Nestled in the mountains between the trendy neighborhood of Los Feliz and the San Fernando Valley communities of Glendale and Burbank lies Griffith Park, a Los Angeles wonder. At more than 4,000 acres, it is one of the largest city parks in the country (more than five times the size of Central Park in New…
Downtown Los Angeles isn’t most people’s first choice when it comes to Los Angeles itineraries. But maybe it should be. From some amazing museums like the Broad to Walt Disney Hall to great restaurants and rooftop bars, downtown really has a wonderful vibe. But the best part of downtown Los Angeles is - quite easily…
Sometimes in travel, the best made plans with the best intention just don't work out. Whether it's showing up to the El Escorial Monastery outside of Madrid on a crisp winter morning to find it closed (true story) or a drive to catch the beautiful vistas of Shenandoah National Park in Virginia where the fog…
California's central coast - basically the entirety from Santa Barbara to Santa Cruz - is worth exploring. Beautiful rocky coastline nestles with sandy beaches, historic towns sit alongside stunning resorts, and mountains meet the blue of the Pacific in ways that are bound to capture both your heart and imagination. Sitting just north of San…
In 1913, railroad magnate Henry Huntington and his wife Arabella moved from San Francisco to Los Angeles, purchasing 500 acres of land in what was called the San Marino Ranch. Arabella didn't like life in Southern California, and persuaded her husband - the nephew of her second husband Collis Huntington - to create a European-style…
The desert air is dry and warm, even on this late fall day. The heat of the summer has faded, but winter rains - rare even during the later months - have yet to quench the thirst of the earth. Blue skies, white clouds, brown dirt, gray rocks: the colors combine on the canvas of…
If there are two things I am a sucker for when I travel, they are history and free activities. When you add Covid into the mix, outdoor, easily social distanced becomes a perk as well. So when I visited San Jose, I searched for a place that would accomplish all three. Lo and behold, such…
In the heart of Silicon Valley lies Santa Clara University, a private Catholic university. And, in the heart of Santa Clara University lies Mission Santa Clara de Asis, from which the university, city, and county derive their names. Founded as the eighth mission (of twenty-one) in California by Spanish missionaries in 1777, it was the…
I've been coming to Palm Springs since I was a little kid. My grandparents bought a small condo here, in Palm Desert, when the area was mostly just country clubs, resorts, and sprawling date farms. Driving with them as we went out to dinner at one of their favorite restaurants, even major roads would pass…
The smell wafts through the air, permeating even the car I'm driving. Garlic. Fresh garlic growing all over. This is Gilroy, California, and the smell greets visitors like an old friend. Warm, familiar, emotional. That is garlic for me, and a sure sign I've arrived in the city known as the Garlic Capitol of the…