The four jewels of California

Wednesday 20 June, Monterey

The time has come to say goodbye to splendid San Francisco, which we will certainly note among the most beautiful cities ever seen. We pick up the car from Avis at an office two blocks from the hotel and, having set the very useful Gps, we set off in the direction of the Pacific, more precisely for the Monterey Peninsula. Given the beautiful day, we decide to start with a nice walk in the Point Lobos Reserve ($8 per car) and we follow the very pleasant path that leads to Bird Island, an island entirely covered with cormorants, passing between small and evocative bays of white sand and emerald-coloured water. A short distance away we reach Carmel by-the Sea, an elegant town full of art galleries and exclusive shops, splendidly overlooking a white beach a mile long.

From here begins the 17 Miles Drive, the road of the rich ($9 per car), reasonably scenic with several stopping points, including Cypress Grove, a solitary cypress perched over the ocean, and several golf courses where deer and fawns graze on the lawns of the billionaire villas. We end the day by reaching the Comfort Inn Munras motel in Monterey (€75 for the triple on expedia), which has an outdoor pool, but the low temperature certainly doesn't tempt you to put on a swimsuit.

In the evening we have dinner in a restaurant (Ellis Restaurant) in the nearby Del Monte shopping centre, where we eat a fabulous American ribeye ($10) while Davide dives into the kids' menu (fried chicken bites, chips, ice cream, coke, crayons and little toys for $3).

Thursday 21 June, San Simeon

In summer this is a foggy area and sure enough we wake up to a grey sky. We decide to wait hopefully for a bit of sun before leaving for Big Sur and, after a decent breakfast included in the motel price, we take the opportunity to visit the centre of Monterey, a historic California town. Nothing special, you can visit the Custom House, where all goods coming from Mexico had to pass through, Colton Hall, where the first California constitution was signed, and the more touristy Fisherman Wharf, modelled on the one in San Francisco with bars, shops and restaurants specialising in fish. Nearby, far more interesting is the Carmel Mission, one of the most attractive California missions built by Father Serra ($5).

Right on cue a glorious sun comes out and so it's the perfect moment to start Big Sur, over 100km of road crossing a wild coastal landscape, with fantastic views over the ocean and the mountains. Among the most spectacular spots are the Bixby Bridge which from its height of 79 metres offers breathtaking views of wild beaches surrounded by lagoons, several national parks including Pfeiffer State Park where with a short walk you reach McWay Fall, a coastal waterfall that plunges directly onto the beach of a bay set in a natural setting with unreal colours. The road continues winding and wild as far as Piedras Blancas, a long beach where a rare and very cute colony of elephant seals lives, bizarre creatures you could watch for hours.

We stop at San Simeon at the Courtesy Inn ($76 for a triple including mediocre breakfast), which has a well-equipped indoor pool with Spa, and we take the opportunity for the first swim of the trip, to Davidino's delight (nice and warm!!).

Friday 22 June, Three Rivers

This morning is dedicated to the visit of Hearst Castle, a fairytale construction from the 30s-40s commissioned by a billionaire press magnate, William Randolph Hearst, with suggestive marble pools, 115 extremely elegant rooms, for which we booked from home the obligatory guided tour (Experience Tour, $24). At the well-equipped Visitor Center we collect the tickets and, since we are early, we manage to join an earlier tour than ours. We get on a bus that travels all the way up the hill until reaching the magnificent castle, crossing an endless park. The tour starts from the stunning Neptune Pool, entirely made of marble with colonnades and a reproduction of a Greek temple. We then enter one of the three guest houses, Casa del Sol, and then continue to the imposing Casa Grande, with halls worthy of state apartments.

The tour ends in the indoor pool, the Roman Pool, which recalls the ancient Roman baths. We then leave the Pacific to head towards the mountains, which will accompany us over the next few days. The temperature changes suddenly on leaving the coast and the thermometer easily exceeds 30 degrees. We reach Three Rivers, gateway to Sequoia Np, where we stay at the Best Western Holiday Lodge ($120 with excellent breakfast), and we relax for a few hours in the outdoor pool finally warming up under the scorching sun. Mexican dinner in a nearby restaurant (about $40 for three).

Saturday 23 June, Sequoia, Yosemite

Today is a decidedly full day and a long transfer. The morning is dedicated to discovering the splendid Sequoia, a decidedly relaxing park, few people and enchanting walks in the shade of the enormous sequoias. These immense giants leave you breathless: up to 90 metres tall, with a circumference at the base of 30, you feel like ants in their presence. We stop at the Visitor Center where we take the first walk on the Sentinel Trail. Given the altitude, the temperature has dropped a bit and is very pleasant. Continuing a few km, you reach the car park where the path begins that descends to the Sherman Tree (20 minutes), the largest tree on the planet. From here the Congress Trail also starts, 2 miles among some of the tallest specimens in the world.

Back in the car, we cross the whole park heading west, a fairytale road always surrounded by the enormous Sequoias, until we reach Grant Grove Area, where we walk the last trail leading to the General Grant Tree, the Christmas tree of all the States. After a relaxing picnic under the sequoias, we set off following the interminable road that leads to another splendid park: Yosemite, which we reach after almost 4 hours of curves up and down the mountains. The Yosemite Valley presents itself with the splendid view-point admired from Tunnel View, simply extraordinary. A few more km and we reach our resort, the Yosemite View Lodge ($180 for a triple) in El Portal, practically at the entrance to the park. Unfortunately, despite having booked 6 months in advance, all the resorts (more convenient and cheaper) inside the park were already full.

After by now the classic refreshing swim in the pool, we take advantage of the kitchen available in the room to make ourselves a nostalgic "due spaghi", in truth a good half kilo of spaghetti enjoyed on the terrace!

Sunday 24 June, Yosemite

This morning, immersed in the American vibe, we cook ourselves some nice bacon directly in the room…after a few minutes we set off the fire alarm!! We set off to discover the splendid Yosemite, certainly one of the most beautiful places you can find in the world. We start with the Yosemite Falls which early in the morning are practically deserted, while in a couple of hours they will certainly be stormed by many tourists as it is one of the most easily accessible spots. Although it is only the end of June, the water flow is rather low, you can see that this year the snow melted early. The falls are nevertheless a marvel. We cross the whole Yosemite Valley where we admire the imposing and majestic granite peaks and the crystal-clear colours of the Merced river until we reach the car park of Curry Village.

Here we take the shuttle that operates in the park and get off at the start of the trail leading to Vernal Fall. The distance is not much (about 3km round trip) but the climb is rather tiring. An effort that will be repaid by the spectacle the falls offer, absolutely magnificent, a majestic flow of water plunging from a granite rock, with the spray giving us a nice shower. If you want, the trail continues to Nevada Fall, but it seems a bit excessive to us. After a nice picnic, we dedicate the afternoon to the excursion to Glacier Point about an hour's drive from the valley floor. The view this panoramic point offers at over 2000 metres above sea level is incredible, with Half Dome in the foreground, all the falls and the majestic and splendid Yosemite Valley.

In the evening we dine at the hotel restaurant, it seems expensive but the portions are enormous and it satisfies us fully ($54 for 3).

Monday 25 June, Death Valley

An incredible day today, we'll go from 3000 metres at Tioga Pass to the desert of Death Valley below sea level. A long transfer but on decidedly fast and deserted roads, so not at all stressful. The Tioga Road opened early this year, at the end of May, and indeed you only see snow on the highest peaks. We soon reach Olmsted Point, where we follow the signs that with a short walk lead to a very beautiful panoramic point, similar to Glacier Point. We continue along the wide road where it doesn't even feel like you're climbing to 3000 metres, we pass splendid alpine lakes, majestic peaks and endless pastures, like that of Tuolumne Meadows until we reach Tioga Pass. From here the road descends fast to Mono Lake, an immense lake with bizarre rock formations.

From here the road crosses the whole Eastern Sierra in a broad valley, with harsh peaks over 4000 metres high, we make a short detour to admire Convict Lake, an idyllic alpine pond surrounded by mountains. The 395 continues straight and fast passing only a couple of small towns, until reaching the junction with the 190 which leads to Death Valley. We travel a truly panoramic road, in a completely different environment from the one admired so far, vast desert landscapes, dunes and solitary cacti. At a certain point the signs indicate to turn off the air conditioning: the road continues uphill and the water temperature reaches extreme levels, which then return to normal on the descent. We thus arrive at Stovepipe Wells, the country motel style resort where we will spend the night ($116).

The temperature reads 48 degrees, the air is stifling, yet when you come out of the pool wet you feel cold. We dine in the only restaurant in the area, the resort's one, and eat decently for $50 for three. The sun sets, the surrounding mountains take on unreal colours, and the two white [dunes] of Stovepipe near us seem magical: emotions that only Death Valley can give.

Tuesday, June 26, Death Valley, Las Vegas

At 5.30 all three of us happen to wake up and within a few minutes we decide to get up to go to the dunes with the light and coolness of dawn. Indeed, climbing the dunes in summer is a feat to be undertaken exclusively at dawn. Having parked the car at the edge of the road, we climb the dunes barefoot, the temperature at 6 is "only" 32 degrees, it's really pleasant and we start running like mad up and down the dunes. Incredible, it feels like being in the middle of the Sahara desert, the delicate curves of the dunes at this hour appear in all their beauty. We return to the resort where we have a nice buffet breakfast ($8), then we set off to discover Death Valley which we want to visit by 1pm with a still bearable temperature.

We travel along Badwater Road with various stops: at Devils Golf Course we are surrounded by salt rocks, while at Badwater, the lowest point in the States at -86 metres, a very white highway made entirely of salt seems to begin. Fantastic is travelling the Artists Palette detour, with rocks that take on various colours, until the last stop at Zabriskie Point, the most beautiful panoramic point in the park over rocks with unreal colours and shapes. Our California tour ends in Las Vegas (where we had already been in 2000), where we return the car at the airport and then reach the Excalibur hotel (€60 on expedia) where we will stay 3 nights to recover from the efforts of the trip and to let Davidino rest and have some fun as a just reward for the km endured in the car and the many hikes done without ever complaining. In the evening we take a stroll to the New York and Mgm hotels.

Wednesday, June 27, Las Vegas

A day of relaxation by the pool, under the scorching sun of Las Vegas and its 40 degrees. In the late afternoon we take the Deuce bus that runs along the Strip, a crazy bus that stops for 10 minutes at every stop. Practically to do 2 km it takes us half an hour. We go to discover some truly surprising mega themed hotels that we hadn't had time to see the last time we were here. We start with Caesars Palace, in ancient Greek-Roman style, truly luxurious and extremely well-kept, complete with a gigantic Trojan horse, imposing fountains and avenues reproducing ancient Rome complete with artificial sky. We see the suggestive Atlantis show, with statues emerging from the water and spectacular fire effects. Next to it is the Bellagio, with its enchanting dancing fountain shows, truly not to be missed. Every 15 minutes a different show begins.

For dinner we rediscover the feast at the mega all-you-can-eat places, we opt for the Tropicana and we do really well, both in quality and price, moreover it is decidedly less crowded than the more famous ones (buffet at $15).

Thursday, June 28, Las Vegas

Another day of relaxation and the usual evening discovering the mega hotels. With the super modern and completely automatic monorail we go to the Luxor, then with the usual crazy bus we reach the Venetian area. Nothing new, just to show everything to Davide who walks around open-mouthed! We reach Treasure Island just a few minutes before the start of one of the most spectacular free shows in the city, the pirates versus the sirens one. We manage to carve out a privileged spot among the human horde and witness the classic triumphant explosion of fire, dancing and sensuality in perfect Las Vegas style, truly incredible. We finish with the Mirage, the tropical forest in the lobby and the volcano erupting in the garden.