Go[ing] West, young man.
I'm going on a short vacation (or holiday, to some of you) to Southern California. Lindsay and I will be attending a wedding and hanging out with Alan Thrush (CMRS fall 2000) and his wife Beth.Anyhow, I need good ideas of what to do around Pasadena and LA in 2 days. I know it's not much, but it's all we'll have. This is mostly for Zack, I guess - but I'm open to suggestions from all.
No museums or high culture, please. I want to see celebrities, money growing on trees, and all the cool stuff I've seen on TV since I was a kid (I've heard studio tours are good, but our free time will be on Sunday and MLK Jr. Day, so we may have to be "self-guided" - plus, our budget will not be huge). We leave the 13th of January, so promptness is key here.
thanks - I'll give details when I get back . . . you'll all be blogging with bated breath until then, I know.
- Ryan
p.s. remember, I've never been west of Hutchinson, Kansas, so this is huge for me
posted by Ryan @ 1/05/2006 09:43:00 PM
9 Comments:
Okay, there is lots to do in LA, and you would be well served just buying a tourist guide book like Lonely Planet or Frommer's (if you are willing to make the $15 investment for a mere two day trip).
That being said, reliable places to see celebrities and ostentatious glamour would be Rodeo Drive, and movie premiers are a regular occurance at the old Hollywood theaters and in Westwood (where UCLA is). Melrose Ave. has lots of indie and ritzy shops, and I know that area has restaurants where celebrity sightings are not uncommon. The maps of celebrity home locations are pretty darned accurate, and you can definately buy them on the street in Hollywood (which, overall, is pretty dissapointing to see, and is sort of in the hood).
Pasadena is a pretty place to be and walk around, particularly the area around Fuller Seminary. I am partial to Peet's Coffee and Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles (trust me, it's workin'), both of which have branches there.
If you have a car and want to get down to Santa Monica, 3rd Street is a fun pedestrianized shopping area with lots of interesting stores, and is about the best place to people watch I have ever seen. Oh, except for Venice Beach (the freaks come out there).
Ain't much in the way of historical LA, but if you want to see the City of Angels sort of like it was in the days of Fr. Junipero Serra, Olvera Street, and the area around the LA Mission and Union Station is pretty cool, and a great place to get high quality authentic Mexican food.
Art and high culture is there aplenty, if you should (or Lindsay) change your mind about that. The J. Paul Getty Museum is free and really is all it's cracked up to be.
Having a car is pretty much key if you want to do anything in LA, since public transport is light years behind other major cities, and it is just so frickin' huge. See if you can borrow a Thomas Bros. Guide, which is the street atlas bible for the LA area and is extremely helpful. Okay, that's all I can think of, off the top of my head.
Shame I won't be in town when you are there, it would be fun to meet up. Have a great time!
Parting celebrity sighting: none other than Richard Simmons was on my flight into Newark on Monday. Pretty funny, and sorry I didn't get a picture.
Oh yeah, I think the studio tours are ridiculously overpriced and not that cool anyway. Save your money. "Mallrats" has an excellent scene depicting "Jaws" coming out of the water at Universal Studios. Watch that and you pretty much got the best part of the tour.
Great, this is very helpful (except Chelsea's Idaho comment, which was unhelpful, but funny). It seems that a trip up north would be about 2,050 miles round trip, and while I do have unlimited rental miles, I think I might save that trip for another time.
I think we will visit Santa Monica, so i'm glad you mentioned it Zack. It might end up that we only spend one day in LA and then spend the next in Santa Monica and Santa Barbara. Alan knows the city pretty well, and he and Beth will be with us on our tourist hopping.
What about good (and by good I mean relatively inexpensive, but still cool Californian) restauraunts in LA or Santa Monica? The wedding reception is at Cafe Santorini in Pasadena, so I know I'll be eating shrimp ravioli there. I probably won't buy a guide b/c I just won't be there very long - but I may stop by Borders for sampling.
Thanks, Zack.
Hmmm, Asian bistro sounds good . . . but we have a P.F. Chang's a 1/2 mile from where we live in Durham.
But you ARE right - the lettuce wraps are great.
Ryan - California, really? I had more respect for than that...
Jokes! Have a nice holiday, but your next one should be to London!
Apart from feebly echoing the invite to Idaho (hee, hee?), I can only contribute a big hello to Alan Thrush. Have a smashing trip.
Oh, well if Alan is with you, then you are set, both for directions and activities. Ask him about the restaurants because there are loads of them. And, yes, I too can vouch for the lettuce wraps at PF Changs. For a cool authentic LA experience most people wouldn't get, you could have bagels and lox in Fairfax, which is the biggest Jewish community in the country outside New York (who would've guessed?). If you like garlic, I have heard good things about a place called "The Stinking Rose" which is somewhere in LA (sort of like saying somewhere in Rhode Island...) and may, or may not, be reasonably priced. Any hole in the wall greesy Mexican restaurant would serve you right. And I am dead serious about Roscoe's. They have non-waffle-and-chicken soul-food options, and you might even see a famous African-American entertainer there (or certainly some autographed pictures on the wall). There is one in Hollywood on Sunset and Gower. If you go there, you should check out Mashti Malone's Iranian (and sort of Irish...) ice cream parlor, around the corner from the Chinese Theater. I could go for that rosewater ice cream right now.
While I will defend my home state, and even dusty sprawling Los Angeles, to the death against the ignorant disparaging commentary of anglophilic East Coast snobs (whom I LOVE!!), I can say that spending a day in Santa Barbara rather than in LA is a smart move. And what a pretty drive up the coast. Too bad you don't imbibe the sweet nectar of the vine like our good Lord did, because Santa Barbara is a great wine region. Oh, and the Queen Mary is not there. It is in scenic (note sarcasm) Long Beach harbor (quite near San Pedro, if that is what Chelsey was thinking of). Have fun!
Chelsey, bummer of an itinerary change that was. I was born in Long Beach, by the way, in case anyone was interested...
Again, Zack, thanks for the excellent details for my trip. I'm busting my butt to finish some law school stuff before I go and I'm glad to have some cool options for my itinerary.
Nicole, I feel like we have an East/West Coast gang rivalry going on between you and Zack - for shizzle that should not be for rizzle. (That's about as gangsta as I'm capable of getting - actually, it's more gangsta.)
And NO thanks to "Chels" for getting my hopes up of seeing a big boat in Holy Barbara (sure, sure, I remember a little Spanish - not enough to help Ana Maria's sister with her documentary, but enough to read a map of California).
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