From Solvang to Golden Globes award… almost!

The 4 of us had 3 days to travel to Solvang (Southern California) and back. Our lunch stop was Salinas with it’s “First Awakenings” – I just had to check out this religious-sounding place! They had 2-3 dozen of omelettes and a dozen of sandwiches on the menu. The food was not bad, but nothing memorable, could’ve just taken a photo and moved on.

Solvang is a Danish town. It looks very unreal, made for tourists, probably like Venetian hotel in Vegas is a fake replica of Venice, Italy. I still liked it, Danish houses, gift shops, windmills, restaurants and bakeries. The town shuts down early, the kids went out for after-dinner drinks, and they were laughing being “kicked out” at 9 pm for closing.

We stayed at King Frederik Inn. While we had basic rooms, the bed was comfortable, shower with soap dispenser over a deep bathtub, separate sink with some shelves for cosmetics, mirrored closet doors, coffee in room, what was lacking is a small fridge to keep the drinks cold. The office had small breakfast: pastries, bread for toasting, but coffee and juices are available all day. The best thing was the location – our son’s comment: “I really appreciate being able to walk to a restaurant for dinner after a day of driving.”

Horse carriage rides board right outside of our hotel! It’s always nice to have a narrated tour to learn some history and local gossip. On this ride we heard the legend of aebelskivers. Those are round, as a sphere, dessert pancakes! Tasty, but a bit too rich. As the legend has it, the Vikings made pancakes on their voyages. Once a Viking didn’t have a frying pan, so he used his dented shield. The pancake came out thick and round.

We had dinner at the “Viking Garden,” tucked in behind a gift shop. The price was surprisingly low for Solvang, I expected everything to be overpriced. My salmon and husband’s chicken were excellent, the portions were large enough to skip dessert. The next day dinner, keeping up with the garden tradition, in “Beer Garden” – we were tired after a day of sightseeing, and this restaurant is across the street from our hotel, once again, good choice.

Next day off to LA. The Getty Center is excellent! Admission is free if you arrive by bus, the bus stop is right there, I saw a woman getting off the bus and walking to the entrance. If you arrive by car it’s $15 parking – not bad for 4 people! From the parking lot (remember where you parked!) you take the elevator up to the air-conditioned monorail for a 4’ ride. The center is a bunch of buildings in the gardens. As it’s usually hot and sunny, they provide umbrellas for walking around or from pavilion to pavilion. Each building has a bin for umbrellas, just take if you need it, and leave in any bin. Inside you see paintings, sculpture, furniture, porcelain. There are several places to eat or get a drink. I could easily spend the whole day there!

On the way back we drove through Bell Air – to see the area, down Sunset Blvd, made a right turn, and… found ourselves in the line of black limos with a sign flashing mid-block: street closed… guests with invitations only… Golden Globes award… After a U-turn we started laughing, and went back to take photos of the protesters with cardboards where a word “moron” was the least offensive. Close to them – screaming fans. We didn’t see any celebrities, of course, and wouldn’t try to. Down the Rodeo Drive to a very different area – our son was determined to show us Watts Towers.

We live in the area that is becoming Tenderloin, but I would not be afraid to walk by myself. There was an area that was so dangerous, I didn’t even want to get out of the car, so scary it was. The towers are in a small public park, the security guard walked out of his hut to tell us about tours and to thank us for being brave to visit this area

On the way home we stopped at the Ostrichland. They sell the feed for ostriches in what looks like a frying pan that you must hold with both hands – the ostriches are strong! The kids had fun, and we had even more fun watching our adult children feeding the birds. I wanted to buy ostrich jerky, but the 2 kinds they had were mixed with beef. So disappointing!

Our lunch on the way back was at Madonna Inn. This place is so pink!! Pink paper napkins, pink sugar in the sugar shakers, even the cash receipts in the gift shop printed on pink paper. The food was good, and once in a lifetime it’s OK to visit, just to have the bragging rights. If you can, go to the men’s bathroom. There is a sensor when you walk in, it starts a waterfall that is used for sanitation. Lady’s bathroom is just pink and kitschy.

On to the bubble gum alley in Saint Lois Obispo. If you saw this disgusting place on TV, it’s it! People just put their chewed-out gum on the walls of a narrow alley between 2 buildings. Kids had a ball taking photos of each other, and of us not wanting to even walk in.

We had so much fun, and I will post photos a bit later.