The Arizona Republic

California

- GQ

Friday

Arrive early and take a bike ride. Rent bikes at Santa Monica Bike Center, a couple of blocks from Santa Monica Pier. Pick up a map with suggested routes ranging from a 3.6-mile family tour that includes a couple of museums to a 31mile loop that travels inland to Culver City and Beverly Hills. The shop offers a guided, two-hour Legends Beach Bike Tour each morning, covering the highlights of Santa Monica and Venice Beach. It is $45, $25 for kids younger than 12.

Many first-timers go it alone, heading to the beachfront bike path for their introducti­on to Santa Monica. It’s an easy ride with a backdrop that can’t be beat. There are two ways to go: south to Venice Beach or north toward Malibu, past an endless stretch of beaches.

There’s more to see on the way to Venice Beach. Just south of the pier, check out the original Hot Dog on a Stick, a freestandi­ng store. Young kids in tow? Stop at one of the beachfront playground­s. In Venice Beach, teens will like to browse the T-shirt and souvenir stores, watch the preachers and performers and check out the outdoor gym at Muscle Beach Venice, where bodybuilde­rs including Arnold Schwarzene­gger trained.

Kid-free? Time your ride to include happy hour at Bin No. 73, a small, charming wine bar just off the path on Washington Boulevard. In a touristy zone, Bin No. 73 and Mercedes Grill, its sister restaurant next door, have a classy, local feel. Happy-hour appetizers and drinks are highend and cheap. The bacon-wrapped dates were good enough to order seconds. Ask for a sample of a house cocktail featuring locally made kombucha, a fermented tea.

Have dinner at the casual but pricey Blue Plate Oysterette on Ocean Avenue, Santa Monica’s premier beach address. Your biggest decision will be whether to get your scrumptiou­s $24 lobster roll dressed or undressed (with or without mayo). Purists say it should be undressed. There is a kids menu. Kids could also share the lobster macaroni and cheese.

Looking for something less expensive? Try the food court at the luxury open-air mall Santa Monica Place. The mall doesn’t call it a food court, of course. It’s a “dining deck” with great views. Food choices include pizza and sushi.

To walk off your meal, stroll the palm-lined path in Palisades Park, which runs along the beach side of Ocean Avenue. It is popular night and day with walkers, runners and fitness trainers, so much so that the city is thinking of cracking down on the number of workouts held there.

On a summer-holiday weekend, get tickets for the adults-only “Live from Loews: California Classics,” featuring music, wine and food overlookin­g the ocean at Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel. The hotel offers a half-price ticket deal on Travelzoo ($49 per person with the discount) in advance of each concert date — May 24, July 5 and Aug. 30. There is also an extra concert, on Aug. 16.

Otherwise, head to Loews’ poolside bar with fire pits or the rooftop bar at the retro Hotel Shangri-La for a nightcap.

Or, take a nighttime ride on the Ferris wheel at Pacific Park, the amusement park on the Santa Monica Pier. (Zach Galifianak­is’ character wears a bright yellow Santa Monica Pier T-shirt in a scene from the upcoming movie “Hangover 3.”)

Saturday

Skip breakfast and head for the bustling Santa Monica Farmers Market on Arizona Avenue downtown. (There is also a downtown market Wednesdays and two other weekend farmers markets.) You’ll be joined by local chefs, many of whom brag about getting their ingredient­s here.

Start with a mobile fruit salad: a variety of fruit from various stands. Carb-load with an oversize pretzel roll or bread from the Rockenwagn­er booth or other bakery. Still hungry? Look for the featured restaurant booth. Arizona export True Food Kitchen will be the featured Saturday restaurant twice in June, the 1st and the 29th, and Rockenwagn­er is scheduled over Memorial Day weekend. I visited the market on a Wednesday in March. Curious Palate, which has a spot in Santa Mon- ica Place, was the featured restaurant. The $8 breakfast sandwich with eggs, Gruyere cheese, linguica sausage and aioli on sourdough bread was worth every calorie.

Next up: downtown shopping. Third Street Promenade is a pedestrian-only shopping and dining area that encompasse­s a key part of downtown. It’s touristy but features restaurant­s, kiosks and stores such as Apple and Abercrombi­e & Fitch. A non-stop parade of street performers provides entertainm­ent and the occasional balloon animal. Santa Monica Place, redone a few years ago, is tonier — a la Scottsdale Fashion Square — with Louis Vuitton and Tory Burch alongside Nordstrom and Bloomingda­le’s.

Spend the afternoon on the beach. Instead of plopping down in a chair or on a towel, sunbathe like Hollywood royalty used to, at the oceanfront Annenberg Community Beach House. Its roots date back to William Randolph Hearst, who built a house on the property for actress Marion Davies in the 1920s. It is the rare beach house open to the public with no membership required. It’s open year-round, but the pool is open only in summer. There is an art gallery, and free tours of the Marion Davies Guest House are offered on select dates. There is a charge to use the pool

($10 for adults and $4 for children or $24 for a family of four) and for parking ($3 per hour/$12 per day) but admission to the beach area, playground and other outdoor spots is free. Grab lunch at the cafe.

Head back to the pier and Pacific Park for an evening of carnival food, rides and games. Look for ride discounts on brochures in your hotel lobby or at a visitor center.

Your plan for dinner: burgers, beer, blues and brilliant bartenders. Start at Father’s Office, a dark, loud pub on hip Montana Avenue. Order food at the bar and wait (sometimes a long time) for a table or stool to open up. The specialty is the Office Burger, topped with caramelize­d onions, applewood-smoked bacon, Gruyere cheese, Maytag blue cheese and arugula for $12.50. Add a side of frites for $2.50. Make room for one of the two dozen craft beers on tap.

Next, hop into a taxi and head for Harvelle’s, a narrow, dingy bar with entertainm­ent that includes blues, jazz and, on Thursdays, the Harlow Gold Show, a burlesque show popular with locals. I saw House of Vibe All Stars, Wednesday-night regulars with a techno sound and endless energy. Ticket prices are reasonable. I paid $7 for House of Vibe. Harlow Gold tickets start at $25. There is a two-drink minimum.

Wind down on a quieter note at Copa D’Oro, a sexy lounge whose online pitch includes an Ernest Hemingway quote: “Drinking is a way of ending the day.” The cocktail menu is dizzying and divided into sections: the fast, the furious and the “because you can.” Want something lighter? Try the French 75, a champagne cocktail.

Sunday

Get up early and head for Temescal Gateway Park, next door in Pacific Palisades. It is just a mile off the Pacific Coast Highway on Sunset Boulevard. There are trails of varying length and difficulty. The Temescal Ridge Trail is a good introducti­on and won’t eat up half the day. From the parking lot, stay on it for about a mile to the overlook with the colorful, graffitist­rewn bench. On a clear day, the panoramic views of the ocean, multimilli­on-dollar homes and Malibu are stunning. On a cloudy day, they are mesmerizin­g.

For breakfast, head for Cora’s Coffee Shoppe on Ocean Avenue. There’s a large patio but no views. The menu is expansive, with traditiona­l items and quintessen­tial Southern California fare such as a Caprese omelet and an egg-white omelet with feta and arugula.

Say goodbye to the ocean with a walk on the beachfront path or in Palisades Park.

On the way out of town, soak up a key slice of Venice Beach with a stop on Abbot Kinney Boulevard, which magazine last year dubbed the coolest block in America. Shop for antiques, home goods, pricey clothing and jewelry. Don’t miss Just Tantau, a longtime jewelry shop.

Abbot Kinney also is home to restaurant­s that generate a lot of buzz. Locals love Tasting Kitchen, Gjelina, Gjelina Take Away and Hal’s. Pop into Gjelina for the kale or smoked-trout salad, pizza or Sunday brunch. There are communal tables, a large patio and windows overlookin­g the boulevard. The design is industrial chic; the waiters, edgy. The menu notes: “Changes and modificati­ons politely declined.” If the wait is too long, head for its neighborin­g takeout place, which offers breakfast, pizza, sandwiches and salad.

Not your scene? Spend the last afternoon on a breathtaki­ng drive up the coast to Malibu, where even a college education — at prestigiou­s Pepperdine University — comes with stunning views.

 ?? DISCOVER LOS ANGELES ?? Waves roll in gently as beachgoers linger at water’s edge at Santa Monica Beach in Los Angeles.
DISCOVER LOS ANGELES Waves roll in gently as beachgoers linger at water’s edge at Santa Monica Beach in Los Angeles.
 ?? DAWN GILBERTSON/THE REPUBLIC ?? A Dinosaurs of Santa Monica sculpture stands guard at the Third Street Promenade, a pedestrian-only shopping and dining area in Santa Monica.
DAWN GILBERTSON/THE REPUBLIC A Dinosaurs of Santa Monica sculpture stands guard at the Third Street Promenade, a pedestrian-only shopping and dining area in Santa Monica.
 ?? SONDRA STOCKER ?? Strumming his guitar, a street performer provides light entertainm­ent in Santa Monica.
SONDRA STOCKER Strumming his guitar, a street performer provides light entertainm­ent in Santa Monica.
 ?? GILBERTSON/THE REPUBLIC
DAWN ?? The original Hot Dog on a Stick restaurant sits on the beach in Santa Monica.
GILBERTSON/THE REPUBLIC DAWN The original Hot Dog on a Stick restaurant sits on the beach in Santa Monica.

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