Not far from the madness of Hollywood and downtown Los Angeles, you can find that peaceful easy feeling in sunny suburban Pasadena, Calif..
With a population of only 150,000 people, this little gem of a city manages to maintain that small-town feel, but with a cool twist. The city is most famous for the Rose Bowl, but diehard bargain hunters like myself know there is more to this famous stadium than football. Every month this is the site of one of the biggest and best old fashioned outdoor flea markets in the world.
Many thousands of people turn up on the second Sunday of every month, to seek out deals from a staggering 2,500 vendors. This can be an all day affair, and I was happy to while away the hours looking for treasures. At the end of the day, I ended up buying a vintage movie poster, and a 1950’s original Coca-Cola tin sign.
Where else can you find this kind of junk … rather, treasure, all in one place? As a matter of fact, I couldn’t seem to stay away from the Rose Bowl. It really seems to be the nucleus of Pasadena. A couple of days later, I found myself at the biggest tailgate party I’ve ever seen, conveniently located at, you guessed it, the Rose Bowl.
The scene was tens of thousands of football fans drinking beer, screaming, drinking beer, and did I mention there was beer drinking? It was the lead up to a UCLA Bruins game, and the parking lot party started soon after the sun came up. I know college football is big in the U.S., but I never dreamed it was this big!
The game itself was a madhouse, with 60,000 diehard fans going nuts. Did I mention there was beer drinking? I’m just glad there wasn’t a riot when the Bruins lost the game. Despite the loss, I noticed fans left the Rose Bowl in an orderly fashion, smiling and in a good mood. Maybe it was all that beer!
