Flickr Shot by jdrisch (detail) 

It doesn’t seem to be New Year’s Day without having the Rose Parade playing on the TV while you enjoy your post-hangover breakfast. But if you didn’t get to tune in for the show, you still have a chance to see those beautiful floats in person today. They were available for the public to visit starting yesterday but since that’s a popular New Year’s Day activity ensuring long lines to get in, I’m thinking today might be a better day, if you can skip work for a little bit that is.

All 46 parade floats are parked along Sierra Madre and Washington Boulevards in Pasadena so you can see the details of these floral masterpieces up close and personal. It’s nice when they’re actually standing still.

With about 150,000 people anticipated to visit the floats, your best bet would be to do the Park-n-Ride where you park in designated areas and pay $3 to ride a shuttle to the floats. Shuttle riders get to line up in the priority entry line for quicker entry. You can Park-n-Ride at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena City College or the Community Education Center.

Some tips for your visit:

• Download the free podcast of the audio tour for the floats on iTunes. It’ll give you details about the creation of a float and offer interesting details about each one.
• Wear comfortable shoes since you’ll be walking about 2.5 miles (at least 2 hours) to view all the floats.
• Since there aren’t many food vendors at the site, bring your own snacks and drinks. Just no cooler though.

EVENT: TODAY, JANUARY 2nd til 4pm

E Washington Blvd & E Sierra Madre Boulevard
Pasadena, California 91107 (map)