Oakland to LA on the Coast Starlight

In 1999, when I first arrived to live in the US, I took the Coast Starlight from LA up to Oakland--this trip was in the reverse direction. It's a beautiful trip along the coast, with several stops long enough to get out and stretch your legs.

I stayed overnight in a comfortable, homey hotel not far from Union Station, and on my evening walkabout come across a nearby alley with some great little eating places, one of them with a name I recognized from a song we used to sing in primary school.Read more