OC's Orange Appeal...

Source Citation:"HOLIDAYS: ORANGE APPEAL; CaliforniaOs beautiful people lead their glamorous lives there. John Honeywell finds out how to share the OC dream." Sunday Mirror (London, England) (May 29, 2005): 18. InfoTrac Full Text Newspapers Database. Gale. Long Road VI Form College. 13 Dec. 2007
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Farhana






THE futureOs bright, the futureOs Orange I as someone once said. Millions of fans tune into The OC on Channel 4 each week to follow the incredibly glamorous lives of Marissa and Summer, Seth and Ryan, Sandy and Kirsten.

These beautiful people live in multi-million-dollar ocean-front mansions, eat and drink in ritzy restaurants and beautiful bars, and when they are not disentangling themselves from complicated personal relationships they are engaging in retail therapy at dinky boutiques and super-sized shopping malls.

It might look too good to be true. But Orange County does really exist I filling the California coast between Los Angeles and San Diego. And Newport Beach, which is the main location, is just as enticing in real life as it is on the small screen.

WhatOs more, whether itOs thanks to the sun, the surf, or the scenery IOm not sure, but there are plenty of real people in the real OC just as rich and glamorous as their fictional television counterparts.

While the region may have once been looked down on by its better-known neighbours, it has some of the best of the California coastline and now boasts property values as high as any in the US.

Famous residents from the past include John Wayne I they named the local airport in his honour I Richard Nixon, whose birthplace is now marked by a library of his archives, and of course Mickey Mouse, whose Disneyland theme park celebrates its 50th birthday this year.

Follow our guide to see how you can you live the OC dream[ETH]

WHERE ITOS AT

NEWPORT Beach (www.newportbeach-cvb.com) is less than an hourOs drive south of LA International Airport, down the 405 Freeway. If you canOt find Phantom Planet, whose song California is The OC theme tune, put local pop heroes the Righteous Brothers or Gwen Stefani on the stereo to get in the mood.

As you reach the harbour, which provides moorings for more than 10,000 yachts, glance over your shoulder to catch a glimpse of The Arches, favourite restaurant in The OC, and just as popular among real diners today. In the past it attracted Gary Cooper, Tyrone Power, Humphrey Bogart, Shirley Temple, and of course, John Wayne.

A little further down Newport Boulevard, and just before Newport Pier, you reach The Crab Cooker I the Seafood Shack of the TV series. At the pier itself is a survivor from a previous era, a market where fishermen sell their catch each morning.

Head down the Balboa peninsula, past some of those unaffordable ocean- front homes, to the Fun Zone, a small entertainment park next to the Balboa Pavilion (where the Bette Midler film Beaches was shot). The ferris wheel will never rival the London Eye, but it was where The OCOs Ryan and Marissa first kissed. From the Pavilion you can take a boat cruise round the harbour, or catch a high-speed ferry to Catalina Island.

If the budget doesnOt stretch to a private yacht charter, then why not hire an electrically-powered Duffy Boat (they actually use the same motors as golf carts) for a self-guided tour of the harbour I about pounds 25 an hour. You wonOt see SethOs yacht, the Summer Breeze, which was moored here in the series, but keep an eye out for sea lions, dolphins, and herons.

Back at Balboa Pier, the real-life RubyOs is televisionOs Pier Diner. Nearby you can rent a bike for pounds 5 an hour and get some healthy fresh air riding the ocean-front path along the wide, flat beach back up to Newport Pier, or south to The Wedge, a stretch of beach next to the harbour jetty which is world-famous for its cross-currents, breakers, and body-surfing.

Return to Pacific Coast Highway 101 to get to Fashion Island for a shopping fix. This is the mall where Marissa took Ryan shopping and told him OI like it here. Everything is so perfect. You walk around feeling like all your problems can be solved by the right kind of nail polish or a new pair of shoes.O

There are more than 200 stores I from department giants like BloomingdaleOs, MacyOs and Nieman Marcus to surfwear boutiques, galleries and specialty stores I plus 40 restaurants and two cinema complexes. Round the corner at the Newport Beach VisitorsO Bureau, The OC cast have left their handprints in the cement.

ELSEWHERE IN ORANGE COUNTY

WHEN The OCOs Sandy felt really guilty at the way heOd been treating his long-suffering wife Kirsten, he promised her a night at The Montage Resort in Laguna Beach, a hotel and spa offering almost unimaginable luxury.

Built on a spectacular 30-acre cliff-top site which was a caravan park until three years ago, the hotel has 262 rooms which all have views of the Pacific. Reception desk staff personally escort every guest to their room; when the bellhop arrives with the luggage he brings a half-bottle of champagne; when your car is returned from the valet parking, it has been re-stocked with fresh, chilled water bottles I the attention to detail is impressive.

Its two restaurants, The Loft in the main building, and The Studio in a separate building on the cliff edge, vie with each other to provide the best gourmet meals available.

The Studio wins on both food and setting. Dinner there can be an experience if you ignore the main menu and allow executive chef James Boyce to present his special tasting menu. The morsels which made up our nine courses were simply outstanding, from the opening lobster and truffle custard, via scallops, halibut, foie gras, and a trio of goat cheeses to the final chocolate fondue. Each was accompanied by a different wine, introduced by sommelier Wayne Marshall.

At pounds 100 a head, thatOs a treat that even The OCOs big spenders like real estate developer Caleb Nichol could not afford every week, but it makes for a very special evening. Mere mortals on a budget to meet might save by snacking at Johnny RocketOs down by the main beach, where a cheeseburger, fries and a cherry Coke would set you back about a fiver.

Spa Montage has just been named the best in the whole of the US, the first to receive a five-star rating in the prestigious Mobil Travel Awards. The luxury and personal service all come at a price I rooms start at pounds 260 a night and suites can cost up to pounds 1,500 I not that the denizens of The OC would need to worry about that.

The town of Laguna Beach grew up as an artistsO colony Ixits streets are full of chic galleries, its Playhouse is the oldest theatre company in California, and every year in July and August it stages the Pageant of the Masters, when local residents dress up to recreate famous paintings. If that sounds a bit twee for your tastes, then head north instead, to Huntington Beach, the original Otwo girls for every boyO Surf City immortalised in the Jan and Dean song.

Here there are eight-and-a-half miles of some of CaliforniaOs broadest beaches, and no matter when you go in daylight, youOll find a bunch of wet-suited enthusiasts and their surfboards. Just across from the 2,000ft pier is surfingOs hall of fame (like Hollywood Boulevard but with palm prints instead of stars) and up Main Street I round the corner from the Sugar Shack cafe I is the International Surfing Museum.

Apart from surfing, the beaches provide a venue for two equally popular pastimes. There are hundreds of volleyball courts, each free and in almost constant use, whether by a bunch of friends playing for fun or for tournaments where the action gets serious. And there are 600 Ofire ringsO dotted along the coast, also free. They are much in demand on summer weekends when locals come equipped with firewood for their barbecues.

After grilling the sausages and ribs, what better way to round off the day than with another local delicacy I SOmores. Toasted marshmallows are sandwiched between Hershey chocolate bars and Graham crackers for this delicious treat I so good, youOll want sOmore!

For a hotel with access to the beach, youOd be hard pushed to beat the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort & Spa, where a standard room costs from pounds 120 a night and a suite from pounds 240 (rates are per room, not per person). The newly-built resort fills two blocks, has its own footbridge access to the sand, and offers luxuriously relaxing body treatments and massages in its Pacific Waters Spa.

FURTHER AFIELD

THEME park KnottOs Berry Farm at Buena Park has been going even longer than Disneyland. Both are about 30 minutes from Newport Beach. On the way, make time to visit South Coast Plaza I the biggest-grossing mall in the US, pulling in $1.3billion of sales each year.

Like Bond Street, Sloane Street and Bluewater rolled into one, itOs another favourite of The OC crowd I think of a designer label, and itOs there. TheyOve even got a bridge designed by Kathryn Gustafson, who gave us the Princess Diana fountain in Hyde Park, and 35 restaurants from French bistro style at Troquet to fast-food outlets such as McDonaldOs and Del Taco.

San Diego, with its world-famous zoo and Seaworld, is 90 minutes away, and you can get to Universal Studios Hollywood in about an hour.

THE OC TOUR

THE OC Experience is a seven-hour coach tour from Anaheim to Newport Beach, taking in all the sights from the series, and including a 45-minute harbour tour and allowing for three hours shopping at Fashion Island. Adults pounds 24, children pounds 20. Details from Coach USA at 001 (714)

978-8855.

GETTING THERE

FOR more information go to www.visit california.com or www.anaheimoc.org or call 001-888-598-3200 (international direct dial rates).

AMERICAN Airlines flies direct to Los Angeles from London twice a day. Return fares start from pounds 494.30 including tax. Go to www.americanair lines.co.uk or call 08457 789 789.

HERTZ offers great pre-paid OWorld on WheelsO all-inclusive leisure rates which start at pounds 109.91 for a seven-day rental in LA. Book online at www.hertz.co.uk, or 0870 599 6699.