So Near, Yet So Far Away

The first time I heard anyone mention Pasadena, it was in a negative sense. “Pasadena on that,” someone said, effectively vetoing whatever I’d suggested. (I know it sounds hokey, but it was the ‘70s. We thought paisley polyester was groovy, too.) But since I moved here from Manhattan, I’ve discovered that that if you “Pasadena” on Pasadena, you’re missing out on a great weekend escape.

What I like best about Old Pasadena is that it’s half an hour from Hollywood but in a whole ‘nother state of mind. It’s friendly, clean and safe, and people stroll around. Nobody asks you how your screenplay is coming along. Many of the people there don’t even seem to be writing screenplays. Instead, they have real jobs. Yet you can spend the day there and be back home in your own bed in time for the 11 o’clock news--where the top crime stories rarely ever feature Old Pasadena.

How much you can cram into your Pasadena mini-vacation depends on how early you manage to get there. On weekends, there’s always a line outside the Old Town Bakery at 166 W. Colorado Blvd., serving breakfast till 1 p.m. But the French toast made with organic egg bread, the ricotta and wild Maine blueberry pancakes and the “Tahitian vanilla bean-infused” waffles served with real maple syrup are worth the wait for an outdoor table in the courtyard by the fountain.

If you’re anxious to start carbo-loading early, you might visit Merida, at 20 E. Colorado Blvd., tucked away in another courtyard--Pasadena is big on courtyards. This one is framed by a blue-painted staircase that looks as if Stella might have leaned out over it to hear Stanley yelling for her in Tennessee Williams’ New Orleans.

But the food at Merida is authentic Mexican, and the prices aren’t much more than you’d pay in Yucatan. You can get huevos motulenos for $4.90 (add $1 after 12:01 p.m.) and there’s an all-you-can-eat brunch on Sundays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. for only $9.95. Come back later, if you like, for the incredible chicken mole or the cochinita pibil (pork in banana leaves), a Yucatecan specialty. Even though you might not have the same collection of neon beer clocks on your walls, you’ll feel at home here.

Just don’t get too comfortable, because now that you’ve eaten, it’s time to ingest a little culture. The Pacific Asia Museum, a short drive or a long walk away at 46 N. Los Robles Ave., is conveniently bite-size. It’s open from at 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesdays through Sundays. In yet another courtyard, designed to summon up the interior garden of a Ming dynasty palace, koi splash peacefully beneath the fragrant wisteria. You may be tempted to emulate the sculpted Buddhas and sink onto one of the low-slung stone benches to contemplate your navel, especially if you did eat all you can eat at brunch.

But the museum, once Grace Nicholson’s Treasure House, her home cum antique store, holds some wonderful eccentric treasures. The current special exhibition, running through July 19, focuses on the painters, poets and craftsmen of the Philippines. Carved ivory Santos are made more realistic by the addition of “hair from women who were joining nunneries,” the lively docent, Elaine Barchian, tells our group. Then she points out the 18th century miniature of a dark-skinned Madonna known as La Macarena and begs us not to sing.

If the courtyard still beckons, this Sunday the Philippine Arts Council is hosting a reception there from 5 to 8 p.m. Your $25 gets you museum admission, a sampling of Philippine foods such as lumpia, lechon (roast suckling pig) and wine and beer, plus a chance to rub shoulders with Philippine Consul Gen. Josue L. Villa.

In the well-stocked museum store, I discover the perfect souvenir: celadon ceramic boxes from the Philippines. One in the shape of a mango costs $15, while the cocoa bean is $20.

Serious shoppers will be drawn back to Old Town by the siren song of the stores lining Colorado Boulevard: J. Crew, Victoria’s Secret, Armani Exchange, Banana Republic, ABS, the Gap and Gap Kids, Crate and Barrel, Esprit, Barnes & Noble--with Pottery Barn opening soon.

Some people complain about the influx of chains, but for me that’s the fun of it. I feel like Alice in Wonderland, stepping into a stack of catalogs come to life--even though somehow those J. Crew cotton sweaters never seem to look as good on me as they do on the yummy models posed lounging on weather-beaten Adirondack chairs against the dunes in Nantucket in the catalog.

But not to worry, most of the stores stay open until 9 p.m. on weekends, so there’s room to compare catalog fantasy against dressing-room reality later on. Now it’s time for another nonessential meal: tea. Head over to the Huntington Library and Gardens, a short drive away at 1151 Oxford Road in neighboring San Marino.

If you manage to get there by 2:30 p.m. this Saturday, you’ll be in time for a rousing drum performance, free with your $8.50 admission fee, by the Kishin Daiko drummers. They’ll bring the ancient rhythms of traditional Japanese taiko drumming to the North Vista lawn, a lush European-style allee flanked by 17th century statuary alternating with palm trees, framing a spectacular vista of the snow-capped San Gabriels.

A soothing cup of tea is delivered to you (provided you have foresight and a firm reservation) in the charming Rose Garden Room by waitresses with the soothing manner of attendants in a really exclusive nursing home. They cut the crusts off the little triangular cucumber tea sandwiches and no doubt would cut your food for you if required. All this solicitousness and a cavalcade of carbos, including hot scones, is available weekends till 3:30 p.m. for only $11, $5.50 for children under 7.

Then amble among nearly 1,500 varieties of roses, which should be in peak bloom this month. “All the roses are labeled,” says curator Claire Martin, “so visitors can find their own favorites.” I like what I think of as the snooty roses, like the Duchesse de Brabant or the Baronne Edmond de Rothschild. Of course, the collection would not be complete without the famous Rose of Tralee--sentimentalists and fans of Irish music take note.

The Huntington Gallery houses some splendid works, including Gainsborough’s “Blue Boy,” but it took a winter visit before I was able to tear myself away from the glorious celebration of nature in the gardens to soak up art instead of sun. Guards shoo everyone out at 4:30, but the gift shop cleverly stays open till 5. It’s worth a visit for the great collection of cards, wrapping paper and books, including “The Language of Flowers,” delicately scented with violets by Penhaligon, for $20. But my best bet is a stunning rose-shaped velvet pillow in orange, peach, white or red. The bud is $75, and the full-blown rose is $185.

If you’re not the plan-ahead type, another option for tea is the Ritz-Carlton Huntington Hotel, at 1401 S. Oak Knoll. Here you’ll pay $18.50 for a similar menu in the lobby lounge from 1 to 5 p.m. But they do serve real Devonshire clotted cream. Spring for the Royal Tea at $25.50 and you can sip a Champagne cocktail to start.

The Ritz has many charms, including something most people, even those who work there, don’t know about: the “picture bridge.” It’s a covered bridge, crossing above the swimming pool to the cottages on the other side. On every arch of the bridge is a delicate painting of a California landmark, accompanied by an original poem.

The picture bridge was built in 1914, and the murals were added to the bridge’s gables in the 1930s. Stephen Royce, hotel general manager, commissioned British landscape artist Frank Montague Moore to paint 41 scenes of California. Moore was paid $10 per painting and all the food he and his wife could eat. Donald Blanding, poet laureate of Hawaii and a friend of Moore, wrote the accompanying verses. (It’s not clear whether Blanding got to eat, too, but then he was just the writer.)

In the late afternoon, or as poet laureate Blanding would put it, the gloaming, you might want to head back to Old Town and take in a movie or do a little shopping before it’s time to eat again. I like to stop in Restoration Hardware at 127 W. Colorado for odd household artifacts, like a classic Best potato masher for $10. And if you need a sundial for your sailboat for $35, this is the place.

If you’re looking to acquire kitchen stuff, Sur La Table at 161 W. Colorado has tools you didn’t even know you needed, including a cookie-cutter in the shape of a Volkswagen (the old model).

But if you’re going to be impractical, why not go the whole hog and get your very own glow-in-the-dark stretchy space alien for $4 from Urban Outfitters at 139 W. Colorado? They’ll also be happy to sell you a ‘60s retro blow-up chair with its own air pump for $55, the perfect place to relax while you munch on those Volkswagen-shaped cookies.

Speaking of food, isn’t it time for a little something, as Winnie-the-Pooh used to say? Across the boulevard, Clearwater Seafood at 168 W. Colorado tempts the weary shopper with a well-stocked oyster bar. Half a dozen creamy Hog Island oysters from Tomales Bay, $7.95, go down well with a glass of Chardonnay. Or you might want to wander back toward One Colorado, yet another courtyard bounded by restored turn-of-the-century buildings.

Pause on the way to enjoy a Stephen Foster song sung by street musicians Martha Kling, 76, on the Concertmate 680 portable keyboard, and Harry Anderson, 45, a jazz musician who plays the pocket trumpet. This unlikely pair, who hooked up because “we live in the same building and we both love music,” are usually to be found outside Ernie Jr.’s Taco House at 26 W. Colorado on Friday and Saturday nights. They also can be seen in a Tom Petty video and in the independent feature “Dogtown.”

Back in the courtyard at One Colorado, Il Fornaio offers a variety of delicious Italian cooking in a big, cheerful and inevitably noisy setting that’s always jammed on weekend evenings. Reserve, come early and try for the terrace. Starting Tuesday, Il Fornaio will be featuring a special menu highlighting the foods of the Molise region on the Adriatic coast of Italy. Look for such fare as fresh artichoke soup or duck-and-radicchio risotto.

Or you could saunter across the courtyard and climb the stairs to Cafe Santorini, whose flower-bedecked balcony overlooks the plaza. The food is Mediterranean and so is the ambience. You can almost pretend you’re in Greece, an impression reinforced by the large number of lamb dishes on the menu, including a thin-crust pizza and an unusual salad. The proprietors, brothers Panos and Vasken Haitayan, are Armenian, and their mother provided many of the recipes.

You could stop by Iced Dreams downstairs for a fat-free mango ice cream or have one last decaf nonfat cappuccino at Equator, a comfy coffeehouse at 22 Mills Place just off Colorado. Recently refurbished by new owners Rene and Charles Chiara, it offers a funky alternative to the ever-present Starbucks. On a recent visit, I heard an earnest group muttering the word “java” over and over and wondered if they were professional coffee-tasters or just caffeine addicts--until I learned it was a meeting of the Los Angeles Java Users Group talking about the Java computer programming language.

If “one for the road” suggests something a little harder and you’re not the designated driver, try Delacey’s Club 41 at 41 S. Delacey Ave., an old-time bar and grill featuring mixed drinks and “booths for ladies” that could have doubled as a location for “L.A. Confidential.”

But stop; this is madness. No human being could do all this in one day, even if the cappuccino wasn’t decaf. You’ll just have to come back on Sunday. On the other hand, they do have lovely suites at the Ritz.