Girl Gone Globetrotting
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Happy Memorial Day from the San Diego Zoo!
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I went to log into tumblr and this came up…
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I have very few regrets from my time in LA, but here’s some things I wish I would’ve done.
I would have loved to see a concert at Disney Concert Hall or the Hollywood Bowl.
I still never had sushi at the original Katsu-Ya in Studio City.
Since discovering I don’t disdain hikes, I wish I had hiked Runyon Canyon (where all the famous people hike) and one of the trails near the Griffith Observatory, and then stayed to check out the stars.
I don’t like to work out, but I would’ve loved to take an aerobics class from Richard Simmons.
… or what to do when YOU’RE in Los Angeles.
In no particular order. Don’t make me choose!
Mulholland Drive/The Canyons
The canyons, all of the canyons, are my favorite part of Los Angeles. They allow you to feel separated from the extreme hustle and bustle of the city. You feel as if you’re miles and miles away, as opposed to five minutes from Hollywood in the case of Laurel Canyon. I drove Mulholland Drive (which winds its way through several of LA’s canyons) and found one of my favorite spots - the Hollywood Bowl overlook.
Bottega Louie and its macarons
It’s safe to say Bottega Louie is my favorite restaurant in Los Angeles, and that’s saying something. The restaurant doesn’t take reservations because it’s that cool. But it’s worth the wait, as I said in a previous post. Also, it’s good for spotting the beautiful people. I saw Sharon Stone there once. The food is amazing and they don’t look down their noses if you share, which my friends and I do. But the Earl Grey macaron is what won my French dessert lovin’ heart.
LACMA/Weekday food trucks/Tar Pits
LACMA and the Tar Pits offer a learning experience. I’ve seen an exhibit filled with gorgeous Victorian at LACMA and learned about how the Tar Pits came to be via plaques surrounding the Tar Pits. If you make an afternoon of these two LA gems, you have to stop by the dozen food trucks that park themselves outside of 5900 Wilshire. You’ll find anything your stomach desires - Mexican, Korean BBQ, burgers, grilled cheese, sushi, Philly cheesesteaks and much, much more.
The Original Farmers Market
If you have a friend or family member in town who isn’t excited about the shiny lights of Hollywood or spotlessly clean streets surrounding Rodeo Drive, take them to the Original Farmers Market on Third and Fairfax. It’s been an LA staple since 1934 and you can buy fresh produce as well as a “My Grandparents Went to Hollywood and All I Got was This T-Shirt” shirt. There’s fun shops, good food and The Grove is right next door so you can always glitz-up the day by attending a filming of Extra.
Pervasive street art
It’s EVERYWHERE. I was driving down the road one day and spotted a Banksy. No joke. I love the sense of creativity and freedom it gives the city.
Rooftop pools
There’s not much to say. They’re at every “it” hotel in LA. It’s fun to act fancier than you actually are by lounging poolside. During the summer the hotels throw pool parties so you don’t even have to be a hotel guest.
The Greek Theatre
I saw one of my favorite artists, Ray Lamontagne, at The Greek and it was magical, if a bit cold. The outdoor amphitheater is one of a kind nestled in tall trees. Plus it’s smaller than the Hollywood Bowl (I think) so it’s a bit more intimate.
Malibu Wines
This wonderful place tucked into, you guessed it, a canyon is the perfect spot for a relaxing weekend afternoon filled with delicious wine, live music and the cool Malibu air. (Left below)
The Getty Museum
One of the few things in Los Angeles that are free, The Getty Museum affords great views of LA, has gorgeous gardens and let’s not forget the reason you come, the art. My friends and I went once for a Parisian interiors exhibit but were amazed at the photographic exhibit about Cuba through the years. The only catch is the parking is $15 but if you shove enough people into one car it’s no biggie. (Right above)
- Vienna (Austria)
- Zurich (Switzerland)
- Auckland (New Zealand)
- Munich (Germany)
- Dusseldorf (Germany)
- = Vancouver (Canada)
- Frankfurt (Germany)
- Geneva (Switzerland)
- = Bern (Switzerland)
- = Copenhagen (Denmark)
According to Mercer’s 2011 Quality of Living index, Vienna took the top spot for the third year running.
Even though the U.S. failed to crack the top 25, I still think it’s the best place to live in the world. Here’s the top spots in the U.S.: Honolulu (29); Paris tied with Adelaide, Australia and San Francisco for the 30th spot; Boston took 36; Chicago, Madrid, Spain, and Washington, DC tied for 43rd; and rounding out the top 50 are New York City (47), Seattle (48) and Pittsburgh tied with Kobe and Yokohama, Japan for 49th.
Singapore, Singapore was the only Asian city to make the top 25, which makes sense. My parents went about 10 years ago and said it was the cleanest city they’ve ever seen - gum is illegal. (Does that mean bad breath is rampant?)
I’ve never been to any of the top cities, except Vancouver and I can understand why it’s a top city. It’s on the water, Canadians are friendly, only two hours from Whistler, it’s clean, great views and it’s a big city so it has plenty of amenities.
Where would you want to live?
Wrigley Field
My family likes to do what locals do when we travel, and what most locals do in Chicago is go to a Cubbies game.
Unfortunately, if you haven’t already gotten the gist, it was hotter than Hades during our visit. Thankfully my pops had gotten us seats in the shade, but that didn’t stop us from melting into human sweat puddles while we watched the first five innings of the game.
It was so hot not even an ice cold beer sounded good. I wanted one thing and one thing only - aside from air conditioning - and that was water. We ordered it by the case, but even that’s not enough sometimes.
But the Cubs had thought ahead and had a man with a large spray pump filled with water walking around spritzing everyone, and I mean everyone. The guy really didn’t even need to ask if we wanted to be sprayed, if you didn’t, you might be a vampire or a witch.
I couldn’t even concentrate on the game because of the heat, so after of six straight innings of the Cubs getting thumped by the Phillies, we left and sought cooler entertainment.
Our views of Chicago from the Hancock Tower observatory were amazing. We caught fog rolling off of Lake Michigan and onto the skyscrapers of Chicago. Being from Arizona, we don’t see fog too much, so every time I do see it, it’s like a magical cloud blanket. The best part was, at the beginning of our visit Navy Pier was completely covered in fog, but it appeared, as if magic throughout our time in the observatory.
Photography by me. July 2011.
The Billy Goat Tavern
This little hole in the wall - and I don’t use this word loosely, the Billy Goat Tavern is tiny and located in the darkness under a bridge - can pretty much summarize Chicago.
Right as we walked in a man screamed at us to make a decision. Then while we tried to make a decision he screamed, “You want a double? You want a double. You’re getting a double.” All the while I’m thinking, I don’t really want a double cheeseburger.
“You want a double. Double? Double,” he continued.
All right. I guess I’ll get a double. I don’t really enjoy being forced into doing anything, but a line was starting to form so I went with a double.
While the food came out quick and tasted pretty darn good, it was the atmosphere of the Billy Goat Tavern that made me warm up to it. Covered in old pictures, sports memorabilia, and the bylines of Chicago journalists above the bar (that right there warmed my little journalista-heart). You could tell the Billy Goat Tavern was the kind of place actual locals go to, as evidenced by the men in button-up shirts who stopped by for a burger on their lunch hour.
Much like the yelling Billy Goat Tavern guy, as I call him, Chicago’s oppressive heat and humidity was right up in our faces. The weather made itself known, but once we stopped trying to be ubertourists we realized that Chicago was pretty cool. The food is delicious, the comedy is funny, and the people (screaming guy included) were welcoming. (Anyone else getting the connection between Billy Goat and screaming questions at people? Yeah, kind of like the old story of Billy Goats Gruff.)
What that crazy man and the Billy Goat Tavern did was make us relax, not think so much about what to see and do next, but just focus on the task at hand: eating a double cheeseburger.
The L train in Chicago.
Photograph by me. July 2011.
This picture is of me taking a picture of my reflection in The Bean. However, the most interesting part is that there are actually handprints all over The Bean. The Bean is just really a big mirror, so I find it interesting that a bunch of people felt the need to touch it. I’m sure the downpour the next day washed all the handprints away. But I bet the handprints were back on The Bean later that same afternoon.
Photograph by me. July 2011.
Cloud Gate, aka The Bean, is located in Millennium Park. British artist Anish Kapoor’s work is steel which is meant to reflect the Chicago skyline, the clouds above it and the people below. It is 66-feet long and 33-feet tall.
Photography by me. July 2011.
Two of the most interesting buildings I’ve seen in a while. They look like very petal-y flowers.
Photograph by me. July 2011.
