Escape from L.A.

Richard Tyler DESIGNER AND SOUTH PASADENA RESIDENT

TAKE A WALK
"My favorite route is up Orange Grove Boulevard, nicknamed Millionaires' Row, with its Victorian, French, and Italian houses, then down Grand Ave., which runs along the Arroyo Seco."

BUYING SPREE
"I often take my wife, Lisa, and our son, Edward, to Julienne [2649 Mission St., San Marino; 626/441-2299; lunch for two $35], a food shop that serves breakfast and lunch. I recently bought turn-of-the-century dress forms for my new store in New York at Mark Jager Antiques [1040 Mission St.; 626/799-2640], which is nearby. We also look for books and games at the Dinosaur Farm [1510 Mission St.; 626/441-2767], a very sophisticated store for kids."

SALAD DAYS
"I'm trying to stay healthy, so I've become addicted to the Italian chopped salad at Wild Thyme Café & Bakery [805 S. Fair Oaks Ave.; 626/799-4169; lunch for two $20] and the pear-and-blue cheese salad at Firefly Bistro [1009 El Centro St.; 626/441-2443; lunch for two $40]."

DISAPPEARING ACT
"When my wife can't find me on the weekends, I am usually at Mediterraneo Home & Garden [979 E. Colorado Blvd.; 626/585-0777], where I spend hours looking for things such as cast-iron angels or marble wings from the 1800's."

Surrounded by easy-commute communities with an abundance of attractions, Pasadena is a great base for the day-tripper. In the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, northeast of Pasadena, is SIERRA MADRE, a charming small town with the largest blooming plant in the world, a wisteria vine that is the center of a yearly festival (626/355-5111; www.ci.sierra-madre.ca.us). • In MONROVIA (www.ci.monrovia.ca.us), about 10 minutes by car from Pasadena, the Old Town's Myrtle Avenue, which dates to the 1890's, is a leisurely stroll down memory lane, with sweet shops and antiques stores. • SANTA ANITA PARK (285 W. Huntington Dr.; 626/574-7223), the famous racetrack, lies just a 15-minute drive east of Pasadena, in Arcadia. The track has a tram tour that celebrates Seabiscuit, the Thoroughbred that won the Handicap there in 1940. • At the L.A. County Arboretum & Botanic Garden (301 N. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia; 626/821-3222; www.arboretum.org), you'll find a less pedigreed, but no less thrilling, attraction for pop-culture fanatics. Near the park's tropical forest is a 19th-century structure on a lagoon that served as the seaplane-arrivals building for TV's Fantasy Island.

Hunters and gatherers from around the world make a pilgrimage to Pasadena on the second Sunday of every month to hit the Rose Bowl Flea Market (1001 Rose Bowl Dr.; 323/560-7469; www.rgcshows.com/rosebowl.asp), one of the largest, most exhausting shopping experiences in the United States. We asked Adamo DiGregorio, a stylist for the Los Angeles Times, for some tips on how to navigate the market: "Arrive between five-thirty and seven a.m.—you'll pay twenty dollars, the maximum fee, to get in early, but the best items are sold long before the lollygaggers arrive." • "Dealers expect to haggle. Never ask how much; always say, 'Will you take...?'" • "Work backward. Start at the point farthest from the entrance and shop along the outer perimeters first. That's where you'll find new dealers—and the most unusual merchandise."