TRULY CALIFORNIA?
TV smash hit Big Little Lies has made Monterey a big deal again. LAURA CHUBB finds out whether the real thing lives up to the hype
The most talked-about TV show of the moment is driving a property and tourism boom in Monterey. But is the image it portrays accurate or a Big Little Lie? By LAURA CHUBB 目前正在熱播的話題美劇令蒙特雷的房地產業和旅遊業風生水起。劇中描繪的當地形象到底是否與現實相符，抑或只是個《小謊言》文？撰 ︰Laura Chubb
The ‘California Dream’ can be glimpsed all over the Golden State. You can catch it in sunsets silhouetting Malibu mansions, or the glistening abs parading Venice Beach. Or, further north, see a slip of it where a red bridge arcs toward green hills, and techies tap at laptops in cafes, determined to be billionaires before they’re 25.
But it’s roughly halfway between the glitz of Los Angeles and San Francisco’s bay of tech dreams that the Californian fantasy really turns into reality. Monterey is California distilled: all the things that make the Golden State great can be found here, along the county’s 160 kilometre coast. And Monterey’s story is the story of California: boom, boom and boom, punctuated by the occasional bust.
Today, Monterey is booming. The tourism bureau reports ‘a huge bump’ in interest thanks to its starring role in the Emmy-winning, Nicole Kidman-fronted TV hit Big Little Lies. The dramatic sea cliffs, perfect sunsets and pounding ocean stole the show from the A-list cast.
Big Little Lies portrays Monterey as a gossipy enclave for Silicon Valley’s power couples and their hot-housed offspring. Long-term residents of this retirement Eden may not have recognised themselves or their neighbours; but life is in the process of imitating art. Monterey estate agents say tech execs now make up 29 per cent of buyers snapping up property now valued into the millions.
It’s not hard to see the appeal. Something shifts when you cross the county line: two-lane highways tootle past open pastures and handwritten signs touting artichoke season, or five avocados for a dollar. And the farm-fresh produce is matched by world-class wine.
The good news is sampling the wine is practically mandatory for learning a bit about Monterey history. The local grapegrowing prowess was developed by the Franciscan friars who ‘founded’ California (that’s if you ignore tens of thousands of years of native culture). Today, there are 175 wineries within a two hour drive of Monterey, growing 42 grape varietals. The Salinas River Road Wine Trail ambles past several wineries; vine rows stretch across grassy plains towards muscular mountains. Or forget the scenery – and the car – and head for the Carmel Wine Walk By The Sea. Here, 13 tasting rooms, all pouring local labels, sit within a few blocks of each other.
In the middle of Monterey city, visitors can explore adobe houses from the earliest days of California’s ‘founding’. As Michael D Green, a programme manager at Monterey State Historic Park, tells me, the city was once both the capital of California and its ‘economic engine’. Spanish explorers formed a government here in the 1770s, drawn by the trade routes offered via Monterey Bay. They brought cattle and made big bucks from ranching (‘leather was like the plastic of the time,’ Green explains, ‘used for everything from clothes to door hinges’). It wasn’t quite the quiet idyll of today, though: ‘ This was the Wild West,’ Green adds, ‘and the murder capital of the state.’
So how did Monterey get demoted from Californian capital? One word: gold. It was first discovered on the American River, just east of San Francisco, in 1848; and word spread fast. ‘About two-thirds of the population left,’ Green says, ‘and Monterey started to descend into a kind of backwater, forgotten town.’
Monterey would never return to its capital glory days. But walk along the waterfront from the Historic Park – past Fisherman’s Wharf crab shacks and sailboats bobbing on postcard-blue sea – and you’ll get a sense of how it’s reinvented itself many times since. Monterey Bay’s pristine waters support masses of marine life – and commercial fishing boomed next. This was the Cannery Row era, named for the city’s multimillion-dollar sardine canning factories, and immortalised by John Steinbeck in his novel of the same name. Steinbeck’s memorable first line describes Cannery Row as ‘a stink’. But this was far from vilified – it was the smell of prosperity. This boom, too, proved shortlived. After the Second World War, the fish stocks collapsed and the canneries closed.
Today, the Row is again the epicentre of Monterey’s latest foray into big business: tourism. Factories are now art galleries, antiques emporiums, restaurants, wine
在加州，隨處都可以一窺「加州夢」的內容︰斜夕陽 照下的Malibu豪、宅 威尼斯海灘上炫耀腹肌的俊男；或者再往北行，往翠綠山丘伸延的紅色金門大橋，或者在咖啡敲店 打鍵盤，矢志於25歲前成為億萬富的豪科技專才，都可讓你窺見加州夢。
不過讓加州夢成真的，卻是洛介乎 杉磯的浮華與三藩市灣區技間的科 夢之 ，一個叫做蒙特雷的地方。蒙是特雷 沿160公里長的海岸線而發展的縣市，可說是加州的濃精縮華既版， 具備加州所有的優，點 當地發展的過程亦跟加州一樣，繁榮景氣一浪接而一浪來中， 間偶爾出現濟經 泡沫爆破的插曲。
今天，蒙特雷正值一片好景。蒙縣特雷旅遊局的數字顯，示 當地旅遊業錄得「巨大升幅」，全因由Nicole Kidman主並演、獲項美多 艾 獎的人氣劇集《小謊言》就在當地取景。劇集雖有星光熠熠的頂級演員陣容，但出盡風頭的卻是劇中壯麗的崖岸、迷人的夕陽和波濤洶湧的海洋。
《小謊言》將蒙特雷塑造成遍佈豪宅的社區，居民都是婚已 的矽谷要員，以及在父母呵護至備 下成長的下一代。體在得 的表面下，卻是流言蜚語滿天飛的是非之地。在這個退休人士樂園長期居住的人未必對劇集產生共鳴，但現實中的蒙特雷，卻確實正在追隨集劇 內的趨勢。發展 當地的地產經紀表示，現時搶購區內天價豪宅的買接家，近三成是科技界高級行政人員。
蒙特雷的魅力顯而易見，只要一踏進蒙特雷縣的範圍，看就會 到不一樣的風景︰雙線高速公路悠然穿越遼闊的牧場，沿途可見推銷時令特產雅竹枝 或五個牛油果只售一美元的手寫廣告牌。當地農產品豐美，新鮮還可以配上世界級葡萄酒來品嚐。
讓我告訴你一件美事：要初探蒙特雷的歷史，就必須嚐一 當地美酒的滋味，蒙特雷縣的葡萄種植技術來自建「 立」加州的方濟會修士（假設你無視有數萬年歷史的原住民文化）。時至今日，蒙特雷境內有175間酒莊葡， 萄品種多達42種，全都可在兩小時的車程內抵達。沿著Salinas River Road Wine Trail河濱葡萄酒徑途經多家酒翠莊；綠的草原上種著一排排又一 的葡萄樹，一直伸展至巍峨群山的山腳下。你也可以將風景和汽車統統拋諸腦後，前往Carmel Wine Walk By The Sea葡萄酒步。行徑 這裡有13個品酒室，全都位於附近幾條，街內 訪客可以嚐遍當地出產的葡萄酒。
旅客蒙可於 特雷市中心參觀加州發展初期建成的土坯建築。蒙特雷州立歷史公園的活動策劃經理Michael D Green告訴
JOHN STEINBECK’S MEMORABLE FIRST LINE OF CANNERY ROW DESCRIBES IT AS ‘A STINK’. IT WAS THE SMELL OF PROSPERITY JOHN STEINBECK的小說《CANNERY ROW》開頭第一句將罐頭工廠街形容為一股臭味，絕無貶意，因為這是繁榮昌盛的氣息
bars and shops, while there’s a modest, small town feel here that Monterey can laud over its more chaotic rivals. Like
Sal Tedesco, owner of restaurant Paluca Trattoria – a favourite of Big Little Lies fans (see box) – says: ‘You come to Monterey just to relax. Enjoy our weather. It’s tranquil, it’s subtle; not too much hype.’
The bay is still feted, too. Though these days it’s prized for conservation of biodiversity, rather than being fished dry. Just before reaching the Row, passing seals lazing like fat sausages on the rocks, you’ll find San Carlos Beach where scuba divers walk straight from the car park into the sea, lured by the bay’s 36 species of marine mammals, 16 of which are whales. ( Talking of water sports, Monterey’s Moss Landing has some the best surf breaks in the state.)
Natural abundance is, of course, California’s winning hand. Point Lobos State Reserve, a 20-minute drive from Monterey city, was once hailed as ‘the greatest meeting of land and water in the world’. Though no one can agree whether it was Robert Louis Stevenson or landscape artist Francis McComas who said it, hiking the trails helps you appreciate why Robert or Francis got so gushy. The paths curve through woodland and around coves, each stretch more good-looking than the last. Keep a beady eye out for otters, sea lions, dolphins and whales.
But the pièce de résistance is Big Sur. This winding 50 kilometres of cliff-hugging Highway 1 south from Point Lobos offers some of the best scenery in the state. It’s epic stuff: the green Santa Lucia Mountains plunge into churning ocean; redwood forests tower across ridges; condors swoop dramatically overhead. There’s a wildness to it, an elemental pull, that began drawing bohemians in the 1940s: mystics, artists and writer Henry Miller, who holed up in a cabin here and wrote about the unconventional community in his 1957 memoir, Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch. (His old cabin is now The Henry Miller Memorial Library and attracts a similarly boho bunch.)
Big Sur’s rugged isolation and leftfield reputation soon drew Hollywood. Producer Lawrence A Spector used the money he earned from Easy Rider to build the Ventana Inn, which became a favourite hideaway of Paul Newman. It’s now a swanky Alila resort. Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton filmed 1965’s The Sandpiper at Nepenthe, a cliffside restaurant that serves a legendary burger.
It’s still popular with big shots keen to get away from the crowds. Facebook and Napster entrepreneur Sean Parker threw an elaborate Game of Thronesthemed wedding at Ventana in 2013. And the hippie Esalen Institute, a spiritual retreat founded in the 1960s that was known for nude group therapy sessions, has just rebranded, now helping Silicon Valley zillionaires find their souls. Its new executive director, Ben Tauber, is a former Google product manager. Go figure.
But for all the stars, tech bros and mere mortals Monterey seduces, this part of the world is not easily tamed. The billionaires can whip by for a weekend, but no amount of money could ever smooth its rough cliffs and stormy seas. That’s why Monterey will always be the best of California: a pioneer, a natural beauty, a cultural heavyweight… and always a little bit wild. 我蒙， 特雷曾是加州首府兼「經濟重鎮」。西班牙探險家中看 蒙特雷灣可發為商展 通 口岸的潛力，於1770年代在當地成立政府們，他進口家畜並靠經營牧場而賺取厚利。Green繼續說明︰「當年的皮革現如同 在的塑，膠是衣服以至門鉸等生活所需品的原料材。」不過，當時的蒙特雷卻並非今天的寧靜小城， Green補充道︰「當這年， 裡是西部蠻荒，亦是謀加州 殺案最猖獗的城市」。
到底蒙特雷如何從加州首府降格普為通城市？原因只有一個，就是淘熱金 。1848年，有人三在 藩市以東的American River河發現黃，金消息不脛而走。Green說︰約「大有三分之二的民居 搬走，蒙特雷從此走下坡，變成一個被人遺忘的偏遠。小城 」
雖然蒙特雷無法重府拾州 年代的輝煌歲月，但從歷史公園沿海濱漫步，經過漁人碼頭售賣螃蟹的攤檔，眺望在湛藍海面上晃動的帆船，你可以體會到這座城市如何一次又一次地改頭換面，找尋 自己新的路向。蒙特雷灣清的 澈海孕水 育大量洋海生物於， 是發展出蓬勃的商業捕魚業。這是蒙特雷罐業盛時頭 鼎的期， Cannery Row罐頭工廠街應運生而街， 上全是包裝沙甸魚罐頭的工廠，價值數以百萬美元計，條這 街亦因為作家John Steinbeck的同名小說而不朽。Steinbeck在小說開頭第一句，將罐頭工廠街形容一為「 種臭味」令， 人難忘；不這過 種形容絕無貶意，因為是榮這繁 昌盛息的氣 。，可惜 這股經濟熱潮稍即縱 逝，第二次世界大戰後漁， 獲銳減，罐頭工廠亦紛紛倒閉。
現在罐頭街工廠 又再現繁榮為，成遊旅熱點。昔的日 罐頭工廠現在變成了藝廊、大型古董店、、餐廳酒吧及各式商店，散發純樸小鎮的氣息，令蒙特雷在區內其他鬧哄哄的旅中遊區 鶴立雞群廳。餐 Paluca Trattoria的東主Sal Tedesco是《小謊言》（參看對頁另文）的擁躉，他表示︰「旅客蒙來到 特雷可盡情放鬆，享受宜人的天氣。這裡氣氛寧靜，風淡格 雅低調，絕不嘩眾取寵」。
蒙特雷灣依舊是著名景點已，但從昔日的過度捕撈，變成以保育生物多元見稱。前往罐頭工廠街途中，會經過San Carlos Beach海灘，胖嘟嘟的海豹就在那裡懶洋洋地躺在石上曬太陽蒙。 特雷灣內有36種海洋哺乳類動物，其中16種為鯨魚；這些海洋生物吸引不少水肺潛水愛好者前來這。在裡潛水十分方便，停車場就在海邊，將車泊好就可以縱身躍入海中。說到水上運動，蒙特雷的Moss Landing碼一被頭 直 譽為加州的滑浪勝地。
加州無疑擁有得獨天 厚的自然景觀。距蒙離 特雷市20分車鐘程的Point Lobos State Reserve州立保護區，其海天一色的美景曾被譽為冠全絕 球。這句話究竟是出自蘇格蘭文豪Robert Louis Stevenson還風是 景畫家Francis McComas之口，雖然至今仍然眾說紛紜，但沿保育區內的小徑遠，足 你就會明白他倆為何會有如此誇張說的 法。蜿蜒曲折步的 行徑貫通樹林，繞過多個小海
灣一，每 段路的風景都比前一段更優美更
迷人，遠足時不妨留海的心 上 動靜，因有為機會看到水獺海、、獅 海豚和鯨魚的蹤影。
但程旅重的 頭戲非大蘇爾莫大屬。 蘇爾海岸線綿延50公里，位於Point Lobos以南，那裡有沿崖岸而建的加州一方公路，壯麗的景色稱堪 加州一絕︰蒼翠的Santa Lucia Mountains山脈與洶浪濤 湧的海洋接壤；山上脊長滿高聳入雲的紅；木抬頭可見禿鷹猛然衝俯 而下這。 裡散發澎湃的野性魅力，自1940年代起吸引數尚無 崇 波希米亞式生活的人，包括神秘主義者、藝術家和文學大師Henry Miller；他隱居於地當 一間小木屋裡，並於1957年出版的回憶錄《Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch》記述了這個非傳統群的社 。Miller昔的日 小木屋是現時 Henry Miller Memorial Library紀念館，吸引波希米亞浪前朝族 來聖。
大蘇爾崎嶇嶙峋的荒野和對非主流生活的嚮往，很快引來荷李活的青睞影。電 製片人Lawrence A Spector利從用 電影《迷幻車手》賺得的金錢建， 造了Ventana Inn旅影館星， Paul Newman非喜常 歡來這裡度假，現旅在 館則成為Alila管理的豪華時尚度假村。Elizabeth Taylor和Richard Burton亦曾在公路懸崖邊的Nepenthe餐廳拍攝1965年上映的《瀟湘雲夢》，這家餐廳味以美 漢聞堡包 名。
渴望遠離公眾目光的名人一直對大蘇爾區情有獨鍾。2013年， Facebook高層及Napster少人辦 Sean Parker在Ventana舉行以《劇集權力遊戲》為主題的盛大婚禮。1960年代少立的Esalen Institute是洋溢嬉皮文化的靈修勝地，曾以裸體小組療法名近而聞 ，最重塑，形象 成矽為 谷億萬富豪探索內心世界靜的 修中心。中心的任新執行董事Ben Tauber曾任職Google的品產經理，真令人意想不到。
無論你是受蒙特雷吸引影新的 壇 星、科技貴新 、或一介凡夫，要知道這裡絕是不個輕易受人馴服的地方。億萬富豪可以在周末前來閃電度假，但無論花多少錢都不能將蒙特雷陡峭的懸崖削平、令海灣的怒濤平伏。這一點令蒙特雷一直集加州的精萃於一身︰這個地有方既開精拓 神，亦擁有自然美景，更有深厚的文化，但又永遠帶點難馴的野性。