully attractive. The evening time sees many town residents meeting here. This picture was taken at mid-day when it is quiet.

Nearby, there are many pleasant walks along the old mule trails which link Aracena to other nearby villages.

The cuisine of Aracena is often based around ham – the local speciality, fed up with the many acorn which adorn the fields. This is plentiful – and might be accompanied by vegetables including asparagus and mushrooms.

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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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