Around Pasadena

• Descanso Gardens: A restful beautiful garden with the world's largest collection of camelia bushes. Lunch can be obtained at a window counter. There is a modest admission charge. An hour's stroll will allow you to see most of the gardens. To reach Descanso Gardens: From the hotels or Athenaeum, get on the 210 Freeway headed West. Stay to the right and follow the signs to San Fernando. Take the Angeles Crest turnoff, turn left and follow the signs to Descanso.

• The Gamble House: a winter home of the Cincinnati Gambles (of Procter & Gamble) is a beautiful example of "complete design" by Pasadena architects Greene and Greene. Built at the turn of the century, the 8000 sq. ft. mansion is a featured example of the arts and crafts movement, in particular, the Craftsman style houses for which Pasadena became admired in the world of art and architecture. Gamble House is located on the 300 block of Orange Grove Avenue, just north of Colorado Blvd in Pasadena. After passing through Old Town Pasadena (westbound) on Colorado, turn right onto Orange Grove and look for the Gamble House, and signs pointing to it, on the left, about 1/2 mile up. Their phone number is 818-793-3334.

• Old Town Pasadena is a historic area of late 19th and early-20th century buildings near the intersection of Colorado Blvd and Fair Oaks Ave. There are many restaurants, coffee houses, boutiques, bookstores, etc in the streets and hidden alleyways of this newly revitalized area of town.

• Norton-Simon Museum: in Old Town Pasadena, at the extreme west end of Colorado Blvd. A small museum, but with a very nice art collection, including European painters and Hindu & Buddhist sculpture. The museum is open Thursday to Sunday noon-6pm. Also, check out the gardens of the Ambasador College 1 block from there, just south of Green St.

• LA Flower market between 7'th and 8'th st on Wall st downtown. Two blocks ! of flower stalls and just a really beautiful atmosphere. Nice breakfast cafe on the same street (the Operetta Cafe). The flower market is usually wholesale but goes open to the public from 8-11 am Saturday. Take 9'th st exit off the 110 S (in the LA downtown area), on 9'th St head SE for about 10 blocks to Wall st., turn left and go to 7/8/9'th st. and park.

• LA farmers market on Farifax avenue is full of good food stalls, coffee, etc ~1 sq. block and you can sit around there reading and eating for a couple of hours easily. Near LA Co. Museums also. Take 10 Frwy towards Santa Monica, exit at Fairfax, go north about 20 blocks and Farmers market is obvious on the left of Farifax.

• The Getty: near the 405 Fwy and Sunset Blvd, inland of Santa Monica. A spectacular setting, nice architecture, OK art collection, good special exibits. On weekends they are open 10am-6pm. You have to call first for a parking reservation or they won't let you in. Parking is $5.00 and the museum is free.  Call first for info (310-440-7300).

• The beaches: Nice walks near the water in Santa Monica, Venice, Manhattan and points south. It is also possible to rent a bike (rental places along the walks), and there are long biking/rollerblading paths parallel to the walks. In Santa Monica, the pedestrian mall, Third St, Promenade, may be amusing, especially in the evenings.

Prepared from contributions by George Djogovski, Allan Dressler, Nick Scoville, Lisa Storrie-Lombardi, Marcin Sawicki, and Ray Weymann