for all the Ipers who spend endless time in the Valley (like me) 36 Hours | Palo Alto, Calif.

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

36 Hours | Palo Alto, Calif.

March 7, 2003
By TOM and KATHE GIBBONEY




 

WHEN the founders of Palo Alto put their California dream
together, Leland Stanford, the railroad magnate and
politician, had just created a university on part of his
huge horse farm across El Camino Real, the old Spanish
mission road. The result, more than a century later, is a
well-educated, diverse, creative community basking in the
sunshine 40 miles south of San Francisco. The Palo
Alto-Stanford synergy has produced, among other things, the
entrepreneurs and skilled technicians who went on to build
computer-industry giants like Hewlett-Packard and Sun
Microsystems. Although the Silicon Valley boom has faded
since the 1990's, you will still see clumps of computer
engineers out for lunch on University Avenue, perhaps
creating the next Internet.

Friday 

7 p.m. 
1) Dinner and a Classic Movie
Try the Greek cooking at
Evvia, just off University Avenue (420 Emerson Street,
650-326-0983). Start with pikilia, grape leaves and dips
with pita (serves two for $14.50), and white bean soup with
sun-dried tomatoes, arugula and mint ($7). Evvia's rib-cut
lamb chops are mesquite-grilled ($25.95). Afterward, cross
the street to the tiny Gelato Classico (435 Emerson,
650-327-1317). Even if you can't manage a cup of gelato,
note the trompe l'oeil art on the side of the adjacent
building, by Greg Brown, who has painted whimsical murals
on more than a dozen Palo Alto buildings. Now catch the
9:30 movie at the Stanford Theater (221 University Avenue,
650-324-3700), where Cary Grant, Ginger Rogers and other
classic stars come alive in an auditorium faithfully
restored by David W. Packard, son of the David Packard who,
with William Hewlett, started the computer company bearing
their names. (They were Stanford students at the time, and
the company is still based in Palo Alto.)

Saturday 

8 a.m. 
2) Stanford by Bicycle
Get a light breakfast at
Prolific Oven (550 Waverly Street, 650-326-8485), perhaps
cherry strudel ($3.20) or zucchini carrot muffins ($1.45).
Add a latte ($2.44) and head to the Campus Bike Shop (551
Salvatierra Street, 650-723-9300). For $15, a serviceable
bike is yours for the day, with a map of the campus. Coast
down to the central campus. Take some time to roam the
Quad, a series of squares lined with tile-roofed sandstone
buildings. Don't miss Memorial Church, with its colorful
tilework and 140 stained-glass windows. If you are in luck,
someone will be playing the church's magnificent pipe
organ. 

10 a.m. 
3) Rodin and 'Stone River'
Park your bike at the Cantor Center for Visual Arts (328
Lomita Drive, 650-723-4177) and tour the outdoor sculpture
garden. There is no admission charge and you are welcome to
touch any of the 20 larger-than-life bronzes by Auguste
Rodin, including the monumental "Gates of Hell." Other
notable sculptures nearby include Andy Goldworthy's "Stone
River," built from the rubble of Stanford buildings damaged
in the 1989 earthquake; Maya Lin's "Timetable," an
intriguing granite, steel and stone cylinder; and 40
painted wood and stone sculptures completed in 1994 by
artists from Papua New Guinea.

1 p.m. 
4) Organic Lunch 
Savor the goodness of organic food at the Cool Cafe (328
Lomita Drive, 650-725-4758), where Jesse Cool, the chef,
obtains nearly all her ingredients from farmers and
suppliers who she knows avoid the use of chemicals. Try a
cup of the seasonal soup ($5) and the chutney chicken salad
sandwich ($8.50) or the mushrooms and leeks with goat
cheese on a baguette ($8.50). Before turning in your bike,
cruise around the Oval to Hoover Tower, a 285-foot bell
tower with an observation deck that offers spectacular
views of the campus, the city and San Francisco Bay (open
Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.,
650-723-2053). 

4 p.m. 
5) Soak the Stress Away
Make a reservation so you can ease any aching muscles after
your bike ride in a healing hot tub at Watercourse Way (165
Channing Avenue, 650-462-2000). A soak is $19 for one
person for an hour until 5:30 p.m., after that it is $26
per person, $22 for a group; $21 with sauna or steam until
5:30 p.m., after that $24 per person, $28 for a group. It
can be followed by a massage ($88 to $90 including the hot
tub). An invigorating cup of Peet's coffee or tea (153
Homer Avenue, 650-325-2091), free if you purchase a pound
of beans, will perk you up for a walk on University Avenue.
View the latest computer toys at the Apple Store (451
University Avenue; 650-617-9000) and then drop into
Niebaum-Coppola (473 University Avenue, 650-752-0350), a
cafe offering a full selection of wines from Francis Ford
Coppola's vineyards.

7 p.m. 
6) Rum and a Smoke 
Step into the Palo Alto version of old Havana at the lively
Bodeguita del Medio (463 California Avenue, 650-326-7762),
where Michael and Lara Ekwall have created their own
version of the Havana restaurant that was a favorite of
Ernest Hemingway. Stop at the bar for a mojito ($5.50) or a
Hatuey ($3.50), a Cuban beer now made in Puerto Rico. In
the dining room, start with oyster shooters seasoned with
horseradish and habanero-infused rum ($2.75 each). Share
black bean soup ($5.50) and the arugula and watercress
salad with plantain-encrusted goat cheese and roasted
pumpkin seeds ($9). The big meal here is paella ($22 each,
two-person minimum). Or try the vegetable plate with black
bean cakes ($13.50). After dessert, you may want to take
your coffee or one of the many aged rums into the cigar
salon, which has a well-stocked walk-in humidor and
comfortable chairs and sofas.

9 p.m. 
7) Jazz and a Toddy
Wind down at Cafe Fino (544 Emerson
Street, 650-326-6082) for a nightcap and to hear Nancy
Gilliland, a local jazz singer, a pleasant way to end a
busy day. For dancing to rock 'n' roll, stop at Fanny and
Alexander just up the street (412 Emerson, 650-326-7183),
where you can find a younger crowd.

Sunday 

9 a.m. 
8) A Favorite for Brunch
Line up at Hobee's (67 Town and
Country Village Shopping Center, 650-327-4111), where a
dash of salsa spices up many of the classic American
breakfasts. Call ahead to get on the seating list. Try the
South of the Border omelet ($7.95) with black bean chili,
cheese, guacamole, sour cream and salsa, or the tofu
scramble ($6.95), with fresh spinach, mushrooms, onions and
tomatoes. If you are really hungry, wind up with a slab of
Hobee's rich blueberry coffeecake.

11 a.m. 
9) Hit the Trail 
A camera and binoculars are good tools
for an exploration of Palo Alto's coastline on San
Francisco Bay. Take Embarcadero Road east to its end and
turn right. The next left, at the Palo Alto Recycling
Center, leads to the Byxbee Park parking lot. Head out
toward the bay on the Adobe Creek Trail, and as you walk,
look for the rarely seen double-crested cormorant, the
great blue heron and the great egret, as well as many
species of ducks that are found in the early spring along
the sloughs adjacent to the trail. Make a hard left near a
concrete building about two miles out and note another
species, this one wearing wet suits and hanging onto
wind-surfing boards on the small artificial lake at
Shoreline Park. For more information about the wildlife you
have seen, drop in at the Baylands Nature Interpretive
Center (2775 Embarcadero Road, open 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday
and Sunday, 650-329-2506) on Embarcadero Road beyond the
Duck Pond. On your way back downtown, take a minute to stop
at 367 Addison Avenue for a peek at the garage where, in
1939, Bill Hewlett and David Packard started the scientific
instrument business that became a Silicon Valley stalwart.

Visitor Information

To reach Palo Alto from San
Francisco International Airport, take United States Route
101 south to the University Avenue exit. From the San Jose
airport, take Interstate 880 north to Interstate 280 and
exit at Page Mill Road, the home of many high-tech
companies. 

The Cardinal Hotel (235 Hamilton Avenue, 650-323-5101)
opened in 1924 and now offers 35 renovated rooms with baths
for $125 to $145 and 26 rooms with shared baths from $60 to
$80. 

The Hotel California (2431 Ash Street, 650-322-7666), a
20-room inn near Stanford, charges $80 to $95, including a
Continental breakfast at a bakery downstairs.

The Garden Court Hotel (520 Cowper Street, 650-322-9000),
in the heart of Palo Alto, has 62 rooms from $299 to $599.

Internet access is important in Palo Alto, and all these
lodgings offer it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/07/travel/07HOUR.html?ex=1048037342&ei=1&en=4
c3e7fed72cb7c6d



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