California dreaming...
Surf’s Up and the shops are open as KATIE FITZPATRICK heads to the sun-kissed Golden State
WHO would have thought that on a girlie holiday you can combine surfing and shopping?
But in California we found that you most certainly can enjoy both.
Our surfing safari adventure began in San Jose and, yes, it turns out that we did know the way.
We arrived in style on a British Airways Dreamliner and our Boeing 787-9 – a smoother flight with lower cabin pressurisation and mood lighting to cause less jet lag – was only on its second flight from London Heathrow to the Silicon Valley.
And after stepping off the plane we hit the highway in classic American style – in shiny Mustang convertibles.
Our first stop, the Marriott San Jose, was just a short drive from the airport and a plush way to spend our first night on the west coast of America before hitting the shops the following day. San Francisco Premium Outlets in Livermore – about an hour’s drive from San Jose – is the perfect place to find some designer bargains and perhaps pick up another suitcase to carry all your shopping if you’re feeling particularly flush.
At Gucci we admired a $50,000 travel trunk so large it could double as a wardrobe.
This was well out of my price range but I picked up another pleasing bargain – a DKNY watch for $59 (about £40). Back home it would cost more than twice the price.
And a Banana Republic T-shirt cost a measly $8 – about £5.
Packing our goodies into our Mustang we hit the road again, this time heading for the luxurious Rosewood Sand Hill in Palo Alto, a blissful retreat set in one of the wealthiest zip codes in Silicon Valley with stunning views of the Santa Cruz. After enjoying a glass of fine California wine while taking in the view from the terrace, we enjoyed a delicious dinner and tasted the finest champagnes chosen for us by the hotel’s expert sommelier.
Feeling refreshed and rejuvenated after an early morning yoga session followed by a delightful facial in the spa, we hit the road again for yet more retail therapy. At Stanford Shopping Centre we made a beeline for Bloomingdales and we were starstruck to visit the farmers’ market where Facebook boss and Palo Alto resident, Mark Zuckerberg, buys his groceries.
After shopping wipeout it was time to catch a wave and get on our surfboards in Santa Cruz, the home of surfing in mainland America.
In the place nicknamed Surf City – the home of wetsuit pioneer Jack O’Neill and the setting for the fictional Santa Carla in the 80s vampire movie The Lost Boys – you’ll definitely want to dip into the laid-back Santa Cruz surf scene.
Here surfers have been riding the waves since 1885, when three Hawaiian princes on vacation brought this iconic sport to the mainland using redwood surfboards.
We stayed at the Dream Inn, which is as close as you can get to the beach without actually sleeping on the sand.
And we were about to try our hand at becoming surfer chicks, a daunting prospect for an absolute beginner who usually always avoids the sea on holiday with the feeble explanation ‘you just don’t know what’s under there do you?’
The attitude now had to be ‘cowabunga, dude!’
I woke very early, with butterflies whirling in my stomach, to the sound of crashing waves outside my window.
Thankfully we had a demonstration from our friendly instructors from Ed’s Surfing School first before heading into the shallow but powerful waves.
We were shown how to manoeuvre from lying face down on our stomachs to standing on our boards in a few smooth moves.
You can book a photographer from J2Pmedia to capture your exciting adventure in the waves. And our photographer, Rich Brady, was just as helpful and supportive as the instructors. Sadly I didn’t manage to get on to my feet from my knees, but I was still surfing USA and loving every minute of it.
After catching a wave, it was time to continue the thrills and spills at the charming Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. We snacked on salt water taffy and tasty churros and rode the historic wooden Giant Dipper, built in 1924 to replicate the feeling of plunging down a mineshaft, followed by a walk down Santa Cruz Wharf – the longest pier on the west – where we watched the sea lions lazing around below us and enjoyed some local wines. Our next stop in the trusty Mustang was Monterey, which is known for its fishing and canning.
Here we went whale watching and we were rewarded by the sight of beautiful humpback whales and scores of dolphins. And when the whale watching ended we continued admiring some of America’s most impressive marine life at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
The following day we found our way back to San Jose to get on horseback at Cooper Garrod Farms.
I had a ride on a beauty called Corona, with spectacular views of San Francisco Bay and Santa Clara Valley, followed by some wine tasting at Cooper Garrod and way up in the hills at Ridge Winery, which has had some of its finest wines served at the White House.
Because we were staying just down the road from Google HQ, Facebook and eBay, it seemed appropriate that we paid a visit The Tech Museum to check out the latest inventions to round off our Californian trip.