Recently hubby and I drove down to Pasadena to attend a friend's wedding. We were there for less than 48 hours but saw a lot!
We arrived in Los Angeles Friday evening and had dinner with my cousins and uncle at LYFE Kitchen in Culver City. After dinner we headed back to Pasadena to check into our hotel.
We stayed at the Sheraton just blocks from Old Town Pasadena. It was conveniently located with a nice room though ours had a broken shower head that sprayed water all over the bathroom until we realized hanging a small towel where it joins to the wall would block the spray from hitting the mirror, toilet, and floor. Parking was a bit pricy at $18.00 a day but it included in and out privileges. The staff was friendly, the room clean, and I would stay at this location again.
The next morning hubby wanted donuts for breakfast. I hopped on Yelp to see what our options were. With four out of five stars Royal Donuts had a rave review for their French crullers, one of the few donuts I like, so we hopped in the car and drove over. Reviewer Lynette T. said: "Melt-in-your-mouth French Crullers" and she was right. Mine was terrific.
Pasadena's City Hall is at 100 North Garfield Avenue.
After breakfast we went back to the hotel, dropped off the car, and walked over to Old Pasadena to visit its famous shopping district and the surrounding area. The most magnificent building we saw was Pasadena's City Hall built in 1927.
Walk through the entry arch and you'll find yourself in a beautiful Renaissance styled courtyard.
The fountain was hard to get a picture of because we counted no less than 4 wedding parties and one Quinceañera party taking formal portraits all around the property, especially near the fountain.
Here was one group doing that fun shot where all the guys leap in the air at the same time.
I felt transported to Europe while walking around the property.
I took several photos from the 2nd floor walkway above the courtyard. At each corner is a spiral staircase that leads up to the second level. It's beautiful isn't it? If you visit Pasadena don't miss it. It's really gorgeous.
It felt like spring as we ventured through the commercial shopping distract, a revitalization success story. We saw the Castle Green, ´lette macaron shop, and saw the most unusual purple tiles, both ceramic (on a wall) and glass (laid into the sidewalk), that I'd ever seen.
Hubby couldn't resist looking in the window at the Pasadena Cheesecake Factory to see if Penny from the Big Bang Theory really worked there.
We visited Memorial Park, passed a Metro train station, and at the park saw the historic site of the Pasadena Public Library.
With only a donut for breakfast and so much walking I was hungry. Since I chose our dinner location the night before hubby chose Jake's Burgers for lunch. It's a cute old fashioned diner with lots of counter seating. The staff was young and fun. I had a salmon burger and it was really good.
I had to smile when I saw that downtwon had scheduled an upcoming beer and wine event and the two wines they would be serving, Kendall Jackson and Coppola, both come from Sonoma up in Northern, CA.
After lunch we went walked a few doors down to the Three Dog Bakery so I could get a little something for Kitai.
His very own Henrietta Chicken dressed up as an Easter bunny in a bow tie, polka dot, one piece swimsuit, a pair of thongs, purple lipstick, and purple painted toe nails. LOL the only thing worse than her fashion sense is the way she sounds. She makes a long, wailing squawk that sounds like she's dying. Kitai loves honking her every day.
I'd hung onto the original bottle on the left in the hopes of finding it again.
And I found something I'd been missing for ages. Years ago we had a Lather store in the Bay Area but it had closed and I'd never seen another one until we were walking down E. Colorado Blvd. I can't wear floral scented anything because strong perfumes, lotions, and even the smell of candles usually trigger my migraine headaches. But Lather's Cranbery Orange moisturizer isn't floral scented, it smells fruity, a little spicy, and delicious. It's like the way my kitchen smells when I make orange cranberry sauce from scratch each Thanksgiving.
Not only does Lather have great lotion, they also had the coolest sink. I would LOVE to have a sink like this someday.
Later that day we went to Rebecca and David's wedding. Their ceremony was really sweet and we were so happy to have been able to attend to celebrate their very special day with them. Their theme was the movie UP and the details were adorable. For starters their friend, who is not a professional baker, made them an amazing cake complete with the big bunch of colored balloons. Name cards were small boxes of popcorn mixed with customized M&M's with their names and pictures printed on them. It was a really fun wedding.
After leaving the wedding we headed back to the hotel where we found what I dubbed "The saddest Birthday balloon in Pasadena." It had been forgotten or abandoned in the parking garage. Which seemed so odd. I would have taken it back into the hotel but thought its rightful owner might return looking for it so I left it where we found it, right in the middle of the driving lane.
It also made me smile because we'd just left a balloon themed wedding only to find a balloon decorated balloon in the garage.
The next day we stopped by Antelope Valley on our way home. We had a great three day adventure and I hope to have more of them in Southern California in the coming months and years.
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