Sunday, February 28, 2016

California locations made famous by stars from The Beach Boys to The Beatles

  • San Diego Zoo is recognisable as the place on the cover of Puppy Sounds 
  • Elvis’s auto is still parked inside a private garage at The Beverly Hills Hotel
  • MailOnline Travel took a 14-day trip about California’s rock landmarks

Simon Lewis for MailOnline

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It’s called the Golden State for its famous gold rush, its golden poppies and the light that film-makers love. However just what regarding the golden age of rock and roll? 

I set out on a two-week road trip to discover the California places made famous by classic album covers and legendary rock exploits. 

What I found was a landscape stranger and a lot more varied compared to I’d imagined.

First steps

The Eagles wrote Hotel California after a disorienting stay at the Beverly Hills Hotel (pictured)

The Eagles wrote Hotel California after a disorienting remain at the Beverly Hills Hotel (pictured)

'Californians assume everyone in a Mustang is a tourist, which means you get honked at less' said Simon Lewis

‘Californians assume everyone in a Mustang is a tourist, which means you grab honked at less’ said Simon Lewis

California is huge – as big as Italy – so if you’re only there for a fortnight, you should go with your route. Mine would certainly take in a range of sights from palm-dotted beaches to desert roads and winding mountain tracks. I started in the far South, at San Diego.

Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks and Rudolph Valentino stayed there and Edward VIII met Wallis Simpson in its banqueting room if you believe the rumours Simon said the Joshua Tree is a must-see national park at the meeting point of the Mojave and Colorado desertsThe Joshua Tree is finest known as the name of a U2 album However in naked truth a must-see national park at the meeting point of the Mojave and Colorado deserts Hidden away simply off the Strip is a far a lot more private and quieter place for musicians to stay: the Sunset Marquis  Led Zep, Aerosmith, Black Sabbath, The Clash, The Ramones and Guns ¿N¿ Roses have all stayed here

Led Zep, Aerosmith, Black Sabbath, The Clash, The Ramones and Guns ‘N’ Roses have actually all stayed here

Sophisticated rooms along with velvet furnishings feature flat-screen TVs, marble baths and premium linens Paul McCartney and John Lennon both holed up here in the 1970s, having discovered its charms in the days of Beatlemania and Elvis¿s car is still parked in the private garage

Paul McCartney and John Lennon both holed up here in the 1970s, having discovered its charms in the days of Beatlemania and Elvis’s auto is still parked in the private garage

At The Beverly Hills hotel, Elizabeth Taylor ordered for a bottle of vodka at breakfast during her six honeymoons

At The Beverly Hills hotel, Elizabeth Taylor ordered for a bottle of vodka at breakfast throughout her 6 honeymoons

Paul McCartney and John Lennon both holed up here in the 1970s, having discovered its charms in the days of Beatlemania. Elvis’s auto is still parked in the private garage.

I had coffee and eggs at the 1950s breakfast bar and met a long-haired local on his means to ride motorbikes along with Eric Burdon from The Animals. He told me a rambling story regarding his mates Ringo Starr and Joe Cocker, and why Ringo need to ‘kiss Joe’s ass’ for recording along with A Little Assistance From My Friends. It’s that type of place. Upstairs by the pool, producers were meeting along with stars in their bikinis, protected by the no-photos rule and the air of refined laissez-faire. There were Kardashians. However I don’t count them as rock and roll.

Tucked away on a residential street off the bustling Sunset Strip, the Sunset Marquis Hotel is a storied hangout for rock ¿n¿ roll icons

Tucked away on a residential street off the bustling Sunset Strip, the Sunset Marquis Hotel is a storied hangout for rock ‘n’ roll icons

If you’re going to San Francisco

My last stop would certainly be the birthplace of the 60s counter-culture that spawned rock as we know it. It’s a long drive from LA to San Francisco, However if you stick to the coast road it’s one of the most scenic drives on earth. 

So far I’d seen the steamy South, the parched desert and the hazy neon and palm trees of Los Angeles. Now I was seeing vineyards, salad farms and, about Big Sur, the beginning of the redwood forests that stretch up the coast to Canada.

Big Sur, where the Santa Lucia mountains plunge in to a Pacific teeming along with whales, is so beautiful it’s almost a religious experience. You Can easily see why the Initial generation of hippies sought it out. A week after Woodstock, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young played a free folk festival at the Esalen Institute (likewise seen in the last episode of Mad Men). 

It’s private However if you have actually lunch at the nearby Nepenthe clifftop restaurant, you’ll grab the same awe-inspiring views.

They call San Francisco’s Fillmore the ‘Vatican of rock’ and its equivalent of the Sistine chapel is the poster room, lined along with all the psychedelic flyers for legendary gigs there by Jimi Hendrix, the Doors, Led Zeppelin, The That and Pink Floyd. 

The nearby Matrix, where Jefferson Airplane debuted, is still a music venue However the iconic Winterland Ballroom is now luxury flats.

The old hippy neighbourhoods are long because gentrified, you see. 

The Grateful Dead residence on Ashbury Street is a beautiful wooden Victorian townhouse and the Jefferson Airplane residence on Fulton Street is a gleaming white mansion in the style of a Greek temple. 

Scenes of wild bacchanals in their day, both are now private homes. Supporters scratch their tributes on nearby railings.

Where do rock stars remain in San Francisco today? There are no bungalow-based hideaways to compare along with LA’s.

So rather stars seek out the most effective views. None compare to the view from the top of the Mark Hopkins, the tallest building on San Francisco’s highest hill. 

When the Rolling Stones stay, they rent two entire floors of this regal 1920s hotel. 

A fitting place to end my tour of California’s rock landmarks. I spent the last night at the bar, gazing out over the Golden Gate Bridge, plucking at an imaginary Telecaster and dreaming of desert roads.

 



from Golden Land Travel http://ift.tt/1XSWRyJ

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