About time I told you some more about our California travels - only two more weeks until I leave on another trip, so let's get this show on the road! Today I'll be showing you the second leg of our road trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco (check out the first part here). Since we broke up the journey in San Luis Obispo, we had about 5 hours of driving to do on both days. Seemed feasible, but if you want to do some sightseeing along the way it'll still make for a jampacked schedule. Ideally, I'd break up the trip in three days rather than two - there's just so much to see and explore!
Let's start with our SLO Airbnb, which was hosted by a lovely old hippie couple that were incedibly welcoming and friendly. Definitely the type of place that is more a home than a hotel, and we had our best night's sleep here! I loved the cabin-like decor, and our outdoor shower. California bohemian at its finest.
The next morning we planned to have breakfast at the place we had passed the night before: the Madonna Inn. The place has its own highway exit and really stood out thanks to its deliciously kitchy neon sign. I had actually never heard of the Madonna Inn but this is apparently a total must visit if you're ever in the San Luis Obispo area if you're into vintage Americana and kitsch - just see for yourself.
It's pink and it has cowboys. How could I resist?
Now, as I've gathered the Madonna Inn was established by Alex Madonna, a real estate magnate (and a bit of a cowboy) in 1958. I think his favourite colour was pink.
The minute you enter, you're overwhelmed by the florals, the pink, the furniture - it's basically an assault on the senses in the very best way possible. This is sort of how I imagined the Enchanted Hunters hotel from Lolita to look like, but on LSD.
This is my happy place. I feel like Lana Del Rey's "When the world was at war we kept dancing" video should be filmed here, because it simultaneously feels like a war (against good taste) and a celebration (of all things girly and pink). So yeah. I was instantly obsessed.
The Madonna Inn's Copper Café is known for its crazy cakes as much as it is for its pink, vintage decor. The pink champagne cake is their signature dish, so obviously we had to try it. I also had their eggs benedict with fresh fruit, which was nice but nothing special. The food is quite expensive here, but you mostly pay for the experience. 100% worth it btw.
See that red glass goblet? And the pink sugar shaker? Yep. This place is crazy.
After stuffing our faces with pink champagne cake, we started our drive up north. A next stop was made along the camino real (or king's road), the old route up to the San Francisco bay that connects the old Spanish missions marked by that iconic bell-marker. Another cool piece of Californian history I didn't know much about before driving here. We paused at the Mission Nuestra Senora de Soledad, which was founded all the way back in 1791. I'm not a religious person at all, but it's just so palpable how the church's missionaries played a huge part in determining the face of America today. Made me understand the way religion still plays such a huge part here.
Getting closer to San Francisco, we also made stop at Carmel by the Sea. I had heard a lot about it being this beautiful little artistic/bohemian town, but we totally didn't feel it when we arrived. Strangely, Carmel felt like we were walking through an outlet village or something, an artificial kind of quaintness that wasn't nearly as entertaining as the silliness of the Madonna Inn. Carmel was also incredibly touristy. More specifically, rich touristy. Loads of people smelling of money looking for overpriced artisanal candles etcetera - not really our scene. So off we were after just a couple of minutes.
I grabbed my phone and googled if there was anything else worth checking out nearby, and Point Lobos was high on the list of recommendations. Since we didn't have much hiking/state parks on our itinerary, I figured this would be a good addition to our day. And boy was it worth it! How does California manage to pack so much gorgeousness into one state??
t-shirt, cap: Forever21 - skirt: c/o Shein - handbag: Kate Spade NY - socks: & Other Stories - Vans: c/o ZEB fashion
There's seals sleeping on that rock!
More seals!
We only spent about an hour here since we had to drop off our rental car at SF airport before 7pm, but the place absolutely made an impact. That sapphire blue water, the herby scent of the wildflowers, the sun and the call of birds of prey carried by the wind - magical.
And then San Francisco finally appeared on the horizon! I'll take you there in my next blogpost ;-)
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