Flying high in Santa Monica
It’s an unlikely place where residents of the City of Angels come to get their wings. But visitors to LA who want to fly high first have to get past Jenni.
Cutting a svelte figure in teensy black hotpants and a crop top, she is a powerhouse of bronzed muscle and military might. “I have control issues, I like telling people what to do,” Jenni says with a grin. Moments later she is barking orders at a petrified tourist dangling from a trapeze seven metres in the air.
Jenni, 28, has been “flying” with the Trapeze School New York at its newest location in Santa Monica for more than a year and, by her own admissions, hasn’t been this buff since her teenage days as a competitive rock climber.
The school is superbly positioned high on the boards of Santa Monica’s historic pier and, for those game to open their eyes, boasts sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Monica Mountains.
Thrillseekers who have taken the plunge range from a two-year-old toddler to an adventurous 85-year-old, while pop star Pink is among the more famous alumni.
“If you can hold on to the bar you can do it,” Jenni enthuses, although she’s had to draw the line at a 93-year-old super-granny. “She had two fake knees and we’re like, that just doesn’t sound like a good idea.”
As far as attractions go, the trapeze school perhaps best encapsulates the vibe of this ultra hip, laid back and health-conscious seaside city.
Santa Monica lazes elegantly on the Californian coast, occupying a 21km oceanfront patch about half an hour’s drive from downtown LA and a stone’s throw from bohemian Venice.
Named after Saint Monica by a Franciscan monk in 1769, Santa Monica has been a playground for the rich and famous for more than a century. Today her grand palm-lined boulevards and sweeping beaches rub shoulders with multi-million-dollar homes in leafy suburbia.
For Hollywood celebrities who call the city home, Santa Monica is a haven of relative anonymity. For their peers who prefer life in the fast lane, she’s a detox pitstop on the rebound from LA’s debaucherous party scene.
As for the visitor, the advice is simple. Live it up like a local and indulge in the lifestyle that Santa Monica is famous for.
She shares an ocean with Australia’s east coast and the similarities don’t end there. Surfing is a rite of passage for any energetic local and, with more than 340 days of sunshine a year, the outdoors is king.
The sand parts for cyclists, joggers and walkers who are well catered for on the foreshore bike trail. Here fitness fanatics and sun worshippers sweat it out past waterfront properties sporting outrageous price tags.
At the northern end of the beach lies an impressive relic of 1930s Hollywood glamour. The Marion Davies Guest House was built on the famous Gold Coast strip by newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst for his actress mistress. Once a palatial party magnet for A-listers, the Georgian mansion is today only a fraction of its former self but worth a visit.
Sometimes it’s hard mustering the energy to step out of the Californian sea and sun but Santa Monicans have an ingenious way of bringing their services to you. With a beach butler, sunbakers can be waited on like a movie star, feasting on a lunch spread without having to lift a cheek from their sun beds.
And if all that lazing about has thrown out your chakras, yoga sessions can be organised on the beach. Zen.
When it’s time to nourish the body, locals head to the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market in Arizona Avenue, off the beach. California is known as the food bowl of the US and the twice-weekly market is packed with growers selling the season’s freshest produce. In summer that means peaches the size of a fist, berries and tomatoes that come in a kaleidoscope of different colours. The market is also prime celebrity spotting territory for big names like Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Ritchie.
Restaurateurs including renowned “surfing chef” Rafael Lunetta source their produce directly from the market. At Lunetta’s JiRaffe Restaurant, ingredients make the leap from paddock to plate in a matter of hours, turning into tantalising dishes like his signature roasted beet salad with caramalised walnuts, dried bing cherries, goats cheese and ginger vinaigrette.
Other dining options abound at the newly opened Santa Monica Place shopping mall. Shopping centre dining might not have reached fad status at home but in California it’s all the rage. On the mall’s third level deck, six chef inspired restaurants enable foodies to dine under the stars on delights that cast a distasteful light on Aussie food court fodder.
The open air mall is open until late and chock-full of big department stores and high-end fashion. It’s slick and modern and surprisingly pet-friendly. After all, some of its most famous inhabitants have a penchant for carrying their pooches as handbag accessories.
And let’s not forget Santa Monica is the kind of place where misbehaving celebrities go to get their halos back.
FACT FILE
See www.santamonica.com.
Getting there: V Australia has direct flights to Los Angeles from Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne from $989pp return. Connecting flights are available with the Virgin Blue Group and throughout the US with airline partners. See www.vaustralia.com.au.
Where to stay: Hotel Shangri-La Opposite the beach with stylish sea-view rooms, spacious poolside deck area and penthouse bar. 1301 Ocean Ave. See www.shangrila-hotel.com.
Where to eat: JiRaffe Restaurant, 502 Santa Monica Blvd. See www.jirafferestaurant.com.
- Zengo – For Latin-Asian cuisine and cocktails on the dining deck of the new Santa Monica Place shopping mall. 395 Santa Monica Place. See www.richardsandoval.com/zengosm and www.santamonicaplace.com.
- Perry’s Cafe Beach Butler – For beachside dining brought to your sun bed. See www.perryscafe.com or email Betsy Saraceno rc3138@aol.com.
- Kreation Kafe Cafe – featuring organic and locally grown produce. 1023 Montana Ave. See www.kreationkafe.com.
What to do: Surfing lessons – Learn to Surf LA, www.learntosurfla.com; Go Surf LA, www.gosurfla.com.
- Beach Yoga, with Exhale Spa at Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows, www.exhalespa.com or trish@biancoyoga.com.
- Cycling Tours on motorised bikes with Pedal or Not, www.pedalornot.net or pedalornot@verizon.net.
- Trapeze School New York at Santa Monica Pier, www.trapezeschool.com or Brad Smith, brad@trapezeschool.com.
- Pampering and facials at Dermalogica’s flagship store, www.dermalogica.com/us/.
Tags: thrillseekers, svelte figure, crop top, grand palm
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