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AROUND
L.A... Pasadena and Bay Watch .
From the
distance as you approach, Los Angeles definitely has the appearance
of a city of the future.
At night it takes on a ‘Sci Fi’
appearance when the lights of the skyscrapers make it seem to float
in the sky. By day it’s a warm city of the Pacific rim and tall
palm trees flourish amid the high buildings. 
The
freeways take a bit of getting used to, sometimes there are a six
lanes and slip roads fly over motorways that divide like exploding
spaghetti.
Since the
railroad arrived in Los Angeles in 1876 it’s grown from a small
town to a collection of cities. Getting out of the car at first
seems difficult, and it takes planning to be able to find places
where you can walk around and breath the same air as the locals.
If you
want a gentle start to your holiday. the TV programme
‘Bay Watch’
will have made you aware that there are glorious beaches and
beautiful people. Take a short taxi ride from LAX, Los Angeles
Airport, towards the coast you will find enough sun sea and sand to
soothe away the weariness of travel.
In a
quiet little community at Playa Del Rey the scent of sizzling steaks
drifts from the bar-b-cues at the beach side houses and when you’ve
had enough of the sand you can play bar billiards or watch sport on
the large TV’s in the cool shade of Mo’s place in the town
centre.
There’s
not much accommodation for visitor but
‘The Inn at Marina Del Rey’
is just a few blocks from the beach and overlooks a bird sanctuary.
They can organise an airport taxi and provide bicycles so that you
can join the locals on the beach. I slept off the jet lag in the sun
and woke to the sound of the gentle clicking of cycle spokes as a
family rode along the boardwalk. Then there was a growing roar and I
beheld the vision of a bronzed, bikini clad girl swaying towards me
on roller blades. As she passed she seemed to be in another world,
then I noticed the radio antenna sticking out of the headphones on
her hair band. This was America but I felt as though I had beamed
down on to different planet.
The folks
are friendly and when you’ve had enough of lazing in the sun you
can have a swim in the Pacific or join in the volley ball. If you
take sufficient exercise you might be able to don the red cossie and
pass as an extra with the ‘Bay Watch Babes.’
In Pasadena
The movie
industry is important and  Old Pasadena is used for much of the
filming that you
assume takes place on streets of Hollywood. Every
third person you meet seems to be involved and you tend to look
closely at that stunning waitress in the café and wonder if she
will be tomorrow’s Michelle Phieffer.
Pasadena
was established in 1886 and nestles in the foothills of the San
Gabriel mountains. It’s an Indian name meaning ‘crown of the
valleys’. It’s
famous for its Rose Bowl home of the L.A.’s Galaxy soccer team and
also one of America’s top events, the annual ‘Tournament of
Roses Parade and Games.’
(In it’s
early days a dangerous Roman Chariot race followed the parade.) The
event takes place on the first of January, their climate is a little
kinder than ours!
Pasadena
has some pretty  desirable real estate and one of the most beautiful
properties is The Huntington Library, Museum and Botanical Gardens,
it’s one of Southern California’s prime attractions. You drive
in through an avenue lined with blue bells and Oleander trees to
find a really peaceful atmosphere in the Shakespeare, Rose and
Japanese gardens. I particularly enjoyed my visit to the Huntington
Art Gallery.
While it
was grand to see the original of Gainsborough’s ‘Boy Blue’ and
other famous paintings but I think the high point came for a
journalist in our group when discovered that he was a dead ringer a
for the bust of John Milton. He is now firmly convinced that he has
been re-incarnated.
Santa Monica and California Dreaming
We took to the road at L.A. and close to a bridge that had been
seen world wide on television when it was destroyed in the
earthquake of ’95 we joined the three hundred thousand cars a day
that use the freeway. In what seemed like only moments later we were
off it and at Santa Monica, where you find the West Coast’s only
amusement park to be located on an oceanfront pier.
The sky was blue, the warm sun beat through my shirt and I
remember thinking " could this really be only March," I
thought of Scotland, and the keen cold winds, and reveled in the
heat The ‘bird of paradise’ flowers were in full bloom and along
side the golden sands that stretched for as far as the eye could see
cyclists and roller bladers whizzed away until they were tiny specks
in the distance. The best view of course comes from the top of the
giant Ferris wheel which rises 55 feet above the other eleven rides
on the pier. (They include a roller coaster.) There is free
admission and the million and a half visitors a year pay only for
the games that they use.
The beach-side track is 22 miles long and runs all the way down
to Redondo Beach, passing though Venice, Marina Del Ray and
Manhattan Beach. The trail takes you through the area where they
film Baywatch, (so be sure to pack the red cossie) We watched
with interest as a tall girl called Donna from Pennsylvania put on
roller blades and took her first tottering steps with wheels on her
feet. She then moved off swiftly, yelling, "Where are the
brakes"
Pedalling along at 15 mph it can make for a very interesting
day and it’s a good way of visiting these places without having to
worry about parking the car. The scenery which is very beautiful,
keeps changing and there are plenty of places to eat. Occasionally
you’ll pass people lounging on beach beds reading scripts. This
reminds you that you’re in the world of the movie business. (Most
of the writers live in Santa Monica or Mallibu.) The bikes are ‘beach
cruisers’ which have very wide seats plus six gears and you tend
to sit upright for a very comfortable ride (there are also tandems
and kids bikes.). There is usually a gentle sea breeze to keep you
cool.
In Santa Monica each Wednesday Second Street is closed and
transformed. Stalls are set up for a farmers market. People crowd
around to buy honey and strawberries, cabbages and oranges, in fact
everything from sunflowers to cider plus beetroot so fresh that the
soil is still on them.
In the strong sunlight with huge palm tees lining streets of
brightly painted art deco houses it’s all very vivid and the paint
work of ultra marine, greens, pinks and coral seems to work well .
In third street I passed a neatly clipped piece of topiary that
had been transformed a bush into a prehistoric monster from whose
mouth a fountain gushed . The place was well kept and decked with
flower boxes People read
newspapers at pavement cafes and I and joined them, sipping my coffee at a place called ‘California Rum’
I noted
that across the way adjacent to an acting studio was a 24 hour gym
with a sign proclaiming, "Men and women burn calories and build
confidence" this along with the roller blades and the bikes
brought it home to me that on the West Coast that there is a
tendency to worship fitness and the body beautiful so I decided I
decided to skip lunch. Further clues into the lifestyle, to which
many aspire, came when I peeped inside a store where heavy Gothic
furniture that would not have been out of place on the set of the
Munsters was offered for sale along with a ten foot high
reproduction of the ‘Mona Lisa’ and some leopard skin wallpaper.
Two doors down there was a place called "Inner-space"
which sold bits of meteorites. The manager described it as a
"feel good gift store" where they sell things that appeal
to the emotions. There was even an inner-space entertainment ride
that used motion chairs and waterbeds on which "you feel the
music and slow your brainwaves down."
It costs £6.50 for 15
minutes, but perhaps the best value is in another deal. Geoff Labno
who runs the place told me that they can also check out your ‘aura’
and that of your partner, to see if you are compatible before you
spend the money on a wedding. Santa Monica could be a good place to
start or finish a honeymoon.
FACT BOX
Flights to Los Angeles via London with Virgin Atlantic
01293 747
747
California Tourism 0891 200278 (Premium
Rate)
Inn at
Playa del Rey, Tel: 001 310 459 1920, (rooms range from £63 to
£100)
Guide -
Lonely Planet City Guide - Los Angeles £6.99.
Brochure
- United Vacations, Tel: 0870 606 2222
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