DESTINATION FOCUS Sailing Into... Santa Monica
Gary Buchanan reports on a real gem of a pre- or post-cruise destination in Los Angeles
west to the Hawaiian Islands, south for a transit of the Panama Canal, north to San Francisco and Alaska or a week-long sojourn to the Mexican Riviera. And, after the long flight to get here, it is definitely worth taking a few days in Southern California to acclimatise. Savvy cruisers should also be aware the port of Los Angeles – San Pedro – is a long way from the City of Angels. So, for a foretaste of the ocean, there can be no better place to whet your appetite for life at sea than delightful Santa Monica. In the 1900s, this was a holiday play- ground for working class Angelenos who flocked to the newly-built amusement pier while high-rollers from Hollywood came to gamble in the casino boats offshore. Hotels sprung up, several of which – such as The Georgian, built in 1933 and home in its time to Clark Gable, Carole Lombard and mobster Bugsy Siegel – are still there today. A hundred years on from those halcyon
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days, this retro yet ritzy city has undergone a renaissance. Embodying its very soul is the iconic Pier, stretching 1,600ft across the Pacific Ocean from its arched neon gateway. The illuminated solar-powered Ferris Wheel lights up the night sky while
wonderful variety of ships offer sailings from Los Angeles these days, whether setting off on a grand world voyage, heading
the fanciful, all-wooden carousel – immor- talised in the film The Sting – spins inside the landmark Hippodrome building with its Byzantine-Moorish architecture. Legendary Route 66 concludes its 2,500-mile run from Chicago where the American continent meets the ocean, and it is here the journey begins for most visitors. It certainly did for newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst, who built a 106-room seafront mansion for his mistress, screen star Marion Davies, who threw lavish parties for Charlie Chaplin and Greta Garbo. Now partially converted into a histori- cal museum, it has been replaced by the gracious Annenberg Community Beach House – the first public seaside club in the US – with a magnificent black-and-white tiled pool.
Continuing the Art Deco theme, the Shangri-La Hotel, across from the mani- cured lawns and palm tree-lined bluff of Palisades Park on Ocean Avenue, is a chronicle of Old Hollywood glamour. This timeless boutique haven, dating from 1933, has undergone a multi-million dollar refur- bishment but maintains its Streamline Mod- erne architectural integrity. Looking like an ocean liner, the celebrity-infused bolthole is a perfect place for a pre-cruise stay. With its eight districts and less than 100,000 residents, Santa Monica is
compact, laid out in a grid system with a manageable core of half a dozen gentri- fied blocks. Adjacent to the harmonious, pedestrian-only Third Street Promenade, just off Ocean Avenue, Santa Monica Place is a reinvented shopping centre with a delightful ocean-view dining deck. Fine cuisine is also a well-established hallmark, with restaurant critics falling over themselves to do justice to an array of culinary delights at the Capo, BOA Steak- house and Michelin-starred Melisse. For a journey back in time, the Third Street Historic District boasts 38 fine old houses built between 1875 and 1935. Like an antidote to boutique-style shop- ping and eclectic dining, Santa Monica’s beach is a reflection of the city’s laid-back culture. The indigo blue waves lapping the sandy beach are caressed by warm sun – the perfect overture to any cruise.
SANTA MONICA FACTFILE
WHO GOES THERE: Cruise lines using the Port of Los Angeles include Crystal, Cunard, Disney Cruise Line, NCL, Oceania, Princess and Seabourn.
MORE INFO:
www.santamonica. com and
www.sanpedro.com.
Spring 2012 I WORLD OF CRUISING
69
Photo courtesy of Sondra
Stocker.com
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