Area Resources
The area is rich in resources, from extremely tasty mochi to purveyors of fine orbital satellites.
Restaurants
Our new hotel, the Hilton Santa Clara, has an award-winning restaurant, La Fontana, open daily for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The hotel also includes a coffee bar, featuring Starbucks. Alcohol is served in the La Fontana Lounge.
There are many restaurants within easy driving distance from the hotel, but not much within walking distance. The Evolution Restaurant and Bar, a hotel restaurant at another hotel, is a 9-minute walk. A Taco Bell is a 14-minute walk.
Music Shops
There are many music shops in the region but here are some we've tried ourselves:
- Guitar Center
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They don't always put prices on their merchandise, but they claim they'll beat anyone's price. They do sell strings, and they're open Sundays.
There are also stores in nearby cities.
- Guitar Showcase
- These folks are a lot of fun and don't bite. I often wind up making the extra drive to go here, and I'm always treated with first-class service. I've done repeat business here; ask me about the day I spent there trying out fuzz pedals for my ukulele. They're open Sundays, and they have a small consignment shop in the next building that's fun to browse through.
- The Starving Musician
- It's also a fun place to visit; you never know what you'll find for sale, as they mix their current inventory with their consignment stuff. I've seen a guitarron (the big six-string bass guitar they use in Mariachi bands), regular and guitar lutes, and many international instruments. They sell strings 2-for-1, and their prices are very good. They are open Sundays, just not so late as the other shops. They also have two other shops in the broader region (Santa Cruz & Berkeley).
- Gryphon Stringed Instruments
- This is a first-rate shop for anything with strings. They not only sell guitars, but harps, dulcimers, banjos, ukuleles, and violins. They try to save their customers money; when I went in looking for a guitar tuner, they showed me the least expensive one first. They're not open Sundays.
- Sylvan Music
- This isn't really local - it's down in Santa Cruz, but their selection of guitars/ukes/other strings is extensive and their staff extremely helpful. Open Tuesday-Saturday from 11-6, and curbside pickups are available - set up by phone call or email.