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| 2) San Diego |
* In Balboa Park, the Spanish Artists' Village and the California
Tower are surrounded by beautiful gardens. You can shoot great pictures
here, especially if you come on a sunny day.
* You
should also visit Old Town, the historical part of the city. Many
of the houses are still original from the time when the Spanish first came
to California. If you like the Mexican culture (and their food), the 'Casa
Bandini' will be the place to eat: with waitresses in Mexican clothes,
live music, ... .
The world
famous 'San Diego Zoo' is very big, but if you can't get enough, you can
also visit the 'San Diego Wild Animal Park' in Escondido (north of San
Diego). And if you prefer wateranimals, there is of course 'Seaworld'.
It 's really fascinating to see a killer whale of an enormous weight jump
more than 15 feet or 5 m high; but probably the best show is the 'sealion-
and seaottershow'. It 's special and funny, because a trainer and a sealion
perform together a nice piece of acting.
A
short trip to Mexico is also one of the possibilities when you're staying
in San Diego. You drive straight toTijuana (Mexico), but you stop at the
last American parking. There you take a tourbus and after a quick ID-check
by the Mexican customs officer (just a quick look in the bus to see if
there aren't any shady characters), you're in Tijuana, Mexico ! The difference
with American cities isn't hard to figure out: the streets outside the
touristical center are much more neglected, and in the touristical center
you get approached all the time by obtrusive salesmen. Some of them even
try to get you in their buildings where parties are going on in the middle
of the day.
When
you re-enter the US, the ID-check is done much more thoroughly; everybody
has to get out of the bus and is then checked individually. However, Tijuana
is definitely worth the ride.
If you still got time and money left, you can go shopping downtown, at
the 'Horton Plaza', a mall in a modern archi- tectural style.
| 3) Palm Springs + Joshua Tree National Monument |
To everyone in Southern-California, desert means Palm Springs and the other
rich oasis Palm Desert. Before the early 1920s Palm Springs was nothing
but a little health resort. Then it was discovered by Hollywood, and it
became the most popular area to spend the winter. It is certainly 'not
done' to show up here before Christmas or after Easter. However, if you
want cheap prices and high reductions, it is strongly recommended to stay
there during this long period. In June, July, August and September temperatures
easily rise above 100-110°F (40-45°C), so during this period Palm
Springs isn't exactly 'the place to be' if you want to spend a sun-bathing
holiday. But you surely should visit it to get the party- atmosphere that
reigns at night. And to see all the streets surrounded by thousands of
palm trees (of course!).
Surely not to miss: a ride on the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway! The Tramway takes you 1 mile above Palm Springs on the Mount San Jacinto. From up there you've got an extremely beautiful view and you sure get the full meaning of the word 'oasis'. Don't forget to take a sweater; it can be 30-40°F (10-15°C) colder on the top of the Mount San Jacinto.
When staying
in Palm Springs, a nice thing for you to do is drive through Joshua Tree
National Monument. In this National Park you'll see a lot of nice things
that nature's created. It's a very impressive park with beautiful rocks,
mountains, special trees. In the 'Cholla Catus Garden' you can walk between
a whole field of cactusses. This park got its name due to the amount of
Joshua Trees that grow over here. The tree is named Joshua Tree 'cause
it holds its branches up the way the profet Joshua would have done with
his arms. When you get out of your car, watch out for rattlesnakes. You'll
probably see one of those cute looking coyotes. Please follow the rules
of the Rangers and do not feed them. Otherwise they would become dependent
on the food the tourists give, and they won't survive.
