San Francisco

If it's one thing that I root for, it's always the underdog. My perverse nature understandably got its dander up every time I heard from fellow travelers and people from abroad proclaiming that out of all the cities in America, San Francisco was their favourite. This would be one city that I would be scrutinizing especially. My like-o-meter would be set at dislike from the outset. Imagine my disappointment when I realized that those people were right. 

826 Valencia

San Francisco is like an old antique shop that is filled to the brim with bric-a-brac and crowded crooked aisles. Each neighbourhood is ornate and wrought with so much history and design, litte enclaves of retail shops that have put in a lot of heart and thought into their stock – well curated and well loved. The geography is varied and of course, contrasting. There are oddities to stop and wonder, then wander on and pause and wander some more up and up the hilly streets and inclines and districts that are so varied in nature and character.

Clarion Alley is street art at its best.

The graffiti murals of Clarion Alley, and the restaurants of Mission District, the oddity shops of Haight-Ashbury. Of course, the more touristy harbor and the Golden gate bridge and the cycle friendly veins that line the neighbourhoods. You have that feeling that you can explore for days – San Francisco is many cities within a city. It crooks and beckons for you to explore. So go ahead.

 

San Francisco's Chinatown, just a few blocks from our hotel, The Chancellor

 

The Road To Cambria

The drive from LA

Early morning Sunday the 27th of March, at about 9am LA time, we set out from Griffith Park on our coastal road trip. The ultimate destination was to be San Francisco, but we weren't gonna by-pass those wonderful stops along the amazing Californian coast on the way there. Besides, we wanted to see Hearst Castle and the Monterey Bay Aquarium pretty badly, so it was sorted that we would drive the four hours to Cambria, stay for a couple of nights, then set off for Carmel-By-The-Sea for a couple more nights before making our way to San Francisco. The full drive between Los Angeles to San Francisco would otherwise have been a whopping 9 hours!

Trader Joe's is our default pit-stop for roadtrips, and groceries while we're in LA – we love them for their in-house branded everything, from chocolate bars to frozen dinners to cinnamon raisin bread.
There's one at Los Feliz and we stock up on their pink lemonade, their version of the Arnold Palmer (green tea and lemonade. For the uninitiated, an Arnold Palmer is an iced tea-lemonade half and half), their wonderfully creamy body lotion and citrusy shower gel. Their ready-made wraps are also divine a

Trader Joe's pink lemonade, with elderberry juice

On our way to Camarillo Premium Outlets

Camarillo Premium Outlets (www.premiumoutlets.com/outlets/outlet.asp?id=20) were on our way, and if it's one thing that we've not passed up on during the Grand Plan so far, it's a nose-dive into any good premium outlet that comes our way. Clifford practically goes ape shit when he sees that famous swoosh looming in the distance.

My new trusty jacket

But this time, it was me who was getting my credit card swiped – at The North Face, for an awesome tri-weather jacket. It was colder than we had thought it would be in LA, and we were pretty sure that things could only get worse as we drove up north. It's a pretty cool jacket and it's so-called "tri-weather" because it's made of two layers, securely zipped and buttoned together. Wear them both and honestly it could keep out any amount of cold wind and rain in the most freezy temperatures; or just the outer trench layer for not-too-cold rainy days and the puffy thermal inner layer on dry windy days. My only regret is that I didn't come across it any earlier on the trip – this jacket became the most important item in my suitcase after my jeans.

A quick touristy stop to take the pre-requisite "we're on a road trip" picture

Funny how pretty even wild grass can be when you're on the Grand Plan

Claudia and Morgan had recommended we have lunch at Bayside Café at Morro Bay, on our way to Cambria. After a slight misdirection, we stopped wrongly at a hotel. That Garmin of ours can't always be trusted. It was a nice little stroll, though, and since it was absolutely deserted, I got to take pictures of the plants and flowers like an old male Japanese tourist. 

This is NOT where we were meant to be, but we saw some lovely flowers anyway

The singing pansy from Disney's Alice In Wonderland – almost!

The bay that learnt the name to Bayside Café

Marcus doppleganger

Bayside Café

California Chowder, a mixture of clam chowder and spicy green chile soup

Scrumptiously fresh fish & chips

Crabcake sandwich with coleslaw

Well, we DID finally find Bayside Café (www.baysidecafe.com) and were sure glad we didn't give up and pike out for something more convenient and pedestrian for lunch. Bayside Café is a charming little shack set right across from the water, which we presume was Morro Bay, with a great view of the docked boats bobbing on the calm water. Now, it really felt like we were on vacation – a good, proper grown-up vacation like two adults instead of kids. A glass of chilled white wine in a sun-drenched seaside seafood hut in the middle of the day will impart that feeling, no doubt. Cliff had the fresh fish of the day, served lightly battered and with fries, and a big mug of beer. I had the crabcake sandwich ($12.25), made from rock crab,  which came with some salady veggies and a nice, mild vinegary coleslaw. Cliff also had the California Chowder, which is essentially a gorgeously thick (but not too rich) clam chowder with a bit of spicy green chile soup dolloped in the middle. It kinda reminded me of the black-and-white contrast of that almond cream with black sesame paste dessert we get back home.

Our upgraded ride for the month

Our

Cambria Pines Inn

Two beds are better than none

Filled with a seafood lunch, we drove on reached our destination for the next two nights – Cambria Pines Inn, room 212. We had booked it just a few days before online and were stuck with two single beds because we opted for the lower-priced option. Still, it was fine – we used one bed to sleep in at night, and the other as tv/surfing/reading central. The room was spotlessly clean, like many affordable accommodations in the States, but well-worn and thread bare in some places. We had a neat little wood-burning fireplace which swallows up packaged mini logs, but only the first log was free, and subsequent logs had to be purchased for about $4 a piece from the housekeeping or reception. And at the rate of about a log per couple of hours, it was expensive, and not to mention tedious, to keep warm the whole night. So we shivered under the sheets. The fluffy filling in the pillows kept falling out too, so by the end of an afternoon/evening of lazing around in bed, it was like a frosty the snowman Christmas centrepiece had been murdered by the side of our bed.

The gado gado-like Tofu Satay

Vietnamese BBQ Pork

Stirfried Noodles with Veggies and Beef

Cambria is a tiny seaside town with basically just one main street, called...you guessed it, Main Street, with a few other commercial roads leading from it . While flicking through the little map left in our room, and on Tripadvisor, we were convinced that the restaurants that most visitors fallback on were the stalwarts like The Sow's Ear Café, Black Cat Bistro, Linn's Fruit Bin Restaurant and Moonstone Beach Bar & Grill. After a month of travelling, the Asian in me felt like a good soy fix, and we made a reservation at Wild Ginger (2380 Main Street, www.wildgingercambria.com), the one and only Asian restaurant in Cambria. Apparently, the chef owner Deborah Mok was from Singapore, and we were curious what Singaporean food in the middle of Cambria would be like, though their tiny ad in the Cambria tourist map said "Asian, Pacific Rim and Global Cuisine".

It turned out to be a tiny place, with not more than 5 tables indoors, and perhaps a few alfresco ones, and we took a high table right by the cash register. I had the Stirfried Noodles with fresh Veggies and Beef – something from the chalkboard that night. Cliff had the Vietnamese BBQ Pork ($16), which was served on rice noodles and came with the requisite Vietnamese veggies, and we shared the Tofu Satay ($8), a dish reminiscent of gado gado, made up of primarily fried tofu cubes, sauteed spinach and a peanut sauce. Essentially Westernised Asian food, but hey, I'm not complaining. I love Asian takeouts in America, and this was a fresh, healthy version of the msg-laden chow from those places. Plus, the meal really hit the spot when it came to an Asian meal in the middle of Caucasian land. And on a brisk, Spring night, that's really all you need before retiring in front of a not-so-functional (it didn't warm the room very much), but very inspiring fire. 

The fireplace at room 212

The Grand Plan Begins

Our in-and-out home for the next two-and-a-half months

Sun sets over the clouds - an obscenely amber, molton lollipop melting slowly into fluffy white cotton candy poufs. We're flying over Californian skies, with promises of beach cottage vacation weather all year round. This is the start of our journey through the United States of America. We've picked the well trodden paths of travellers before us not least because we're greenhorns in the continent, but heck we really want to see the touristy things in the most untouristy frame of mind.

At 79-days, just a hair shy of the proverbial round-the-world-in-80-days journey, we begin our Americana experience in Los Angeles.
 
Dinner at ELF Cafe with a couple who are close to our hearts. At 1.5 years, they're relatively new to the city of Angels. But their adventuring spirits would lead us the next day, after a night of comatose sleeping, to Square One Dining for a hot breakfast, La Luz de Jesus Gallery, Hollyhock House (designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, no less), Griffith Observatory, Glendale Galleria and Americana Mall. It was a packed day for a transition day, no doubt. 

It was freezing cold too, for anywhere, but especially for usually-sunny Los Angeles. Driving up Griffith Park, we were given a running narration of the park's unofficial status as Hollywood's favourite shooting spot. "Over there...that's where they filmed CSI Los Angeles. And if you look at those trees on your right, you might recognise that grisly crime scene from CSI New York," explained Morgan, our unofficial guide. Yes, most of the CSI's are shot in LA. It was a Saturday afternoon, so there was a fairly big crowd, pushing us as far as mid-way down the hill for a park.

A cloudy, rainy Saturday afternoon at the Griffith Observatory

Hunched over in our hoodies, and wrapped up in woolly scarves, we walked at a laboured but brisk pace – it was after all about 7 degrees celcius and drizzling relentlessly – up to the peak of Griffith Park, where the Griffith Observatory stood.

"This is really unusual for California," says Claudia. "In fact, it rains so infrequently the car accident rate really shoots up when it does. LA is so blessed with clear, sunny weather all year round that the people are not sure how to drive in the rain." She herself had left her favourite umbrella in London when they moved here almost 2 years ago.

Elf Café: The de rigueur Los Angeles vegetarian café – a little bit Bohemian, a little bit rock ‘n’ roll, and so chilled out that it took half an hour for a party of three chatty women to vacate their table after paying their bill. This shoe-box sized café is vegetarian, with no mock meats and a with a slight Middle Eastern twist. We had the Moroccan Vegetable Tagine served over red quinoa and spicy harissa (tasty but a little on the wet side), Roasted Beet and Braised Fennel with wild rice and port wine reduction (with its meaty, sweet beets, the vegetarian’s answer to a hearty steak), mac and cheese, and their build-you-own Baked Tart with Thyme and Garlic (pick two fillings from a list. Ours had caramelized onions and blue cheese, and it was divine.). Wash it all down with Rosewater Lemonade. We did.                                                        
2135 Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026 
Tel: (213) 484 6829      
www.elfcafe.com

Square One Dining: Try one of the three baked egg dishes, which are fritata-like dishes, served in its sizzling hot skillet. We had the chorizo, gruyere cheese, tomato, onions, tortilla, roasted bell peppers and salsa roja ($10.75) variety. We also had eggs benedict with smoked canadian bacon & baby spinach on a tuscan roll with hollandaise ($13.25). Their pressed egg sandwich, constructed from two scrambled eggs, tomato, arugula and aiol, looked delicious. They do a great mocha latte that even non-coffee drinkers would be happy to sip.
4854 Fountain Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90029
Open everyday from 8am-3pm
Tel: (323) 661 1109

www.squareonedining.com

Griffith Observatory: Astronomy nerds will go ape shit here, what with its interactive exhibits of the planets and space. Measure one’s relative weight on Venus, the moon and the other planets; or gawk at the 150-foot timeline of the universe, made up of celestial-themed jewellery donated by one fanatical individual. A small room is dedicated to the camera obscura, while the Foucault Pendulum, which appears to swing in relation to the Earth’s rotation (in reality, the plane is fixed while the earth rotates under it), is the main crowd drawer.

2800 East Observatory Road

Los Angeles, CA 90027

Tel: (213) 473 0800

Admission: Free

Hours: Wed to Fri 12nn to 10pm; Sat to Sun 10am to 10pm. Closed Mon to Tues

www.griffithobservatory.org

The Americana at Brand: Most every American chain store is here, from Urban Outfitters to Anthropologie, Sephora to J. Crew. If you had to do the quintessential American shopping, you might as well do it here. It’s gorgeous.

889 Americana Way, Glendale, CA 91210

Tel: (818) 637 8982
www.americanaatbrand.com

La Nouba

I’ve never been to see a Cirque de Soleil show, though as a child, I do remember going to the circus. It
was memorable for many reasons - the ache of sitting on grandstand planked seating, the puzzling at the antics of clowns and the smell of elephant dung still resounds in my memories.

The La Nouba tent in the background, next to Disney Quest, in Downtown Disney.

La Nouba. Pity we couldn't take pictures of the show inside.

As we walk, the purpose built theater for La Nouba (which means “to live it up “) beckons at the end
of the Disney Downtown walk, luminous and inviting, like a modern day enchanted castle. We take
our seats in the auditorium and before me, I see a nondescript stage which is unadorned and unlit. It
reminds me of an ancient Greek agora that Aristophanes and Greek audiences would have watched
hundreds of years ago, but that is where the similarities end. Whether this is a purposeful design aspect, I am left wondering, as there is an audience interplay with traditional clowns: makeup, red noses and all. It’s a traditional schtick that brings many laughs, but soon enough, traditional ends and amazement begins.

Nothing can prepare you for the prowess and feats of agility and mesmerizing scenes that bloom before the audience. La Nouba, is not the circus of your grandparents or even your parents. This is a remix to the nth power. It is a popup story book that has shaken off its literary bindings and literally come to life. The stage itself is a marvel, as it metamorphosises to present obstacles, backdrops and pits. It’s the modern day circus ring that has grown up, left the house and done big, in the big top.

You literally must swivel your head to catch the sheer beauty and capture the antics on stage.
Sometimes it’s just one performer, and many times, there are many performers doing many things.

She nudges me with her knee, almost telepathically knowing that my line of sight is not in the right
place, I’m watching centre stage, when I should be looking much higher. I follow her gaze above the
stage to see two tight rope walkers daintily stepping down a sloping cable that bisects the stage. La
Nouba is just so…so much to see. High in the gods, the iconic character of La Nouba, the bird, watches through a small door, like a peeled back panel in a child’s popup book. Her presence is framed by a red light. The scene is the very stuff of dreams. It’s the first time in a very long time that I have been entertained and utterly speechless. The tiny Asian girls are caricatured chinoiserie, down
to the way they cock their heads and skip back and forth, throwing and catching their spinning tops
with inhuman efficiency. Each throw is higher and more difficult than the one before, and yet these
young girls never stop smiling. They are inhuman, and yes, you must see them to believe them. I’m
reminded that any live act is a massively complex and intricately wrought machine sequence of timing
and prowess set amidst a surreal backdrop. These stereotypes have broken their own moulds and recast
themselves - seeming stereotypes that have again found relevance amongst today’s audiences. Jugglers, stunt cyclists, gymnasts and more, all characters with their own personalities that hark back to anearlier, more romantic time. All the while, the physical acts of agility are accompanied by otherworldly voices - two singers, as theatrically dressed as the cast themselves. They are literally songbirds who alternate, appear and sing above, and to the side of the action, sometimes presiding, sometimes complementing with operatic dirges. It is an assault of the audience’s senses. I mentioned before that the amazement began with the opening act. It stays with me still. - CW

The Cirque Du Soleil virgin

La Nouba, 1478 East Buena Vista Drive
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830
www.cirquedusoleil.com/en/shows/lanouba/default.aspx

 

Orlando Magic

America is truly bright lights, big city, and one of the jewels it boasts in its gaudy crown, are the finest and most entertaining sports. It is always a celebration of the world's best, so Americans loudly blare, proclaim, broadcast and dissect.

This is a pilgrimage for me, as I’ve followed the the NBA since a young boy. Oh boy, does America do everything big, the stadium is a modern marvel of sportdom, where seating sections and human traffic though heavy, never jams. And along this sporting highway are numerous food and drink outlets, Orlando magic memorabilia and so many screens with athletic imagery, graphics and iconography that it would make a mad scientist green with envy.

Newly bought Orlando Magic t-shirt in hand, we walk to my section, and staff are polite and genuinely welcoming and the energy that lines the place is palpable. We find our seat and the action is indeed all that is advertised. Though the hometeam loses to the visiting Chicago Bulls, the sheer industry that goes into entertaining the crowd is mindboggling. Whilst cheerleaders dance, stadium staff bring beer, t-shirts are fired through aircannons into the crowd, gymnasts caper and jump and camera men film the crowd and everything is shown on the big screen that hangs suspended in the center of the stadium. We're watching athletes worth millions, amongst a crowd of thousands in a stadium worth billions and it's worth every cent.

NBA: www.nba.com
Amway Center: www.amwaycenter.com