My Swedish friend is going to Los Angeles and I’m jealous. Maybe next year I’ll go. I have a hankering for the Pacific Coast, for edgy innovative California on the edge of the map. I want to cycle the Santa Monica Strand and explore parts of the city that I haven’t explored yet, like Topanga. I want to cruise the coast along the PCH up to Santa Barbara where my cousins live. I want to visit Nepenthe in Big Sur, the dramatic cliff restaurant overlooking redwoods and the ocean below. I want to return to Napa (or was it Sonoma?) where my Californian friend, Lori, took me to sample “cabs” and pinot noir. I want to visit Sequoia or Yosemite. I want to stargaze at Griffith Park Observatory, then drive through the desert to float in a Palm Springs swimming pool, a large cocktail in hand. I want to visit those mid-century houses in Palm Springs, Frank Sinatra’s and Cary Grant’s included. So many things to see and do in America’s third-largest state, but, alas, so little time in which to see and do all. I’d like to live somewhere in CA, away from wildfires and Republicans, for six months to a year and explore all that CA has to offer.

This Pacific state is a hot destination for residents of France.

I’ve sent my friend these two visually awesome videos –

 

If you can’t expand the video below to full screen, go to VIMEO and type in Ian Wood, Los Angeles. This drone video is gorgeous; you need to see it on full screen.

https://la.curbed.com/2015/8/14/9930512/this-is-maybe-the-best-los-angeles-drone-video-ever-made

https://vimeo.com/