Mission Impossible: La Purísima

Misión la Purísima Concepción de María Santísima is a short detour off of Highway 101 on the outskirts of Lompoc, CA. Founded in 1787, La Purísima is the eleventh of the 21 Franciscan missions in Alta California. Originally in Lompoc proper, it was moved to its present location outside the city and on El Camino Real in 1812 after an earthquake destroyed the original church and vestry.

This is the most complete restoration project on the entire Mission Trail, with work beginning in the 1930s under the National Park Service and the Civilian Conservation Corps. The buildings and grounds are extensive with furnishings, tools, and even animal breeds (Churro sheep, goats, longhorn cattle, burros, etc.) from the Spanish period. More than any other mission I’ve visited, La Purísima really gives one the sense of what life was like back then. And, if you like the outdoors, there are twenty-five miles of hiking, biking, and equestrian trails to explore.

Because this is also a California State Park (but not one of the many closed due to the inherent cheapness of the California taxpayer), there is a Visitor Center and Exhibit Hall to get you oriented.

Doesn't this soldier seem happy to be working at the mission?

I'm sure the sheep and goats are happy too.

The monks were green even way back when: The fountain, above, was used for
drinking, with run-off piped to the lavanderia, whose run-off went to the cistern
where soap settled at the bottom and the remaining water was used in the gardens.

Over 1000 people were involved in weaving activities.

The monks apparently had a thing for EVOO.

Confessional or amateur puppet theater? You be the judge.

Is it a sin to covet a monk's bookshelves? If so, color me guilty.

Weekend Getaway: Santa Barbara

This month, for personal and professional reasons, The Boys* had to come out from New York to Santa Barbara, so I decided to fly down for the weekend. It was a bit pricey, but, not only would I get a chance to see two of my favorite people in the world, I would also be able to cross a few more missions off my list. Win-win.

I always intend to visit Santa Barbara when I drive down to L.A., but it suffers from being a bit too close to that city (and you just want to get there already, and not stop and play tourist). On the one occasion that I did pass through, I only had time for lunch at La Super-Rica Taqueria.** I drove by the Santa Barbara Mission; however, it was Memorial Day weekend and the annual festival of I Madonnari (Italian street painting) and therefore I realized instantly that it would be insane to try and find parking anywhere near there, so I headed back to 101 and up the coast.

What I didn’t realize was that there’s so much to see and do in Santa Barbara (beyond the Mission) that it merits more than a detour, and has earned its place as my first weekend getaway.

First on your list should be the Courthouse, one of the loveliest you’ll ever see. Located at 1100 Anacapa Street (on the corner of Anapamu Street—and, yes, there are many similar sounding and confusing street names in this city), this building is a marvel inside and out, with hand-painted ceilings, spiral staircases, Spanish tiles, carved doors, and gorgeous murals depicting early California history. From the tower, you get a great view of the surrounding city, ocean, and mountains.

The Santa Barbara Museum of Art is one of the top ten regional museums in the country, and can serve as a nice respite from shopping on State Street. While we originally went to the museum to see the sand mandala created by the monks of the Sera Mahayana Buddhist Monastery in South India, the exhibition that really caught my eye was that of stop-motion photographer Ori Gersht, who had some incredible pieces inspired by one of my favorite artists, Henri Fantin-Latour.

Ori Gersht, Blow Up: Untitled 4, 2007

What can I say? I have a weakness for flowers, even when they are exploding.

Speaking of flowers, worth a trip into the hills is the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden on Mission Canyon Road. The gardens, which cover 78 acres, feature indigenous plants of California, with a meadow section, redwood section, desert section, etc. We were lucky to catch a number of plants in bloom, especially cacti. Absolutely beautiful.

Another fascinating freak of nature, and I’m not talking about the dolphins down by Stearns Wharf (although, dolphins!), is the Moreton Bay Fig Tree at the intersection of Chapala Street and Highway 101. Planted in the 1870s and now a city landmark, it is ginormous.

Of course, as any viewer of Sideways can tell you, Santa Barbara County is also wine country. Just over the San Marcos Pass and through the Los Padres National Forest is the Santa Ynez Valley, home of killer pinot noirs and chardonnays. If you don’t have time to go vineyard hopping, on any trip down 101, I highly recommend a detour to the small town of Los Olivos and a visit to the Los Olivos Tasting Room & Wine Shop. While in the neighborhood, be sure to stop in at the Disneyesque town of Solvang and the La Purísima Mission just down the road in Lompoc.

  

Yes, almost all of the stores and
hotels in Solvang look like this.



La Purísima Mission


Finally, a shout-out to the Bath Street Inn—a large, comfortable Victorian Bed & Breakfast close to the center of town. My room was actually larger than it seems in pictures and I had a lovely balcony to boot. In addition to afternoon tea and evening wine and cheese, they serve a delicious, filling breakfast, with homemade granola and such dishes as stuffed French toast and baked eggs (which were so good I raved about them and they printed out the recipe for me unasked). A great place.

 

Word to the wise: If you ever fly in to the Santa Barbara Airport, be aware that the relatively short taxi ride from the airport to downtown will set you back about $45, including tip. The shuttles you see parked right next to the taxis outside the airport will make the same trip for only $27-30.

* See future posts on Utah. One of The Boys took the profile pic on this page.

** La Super-Rica Taqueria at 622 North Milpas Street is reputed to be Julia Child’s “favorite taco stand”; however, a local who knew her swears she told him she had no idea where that rumor got started. Regardless, the roasted pasilla chile stuffed with cheese and the chorizo tacos were almost worth the ridiculous wait in line.

Hampton Court, London

It might seem odd to spend a day at Hampton Court when one is in London for just a few days, but I chose to do so for a couple of reasons. One, it was the only one of the top London sites in 1001 Places to See Before You Die that I had never visited. Two, originally built by Cardinal Wolsey and later serving as one of the palaces of Henry VIII, it plays a major role in Wolf Hall (which I really will finish one of these days—really, truly). It also serves as the setting for much of the action in A Man for All Seasons, which I read for my Royals and Rulers book salon.

Visiting the palace does take a bit of effort as it is located in the borough of Richmond Upon Thames at the extreme southwest edge of Greater London. It takes well over 30 minutes by train from Waterloo, but the station is just a short walk from the palace, so overall the trip is not too bad. You can also arrive by boat, but then the travel time is extremely unpredictable (and can be hours).

As you can see in the above photo (taken from a postcard), the palace is quite extensive, as are the grounds. In fact, the palace itself is a bit confusing to navigate, so, once you arrive in the Clock Court, you may want to take the time to figure out what you most want to see and then head there directly using your map.


Anne Boleyn’s gateway and the astronomical clock

Really, use the map. I know that we ended up in a part of the palace that my friend had never seen before, and there were interesting things that I realized later we never saw. My favorite spots were the Great Hall and the Chapel Royal in Henry VIII’s State Apartments, the King’s Staircase and the King’s Guard Chamber (weapons!) in William III’s Apartments, and the gardens, especially The Maze.

The Great Hall, as its name indicates, is one of those huge medieval halls that served many purposes besides being a communal dining room, for example, Shakespeare’s company performed here for King James I. The hall is lined with magnificent Flemish tapestries depicting the story of Abraham and has an elaborately carved wooden ceiling. At the end of the hall is an incredible stained glass window from the mid-1800s depicting the arms of Henry VIII and his six wives.

Great Hall, Hampton Court

The King’s Staircase in William III’s Apartments is the most mind-blowing mural I’ve ever seen in a setting like this. It’s perhaps hard to see in this photo but the painting, by Antonio Verrio, wraps around the stairwell and onto the ceiling. It depicts William III dominating a group of Roman emperors (representing the king’s Catholic enemies) as well as a banquet of the Gods (representing the peace and prosperity of William’s reign).

The King's Staircase, painted by Antonio Verrio

The Hampton Court Maze is the oldest hedge maze in the United Kingdom. And I guess that might mean the world, because where else would they have hedge mazes that are older? Do the Chinese have some sort of hedge maze tradition that I’m unaware of? (Because, if so, China will move way up on my must-see list.) In any case, even though I am still recovering from the difficulties I encountered in the pineapple maze on Oahu, I love mazes of all kinds, so this is where we headed first.

Other lovely spots on the grounds include the Privy Garden, which was the private garden of the king and has a very geometric style, the Pond Gardens, which are sunken flower gardens that were originally ornamental ponds used for holding fish, and the Great Vine, a grape vine planted in the 1760s by Lancelot “Capability” Brown. [Side note: I’m really not sure which is worse, having the name Lancelot, or being called Capability.]

Privy Garden, Hampton Court

In short, there is much to see and do here, and Hampton Court is certainly worth the detour!

Westminster Abbey

Yes, I insisted on revisiting Westminster Abbey on my trip to London last month because of the royal wedding this morning. I hate to admit it, but I’m a sucker for the pageantry of it all. It’s one reason I love attending Catholic mass despite the fact that Protestant hymns are vastly superior.

In any case, it had been a long time since I had been inside. I was quite shocked by the entrance fee, which is £16, or about $25. As a rule, I have a problem with a church charging an entrance fee. There just seems to be something inherently wrong in that. And, when that church also asks that you respect the setting and not take pictures? That seems a bit like trying to have your cake and eat it too. In any case, the photos here are from the official website.



Quire, Westminster Abbey

It was crazy crowded, which was a shame, because there really is a lot to see beyond just the architecture of the church itself. The audio guide is decent, but could give more detail. Of course, with so many people (and a friend waiting outside), I couldn’t really linger. Highlights include the Quire, the Chapel of Henry VII with the tombs of Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots, the Cloisters, and the Coronation Chair, which for restoration had been moved to near the Grave of the Unknown Warrior at the main entrance. Personally, I found Poet’s Corner a bit disappointing; it was too crowded, both with the dead and the living. My favorite piece by far was the monument commemorating Lady Elizabeth Nightingale in the North Transept and Ambulatory. The figure of Death reaching out to grab her is incredibly moving.

Sculpture by Louis François Roubiliac

All in all, despite the cost, I highly recommend a visit. The church is very beautiful and there is lots to see inside to make it worth the detour.

* Photos were taken from the official Westminster Abbey website.

The Phantom of the Opera

—What’s wrong with it?

—I'll tell you what's wrong with it, my lad. It’s dead, that’s what’s wrong with it!

—No, no, it’s uh,... resting… it’s, ah... probably pining for the fjords…

It seems only fitting to resurrect this long-dormant blog with an entry about the home of one of the most famous “ghosts” of all time. This post is dedicated to La Javanaise, who has been looking for a new entry here for quite awhile and who thinks that the Palais Garnier is worth the detour.

Palais Garnier facade

Marc Chagall's famous ceiling

While in Paris to visit family last month, I had the great good fortune to attend two performances at the historic opera house of the Opéra National de Paris, the Palais Garnier. For some reason, throughout my time living in Paris, I never made it inside this building, despite attending multiple ballet performances—all of which happened to take place at the Opéra Bastille, the new opera house in the twelfth arrondissement.

You can, of course, take a guided tour of the opera house itself, but I highly recommend attending a performance if you can. For one, you might get to sit in the best cheap seats I’ve ever experienced:

Seriously, if the War Memorial Opera House had this kind of seating in the upper balconies, I would get full subscriptions for both the opera and ballet every year.

So, how does one get tickets? Well, if there are tickets available, you can reserve online (in either French or English) at the official website and print out your ticket. Unfortunately, to even check availability, you have to first register, which is annoying. Furthermore, the seating and pricing chart is very complicated and advice on where to sit was hard to find on the Internet (the reservation site will tell you your potential seat, but there is no corresponding chart with numbered seats to let you know where it’s located). For the boxes pictured above, it’s important to know that the boxes are numbered starting at the stage with even numbers to the right (stage left) and odd numbers to the left (stage right). So, the lower your number, the closer you are to the stage, and the more cut off one side of the stage will be. Boxes numbered in the thirties are at the center of that particular level. Ideally, in each box, you want seats #1 and/or #2, which are at the front, or #3 and #4, which are in the second row; it will be very difficult to see from seats #5 or #6. One great feature of the reservation system is that it picks the “best” seat for your price range and, before you actually purchase your ticket, you see a photo of the view from your exact seat, so you do eventually see precisely what you are buying.

For Kátia Kabanová, I was able to buy tickets online and was seated in the 2ème loge, box 12, seat 1. This box was fairly close, which was nice, but much of the right side of the stage (stage left) was blocked from view. Luckily, the performance was primarily blocked to be on stage right; I’m not sure what I would have seen had I been in a box on the other side. You can see my write-up of the performance over at Sly Wit.

For Coppélia, I had to be a bit more adventurous. I went early for last-minute tickets, but only three tickets were available for the Sunday matinée and there were already quite a few people in line. I ended up buying tickets from a scalper at the front of the opera house itself. Obviously, I was taking a chance, but I had scoped out the guy in advance and watched him sell a ticket. Since he stuck around, and he was right in front of the security guard, I figured I could immediately check its authenticity and would at least have the recourse of yelling at him if it didn’t work. Based on the prices I was quoted, I would plan on paying an extra 30-40 euros per ticket. For my seat, which was in the 3ème loge, box 23, seat 3, this meant paying about $70 total for an $18 ticket (an orchestra seat would have been about $185). Technically, this seat had reduced visibility, but it really didn’t and I could see everything. Given the luxuriousness of my loge, it still seemed a better value than the opera house tickets I buy in San Francisco. While I still wish I had seen the production here in San Francisco, I don’t regret it one bit.

For both performances, the chandelier stayed in place. No phantoms were seen.

Mission Impossible

There are 21 missions on California’s Historic Mission trail, running from San Diego de Alcala in the south (the first mission, founded in 1769) to the Mission San Francisco Solano (1823) in the northern wine country. I don’t find the individual missions themselves very exciting, but, taken as a whole, as part of California’s living history, I find them fascinating. And, of course, since they are catalogued as a trail, I want to visit them all. Most of the missions are along Route 101, which traces the historic route of El Camino Real, the Royal Road established by the Spanish as they moved their empire northward through California. On my most recent trip to Southern California, I visited two: the Mission San Antonio de Padua, 40 miles north of Paso Robles, and the Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa.

Mission San Antonio de Padua was the third mission built in California and possesses the first bell made in the state. I’m not so sure I would categorize it as worth the detour, mostly because it is a really, really long detour off of 101 (25 miles or so), on an army base, with nothing in the vicinity. But, if you are interested in missions, it is a different architectural style than the others I’ve seen, with a very pretty interior garden, and in a very beautiful setting. There are also picnic tables on the grounds that would be perfect for a picnic lunch rest stop.

 

Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa was the fifth mission to be built in California in 1772. It is unusual in that the chapel is L-shaped, with a very pretty ornamental archway separating the two halves. The decoration in general makes this mission a bit more inviting than others I have seen. I particularly liked the fountain sculptures outside in the plaza, which reflect the historic nickname of this area, the "Valley of the Bears." Unlike San Antonio de Padua, this mission is right in the heart of downtown San Luis Obispo, and is easy to visit if you happen to be in this very cute town, or are staying at the Madonna Inn.
















Asilomar

Asilomar, or rather, the Asilomar State Beach and Conference Grounds, was designed to be a YWCA retreat by Julia Morgan, the Arts & Crafts architect of Hearst Castle. Asilomar is actually a made-up word roughly meaning “refuge by the sea.” Located in Pacific Grove on the edge of the Monterey Peninsula, the over 100 acres of beachfront land is certainly that. It is hard not to feel the quiet pull of nature while there—within moments of checking in, as I entered my room, deer ambled by my window. The ocean is just steps away and the grounds of the center connect to the beach over a short boardwalk over wild dunes.

Leaping into the yard of Scripps lodge

Asilomar is now a conference center, but, when there is space available, leisure travelers can book rooms separately. The historic buildings designed by Morgan are listed in the National Register of Historic Places and that’s where I chose to stay. Rooms of various types and sizes can be found in these lodges, all with private baths, as well as a common living room and fireplace in the center of the building (great for reading). Prices are very reasonable for the area. Guests are provided breakfast in the main dining hall and can eat other meals there, but, in general, the food is nothing to write home about. Since I had been warned not to eat there, I chose to eat other meals in downtown Pacific Grove and nearby Monterey.

Scripps lodge



View of the grounds and ocean from Scripps



Scripps room

The rustic lodges of Asilomar are probably not to everybody’s taste, especially given that there are no telephones or televisions, but I thought they were heaven. The beds were comfortable, the rooms were clean, and the setting can’t be beat.

Sunset at Asilomar Beach