SAN FRANCISCO – For years I’ve been getting nudges from the San Francisco tourism folks to check out the Mission district. It had gone from something akin to derelict to a trendy, fun area and was well worth investigating, I was told. Even our former mayor, David Miller, mentioned it in passing one day when we chatted about his travels. I finally got around it on a recent visit, and had a great time. Mind you, it was one of those postcard-perfect spring days in the city; about 18 or 19 Celsius with hardly a whisper of wind and the Read more
California
This is from a golf trip I took with some friends to the golfing mecca of America a couple years ago… PEBBLE BEACH, CALIFORNIA — My buddies and I had been back home for a week or so when I got an email from one of them talking about our early September trip to famed Pebble Beach. “Thanks for the trip to paradise,” he said. I couldn’t say it any better myself. I’m not one for getting nervous talking to athletes or celebrities or politicians, but I had a serious case of the knee-knocks on the first few holes at Read more
LOS ANGELES – It’s impossible to encapsulate a city of such diverse neighbourhoods into one, so I’ll keep this focused on Hollywood and downtown L.A., which has seen an incredible resurgence – resurrection, even – since the bad old days when this correspondent toiled nightly in what was then a wasteland at Fifth and Figueroa. SLEEPING The Roosevelt, a Thompson property, was home to the first Academy Awards ceremony, which lasted only minutes (if only). Marilyn Monroe used to do photo shoots at the palm-surrounded pool and used to sleep there regularly, amongst other things. There’s a cool, old-fashioned, two-lane Read more
