I'm from the city of Claremont, California! This town is wonderful and it's a true treasure among all the smog and traffic congested cities of Southern California. Claremont is home to lots of tree-lined streets and the Claremont Colleges, which are often considered ivy-league colleges of the West Coast. The Colleges (there are 5) have such beautiful campuses. They consist of large green lawns, beautiful historic buildings where classes are held, and lovely gardens. Scripps College is definitely the most notable, as far as beauty goes. One of my favorite buildings at Scripps is the Garrison Theatre. Then I'll take a walk down to the elm tree lawn. People are always out taking pictures and doing their own photoshoots here, like me! Many weddings are done here too.
My favorite place in Claremont is the Village. The Village is an area with many restaurants and boutiques. The awesome thing about Claremont is that it doesn't have any fast food restaurants, and almost all of the businesses and restaurants are run by small business owners. I love supporting small business owners because I feel like they deserve business so much more than the big boys! Anyway, my favorite store is The Grove Vintage. Its tucked away from all the hustle and bustle of Claremont, and totally worth the visit! Everything is vintage, of course. But whats even more awesome is the fact that the lady who owns is collects owls, too!
Just two blocks away from The Grove Vintage is where I work- Coffee Bean! I cannot even express how much I love my job. The location, my co-workers, the customers (usually) - everything about it is rad. This is also where I spend 3/4 of my life. :)
I know this sounds weird, but we have a pretty cool parking structure in the Village. Its pretty average as far as parking structures go. But the cool part about it is that it has a "plaza" that over looks the entire village! Not only that, but its also got this beautiful tile mosaic, along with chairs and a shelter kind of thing.
Next is Claremont's coolest park! Its known as Memorial Park, and its right off the main street of the city. Its got this really pretty historic building called the Garner House, where you can take a tour if you are lucky. Besides that, the park is just an average park. I just really like it because you can get a glimpse of all the pretty houses that surround it.
Lastly is Indian Hill. The prettiest street ever! Just like every street in Claremont, this street is lined with trees. Even though it is out of the way for me, I still will make an extra few minutes just to take this "scenic route". See for yourself :)
I wish I could communicate via internet how much I love this city, but I think it's impossible! I hope if you ever come to southern California that you will make a special trip to see this city. Trust me, its worth it!
