The 'mature' adult road trip up the coast of California is underway . . .
Yesterday after I checked out of the hotel I gladly left Anaheim. Using Dave's (husband of MarciaB on the slowtravel website) I drove along Mulholland Drive and was able to find the spot he indicated would give me the best view of the Hollywood sign and a lovely view of the city of LA. I knew it was a popular touristy place to be because I had to beat my way through the crowds to get a view of the sign.
Having done this very touristy thing I needed some culture so I went to the Getty Gallery. WOW What a combination of art, amazing architecture, incredible gardens, and super food in the museum restaurant. This amazing gallery is a testament to a multi billion dollar fund behind a gallery.
The Getty Center, designed by architect Richard Meier, is the $1.2 billion flagship museum of the J. Paul Getty Trust, the largest arts endowment in history (at over $3 billion). It is located on a hill in Brentwood, overlooking Interstate 405 and Bel-Air. The museum is free to the public (although there is a city of Los Angeles imposed parking fee of $ 8). The Getty Center is high enough that on a clear day, it is possible to see the snow at Big Bear as well as the Pacific Ocean and the entire Los Angeles basin.
The museum collects and exhibits classical sculpture and art, European paintings, drawings, manuscripts, sculpture, decorative arts, and photographs. In respect to Getty's collecting intentions, the museum does not generally collect 20th or 21st century art, with the exception of photography.
Grudgingly I left the gallery to pick up Paul at the airport.
Next up . .. outlet mall shopping! The outlet mall in Camarillo was great. We did some damage on the CC and made plans to mail a box load of dirty clothing home to make room for the new stuff.
Our shop-a-rama was followed up by a stay in beautiful Santa Barbara and a walk along the beach as the sun set over the Pacific Ocean. It was a shame that we didn't have more time in SB but Paso Robles was calling our names. We spent the night in a truly horrid motel whose only redeeming features were that it was close to the beach and dirt cheap!
Santa Barbara's Spanish-Mexican heritage is reflected in the architectural style of the mission, courthouse, and many homes and public buildings. When we arrived most of the shops were closed for the evening but we say enough from our walk through the downtown core to know that we would like to return.
We left Santa Barbara early this morning and headed north on the 101. I had booked a reserve tour ($ 20) at Eberele winery in Paso Robles.
Unfortunately there was construction on the 101 and we got delayed. Luckily we were only 30 minutes late for our VIP wine tour at Eberele. Our guide (Garry) took us around the winery and gave us some background history of the Paso Robles area. Down in the caves he took us to the VIP tasting area (pic below). There the table was set with 8 bottles of wine, special tasting glasses, water, and a platter of cheeses and crackers. He took us through the wines, explaining the flavours and some of the 'history' of the various vintages. Not satisfied with those bottles he grabbed 2 more out of the library and we tasted those. WOW 2 hours later we were upstairs paying for 2 bottles to take home and a number of souvenirs.
Paul was felling tipsy (he doesn't know you don't have to drink all of the taste! ) so we found our hotel and checked in. WOW The Adelaide Inn is amazing. We were given a room that has just been renovated and it is huge and very well decorated, in fact I think it is one of the best rooms I have stayed in in recent memory. When I checked in there were freshly baked cookies with white chocolate, dried cranberries, and dried blueberries. Frankly after that the room could have been in a dumpster and I wouldn't have minded! LOL
Our room (a deluxe king) cost only $ 90 including all taxes. This is one of the best travel bargains I have ever had!
Once Paul had recovered we headed out to taste some wine. We visited Justin, Tablas creek, and Adelaida. The setting was wonderful: peaceful, pastoral, and with great wines. We bought 5 more bottles to lug back home to Canada.
Once we dropped the wine back at the hotel we went and explored the town. Having learned a trick from my slowtravel 'twin' Palmabella I mailed a box of dirty laundry home to make room for more wine.
Paso Robles is a great town - much more like Sonoma than Nappa. We shopped at the stores near the town park. We found the olive oil store that people here had spoken about - We Olive. We tasted and bought! The other shop that was amazing was Vivant a newly opened shop that features an eclectic collection of fine cheeses - the blue cheese made with a combination of cow and sheep milk and aged wrapped in chestnut leaves was INCREDIBLE. We bought a selection of 6 cheeses for a picnic tomorrow as we continue on our journey up the coast..
Tomorrow we head up the coast through Big Sur to Monterey and the aquarium. We have plans to meet up with two slowtravel pals for dinner in Carmel.
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