Weekend Getaway - San Clemente

"People love the beautiful things." This from the founder of San Clemente, Ole Hanson. You heard me, Ole Hanson. I just love that name so much. You can't help but put on an old-timey voice on if you go to the San Clemente Ralphs because Ole Hanson first used it as a stable and then he opened up that same location as The Hotel For Sick People (aka a hospital). Now it's...

The San Clemente Ralphs, once The Hotel For Sick People

Ole Hanson started the town of San Clemente in the 20's. It was to be a Spanish City by the Sea. And it is. It's far enough from both nearby cities (San Diego and Los Angeles) to feel you've gotten away. And dude, I needed to get away.  

Me Feeling the Rut of Home

Of course I love living in LA. I absolutely do. But if you don't go away once in awhile you have NO perspective on where you live. Someone important said that. 

Me.

Me on Vacation is a Happy Me

San Clemente is really known as a surfer town and home to Camp Pendleton Marine Base. My friend Max's, Dad, was based here in the 60's where he learned to surf before being shipped off to Vietnam. He got his board from Hobie who had one of the first surfboard shops in the country right in Dana Point, which is the town just above San Clemente.

Surfing Family waiting to park at San Onofre

My husband likes to surf and I like to sit on the beach and do nothing so this seemed like a good place for us to go. And he already knew San Clemente. It's the town right above San Onofre where all good surfers (he is one) make a pilgrimage.

Surfers at San Onofre

But the waves were rather flat the weekend we were there so we didn't really partake too much.

Terry making a Dribble Castle

We did though swim in the water. It called to us. San Clemente has one of the nicest, most mellow and fun beaches in SoCal. I had no idea of course. And it's not hard to park there. I fear parking at beaches like nobody's business. It just sounds hard ALWAYS. Of course if you go to San Clemente and want to be very close then you should bring tons of quarters: it's 10 minutes per quarter. We on the other hand found a sweet parking place TWO DAYS IN A ROW right on the street. Parked for FREE whu-what? Two days in a row? Yep. Also the beach bathroom is clean (this from a girl who HATES HATES HATES public bathrooms) and the water is niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice.

Frankly, it really doesn't take much to make me happy. That's another way of saying money's tight. So why then, might you ask, would I choose a beach town at high season? Because I like to research and find the least expensive way to be happy. Presenting...

Happy: The Patriots' Boutique Motel

I did not take that picture. I found it on the internet. But you get the idea. The Patriots' Boutique Motel is a pretty plain place. In fact my husband thought they should go to a Hotel/Motel Art Fair and buy some more pictures. But in reality, neither of us could care less. The most important thing - and I mean like ESSENTIAL - was the bed was comfortable. And I mean it was outrageously comfortable. Like we didn't want to leave this super plain room because we loved the plain bed so damn much. 

Who needs art?

All I need are some tasty waves, a television set and a comfortable bed and I'm fine. (also the room was super clean and $150.00 per night which included tax and whatever other fees there were. The price was right).

As for the town itself, there are two main strips: El Camino Real and Avenida Del Mar. I'm not going to lie, it's okay. It's a mixture of Radio Shacks and Subways with cute boutique stores, restaurants and surf shops. Stand-outs include Reclamation, a lovely and beautiful shop that showcases reclaimed wood and bottles used to make one-of-a-kind furnishings and art, one very delicious olive oil store, a store about mermaids, the famed Ralphs, and a sex shop, ConRev, smack dab in the  middle of El Camino Real. The girls that work there are really friendly and look you straight in the eye; they don't want you to feel shy. So don't go there if you think you can disappear. You can't.

As for the food, hmmm. Listen, this isn't the foodie capital of the world. San Clemente is a pretty straight-foward place. That being said, here are some highlights:

The Original Banzai Bowl located right on El Camino Real is a fruit, smoothie, juice place and also a hang-out for teens. I loved the interior. And concluded it's a good place to drop in if you want something refreshing:

For breakfast: My favorite place was Zebra's at 1001 South El Camino Real - which also was like a five minute walk from the motel. You walk to the left, past The Bagel Shack (which looked good and thatched), the famous Ralphs Hospital, and then you hit Zebra's. 

The guy who owns it has the best beard I've ever seen in my life. The girl who works the counter has one side of her hair in blue WHICH matches her blue vintage car. The muffins are fresh-baked every morning with fresh fruit in them. Delicious! And their coffee hit the spot. You can trust that I know a decent cup of joe. I'm a major coffee snob, there are a million references about this on this blog, so if I say the coffee is good, it's an end-of-discussion moment. Also they play Bread and Three Dog Night and America and you gotta love a place that plays soft hits from the 70's.

The other stand-out for coffee was in Dana Point, just north of San Clemente. I have no pictures or cutesie stories about JC Beans but again, the coffee was tasty, it was a fast drive from our hotel, and I forgot my wallet and the girl told me that it was okay. No Problem. Just pay me next time.

I like beach people.

Lunch? I don't got nothin to say about that but for dinner, if you're smart, you will not listen to the locals and you'll listen to me. Avenida Del Mar is where all the main restaurants are. And nail shops (yep, we got a pedi at one of the two Minghee's)... 

Terry's first pedi

But back to food. Everyone recommended we go to this one place that shall remain nameless. Here is the place that I want you to try:  Village Mediterranean Rim. It's a Moroccan-y, meaty, Mediterranean-y place with so many choices for Tagines it's unbelievable. (Tagines are slow-cooked meat & veggie stews though I think at Village Med in addition to their meat one-pots there is also a straight-up veggie option). The food is fresh and delicious, stew-y and comforting. Though not all of it is tagined - they also offer entrees like Chermoula Encrusted Salmon ($27) and Braised Leg of Elk ($25). It's romantic, open-air, the service is a little slower than you'd like but you're on vacation so who cares? The owner was born in Damascus, trained in Italy and spent time in Morocco. And Brentwood where he had a successful bunch of restaurants. Now he's here, has been for awhile. He likes all of the freshest ingredients, has good taste and a good eye -- in other words, the ambiance is lovely. So for a romantic, delicious dinner, this is a safe bet. And for what it's worth I highly highly highly recommend the Lamb Meatloaf Tagine served with cous cous. Yumtastic. Tender, tasty, filling, original.

That being said, I cannot lie. My favorite meal was a Noosa Raspberry Yogurt mixed with some salty almonds that I got at Ralph's.

Because you don't really come here to eat. At least that's how I now see it. Truthfully, before we went I'm not sure what I expected or wanted out of our weekend away but what I got was one of my favorite visits to a beach in a long-ass time.

This girl was so excited to be buried in sand. I swear, she was the most adorable thing on the planet

Nothing much beats zinc'ing up your body with sun block (might I recommend Sun Bum Zinc Oxide 50 which we picked up at Hobie's on Camino Real and it was perfect) and chilling out on the sand with a fantastic book. 

This book is so good - addictive.

There were families everywhere, couples frolicking in the waves (yep, including us), kids on boogie boards, adults on boogie boards, surfers, sunbathers, joggers - it was like that scene from "Jaws" minus the shark business.

What a grand way to get out of town and less than two hours away (even less if you download Waze). So worth the drive. And so worth downloading Waze! If you haven't done so, chop chop!

Pedi + Beach = Happy

Directions: While it's just over 60 miles south of LA, San Clemente can easily inch into a mega slow drive. Normally you'd take the 5 from LA there and back. That being said, check out Waze. We did so much circuitous stuff I couldn't possibly repeat it but all I know is we loved how fast our route was. On a Friday, when we left at 3pm we got there at 5. That's pretty amazing considering that should've been the worst traffic on the planet. Do though be careful. If you go the weird Waze way you may end up on Tollroads. Those fees have to be paid relatively quickly. To find out how paying for The TollRoads works, click HERE. 

Ralphs is at 903 South El Camino Real

Hobie's Surf Shop in San Clemente for Men is 100 South El Camino Real and for Women is at 151 Avenida Del Mar.

Info for The Beach at San Onofre

Info for The Beach at San Clemente

The Patriots' Boutique Motel is located within walking distance of the beach (and the owner even offered to drive us there. LOVE beach people!). Right now a Double during weekdays goes for $109, on the weekends it goes for $139 (not including tax and fees). Obviously this is subject to change. Book through their website for the best deal. They welcome dogs! 711 South El Camino Real, San Clemente, CA 92672. 949-218-6348.

Reclamation is at 105 Avenida Del Mar. 949-545-6400. They offer shipping.

The Olive Oil Store is actually called Oliver's Olive Oil. It's at 211 Avenida Del Mar. They offer shipping.

ConRev is at 401 South El Camino Real. It's right next to a Subway. I didn't see this location listed on their website so I included the link to their Yelp page.

Minghee's is at 132 Avenida Del Mar. Walk In's welcome.

The Original Banzai Bowl is at 120 South El Camino Real. 

Zebra House Coffee is at 1001 South El Camino Real.

JC Beans is at 34114 Pacific Coast Highway in Dana Point. 

Village Mediterranean Rim is located at 123 Avenida del Mar. They do take reservations. 949-361-8970. Casual but nice attire.

Enjoy!

The Most Specific Directions to The Hollywood Sign

When I lived in Beachwood Canyon I cannot count the times I was stopped to give directions to The Hollywood Sign. And really it never bothered me. But I'm a talker. I like people. Whatever.

Oftentimes the locals have gripes about the amount of people each year going to see the sign and the traffic jams it causes. All understandable but I believe it is a fait accompli. I look at it this way: If I were visiting LA, I'd absolutely make the pilgrimage to such a symbol of the dreams, glamour, tragedy and beauty that is Hollywood. Therefore...

Here are the Directions to The Hollywood Sign (da da da dahhhhh!). Be warned on this journey YOU WILL NOT BE ALONE. Unless you go at 4 in the morning and then you might see some coyotes snapping pictures alongside with you.

First you gotta get to BEACHWOOD CANYON DRIVE. Beachwood starts at Franklin between Gower and Bronson. Okay, so good, you got there. Now HEAD NORTH UP BEACHWOOD. Right away you'll see The Hollywood Sign, front and center. Every day, right on Beachwood, tons of people stop their cars and take pictures, to the annoyance of the natives. I also always see cameras outside people's windows - sometimes while they're driving. Hey, you're in Hollywood, of course you're gonna take a picture but for crying out loud, please be careful!

Anyway, you'll go up several blocks (past Scenic, Graciosa, Cheremoya). In time, you'll hit the adorable little Beachwood village, the cross street of which is Westshire Drive. The village consists of a restaurant, dry cleaner, antique shop and The Beachwood Market. More on that antique shop later. To continue to the sign YOU NEED TO STAY ON BEACHWOOD. To do this it's sort of like TAKING A SOFT LEFT (a hard left would put you on Westshire).

WHEN YOU GET TO THE SIGN AT LEDGEWOOD, TAKE A LEFT. I'd do what the sign here says, This is Hollywoodland. Now relax and slow down.  There are plenty of locals and tourists who use this road. What's the rush? Why get into an accident? Besides, if you go too fast you'll miss this little gem:

This is Oz

Oz (located right after BELDEN) is an outdoor artist's garden with figurines and tiles embedded in cement and tons of dream catchers hanging from various trees. Sadly for the past decade I've not seen its gates open. Back in the day, they would let the public in every now and again.  But now the gates are closed (it seems) all of the time. I feel like the gate keeper is some Willie Wonka, mad at the world and maybe for good reason. Still it's so sad, because if you peek through the gates, you'll see, this is a magical place.

So if you like, leave a little letter in this box on your way to the Hollywood Sign and let them know you'd like to come in.

Now, back to the directions...CONTINUE UP LEDGEWOOD.

You are going to get to an area that's just a shade confusing. In great Wizard of Oz fashion you could go Left, Soft Left, Soft Right or Right. TO CONTINUE UP LEDGEWOOD YOU'LL GO STRAIGHT (WHICH FEELS LIKE A SOFT LEFT).



Immediately after Rodgerton you will see the Hollywood Sign's Gigantic letters smack dab in front of you. Keep going. You'll hit another Stop Sign at Heather Drive. Keep going straight. As straight as a windy road can be. There'll be rental cars coming downhill. Keep going, keep going. Now you can see popping above and through the treetops, the letters of The Hollywood Sign here and there. And right around this amazing white tree...

...you'll get a nice view of OOD. It'll be outside the right side of your car. You can't stop on your way up the hill. You can though park on the way back down.

At the top of the hill you'll now find yourself on MULHOLLAND HIGHWAY. 

Take a SHARP RIGHT ON MULHOLLAND HIGHWAY. (BY THE WAY I refer to this section of Mulholland as Mulholland East. This is a very small section of Mulholland. The really big long gorgeous stretch of Mulholland goes from Hollywood all the way towards the ocean. It's fabulous and one of my favorite drives. For more information regarding Mulholland, it's history and all it's famous vistas, click HERE). You'll just drive for less than a minute and here at this turnaround you can get excellent, close up pictures of the sign. You'll also probably be breaking the law. So go at your own risk and make it snappy.

See all those signs, yeah, you're really not supposed to be here. When you leave, continue on Mulholland, going straight. Before you hit the stop sign, you'll see on your left a house where the garage is actually painted to look like stacks and stacks of books -- I always thought this was very cool. CONTINUE FORWARD ON MULHOLLAND. You'll curve around and to your right, below is actually something the people who live here call Dog Hill. It's where locals take their dogs for runs even though you're not supposed to have your dogs off-leash. In my experience this doesn't hold water with the natives or the pooches. So don't ever drive too fast around here!

Regardless, when you get to the vista point you'll know it. THERE ARE TOURISTS EVERYWHERE. THIS IS NOW CALLED CANYON DRIVE. It is here where amongst everything else, you will see this van:

I seem to park behind it every time. Now I highly recommend if you can, come for sunsets or even evening. Such a beautiful spot. Or early in the morning. The soft light will be stunning to you. Anytime you come though it's super cool.



Good photo opps for the sign.

If I were in LA for a visit, I'd want to do what these folks did and rent this car...

Car Porn at The Hollywood Sign

When you go across the street to the actual vista, you'll see The Reservoir (otherwise referred to as Lake Hollywood), and beyond. Beyond is a great view of Hollywood, all the cool signage, to your left you may see Griffith Observatory and if it's a really really clear day, you may see all the way out to Catalina.

What I tend to do though is I go to this dirt road opposite of the area where everyone is taking pictures. You'll see a lot of cacti there. And I mean huge cactus. Like you're in the Land of The Lost or as my friend Jen Sincero refers to it, Mars. The entrance to the little dirt road is marked by this very cool sculpture. I don't know anything about it. It just sort of popped up one day.

I used to hike through this dirt path to get back and forth from Beachwood Canyon - though it's a circuitous route and I would definitely try to do it with someone who knows the score. Anyway, as you walk down the path, if you look up on your left, behind those tall trees is I believe a house first built for Bugsy Siegel's girlfriend. At one time Madonna was said to have owned it. At that time it was painted rust. Now it's more tasteful and more hidden. And I think Madonna's LA digs are in Los Feliz now.

Madonna's old house, or so it is said.

As you continue on the dirt path, you'll see tons of these, cactus with so-in-so + so-in-so carved into the surfaces. I think it's really mean to pick on a cactus but I'm not 18 and mad at nature.

I always call these bunny ears.

Cute, aren't they?

There are also nice photo opportunities from this area and it's quieter.

If you like, when you get back up to the area where the van is and the vista and all the tourists, you can continue down Canyon past Dog Hill and go to Lake Hollywood for a nice walk around the lake.

This is one of my favorite walks and you know it's a little long - 4.2 miles. So take that into consideration. But it's beautiful and there is tons to see and other great photo opps.

When you get back to that little village at Beachwood and Westshire, I highly recommend popping into the antique shop there. It has so much memorabilia of Hollywood, Hollywoodland specifically, and just tons of antiques from the area, you never know what you'll find. It's called Hollywoodland's Antiques and Fine Time Pieces.

It's a collector's paradise.

I love what the owner Jeff finds.

A telephone booth atop which sits a clock from an old Gulf Station.

A giant Rolex:

AVictrola...

If real deal memorabilia and vibey type stores are your thing, pop in.

What a great neighborhood this is. Right by the antique shop is this cafe...

Which by the way has a lot of healthy entrees. And while I've never had it I hear there's a good cup of joe. Might be nice after so much scenic driving. Let me know how the Hollywood Sign is and if you ever get into Oz. Until next time...

ENJOY!

On The Way to Lisa Vanderpump's Restaurant I Met the Italian Film Star Gabriel Garko

If you're in Beverly Hills, a few suggestions. Use one of the public parking places, make sure your camera is ready, and walk around and have fun. It really is fun. I was just such a snob I had no idea.

I usually think of Beverly Hills from this vantage point...

As you can tell if you've read anything from this blog, I'm pretty much an Eastside gal. I'm not sure if it's because it's my style, my interests or my pocket book, but I'm comf on the Eastside (Hollywood, Los Feliz, Silverlake, Echo Park, Atwater, Eagle Rock and Highland Park). And yet, when one goes outside one's own comfort zone, the funniest things one might find...

This past Saturday, on the way to Beverly Hills to lunch with some ladies at Villa Blanca, Lisa Vanderpump's gorgeous restaurant, my friend Else and I...

We tend to take each other VERY seriously

...decided to take some shots before lunch of this Other Land, this Beverly Hills, this world I rarely really hang out in. There was this magnificent sculpture...

Endless V Sculpture by Juame Plensa

Tourists on a bus...

It was a hot day. That might not have been fun.

Stores that looked like they're made out of jewelry...

Didn't they get the memo that about 170 years ago we started using the "u"?

We paid homage to The Great One...

Even in their parking lot I felt under-dressed.

And we even saw the Beverly Hills version of Graffiti. By becca.

Unfortunately the mannequins brought up some of my girl issues...

Chanel Mannequins

And the cars made me feel a little lonesome for John Gielgud...

Ridiculous Car Porn

But I managed to relax and have a really good time amongst all this opulence. In fact, look at me feeling like I'm finally at home in Beverly Hills...

I look good in red

And so that was it. Just us, tooling around. Looking at this and that. And then we had that experience you so often have in Los Angeles when you see a film crew shooting something....

Universal sign of a film shoot.

...which normally you spot, have a mild to lukewarm sensation of interest and then quickly decide to avoid. The truth is, I rarely feel the need to pull over and get out of my car to see what they're shooting. Most likely it's for an ad or something -- I don't know -- something that isn't going to be memorable. But from far away I saw an old-timey car and that seemed different and we became curious.

Gabriel Garko as Rudolph Valentino but he's on his cell phone

Fun, right? I'm thinking Who is this guy? I can barely see him. The sun's shining so bright. And just as we start taking some shots, they drive away. Well, not exactly drive away. I mean this is what a car shoot scene usually looks like...

car on a platform

I asked the tourists with their cameras out, Who was that guy? What were they shooting? No one knew. So me and Else walked around a bit. We figured maybe they'll come back. In the meantime, we got some more pics...

Pan at Beverly Gardens

Else thought this might have been put in around the 80's.

Tourists and a homeless person sleeping in the park, Beverly Gardens

And then the movie crew came back! We decided to be bold. We asked one of the actors what the movie was about...

He didn't know which got the attention of this guy:

One of the film's producers, Matteo Sapio.

Who told us this was an Italian film shoot, about the great silent film star Rudolph Valentino. Then this guy pops in for a snapshot...

Kind of looks like Derek Hough's Italian cousin

And then we asked, So Who is that? And he said, That's Valentino. That's Gabriel Garko. And that's when I met...

WTF?????

Look at my face. I'm shocked. At that particular moment I'm like who is this alien from another planet?  Is this man and I from the same species? What IS Gabriel Garko and what the hell do his parents look like???? (btw, couldn't find any parent pics online).

Wikipedia, not the ultimate source but it will do, says Gabriel Garko is an Italian film actor, a former model, and according to the film's producer, such a huge star, he literally can't walk out his door without being mauled by raving lunatic fans. But in Beverly Hills he's just this gorgeous mystery we stumbled upon. Garko is playing 1920's film star Rudolph Valentino in "Rudolfo Valentino, The Legend."

photo from The Rudolph Valentino Society

Rudolph Valentino's nickname was "The Lover." Fitting, isn't it?  Now I'm a married lady but anyone, male or female, would be weak at the knees looking at this guy. I mean Holy Moly...

So all I can say about that is THAT WAS FUN. I cannot wait for this movie to come out. In the meantime, we had somewhere to be. I mean, we had reservations and they had to get back on their car platform. So off to Lisa Vanderpump's we did go.

Lisa Vanderpump at Barnes & Noble, The Grove

Now I'm a major Housewives fan. I mean I might seem relatively hip, cool and edgy (or not, just don't tell me) but I watch RHOBH like nobody's business and have obsessed about it for years. I even went to Kyle Richard's book signing at Barnes & Noble...

And here I am with Kyle's husband, Mauricio Umansky...

We'll always have those 30 seconds, Mauricio.

But I never went to any of their businesses before. So my RHOBH friends and I decided it was time to lunch, just like the fancy ladies on our show do, at the famous Villa Blanca.

Fun, right? The restaurant, on Brighton Way in Beverly Hills is just downright gorgeous...

There are flowers EVERYWHERE. Sooooooooooooo Vanderpumpian.

Cushy seat sitch

Burrata Appetizer, very yummy

It's mainly California-Med type food.

Else's chopped Salad

My Chicken Salad

Stephanie's Pasta

And the staff was fantastic. This guy wasn't our waiter but we happen to know each other so he stopped by to say hello.

Me with Cutie Waiter, Brent

I mean even the bathroom is rather pretty

Bathroom at Villa Blanca

And not a terribly high bill, though the coffee was a bit of a goose.

Shocked at the price of a cup of joe.

After we paid, and it was all over someone asked us if we wanted dessert....

Hot Molten Lava Cake and Some Good but Odd Ice Cream

Being that we had already paid our tab I asked, "Is it free?" And that's when Stephanie remarked, "Well, there goes any illusion that we belong here." I think it was polite for her to use the "we." :)

Else, Stephanie and Me aka Yolanda, Camille and Kyle/Kim

It was so much fun. I can't say I was dying over the food or anything. But I don't really think that's why you go. It's a nice, pretty, sophisticated way to spend some quality time with your friends and gab and dish and talk about Italian film stars.

What a day. What an adventure. I'm so glad I went to Lisa's restaurant. My only other encounter with Ms. Vanderpump was at that same book signing. The best shot I got of her was this one. Ahem...

Lisa Vanderpump, looking good

And I'm so glad we took the time to pull over and see what's what with that film crew.

I bet this guy's famous too.

Villa Blanca is located at 9601 Brighton Way, Beverly Hills, CA. Reservations are recommended.

Click here for info for Beverly Hills Gardens 

Click here for Information for The Grove

Until next time, Buongiornio!