Once I had gotten over the fact it would be expense for us to stay the night at Carmel it was quite a treat. Not only did we have almost an apartment, there was free afternoon tea with homemade cookies and popcorn. One night was more than enough for our budget, though.
Carmel is a very unusual place. It’s both overcrowded with tourists and high class secluded. The Green Lantern Inn was no different. It didn’t look like a hotel at all, definitely an inn. All rooms had their own separate or semi-detached house, lovely gardens, the children’s bed on a floor above ours, and I bet every room is different.
In the old days you booked hotels through a travel agent, at least most people did. These days we have the internet! And, oh, do I spend a lot of time looking for the hidden gem and perfect combination of low price and amazing value. It’s fun too even if it can be frustrating searching for London hotels for three weeks straight. But I get to ‘spend time’ at my destination well before I even get there.
In the case of Carmel, I also spend many long hours and finally had to conclude there was no such thing as a lovely, affordable hotel. It was either or. In the end we decided to go for ‘lovely’ and get the most value for our +$400 a night for a family room. Thankfully we only planned to stay one night.
After a couple of days in Ventura Beach – a place we could return to – we headed back north. We didn’t go straight, though. We went to Carmel. I have been to San Francisco more than 20 times but never made it that far south before.
Apart from the view of LA and the Hollywood sign, there is another reason for visiting The Griffith Observatory. They offer loads of free things to do, see and learn! Check out their website. And this in a city where you have to morgage your house to visit Disney Land or Universal Studios.
We were at the Griffith Observatory, high above the husle and bustle of Los Angeles. The original plan had been to stop at Hollywood Boulevard but about 1,000 other people had the same idea and at the speed we were driving past the Kodak / Man’s Chinese Theater we had plenty of time to see there were stars in the pavement.
Instead we continued on past and drove up into the Hollywood Hills for a breath of fresh air. From here you can see the LA skyline, take photographs with the Hollywood sign in the distance, and it wasn’t nearly as crowded.
There’s a really nice marina just off Ventura Beach. It was almost like being in Spain – sunny and touristy. Interestingly though, it seemed mostly aimed at American tourists. I guess it made it local, certainly in a way we don’t see in Europe where everyone is always travelling to another country.
Another shot from Fairy Tale Land – or rather the miniature golf at Ventura Beach.
The restaurants may be tourist traps at The Cannary, Monterey, but there’s nothing wrong with the view.
During our US vacation last year we took a trip from San Francisco down to Los Angeles. The next series are from this trip. First we stopped in Monterey…
Karins Fotos 