Crap. I’m finding it rather hard to recall much about Monterey. Lets do this quick.
It was following several discussions with my esteemed colleagues and friends, that we decided we would rover on up the coast and stop off at Monterey of which received decent reviews as a pretty little place where we could happily plonk our sorry tired carcasses for the night.
The hotel we stayed in was well kept, comfortable, and came equipped with Disturbingly Perky Receptionist Who Knew Everything and Could Help You With Anything. I am kept quietly entertained by such people. Its like they switch on Uber-Yank and off they go.
Monterey is described as ‘a beautiful coastal city’ – firstly, I can only assume they count seagulls in the general population when categorising as a ‘city’, and secondly, its a sad state of affairs when the most I can remember about Monterey was an especially peculiar receptionist, and a distubingly low ratio of normal folk:vagrants wandering around the main street on a Saturday night. (UK vagrants – at least they observe the quintessential english rules and choose to ignore you completely when you walk past. US vagrants – still retain that chatty yank quality, albeit with a threatening ‘i’ll mug you’ undertone – much more alarming).
So yeah, it wasn’t all that amazing. Having arrived relatively late in the afternoon/early evening, we toddled off in search of the main street (Alvarado St -i only remember it cos it reminds me of avocados – heh.) Having realised we had found it, we had to walk up and down it a couple of times, crossing the pavement on several occasions to avoid potential mugging opportunities, to find a decent place for dinner. It was called Lalapalooza – and I swear it was classier than it sounds – and whilst the decor and service was perfectly pleasant in a sort of bar-cum-classy pub-cum-hey-we’re-a-also-a-family-friendly-restaurant kinda way, the food was alright, if a little meh. Being a coastal town, I seem to recall lots of varieties of tiny little fish on the menu, snappers and the like – all of which was quite interesting but at least in the form of my dinner choice, not all that memorable.
On a side note, I do like how Monterey’s Wikipedia page states that “it is along this road that you will find superb restaurants, a selection of bars, and many unique shops.” So, there was a shop that sold Futons. Really?
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| For lack of any photos. |
We had to leave pretty early the next day, and hadn’t arrived early enough the previous night to properly look around the place and the bay in daylight. As a compromise, we did a circuit in the car before we headed off (aquarium, boardwalk, meh, s’ok), and although I can understand the place would attract a lot of families looking for a relaxed, kid-friendly weekend away, there didn’t seem that much there for the mid to late twenties demographic, especially when compared to the charm of Santa Barbara or the nostalgic spirit of Santa Cruz. Perfectly good for a stop over, but in my opinion not all that memorable, with the sweeping bays and scenic look-out points out and around Monterey overshadowing the ‘city’ itself.
I seriously lack any photos, so instead you’ll have to make do with this, whilst I hastily move onto Santa Cruz..
KJK 