Sunbathing Is Not Why You Should Visit These 3 California Beaches In Summer
These beaches along the California coastline are worth a trip for a completely different reason than swimming and sunbathing. Here, the focus is on wildlife, not the people, soaking up the sun.
From elephant seals and seabirds to migrating whales and resident orcas, these destinations offer front-row access to the Golden State's raw, untamed nature up close.
Morro Bay is a coastal city in San Luis Obispo County on California's Central Coast. It is approximately 13 miles west of San Luis Obispo and about 200 miles north of Los Angeles.
Start the morning kayaking in the Morro Bay Estuary, an 800-acre wetland with salt marshes and mudflats. It is home to over 250 species, like sea otters, harbor seals and wading birds. Paddle toward the sandspit and walk along the dunes for amazing views of the bay and Morro Rock.
Kayaking in Morro Bay Estuary in California.
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Return to the Embarcadero and stop for a seafood lunch. Morro Bay's culinary scene is deeply rooted in its oyster farming heritage, dating back to 1932. Local farms cultivate Pacific Gold oysters in Morro Bay's nutrient-rich waters, later served fresh in restaurants like The Kicker's.
Add visiting the Morro Bay State Park to hike through salt marshes and coastal trails or walking along the boardwalk through pygmy oaks and chaparral in Elfin Forest to the itinerary.
End the day near Morro Rock to watch the sunset or spot sea lions, cormorants and pelicans living around it.
Point Lobos State Natural Reserve is approx. 3 miles south of Carmel-by-the-Sea on California's Central Coast. California State Parks calls it "the crown jewel of the California State Park System."
The Reserve stretches underwater and includes part of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Its 70-foot-high kelp forest and marine wildlife, including lingcod, rockfish, harbor seals, sea otters, and sea stars, make the Reserve a famous diving and snorkeling location.
Diving permits for Whalers and Bluefish Cove are limited to ten teams of two per day to protect the area.
After diving, do not say goodbye to the area. Continue above water and explore Cypress Grove Trail and Bird Island Trail to spot sea otters, harbor seals, and California sea lions on the shore.
Have dinner in Carmel-by-the-Sea, known for its fairytale cottages and storybook architecture, much of which was designed by Hugh Comstock in the 1920s.
It boasts a vibrant culinary scene with 60 restaurants, including Michelin-starred Aubergine, offering an eight-course tasting menu. The town also has 18 wine-tasting rooms featuring selections from the vineyards of Monterey County.
Point Reyes National Seashore is in Marin County, Northern California, about 40 miles northwest of San Francisco. It is a protected coastal area known for rugged cliffs, elephant seal colonies and whale watching spots directly along the shore.
One of the best spots to observe elephant seals safely is the Elephant Seal Overlook, where visitors can marvel at the views of Drakes Bay.
Elephant seals in Point Reyes National Seashore
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Visiting Point Reyes in spring coincides with the final weeks of elephant seal pupping season, meaning the highest number of pups on the beaches.
However, in summer, male elephant seals return to shore for their annual molting season, shedding their outer layer of skin and fur. This process leaves them resting on the beach for weeks.
National Park Service calls the Point Reyes Peninsula one of the best land-based whale watching on the West Coast.
Elevated viewpoints like the Point Reyes Lighthouse, the end of the Chimney Rock Trail and the Tomales Point Trail provide ideal vantage points for spotting migrating humpback, blue and fin whales, or the resident minke whales and orcas.
California's wildlife-rich coastline is just one example of how beaches can offer more than sun and surf. Seeing camels in Oman, cows in Scotland, or rabbits in Japan are only a few examples of how animals and people share the beach in perfect harmony.
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Business Insider
16 hours ago
- Business Insider
My favorite meal in Italy didn't come from an iconic restaurant. I made it in a cooking class in Florence.
As I planned my first visit to Florence, I knew the trip would be filled with delicious Italian pasta, pizza, and pastries. But I never could have predicted that my favorite meal would come from a cooking class. My experience with Pasta Class Florence featured three delicious pastas, including an unforgettable ragù tagliatelle, and tips and tricks for re-creating them at home. Here's why it was the highlight of my trip to Florence. I found Pasta Class Florence while browsing on Airbnb Experiences. In addition to a 4.99-star rating and over 6,000 reviews, what drew me to Pasta Class Florence was the "About Me" description from its owner, Michele Gualtieri. The Michelin-trained chef credited his grandmother with teaching him everything he knows and said he started the class in her kitchen back in 2018. His goal was to take others to the "magical world of pasta." What better world could there be? After a quick Google search, my fiancé Peter realized we could book the three-hour class — which was 92 euros, or about $108, a person — through its website instead of Airbnb. We were happy to save a few dollars and pay the small company directly! I was drawn to the fact that the class seemed to host smaller workshops than its competitors. Only seven people, including Peter and me, attended the 10 a.m. class we took in June. We all had plenty of space at the massive wooden table that was our workstation for the day. Each person stood behind a small mountain of flour with two eggs nestled in the center. Before we began making pasta, our instructor, Simone Strazzulo, prepped the ragù. Like Gualtieri, the founder of Pasta Class Florence, Strazzulo is a Michelin-trained chef. After working in London, Strazzulo — who began cooking in restaurants when he was 14 — wanted to return home. He shared his story with us while chopping the veggies for our soffrito as the meat sizzled in a nearby pan. Once it had caramelized, Strazzulo added the soffrito, plus herbs, tomato paste, and red wine. The ragù needed to be cooked on low heat for at least two hours to develop flavor. By the time we were done making pasta, it would be ready. It was time to make pasta! We made a well in our pile of "00" flour and cracked each egg in the middle, using a fork to break up the yolks as we created our dough. After kneading and rolling out our dough by hand, we made our first pasta shape. Our first dish was tortelli, a stuffed pasta that's a bit larger in size than tortellini. Per Strazzulo's instructions, I carefully scooped small balls of my cheese mixture to dot across the blanket of dough. As we worked, Strazzulo filled our glasses with a delicious Tuscan red. Did I mention this class included bottomless wine? I was surprised by how easy it was to make the homemade pasta. We also learned how to make homemade agnolotti and tagliatelle. Strazzulo showed us how to fold our leftover dough and use a knife to cut the ribbons, which were revealed in appropriately dramatic fashion as we slid our knife underneath them. (This TikTok has a great visual demo of the technique.) As Strazzulo worked on the pasta sauces, he gave us his top Florence recommendations. Another thing I appreciated about the class was that we were sent an extensive list of recommendations for our Italy trip. It included everything you could want from Florence — restaurants, wine tours, cheese and sandwich shops, gelato, and cocktails, as well as additional tips for those traveling to Milan, Rome, or Bologna afterward. The following night, we used the list to find a pizza spot and had a lovely dinner at Il Pizzaiuolo, which had one of the best gnocchi dishes I've ever tasted. The list also directed us to Locale, a chic and creative cocktail bar. 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National Geographic
19 hours ago
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How the province of Girona became one of Spain's gastronomy stars
This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK). High on a Catalan hilltop just beyond the city of Girona's medieval old town, the maître d' at the Roca brothers' newly opened restaurant, Esperit Roca, draws back a heavy curtain and ushers me into a cavernous, domed wine cellar. There's a sense of theatre as the haunting aria from Handel's The Triumph of Time and Truth oratorio announces my arrival and I'm guided past a city's worth of wine racks into a high-ceilinged, industrial-chic dining room that's been stylishly converted from a 19th-century fortress. Esperit Roca is the latest restaurant from chef Joan Roca and his brothers, sommelier Josep and pastry chef Jordi, whose three Michelin-starred El Celler de Can Roca has twice been awarded the number one spot on The World's 50 Best Restaurants list. A selection of exquisitely presented amuse-bouches is a sign of great things to come. 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The eight-course tasting menu includes a dish called 'cigala artemisa' — a combination of tenderly grilled langoustine enveloped in a warm sauce made with vanilla oil, browned butter and artemisia, a bitter, aromatic herb. With the French border to the north and Barcelona around an hour's drive to the south, the province of Girona takes in both the lush, amazingly fertile winemaking region of the Empordà and the rugged, pine-clad coast of the Costa Brava. The Catalan writer Josep Pla famously said that 'a country's cuisine is its landscape in a pot', and it's an adage that's certainly true in this area. I've been visiting for over 20 years and it's hard to find bad food — it's invariably good wherever you go. As with the Catalans' French neighbours, food here is much more than simply something to snatch hurriedly in order to refuel — it's an important part of day-to-day life. And dining out isn't just reserved for special occasions. 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Most small towns around these parts still have their own superb food markets, but one of the most impressive is Girona's Mercat del Lleó. Photograph by Getty Images Most small towns around these parts still have their own superb food markets, but one of the most impressive is Girona's Mercat del Lleó, which is where I meet Gina Guillén of Girona Food Tours for an action-packed, three-hour exploration of the city. Less than 10 minutes' walk from the steep, narrow, cobbled streets of Girona's old town — famously used as a filming location for Game of Thrones — the market is like a smaller, less touristy version of Barcelona's famous Boqueria. Purposeful-looking chefs and shopping trolley-wielding grannies are busy eyeing up stalls selling everything from the plump red tomatoes used in pan con tomate (bread with tomato) to superb-looking hams and homemade sausages hanging high up on hooks, sparkling fish glistening on ice and pert olives in every shade of green. At cheese stall La Formatgeria, owner Eduardo Orozco invites me to try dainty slices of madurat de sora — a firm but tender and tangy goat's cheese that's the colour of ivory — from the nearby Garrotxa region, just north west of the city. Alongside the cheese, he offers me a mix of walnuts and dried apricots as well as an organic homemade pear and wine jam. It's a glorious combination and once again, as Eduardo explains, it's all about the land. 'Our produce reflects the richness of the soil and the land that we have here,' he tells me. 'The quality of the soil has a big impact on the grass where the animals graze, so in turn you get top-quality milk, butter and cheese.' Leaving the market, Gina takes me on a fascinating walk through the old town, regaling me with tales of medieval merchants, pioneering Jewish physicians and noblemen's feuds. The streets are packed with restaurants, including several from the new generation of chefs, many of whom have trained at El Celler de Can Roca. 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La Taverna del Ma Expect spectacular sea views and super-fresh seafood including lobster, prawns, oysters, langoustine and ray at this spot overlooking the beach in the smart resort of S'Agaró. The salmon tartare with avocado is exceptional. Two courses from €60 (£50). Esperit Roca If you want to get a taste of the Roca brothers' legendary El Celler de Can Roca but can't wait two years for a table, this new, Michelin-starred venue north of Girona city offers the 'greatest hits' from El Celler. Try 'turbot trilogy', featuring grilled turbot fin, turbot loin and turbot carpaccio, along with 'toda la gamba' ('all of the prawn'), which focuses on the part that diners often discard: a crispy prawn head in a silky fish velouté. Eight-course tasting menus from €139 (£115). To subscribe to National Geographic Traveller (UK) magazine click here. (Available in select countries only).
Business Insider
2 days ago
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When our twins went to camp for the first time, we went to Las Vegas. Taking time to reconnect was the best parenting decision.
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