Favorite Spots in Claremont
Ah, Claremont鈥搃t seems so small and yet there鈥檚 a thing to do everywhere you look. Something an upperclassman said to me my first year that I鈥檝e never forgotten: 鈥淚f you鈥檙e bored in Claremont, it鈥檚 your fault,鈥� and so far I鈥檝e found it to be pretty true: when someone isn鈥檛 throwing a party on campus, your friends are having a movie night, or there鈥檚 a trivia competition/jazz concert鈥搚ou can get up to any number of activities, just within the one square mile of campus. But off-campus, one quick 10-minute walk southwards, there鈥檚 even more to discover.
The first place you鈥檒l run into walking into the Claremont Village is Bert & Rocky鈥檚, a very adorable ice cream shop that feels very Mom & Pop soda shoppe. They鈥檝e got the classics, chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, but they鈥檝e also got crazy flavors like butterscotch and lavender. All homemade, all delicious (and while ice cream is their main gig, you have got to try their caramel apples).
Walking past Bert & Rocky鈥檚, past the video store and past the hot dog shop, you鈥檒l find the Laemmle, Claremont鈥檚 movie theater! My friends and I go here at least once a month to catch whatever goofy-sounding flick we heard is playing. It makes for a delightful Friday evening, and guarantees inside jokes about whatever we saw for at least the next month.聽
And tucked in a back corner, behind Some Crust bakery (which is a must visit鈥搕heir apricot pinwheels and chocolate raspberry croissants are insane) is the hidden gem of the Claremont Village: CK Cafe, a tiny little tea shop. Don鈥檛 let its unassuming plain white exterior fool you鈥搃nside CK Cafe you will find literally wall-to-wall tea flavors, glass jars full of the coolest kinds of tea you鈥檝e ever鈥揳nd never鈥揾eard of. They鈥檝e got classic leaf tea, iced tea, bubble tea, and other ones I鈥檓 forgetting. And all four walls are decorated with a stunning Alice in Wonderland mural. It鈥檚 truly a magical, mad place in there.
Of course, these are only a few Village treasures: there鈥檚 also Vintage Paradise and Deelux, some delightful vintage stores that never fail to deliver on crazy finds; Pepo Melo and Ubatuba, extremely yummy a莽ai bowl spots; and of course the train station that can get you to L.A. in 50 minutes. Life is good here.