Making our way home

Our last couple of days were spent getting to LA, and then hanging around the hotel because it was 100 degrees outside.

I was proud of myself negotiating the 5 lane freeways, and managing to get to our hotel without a GPS or map.  We didn't really see LA, feeling a bit tired from travel & not really wanting to negotiate the traffic.  We went out for a nice meal, we walked there from the hotel which was fine.  There were even other pedestrians around, as well as a homeless man with his possessions in a shopping trolley that he propelled via a scooter or skateboard device, so he whizzed up and down the pavement.  Ingenious.  The restaurant was Italian, and had football on the big screen, so we were well on the way to feeling nearly home.

After a 10 hour flight back with BA (not as good as Qantas, ie mean with the food & drink) we negotiated our way back to Norfolk.  It was lovely to see my parents again, and then to finally get home, especially as it was a hotter day than we'd experienced properly for weeks!  The garden is overgrown but not uncontrollably so, and we're settling down for a day of pottering, after 8 weeks of indulgence.  I can certainly recommend a long holiday for getting away from every day stuff, and from the awful government we've got now.  But back to reality, and catching up with friends, hooray!

Hearst castle

Hearst castle is an example of more money than sense, which Bill Bryson writes about in his 'At Home' which I'm currently reading.  Hearst went round the auction houses buying up Spanish chapel ceilings, Italian monastery interiors, Flemish wall tapestries etc There are 20,000 historic items in there apparently. 

I was more interested in the acorn woodpeckers in the palm trees outside, but we had a tour to see the swimming pools (exterior & interior), one guest cottage, the dining room and I can't remember what else.  In his dining room he had an Irish mace in pride of place, and flags from the Italian Palio race.  Quite bizarre.






The place was given to the state by the Hearst family, but the state sensibly said it would only retain it if it paid for itself.  And with 4 different tours running hourly, it makes a small profit.  I'm pleased to have seen it, especially as earlier in the year when visiting pubs with Hugh & Angela we'd been past St Donat's Castle, which Hearst bought for a mistress.  Bill Bryson relates that when he told his wife the castle was Norman, she asked Norman who, boom boom.

We left San Simeon to go onto our B&B,  where at breakfast we met a lovely American couple who honeymooned in Cromer last March! (Meant to go to London, but it was booked so got Cromer instead, enjoyed the pubs & Felbrigg Hall amongst other things).  As we went to Ireland for our honeymoon, and did similar things, it sounded good.

Monterey bay

We wanted to explore Monterey, so drove there on our way back to highway one.  It was foggy of course, but had more charm than we'd seen in Pacific Grove.  To my delight we spotted sea otters, lounging in the kelp offshore.  There were lots of sea birds - I'm going to have to check them out - and some delightful harbour seals as well.

There were good information posts about the fishing history.  The sardine industry peaked in about 1942, then collapsed in 1948.  By that time, they'd had so much fish they were grinding it up for fertiliser & animal food.  Leon read that it's believed the collapse was part of a natural cycle, and not over fishing. Yeah, right.


After a relaxing time strollig around Cannery Row we came back to find a parking ticket.  We hadn't noticed that the kerb was painted in a faded red, we were supposedly blocking a pedestrian access, even though the whole area was accessible.  I don't think we'll be able to stay & appeal in court though.

Onto the Big Sur.  This is an area with cliffs, crashing waves, and viewpoints.  It was foggy in some places, but that ended up being quite atmospheric, and we did enjoy seeing the sea.  It was a slow progress, but we made it to Hearst Castle at San Simeon by 3, in time for a guided tour.

Big Sur & highway one

After wasting Monday morning at the Alamo car rental depot waiting for our car, along with about 50 other people, we set off later than expected out of San Francisco.  Found our way fairly easily onto Highway one, the Pacific highway which hugs the coast & gives amazing views of waves crashing etc.  Or at least it does when there isn't fog.  I believe this has been a particularly bad summer, it's been disappointing as we hoped for a bit of sun after the southern hemisphere winter.  We did get some glimpses, and some good views.  As designated driver, because Leon has developed a phobia of driving,  I didn't see as much, but it was still good.  We'd expected a narrow road with hairpin bends, but in fact it's wide & the bends are mostly reasonable, so although it was a slow drive, it wasn't too hard.  Monday evening we made our way through Monterey to Pacific Grove where we were staying in Sea Breeze Lodge - a 'cottage' that turned out to be a motel room that smelt very strange, but seemed clean enough if not very attractive.  A restaurant called Passionfish had been recommended to us by Clint Eastwood's golfing partner, so we went there. Before our table was ready, we went down to the seafront for a drink.  Walking through Pacific Grove (there were other people walking, jogging, exercising dogs so it didn't feel as weird as we'd expected) I heard a strange buzzing.  Looked up, and there were hummingbirds, feeding off blossom.  What a treat, they're just about my favourite bird.   The meal at Passionfish was delicious, so we rounded off our day feeling good.

Hello, San Francisco

I came to San Francisco on the way back from Australia 20 years ago.  It was November, cold, wet, we were hard up & it all seemed a bit scary.  Now both the city and me have changed, and for the better.  We're staying in a lovely hotel Inn@Union Square We've got a suite with a comfy sitting area, 2 flat screen tvs. bath robes!  The breakfast is continental, and is served in a lobby,  which is just outside our room so we can fetch the pastries & coffee & eat in our room.  The staff are very friendly and helpful, I think it's one of the best hotels I've ever stayed in.

We were a bit jetlagged after the flight.  Had a nice meal on Friday night at Rose's café to celebrate my birthday.

 Then yesterday got up quite late, had a leisurely morning and then walked to Fisherman's Wharf.  On the way found some good gift shops, and the bookshop frequented by Ginsberg & Kerouac - it had a section called 'Muckraking'.  American book prices seem very reasonable so I may have another excuse to buy things.

The wharf was packed with tourists, and apart from nice views of the bay wasn't that interesting. We got the F line along the piers to Embarcadero - managed to get a seat so didn't have to wobble around like those standing.








We then did some browsing - Macy's, Ghirardelli chocolate shop, Merrell outdoor clothing where Leon bought a very nice new jacket.

In the evening we went to a cocktail bar in the neighbourhood of Tenderloin (also known as Tender Nob much to our amusement cos it's near Nob hill) Had excellent cocktails - Basil Gimlet with gin, very refreshing. 


Although there are a lot of beggars, it feels an unthreatening place.  Lots of buskers, and just a lovely vibe.

Up north

North of Auckland are the remaining kauri forests. These incredible trees can last for 100s of years, and are massive.  So most of them were cut down for shipping and furniture in the late !9th century.  A few patches were kept, and we saw the oldest in NZ -  with a girth of about 13.8m it’s estimated to be between 1200 and 2000 years old.  We preferred the Trounson Kauri park, a boardwalk through another area of kauri which though smaller was more atmospheric.  We returned for a guided night walk on a chilly, starry night with Herb from the caravan park, and a German family.  We hoped to see a kiwi, but first saw an eel which he’s been feeding for about 8 years.  There were some glowworms, and the cave weka which is a bit like a very long-legged grasshopper and can jump up to 2m high.  Not sure why.  In the water we also saw native crayfish and the kokopu fish.  At the end of the walk we saw the rear end of a creature disappearing into the bush.  It did look like a kiwi bustle, but then again it could have been the rounded end of a possum, we didn’t find it again to be sure.

Matakana cinema

The cinema at Matakana has been open for a year and a half.  It’s housed in a large wooden building which doesn’t look at all like a cinema.  The foyer had artistic brightly coloured rugs, comfy sofas and a fireplace with (I think) a gas flame fire.  The biggest surprise was when we went into the Paradiso screen.  It was a larger screen than we expected, and the ceiling was covered in what looked like orange and yellow paper roses.  Around the edge of the ceiling and on top of speakers were imiation birds - tui and fantail.  It made for an amazing setting.  We sat at the back in very comfortable large seats, and enjoyed the second in the Millennium series of Stieg Larsen.