Delightful day trip from LA-- the town of ORANGE, historic, quaint, full of antique shops (at discount prices) and delicious restaurants!
Based on the recommendation of good friend and publicist extraordinaire, Alex Malloy, Napper and I made the one hour drive south from LA to Orange, CA. We were going solely to look for furniture-- we've just bought a new house and are trying to furnish it-- without going broke! Alex mentioned that the town of Orange is full of amazing finds at a fraction of LA costs, so we went.
What she didn't tell us is that (Old Towne) Orange is ADORABLE. This quaint town is on the National Register of Historic Places and feels like a 1950s charming movie set. It was literally the last sort of place we expected to find in the strip mall sprawl of Orange County....
Old Town Orange converges at the intersection of Glassell St. and Main St. at a beautiful fountain in a park. Off of the park, these two streets are full of antique stores (some of them full of junk, but look carefully as there are plenty of gems mixed in) and restaurants. Our favorite antique store where we found two fabulous lamps for $70 and a plantation style mahagony side table for $90 is Orange Circle Antique Mall at 118 S. Glassell St. The two floor Orange Circle Antique Mall houses 125 different "shops'-- we found our treasures in one -- window front and to the left when you walk in.
A few doors down, Eikon Home was the best edited shop we went into, but they didn't have much furniture, more gifts, decorative objects, but very tasteful.
If you're in the market for a watch, Alex let us know that Watch and Wares is the place to go. Some big cheese at Christie's gets all of his watches here.... We were dying to check it out but alas it is closed on Sundays and Mondays.
In terms of restaurants, there were so many and we wound up choosing Cafe Lucca and having paninis and the most delicious homemade gelato (Italian ice cream) that was so creamy and sinful-- the almond and strawberry banana we can heartily endorse!
A few other spots that looked cute and we'd love to try next time are Gabbi's Mexican Kitchen and Haven Gastropub.
We also wandered into the achingly cute throwback to another era, Watson Drugs & Soda Fountain. This place has been in business since 1899. Next time we're in town, we will be getting a malted milkshake here!
Before we hit the road home, we needed a little caffeine pick me up. Paris in a Cup is frilly but cute and would be a perfect spot for afternoon tea. We opted for iced coffees which are extra special-- they grind a little fresh cinnamon in with the coffee beans! We would have had some Parisian macarons to go with our coffee if we weren't still on somewhat of a sugar high from our gelato....
Lucy was so jealous of our day and treasures we found, the two of us will be making a trip in the coming weeks! So should you. oxox