Nor-Cal Villan Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 On 29/01/2024 at 14:28, villa4europe said: Yeah it's nuts isn't it? Definitley the worst I've seen anywhere, guessing it's because of the warm weather, loads on the metro That said I stayed downtown (in an incredible Airbnb apartment) and I was only a few blocks away from the homeless town whatever it's called Skid Row Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Dog Posted May 8 Share Posted May 8 On 07/05/2024 at 19:59, Nor-Cal Villan said: I get the appeal, kind of, but it bums me out that Florida is where so many international travelers choose to visit. It frightens me to think that Florida & Las Vegas are the only American destinations many international travelers visit Where would you recommend? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nor-Cal Villan Posted May 8 Share Posted May 8 3 minutes ago, T-Dog said: Where would you recommend? Without getting too specific (yet): the entire Pacific coast, Colorado, Maine, North Carolina, New Mexico, New York, southern Utah (for the numerous national parks) mind you, I don’t have kids so not really helpful if kid-friendly is the objective Please ask questions about specific places if you have any Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Dog Posted May 8 Share Posted May 8 Just now, Nor-Cal Villan said: Without getting too specific (yet): the entire Pacific coast, Colorado, Maine, North Carolina, New Mexico, New York, southern Utah (for the numerous national parks) mind you, I don’t have kids so not really helpful if kid-friendly is the objective Please ask questions about specific places if you have any Nope, no kids. Free spirit over here. Did NY and absolutely LOVED IT. Much more than I thought I would. I'm not much of a 'tourist' but NY did it so well. Have seen Florida a couple of times as a kid, was fine but quite happy to not go back again now. All the other places you mention, I'll check them, thank you. I need a big holiday at some point soon (too busy following the mighty Villa round Europe atm, what a problem to have) and really fancy a bit of a tour of the USA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nor-Cal Villan Posted May 8 Share Posted May 8 1 minute ago, T-Dog said: Nope, no kids. Free spirit over here. Did NY and absolutely LOVED IT. Much more than I thought I would. I'm not much of a 'tourist' but NY did it so well. Have seen Florida a couple of times as a kid, was fine but quite happy to not go back again now. All the other places you mention, I'll check them, thank you. I need a big holiday at some point soon (too busy following the mighty Villa round Europe atm, what a problem to have) and really fancy a bit of a tour of the USA My pleasure! I definitely emphasized natural beauty (mostly) and should add Montana & Wyoming. For NY I meant both the city and upstate, lots of beauty in the Finger Lakes and Adirondack regions. The Midwest/flyover country in general is mostly missing from my list. Lots of cool cities/towns out there to hit but for the natural beauty it’s mostly found on the two coasts and in the southwest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Dog Posted May 8 Share Posted May 8 9 minutes ago, Nor-Cal Villan said: My pleasure! I definitely emphasized natural beauty (mostly) and should add Montana & Wyoming. For NY I meant both the city and upstate, lots of beauty in the Finger Lakes and Adirondack regions. The Midwest/flyover country in general is mostly missing from my list. Lots of cool cities/towns out there to hit but for the natural beauty it’s mostly found on the two coasts and in the southwest. Legend Nor-Cal, thank you 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nor-Cal Villan Posted May 8 Share Posted May 8 Just now, T-Dog said: Legend Nor-Cal, thank you I give it my best 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjw63 Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 On 07/05/2024 at 19:59, Nor-Cal Villan said: I get the appeal, kind of, but it bums me out that Florida is where so many international travelers choose to visit. It frightens me to think that Florida & Las Vegas are the only American destinations many international travelers visit Well I was reticent to go to USA to begin with as I hate the bolocks you have to go through at airports (as opposed to the ease of a cruise) but we loved Santa Monica and are thinking of heading back but just up the road to Venice, need to make Hinano's my local for ten days Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nor-Cal Villan Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 56 minutes ago, rjw63 said: Well I was reticent to go to USA to begin with as I hate the bolocks you have to go through at airports (as opposed to the ease of a cruise) but we loved Santa Monica and are thinking of heading back but just up the road to Venice, need to make Hinano's my local for ten days Love Santa Monica! A friend lives in Pacific Palisades, so we’ve spent time out that way. All of that area is great- Topanga Canyon, Malibu, Venice 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nor-Cal Villan Posted May 16 Share Posted May 16 On 12/05/2024 at 09:08, rjw63 said: Well I was reticent to go to USA to begin with as I hate the bolocks you have to go through at airports (as opposed to the ease of a cruise) but we loved Santa Monica and are thinking of heading back but just up the road to Venice, need to make Hinano's my local for ten days Were you on a trip to Los Angeles? Where else did you go? I got lots of questions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjw63 Posted May 16 Share Posted May 16 22 minutes ago, Nor-Cal Villan said: Were you on a trip to Los Angeles? Where else did you go? I got lots of questions Just Santa Monica, had to do some Beach Boys-related sightseeing, including the monument in Hawthorne in which we have an inscribed brick, thanks to Hawthorne Parks & Rec for sorting that out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nor-Cal Villan Posted May 16 Share Posted May 16 8 minutes ago, rjw63 said: Just Santa Monica, had to do some Beach Boys-related sightseeing, including the monument in Hawthorne in which we have an inscribed brick, thanks to Hawthorne Parks & Rec for sorting that out So you flew from ____ (I don’t know where you live) to Los Angeles and only went to Santa Monica? Did you have any Beach Boys/Manson tourism overlap? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom_Wren Posted May 16 Share Posted May 16 I did LA with a local, it was great! even went down crenshaw blvd! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjw63 Posted May 16 Share Posted May 16 1 hour ago, Nor-Cal Villan said: So you flew from ____ (I don’t know where you live) to Los Angeles and only went to Santa Monica? Did you have any Beach Boys/Manson tourism overlap? We met up with Ed Roach who was Dennis Wilson’s best buddy and partner in crime for 14 years. He drove us past the house on Will Rogers estate that Dennis moved out of when the Family wouldn’t leave. Also took us to marina deli rey to see the slip where Dennis” boat was moored and where he ultimately died. Took us to a gig at a club in Hollywood too and even gave us a lift to the airport when we went home. A legend in Beach Boys circles and we felt privileged to spend time with him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjw63 Posted May 16 Share Posted May 16 1 hour ago, Nor-Cal Villan said: So you flew from ____ (I don’t know where you live) to Los Angeles and only went to Santa Monica? Did you have any Beach Boys/Manson tourism overlap? Live in Warwickshire but had to fly from Heathrow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nor-Cal Villan Posted May 16 Share Posted May 16 28 minutes ago, rjw63 said: We met up with Ed Roach who was Dennis Wilson’s best buddy and partner in crime for 14 years. He drove us past the house on Will Rogers estate that Dennis moved out of when the Family wouldn’t leave. Also took us to marina deli rey to see the slip where Dennis” boat was moored and where he ultimately died. Took us to a gig at a club in Hollywood too and even gave us a lift to the airport when we went home. A legend in Beach Boys circles and we felt privileged to spend time with him. Spectacular I’ve been to that house as well 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjw63 Posted May 16 Share Posted May 16 17 minutes ago, Nor-Cal Villan said: Spectacular I’ve been to that house as well Our AirBnB in santa Monica was two streets away from 1454 Santa Monica Boulevard, where Brother Records Studio used to stand (it;s now apartments). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
il_serpente Posted May 16 VT Supporter Share Posted May 16 On 08/05/2024 at 13:59, Nor-Cal Villan said: Without getting too specific (yet): the entire Pacific coast, Colorado, Maine, North Carolina, New Mexico, New York, southern Utah (for the numerous national parks) mind you, I don’t have kids so not really helpful if kid-friendly is the objective Please ask questions about specific places if you have any Good list. Unlike Europe, for example, the attraction of the US is less about the cities, which just don't carry the same historical interest, but more about the amazing variety of terrain and scenery. California alone has incredible diversity: from Joshua Tree, Death Valley, wine country and the Sierra inland to SoCal an Central Coast beach towns, Mendocino and the lost coast along the water. I understand appeal of visiting the landmarks in the LA area associated with or shown on film and TV shows, but highly recommend people to spend more time exploring other things, whether in California or elsewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nor-Cal Villan Posted May 16 Share Posted May 16 Just now, il_serpente said: Good list. Unlike Europe, for example, the attraction of the US is less about the cities, which just don't carry the same historical interest, but more about the amazing variety of terrain and scenery. California alone has incredible diversity: from Joshua Tree, Death Valley, wine country and the Sierra inland to SoCal an Central Coast beach towns, Mendocino and the lost coast along the water. I understand appeal of visiting the landmarks in the LA area associated with or shown on film and TV shows, but highly recommend people to spend more time exploring other things, whether in California or elsewhere. Which one? We have so many: Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino, Sierra foothills, Paso Robles, Santa Barbara, Lodi, Santa Barbara Joshua Tree is one of my favorite places, period. There is also a ton of things to do/see in Los Angeles that have nothing to do with TV/film, things that I think are much more interesting. The TV/film stuff is so touristy and, in my opinion, mostly cheesy as hell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nor-Cal Villan Posted May 28 Share Posted May 28 On 16/05/2024 at 13:16, rjw63 said: We met up with Ed Roach who was Dennis Wilson’s best buddy and partner in crime for 14 years. He drove us past the house on Will Rogers estate that Dennis moved out of when the Family wouldn’t leave. Also took us to marina deli rey to see the slip where Dennis” boat was moored and where he ultimately died. Took us to a gig at a club in Hollywood too and even gave us a lift to the airport when we went home. A legend in Beach Boys circles and we felt privileged to spend time with him. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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