Los Angeles is home to five professional sports teams, two of whom are moving to a new $2.6 billion stadium. It also is home to two nationally recognized high school show choirs (John Burroughs and Burbank) and has well known art galleries like the L.A.Louver, Hauser Wirth and Schimmel, Night Gallery, William Turner Gallery, The Loft at Liz’s, MuzeuMM, The Good Luck Gallery and Art Share L.A. Los Angeles is also accessible to other charming California cities like Irvine, San Diego and Santa Barbara.
During my trip I stayed in the Melrose district where the Spanish-Colonial style of architecture dominates the landscape. Each house is unique in terms of both design and color - and while the cars parked outside are clearly of this century I look at it and imagine that things haven't changed that much since those homes were first built. And because I feel like the history of LA (as I know it, in my limited capacity) is not that far behind it's easy to slip in to one's version of the past.
Because none of my New York friends have anything nice to say about LA , I thought that , at best, I would appreciate the weather, and possibly the beach. Turns out it's neither. What I love about LA is what it stands for - the movies. There is this sexy Hollywood haze that hangs heavy over the city, giving me the feeling that at any moment I could run in to someone famous, some people call this smog, I call them killjoys.
LA is a huge, multi-cultural, warm city. It's the kind of city that puts you in the mood for romance - my specific image involved a younger Jack Nicholson (in any film), or Russell Crowe (not from 'The Insider'). But the best part of the city - like any fabulous city anywhere - is the people. They are nice and uniformly attractive, granted some may have taken a step too far but so what? You dye your roots don't you?
Anyway - the point is GO TO LA! And while you are there:
- Do yourselves a favor and don't stay in a hotel, live like a local, possibly with a local www.airbnb.com
- Eat at Pampas Grill in the Farmers Market on Fairfax, and grab fish and pork tacos anywhere you can.
- Drive through Laurel Canyon and Mulholland Drive. The Hollywood Hills are beautiful, take a moment at the vista points (I sound like my mother) - you can view the valley on one side and downtown LA on the other.
- Take a picture of the Hollywood sign. I did not and am annoyed with myself now.
- Go watch an improve show at The Groundlings. www.groundlings.com
