Photo Tour: College and Main

College and Main: A Photo Tour

Unmistakeably Los Gatos, the intersection of College and Main has both recognizeable design elements, such as the two-story "cats" which are the town's signature images, and also classic older architecture blended with new construction in a tasteful manner. The latter is a hallmark of the town's high value on character and history.

The Penthouse Apartments is the view to your left, with the two story image of Leo and Leona, the cat sculptures which are synonomous with Los Gatos itself. This four story building is the gateway of St. Joseph's Hill, home to beautiful houses, an entrance to a hiking park and open space preserve (St. Joseph's Hill Open Space Preserve), The Holy Names Sister's convent, retreat center and retirement home, and also, accross the street and up a long driveway, Sacred Heart, the California Jesuit's (Society of Jesus')  headquarters & retirement home  (and one time novitiate, founded in 1888) and the wonderful Testarossa Vineyards Tasting Room, located on Jesuit land. 

Just as there's a lot going on "up the hill", there's a lot going on at this intersection too!  (It is a three-way stop sign intersection and I must advise you to be very careful of cyclists - sometimes they are not as careful of all the activity as we might want them to be and I have seen many near-accidents here.)  We have a saying in Los Gatos, which is that if you have cash, you won't starve: there are a lot of restaurants here. One of my favorites is Tapestry, which is across the street from the Penthouse Apartments on College Avenue. The food is an ecclectic mix of fresh California style cuisine. The servers are friendly and there's usually no trouble parking nearby, as they have a shared lot plus street parking.

In the same little quad as Tapestry is the ancient Soda Works Building, which now houses a cigar shop.

Right next to Tapestry lies a little sandwich shop that I tried twice recently and really love: Caffe Siena. It is Italian-style with many delicious imported specialty foods and great entrees. It's also a great place to people-watch! The building itself is newer but just outside lies a lovely old stone wall that begs to be photographed.

On the other side of Main is one of my favorite dinner spots, I Gatti (not pictured), which is Italian for "The Cats".  If you are getting the impression that Los Gatos has a number of places with an Italian flair, you're right. But there are many other types of food too: Romanian, Thai, Viet Namese, Japanese, Mexican, American - and these are just the ones on the top of my head!

Testarossa Vineyards is a popular destination for people heading up the hill. It's quite scenic, starting with the long trek up the winding driveway, and then at the top there are beautiful valley views.  The tasting room itself is extremely inviting - it's spacious, comfortable, and nicely laid out. But best of all, the wine is truly delicious and the folks who work there are both knowledgeable and friendly. There are no pretentious airs, just genuine helpfulness and useful information. I'm always proud to bring our out-of-town visitors to the old novitiate for a little tasting.  It is a wonderful way to wrap up an afternoon of strolling and shopping - a calm oasis just steps from the business of this bustling town.  And perhaps one of the reasons I like it so much is that like much of Los Gatos, it is a classic mix of things to do...and places simply to relax and be.

Photographs by Mary Pope-Handy,
Los Gatos & Silicon Valley (San Jose area) Residential Real Estate Specialist and
Realtor, CRS, ABR, SRES, ASP, CNHS, RECS, E-Pro,
Intero Real Estate Services, 518 N. Santa Cruz Ave., Los Gatos, CA 95030
www.PopeHandy.com

. Please do not use without permission!

Quito Road

Winding Quito Road tacks back and forth in zig-zag fashion, an ideal "speed trap" as it tucks around oak trees and occassionally crosses over the San Tomas Aquino Creek (named after St. Thomas Aquinas, a Dominican Priest). The creek and the road separate Los Gatos from Saratoga, and I believe it also marks the edge of the original Mexican Land Grant that comprised La Rinconada de Los Gatos, or "The Corner of the Cats".

It's a beautiful drive, it really is. But the temptation is to drive just a little too fast on this scenic route from the hills to the suburbs or vice versa. There have been too many accidents and so the good folks in charge of the shared road decided to use surprise to help in slowing down the traffic. The yellow diamond-shaped speed advisory signs admonish the driver coming into a turn that the recommended speed is 19 mph, or 23, or 22.  Visitors from out of state give a mixed reaction of delight and disgust, as if a sense of humor on government property could only take place on The Left Coast.

But it seems to work.

There are lots of hidden treasures along Quito Road.  I will protect the current homeowners by not giving the address, but there's an original log cabin from I believe the early 1800's sitting close to one of the many bends in the road. I saw it myself when that property was for sale a few years ago.  One room in all, the redwood logs stretched about 10 feet in one direction, and perhaps 8 in another, with just a door and a window or two for ingress and egress. Situated near the water, it was probably an idylic spot - if you like camping.  The last time I drove past, it looked like the log exterior had been covered by clapboard. I hope my eyes were just fooling me.  Isn't it a landmark?

And you'll find some orchards, the remanents of The Valley of Heart's Delight days, too. The prune was first introduced here exactly 150 years ago (in the winter of 1856-1857 by a Frenchman who grafted some French prune branches onto some native wild plums).  It's living history.  Deer and horses can be seen from time to time too. Even in Silicon Valley, the High Tech Mecca, we love to see the animals, the trees, and the open spaces. 

Yes, there are lots of expensive houses that most of us cannot afford there too (an average value of perhaps $2,000,000), but even so, they are a joy to visit on a warm spring or summer weekend when the Open House signs appear like the mustard flowers in March.  One home is an original adobe...another a contemporary of some sort, and another a ranch.

No matter what your pleasure, a trip down Quito Road is a perfect weekend outing.

Just watch your speed.

Blog entry by Mary Pope-Handy,
Los Gatos & Silicon Valley (San Jose area) Residential Real Estate Specialist and
Realtor, CRS, ABR, SRES, ASP, CNHS, RECS, E-Pro,
Intero Real Estate Services, 518 N. Santa Cruz Ave., Los Gatos, CA 95030
www.PopeHandy.com
Do not use without permission, please.

Winter In Los Gatos

Winter In Los Gatos

While the East Coast is buried in snow, we have had a week with more than a little rain - but we needed it so no one dared to complain!  Today, however, the sun was out and I wanted to capture a little of Los Gatos on film ... er, make that on my digital camera. So here are a few shots from around town.

To the left is a sign that recently made its way to the Main Street Bridge (which, by the way, was once known as The Hanging Bridge - you guessed it, that's where lynchings and "justice" were carried out).  This sign for The King's Highway surprised me because The El Camino Real (The King's Highway) is known in this valley as either El Camino Real, The Alameda, or Market Street. It winds through San Jose, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, and on up the Peninsula.

So how or why is the sign here?  Well, the Main Street Bridge crosses over Highway 17, which makes its way over to Santa Cruz - and the Mission in Santa Cruz. So I am presuming that because 17 links the missions (Santa Clara and Santa Cruz) that it constitutes part of the historic route and thus won the right to display this cool Mission Trail bell and sign.  Below, please find a more telling view of the bell - with the Penthouse Apartments and the famous Cats on the wall to prove the location (no, it's not photoshopped- honest!)  And next to them are some other shots of Los Gatos today. Not bad for winter, is it??

So you can see, there's no snow, no rain, no frost (OK you can't see it, but take my word for it). The weather has been in the mid-60s the last few days and when I take our pooch, Bella, out for a walk it seems I find half the neighborhood doing the same thing.   This is winter in Los Gatos - where we have 300 sunny days a year and we seldom get a hard frost. We are just 30 minutes from the beach, but protected from the fog by "The Hill" (seen in the middle photo above, behind the famous Beckwith Building). We're an hour from San Francisco, 90 minutes from Monterey and Carmel, and 20 or so minutes to San Jose - the safest large city in the US. This area has a very highly educated population, low crime, great schools, wonderful shops and restuarants - and, possibly the supreme highlight - fabulous weather.
Come visit Los Gatos! Enjoy wine tasting, museums, shops, fine dining, and all the outdoors activities. Or just enjoy the Town Plaza Park and watch the world go by, like the people in the photo below. Los Gatos: always a great place to be, but perhaps especially remarkable in winter!