Turkey Legs to Go is FanHouse's complete travel guide for all of the 2008-2009 college bowl games. Here, we cover the Rose Bowl (Pasadena, California), which pits USC against Penn State.Overview/Matchup:How insane is it that Joe Paterno just got a freaking three year extension? Almost as insane as it is that Pete Carroll hasn't found anyone to challenge him in the PAC-10 in quite some time. USC's offense is a touch lacking but this is a special defensive unit that is going to give the Nittany Lions some serious issues. The biggest bonus to this game is that a single loss throughout the season ended up costing each team a shot at a national title ... unless they can really do something special and destroy their opponent hear, it's probably all but over in 2008. Still, two great teams in what should be one of the best bowl matchups of the season.
Hotels: If you're traveling to the Rose Bowl, there's one important decision to make before you start planning. Stay in Los Angeles where there's more to do? Or stay in Pasadena closer to the stadium? We've written this guide with those questions in mind, offering hotel suggestions and restaurant tips in either area. Assuming money's not a problem, and you want to enjoy some luxury accommodation in the city of Angels, try the Omni Los Angeles Hotel. Sure, there are nicer places in the Beverly Hills area, but that's really farther from Pasadena than you want to be.
Plus, the Omni has some of the best service of any hotel in the city. If you'd rather stay in Pasadena proper, try The Westin Hotel Pasadena or the Vagabond Inn Executive Pasadena. The Westin is definitely the nicest hotel in Pasadena and its surprisingly reasonable prices make it the best all-around value for bowl travelers. If budget is an issue, try the Vagabond. The hotel is close to the stadium and has rooms for less than US$100 per night.
Restaurants: If you're staying in downtown L.A., you should plan on a meal at Patina. The restaurant is one of L.A.'s finest and serves up artfully prepared California cuisine. Within Pasadena proper, there are a number of great restaurants, but we were particularly impressed by Ventanas Restaurant & Bar. Found within The Westin Hotel Pasadena, Ventanas serves up high-quality California cuisine in a casual atmosphere. Try the oak-grilled steaks. If you're in L.A. and need an affordable, but delicious meal, dim sum might be the ticket. Empress Pavilion is an enormous dim sum eatery reminiscent of those in Hong Kong. The food is excellent and reasonably priced, but there a frequently lines on the weekend so get there early.
Nightlife: When it comes to nightlife, there are plenty of places around the valley to strut your stuff. Most of the L.A. and Pasadena bars aren't really the rowdy, sports-bar, "my team just won the Rose Bowl" kind of places. Nevertheless some of them may be worth checking out. If you feel like getting dolled up Nacional and Dragonfly are both worth visits. If none of the movie-star martini places do it for you, just ask a local where to go to celebrate.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-22-2008 @ 2:52AM
Weird Pasadena said...
Going to Pasadena for the Rose Parade and the Rose Bowl Game? California is a weird and wonderful place. But if you have never visited here, you may find that we do some things differently, and have an annoying habit of encouraging you follow local custom by writing you tickets for thing you may do all the time back home. For example:
No Smoking. Period. Most public places, including motel rooms and outdoor tables at restaurants and cafes, are 100% no smoking. The entire parade route is one giant No Smoking zone. Likewise the entirety of the Rose Bowl stadium, inside and outside. Even ATM lines are official, legal No Smoking Zones, and any place near a building entrance. Guess what: City of Pasadena can issue a ticket for smoking in public, so this might be a good week to quit.
Drinking Age: 21. Enforced. 'Nuff said. Rose Bowl is a family event, not Mardi Gras or Spring Break. Expect a mellow visit. Dude. What did you expect?
Consider leaving the car at home.
Despite claiming to be a land built by the automobile and boasting the first Freeway in the west, Pasadena attitudes toward cars and pedestrians and bikes may surprise you:
1. No Jaywalking. California, and Pasadena in particular, will write you a ticket in a hot-second for walking across the street away from an intersection or crosswalk. No, really. A surprise jaywalking ticket can really mess with your travel budget.
2. Pedestrians have the right of way -- even when jaywalking. Merely drive your car through a cross walk next to a pedestrian you will get a lovely moving violation ticket for "menacing a pedestrian." Honk or gun the engine, or give 'em a little brush back -- same thing. This can really mess with your insurance rates for years. Yield to pedestrians, even people from out of town about to get a ticket for jaywalking.
3. Bicycles are vehicles, and have the right to use the full traffic lane. Yep. Menace, threaten, harass, or even hassle a bike driver and -- you guessed it -- ticket! Passing a bike driver? Better clear them by at least three feet. (That's the law.) Better Idea: Change Lanes. Also, note that cyclists use left turn pockets with the cars, but are also allowed on most sidewalks too. "Share the Road" signs are everywhere. We mean it. Pasadena is, officially, "a place where people can circulate without cars."
5. The speed limits are serious, low, and enforced. Really. It says 35 MPH on Pasadena streets, believe it. If it says 25 MPH, we mean it. Speed limit applies even to bikes.
6. Yellow lights mean stop; read light cameras are watching you blow the light and will mail a ticket to your Mom. Uh huh. We stop for red lights here, and want you to too. We have nifty little cameras to snag scofflaws, and hapless out of town visitors from communities where a red light is interpreted as "three more cars go now." Similarly, if you enter an intersection and cannot leave the intersection by the time the light turns red for your direction, you are SO busted. Anti-gridlock laws let the nice officer write you another ticket.
I know, I know, it sounds like a police state. It's not. We just do some things a little differently (Hey, it's California!) but sometimes new settlers need reminding.
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12-24-2008 @ 9:38AM
Gary Baumgarten said...
In case you're interested ...
If you can't get a ticket to the big game, we'll be webcasting all the festivities surrounding the Rose Bowl live from Pasadena New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. The pep rallies, the news conferences, the tailgating.
You can join with other fans in the action and comment in text and in voice. It's like being right there but right from your computer.
You can also discuss the game with other fans while it's on.
Please go to http://blog.paltalk.com/paltalkblog/2008/12/penn-state-football-fan-club for more information.
Thanks,
Gary
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12-31-2008 @ 4:44PM
Unforgivable Wetness said...
Strip Clubs: There are no clubs in Pasadena, so you'll have to take your car (you have a car, don't you?) to the Hawaii Theatre or Spearmint Rhino in City of Industry, Bare Elegance in Hawthorne, or, if you're going to Orange County, Imperial Showgirls or the Flamingo Theatre in Anaheim. All of them are nude and no alcohol, but of all the places in the area, the best chance for you to get extras in a VIP dance (and you'll have to go to the VIP to get them) are in these popular clubs.
If you come with a big-enough bankroll, you'll be able to find anything you want in the Los Angeles/OC metropolis. But while it's true that beautiful dancers come to Southern California to live and work, don't think it's a great scene. The girls hustle at a level that may bother some, and the cynicism that seems to be part of the ethos of the L.A. appears to infect its clubs as well, so don't expect to sit down with a looker and have a long conversation before getting a dance.
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