During our recent stay at the Cornell Hotel San Francisco, we were treated to an authentic French dining experience at the Jeanne d’Arc Restaurant. But …
Jeanne d’Arc Restaurant San Francisco: Authentic French flavours at its finest!
California
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Eureka Inn California USA : An Oregon Scenic Drive Stopover
Eureka Inn was our next stop after our stay at Hilton Vancouver Washington. We decided to take the Oregon Scenic Drive via US Route 101 to Eureka before continuing our drive from there to San Francisco. The drive time from Vancouver, WA to San Francisco would have taken 10 hours but we decided to take a stop at Eureka so that we could enjoy the scenic drive and really just take in the sights. To give you an idea of what you can expect on the Oregon Scenic Drive, check this out…
Beautiful Ocean view on Oregon Scenic Drive via US 101
We set off at about 8am in the morning and finally reached Eureka at about 5pm. The original 7 hours drive became a 9 hours drive because of the breaks we took along the way. Well, with such views, you’ve got to stop somewhere and take it all in right?
Inside Eureka Inn California USA
After parking the car in the carpark right behind the hotel (parking is complimentary for guests), we headed into the lobby of Eureka Inn
We were promptly greeted by Lynette who was on duty that evening. She warmly welcomed us and introduced us to the facilities of the hotel including drinks and live music at Palm Lounge
Offers at the Bristol Rose Cafe (drinks for a penny! – with some orders of food of course)
And the ballroom which JF Kennedy once held a party…
Not to mention an outdoor swimming pool, which was too cold for us to swim at this time of the year
There’s also alot of history that the hotel is famous for. In fact, when it opened in 1922, it was considered a very classy place, which is why it is now given the name “Grand old dame of Eureka”. We also saw several interesting items scattered in the hotel…
You literally “plug and play” to talk to the next room…
Queen Bedroom of Eureka Inn
When we were checking in, Lynette introduced us the newly refurnished room for an additional 30USD but we decided to stick to the “original”. Though we saw many bad comments on Tripadvisor about the rooms, we did not see the “cracks” and “dirty bathtubs” that were described. The room and toilet looked fairly clean as well.
Everything was above expectations, possibly because we lowered it due to what we saw on Tripadvisor. But there were some small things we noticed…
1. It took a REALLY LONG TIME before hot water came out of the taps.
2. If you look REALLY CLOSELY, there are indeed some parts that were old and needed to be changed (unless its intended to be there for the “rustic” feel which we do not think so)
3. The bed was too springy and whenever I rolled, Kate rolled too.
But nonetheless, for 90USD (including taxes), the room was really decent along with a great location. Within walking distance to the historic downtown and of course Lost Coast Brewery.
Why stay at Eureka Inn?
Historic Old Town of Eureka
Eureka Inn is placed on the National Register of Historic Places and from here, you can check out all the historic landmarks of the city…
Romano Gabriel was a carpenter from Italy who settled in Eureka after WW1 and built at least 6 houses in the town of Eureka. His greatest “marvel” was building wooden sculptures that covered the front yard of his Eureka home. As time went by, he built more little objects and visitors came by just to see his front yard. Being an introvert, he would peer from his home, happy to see these visitors enjoying his work of art.
Lost Coast Restaurant and Brewery
The other highlight of our stopover at Eureka was our visit to Lost Coast Restaurant. That evening, the restaurant was PACKED! We had to wait about 20 minutes (which is a long time considering the size of the town) before we were seated down. But the wait was well worth it. Let’s first talk about the beers…
Unlike some brewery at some well-known microbreweries in Singapore, you can ACTUALLY taste the fruity flavours of the fruit beers here. The tangerine and raspberry tastes were very apparent, much to Kate’s delight. But the highlight for us was the food…
We decided to have some vegetables to aid the “you know what” so we ordered the Caesars. Turns out that the portion was HUGE which really helped the “you know what”, if you know what I mean…
But the highlight was the Buffalo Wings.
You may say, “Hey Tom, didn’t you try out the original Buffalo Wings at Anchor Bar the last time you were in US?”
Well, that is true. But truth be told, this was MUCH BETTER! The meat was tender, chunky and juicy. The sauce on the other hand was tangy and appetising. When we told the waitress that it beats Anchor Bar’s original Buffalo Wings hands down, she just replied a humble
“Yeah, our wings are pretty hard to beat!”
By the time we reached the hot brown, we were already very full. But the beef was really juicy and packed in so much flavour that we didnt mind bloating ourselves up that evening. The sourdough bread made the sandwich all that more unique.
Well, the best part was that the total damage was less than 40USD (tips not included yet)! At this juncture, if you are vexed about how to tip in the USA, our rule of thumb is 10% + 1USD. This means that for this meal, we tipped 5USD. Do note however, that 10% means that you don’t really like the service but is still ok. Which means that our general rule of thumb doesn’t really please the waiter/waitress but don’t piss them off as well. Which makes it a good balance 😉
Breakfast at Eureka Inn
Nothing much to shout about for breakfast. It does keep you full and provides you with coffee to kick start the day. One gripe we had was that the microwave oven was not working and we were not able to warm up the cakes and croissant which would have made the breakfast more enjoyable.
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For your convenience, we have arranged for the best hotel deals in Eureka right here!
All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed our stopover at Eureka during our Oregon scenic drive. It is afterall the largest city between Portland and San Francisco on the west coast. If you want to have a nice place for stopover during this drive, do check out Eureka Inn!
Interesting Things to do in LA
There are so many top things to do in LA! Let’s find out what are some of the things to do right here in Los Angeles LA! For our readers, we have listed this top things to do in LA in no particular order…
Top things to do in LA: Enjoy the sights and sounds at Santa Monica Pier
That’s right! One of the top things to do in LA is just to kick back and relax along the beaches of Santa Monica. If the kids are with you, you can simply let them have a ball of a good time at the amusement park complete with ferris wheel and roller coaster. For couples, a stroll along the beach at sunset would be unforgettable!
Top things to do in LA: Watch an LA NBA match at Staples Center.
Another one of the top things to do in LA would definitely be to watch an NBA match at Staples Center. The world renowned Staples Center is home to the LA Lakers and LA Clippers. If you prefer ice hockey or WNBA, Staples Center is also home to LA Kings and LA Sparks!
Top things to do in LA: Catch a celebrity at Hollywood
With premiers often held at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, you can be sure to catch a glimmer of these stars as they attend their gala premiers!
Top things to do in LA: Live the high life!
You can really live it up and enjoy the high life at Rodeo Drive. Luxury items abound along this road for the rich and famous. You may also want to take a ride to Beverly Hills and see how huge these mansions can really be!
Top things to do in LA: Do all the Hollywood Touristy Staff
Of course one of the top things to do in LA is to visit Hollywood! Here you can visit the Kodak Theatre, Hollywood Walk of Fame, Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, the Hollywood sign and much much more!
We hope you’ve enjoyed this quick review about the top things to do in LA!
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Things to do, Places of Interest and Attractions in Los Angeles California
There are so many things to do and attractions in Los Angeles California! Let’s find out what are the things to do right here in LA! If you have been following our posts, we did mention that we sneaked a short tour out of Las Vegas to visit Los Angeles California!
For a Singaporean, it is not common to see deserts or mountain ranges. So it was really a different experience as we rode across the desert terrain…
The distance from Las Vegas to Los Angeles was about 400km and it took us about 3 hours or so to reach there. Hmm, just a thought…wonder how long it would take for people to shift stuff from your house from Vegas to LA and vice versa…
Santa Monica
Our first stop in California is Santa Monica! Kate and I (well…mostly Kate) wanted very much to visit Santa Monica because of the many many times this venue has been featured in movies and partly because of the Savage Garden song of the same name. The following should be some familiar views of the Santa Monica Pier…
There, we had a romantic walk down the beach and of course along the Santa Monica Pier and to see the iconic ferris wheel. To end the day, we enjoyed the sunset along with corn dogs (excellent creation btw) and drinks…
Hollywood Sign
The following day, we set out to see the famous Hollywood Sign. We did some research on our own and found out that great views could be seen from Mulholland Drive.
From this picture, it seems a little small. This is mainly due to our not so professional camera (any sponsors out there?) However, with the naked eye, the view was breath-taking. There was also excellent views of the LA city skyline…
Hollywood Boulevard
Since we were at Hollywood, the most famous street there has got to be Hollywood Boulevard. There we visited the famous Kodak Theatre where we had a good view of the Hollywood sign as well. The Kodak Theatre is also home to the Oscars as well as the American Idol…
The nearby Grauman’s Chinese Theatre is also a famous tourist attraction not only because it is a prime venue for Hollywood movie premieres but also of its tradition of imprinting the hands and feets of celebrities at its fore court.
We also managed to catch a glimpse of some B list celebrities (Basically those whom you know are celebrities as you have seen them in movies but cant really pin point there names because they just played that odd role in the movie you’ve watched. ) at the movie premiere of Going the Distance (starring Justin Long and Drew Barrymore). Nope, we did not see either of the stars but we did see many limousines picking up well dressed people (directors, producers and rich people we reckon) and of course screaming fans.
Walking along the Hollywood Walk of Fame, we managed to also identify familiar stars of our favourite celebrities. Here we found out that celebrities were classified according to the 5 categories namely; Movies,TV,Radio,Theatre and Music
There are also other sights that you ought to catch when you’re here in Hollywood…
Where the rich and famous live. This district was made famous by a TV series of the same name Beverly Hills 90210
A great hangout place to just chill and enjoy the sunset.
Luxury brands can be found here. Though many shopping belts like Oxford Street, Champs Elysees and even Orchard Road carry these luxury brand names, Rodeo Drive offers a classy feel and even a hope of a glimpse of celebrities!
Los Angeles California
Kate then planned a walking tour of Los Angeles city. I just told her that we have got to visit the Staples Centre, the rest was up to her.
First, we visited Chinatown
Passing by a cantonese dim sum shop, we dropped by to have some egg tarts and char siew bao. They tasted nice, but in a different way.
A short walk away was the famous Philippe Original French Dipped Sandwich which we saw from Man vs Food on Travel Channel. We had to try it not only because it was recommended on MVF, but also because we had tried another version at Di Nic’s @ Reading Terminal Philadelphia.
After the food tasting, we pronounced Di Nic’s the winner. The sandwich from Philippe was quite tough even after the dip. The roast was also not as tasty as that of Di Nic’s as well.
Next begun our city tour!
We also armed ourselves with Starbucks coffee which tasted really good at an affordable price as well (slightly less than 3 bucks a cuppa)
We then arrived at the Staples Center…
We were at the home of the LA Lakers! (think Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson).
At the souvenir shop, we realised that the Staples Center was home to 4 teams – the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers, the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings and the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks!
We also popped by the Grand Central Market
and Little Tokyo…
When you see this tower, you know that you are at Little Tokyo. Here, you’ve got to try some Japanese food. We had a salad, the Char Su Ramen (Extra Large at 9.7USD) as well as the Pork Curry Rice at 8.20USD. The servings were huge and the taste was great! The Char Su was full of flavour and had a succulent texture to it! Yum!
We also had a nice stroll through the Mexican Market at Olvera Street where you would see mexican souvenirs, small guitars and traditional costumes. The walk through was shaded and had some lanes that you can visit and explore as well…
Nearby was the Union Station
Verdict
There are so many things to do, places of interest as well as attractions in California. The city of Los Angeles can provide nice walking tours while Hollywood exudes a different class of its own.
Be it the beach, the high life or the city, Los Angeles certainly makes a great visit for tourists and locals alike!
P.S. Did you know that Los Angeles means “The Angels” which is why the city has also a nickname of “The city of Angels”
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Hollywood Walk of Fame
After visiting Grauman’s Chinese Theatre as well as the Kodak Theatre, Kate and I took a walk along the Hollywood Walk of Fame…
The Hollywood Walk of Fame stretches for about 2km it consists of mainly a star bearing an artiste or celebrities’ name that formally comes from these 5 categories
1. Movies
2. TV
3. Radio
4. Music
5. Theatre/Live Performance
Turns out that as we walked along the Hollywood walk of fame, we were so distracted and kept looking at the floor, thinking which celebrity would be next! Sometimes we would barely avoid oncoming pedestrians who must have thought, “What are these crazy tourists doing? Dont walk and look down at the same time!”
But that’s what we did!
It was fun to find stars that we know (because there were so many of them!) and these are just a few that we spotted…
The next time you are at the Hollywood Walk of Fame, try to locate the stars of your favourite artistes/celebrities. BUT! Be careful of oncoming (pedestrian) traffic!
P.S. You may also like to know that you need not travel all the way to Hollywood to see the walk of fame. There are also replicas at your nearest Universal Studios!
P.S.s. Did you know that stars are given only nominated artistes and these artistes can be nominated by anyone. However, there are 2 catches. 1. Groups or people who nominate must pay about $30,000 for the fabrication of the stars. 2. The celebrity must attend the ceremony. If deceased, family members must attend on his/her behalf. No one really knows how the selection goes (done by a selection committee) after the nomination…
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Footprints, Handprints and Signatures at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre Hollywood!
The Grauman’s Chinese Theatre was built in 1927 and resides along Hollywood Boulevard. It is actually a movie theatre and today still holds premiere for many of Hollywood’s most anticipated movies!
The Grauman’s Chinese Theatre was built by none other than Sid Grauman. He is also credited with the building of the Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre just further down the road.
The reason why the Chinese Theatre is alot of more famous and popular than its Egyptian counterpart is not only because of its uniquely classy traditional Chinese structure, but also because its fore court is home to the various handprints, footprints and signatures of artistes and celebrities.
Famous characters such as Donald Duck also got their chance to leave their mark at the fore court of the Chinese Theatre. This means that now, not only real life celebrities get to imprint their mark on the fore court of the Chinese Theatre, as long as your’re famous, you might have the chance to do so! *The Kind of Pop, Michael Jackson will also be immortalised on 26 Jan 2012.
At the fore court of the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, there is usually a HUGE crowd gathered there. Most are trying to take a photo with the imprints of their favourite celebrities while others are on tours of the Chinese Theatre, listening intently to the stories of their tour guides.
There are several stories as to how this tradition of immortalising handprints/footprints/signatures of celebrities/famous people started. The more common one often refer to a female celebrity who happened to step on the cement of the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre during construction. Sid Grauman thought that this was a good idea for famous people to leave their mark, then started this tradition.
The other version says that Sid himself made the mark and started the tradition. Whatever the story, today, it is a well loved tourist attractions for fans and tourists alike to get “close” to their beloved celebrities.
The huge crowd also presented a problem for Kate as she went about to take the photos. People were everywhere! Hence, this Harry Potter imprint had other avid potter fans in it as well…
Besides trying to haunt and hound your favourite celebrities in Hollywood, you might like to try catching them at the movie premieres at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. An easy way to do so is to look up the dates of upcoming premieres at the Chinese Theatre’s website and be there really early to get a good spot. Premieres are usually star studded events and fans will not be disappointed.
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Kodak Theatre Hollywood : Home of the Oscars and American Idol
The Kodak Theatre is one of the largest live theatre in the USA. The theatre was designed by David Rockwell and since 2002 has been home to the Academy Awards aka the Oscars.
The Kodak Theatre is also home to the American Idol due to its ability to function at the highest level for live shows.
There are only a few things that we would like to point out about the Kodak Theatre, in addition to the fact that it is a venue for shows as well as a shopping mall.
1. The Kodak Theatre Elephant
The Kodak Theatre elephant is synonymous with the Kodak Theatre. The pair of elephants are so huge and tall that you simply cannot miss it as you see them stand guard over the fountains within…
2. Pillars inscribed with Best Pictures at the Academy Awards
Within the Kodak Theatre are pillars that are inscribed with the names of the Best Picture at the Oscars each year.
Notable winners (translates to films that we’ve watched and enjoyed) in recent times include Million Dollar Baby, Slumdog Millionaire as well as the King’s Speech.
3. Hollywood Walk of Fame
From the Highland Center as well as the Kodak Theatre, you can see the Hollywood Walk of Fame right beside it. There will be able to see “STARS” belonging to your favourite artiste and celebrities.
You’ll just have to take time to spot them…
So take time to enjoy this world famous destination, who knows, you might just bump into a celebrity or 2…
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On the Boulevard of Santa Monica : The Visit that changed our perception of Savage Garden’s Santa Monica
You know how the lyrics “Santa Monica, in the winter time” by Savage Garden always conjures an image of a cold chilly city in our heads? Especially when it’s coupled with a hypnotically slow beat tune?
However, this trip changed all that and more!
From our hotel, we keyed in “Santa Monica” into our GPS and reached our destination in about half an hour. We took some time circling the vicinity before deciding to park at a public carpark, placing 2 hours worth of coins into the meter.
The first thing we noticed about Santa Monica were the quaint little shops lining the inner streets from the beach. They range from pubs to convenient stores to shops that sell cute little items. It was quite enjoyable walking down the street not knowing whats in store at the next shop.
As we approached the sea front, we were greeted by the sound of the waves as well as this set of instructions to comply with…
As we walked along the beach, we enjoyed the fine sand sifting through our feet as we headed towards the iconic Santa Monica Pier.
Before long, we reached the Santa Monica pier and as we walked along the board walk of Santa Monica pier, we saw sesame characters such as Elmo and Oscar…
Kids were given the opportunity to take photos with their favourite sesame street characters.
On the board walk, endless throngs of people traverse along this scenic boardwalk enjoying rides (such as the historic carousel, iconic ferris wheel) from the amusement park, eateries and restaurants along the pier or even just laying back and enjoying the sights and sounds…
Along the way, we also passed by a shop that is dedicated to the famous Route 66…
Here, you can take home some souvenirs and learn more about the history of this iconic and historic route.
At the end of the pier, we took a shot (pictorial) back towards the beach…
As the day drew to a close, we indulged in a cone dog (the person who invented this is a genius!) and enjoyed the breath taking sunset…
With that, we concluded a leisurely yet thoroughly enjoyable visit to Santa Monica. And with regard to the Savage Garden song, it totally changed our perception altogether. The gloomy image has transformed into a cheerful and family oriented destination!
We’ll leave you now to decide which of these iconic ferris wheel you love best. With lights or without lights?
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Where is the best spot to see the Hollywood Sign – Mulholland Drive!
Ah…California…what does it remind you of?
The sun? The beach? The people? Or just the image of chilling with a drink while taking it slow?
Well…for many people, California is the state of the movie capital of the world! Hollywood! (Hollywood, California – Rings a bell right?)
And when you think about Hollywood, you would want to see the famous HOLLYWOOD sign!
Today, we are going to share with our readers, the best spot to see the Hollywood sign and that is Mulholland Drive!
Do a quick search on google and you will be able to find Mulholland Drive scenic point. Not only does this lookout point provide splendid views of the Hollywood sign, it also gives breath taking views of Downtown LA!
From Mulholland Drive, you can also have a clear and unobstructed view of the Hollywood Bowl…
The Hollywood Bowl is the largest natural amphitheater in the United States of America!
However, if you are one who just wants to have “been there done that”, the Kodak theatre also provides a good view of the Hollywood sign…
Other than that, the Griffith Park Observatory also has an excellent view from the right side of the Hollywood sign.
However, the recommendation from 2bearbear.com is that if you are able to, make a trip to Mulholland Drive and enjoy the scenic, breath taking view that Hollywood has to offer!
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