I’ll be there from Thursday to Wednesday. My days will be totally occupied with work, including the weekends. But my evenings should be free.
I’ve been once before when I went to visit an ex-gf. We went to the Comedy Store. Touristy Hollywood Blvd stuff and a little Venice Beach (but not enough).
What should I do? Where should I go?
Evenings, eh?
Nighttime shopping at Downtown Disney, Universal Citywalk, The Grove (Los Angeles/Farmer’s Market), and/or the Third street Promenade (Santa Monica).
Santa Monica Pier.
Old Town Pasedena.
House of Blues.
Catch a Lakers game at Staples Center.
Visit the various Frys Electronics stores and admire the decor (for die-hard geeks only 
).
Hollywood Blvd., including the Kodak Theater.
Chinese food in Monterey Park.
The Norton Simon museum in Pasadena is open late on Friday nights. www.nortonsimon.org IMHO, one of the finest art museums in the country.
And while you’re in the area, check out the Third Street Promenade. In the evening, look for Psychic Cat. It’s a cute schtick.
And eat at Ye Olde King’s Head on 2nd Street and Santa Monica Blvd. IMO there’s is the best fish’n’chips I’ve ever had. (Get the Queen Size; the King Size is a bit too much.) I can also recommend the bangers’n’mash. If you get there for breakfast, the English Breakfast is nice.
Venice Beach can be fun. There’s a guy whose name keeps escaping me, who rolls around on skates playing a white electric guitar with a red bullseye on it. He wears a white turban. You can see him in Pee Wee’s Big Adventure (where you can also see the Third Street Promenade after they started rennovation, but before they closed it to motor vehicles). The Sidewalk Café is a decent place to eat (not great, not bad) where you can people-watch. (On re-read, I see you’ve already been there.)
Spadena House (aka “The Witches House”) in Beverly Hills is worth driving by. There’s another cool storybook-style house in Culver City, just around the corner from the Mann Culver cinema. My former neighbour used to trick-or-treat at “The Witches House” when she was a kid, and I used to walk by the house in Culver City all the time when I went to the cinema.
Tito’s Tacos. Good tacos, cheap. On the corner of Washington and Sepulveda. Actually, there’s Washington Place and Washington Blvd. I could never remember which was which. It’s the northern one.
Shayna, Spiny Norman, Scotticher and I had fun at the Long Beach Aquarium.
La Brea Tar Pits and Page Museum.
Paging dantheman! You’ll get more ideas for your trip here, too!
Johnny, you and I are on the same bloody wavelength here!
I just posted a link to Ye Olde King’s Head in dan’s MPSIMS thread.
Oh! One more thing. You might be surprised that I’m about to recommend this restaurant, but I’ve got to.
I’m a big health nut, but so help me God, their hot pastrami sandwich is AWESOME. And the big pot o pickles they bring out to you are yummy.
[quote]
Johnny, you and I are on the same bloody wavelength here!
I just posted a link to Ye Olde King’s Head in dan’s MPSIMS thread. [/qoute]
Woohoo! I’m connecting with a really pretty girl! 
I didn’t see that thread. I’ll have to look for it.
I never got into Johnnie’s Pastrami. I went there and the food was good, but I thought it was a wee bit expensive for a sandwich. Besides, Tito’s is right around the corner. (Oh, man! I wish I had some Tito’s Tacos right now!)
I noticed that there’s a link to [Natalee Thai Cuisine* on the Johnnie’s page. Good food there, and it was on my street. But for Thai food I usually got delivery from Thai Beer (Marina del Rey on Washington, east of Lincoln). Good stuff! Incidentally, there’s a sign on a beachfront building here in Brich Bay that says “Thai food coming soon!” Ooh, I can’t wait!
Anyway, back to pastrami… Sorrento Italian Market is on Sepulveda in Culver City. I love their pastrami sandwiches. Some people find them too salty; but out of all the pastrami I’ve eaten, I like Sorrento’s the best. And they’re cheap! Before I left L.A., I grabbed three of them for the drive up to Washington. It’s #6 on [url=“http://www.schwartzmanpr.com/agency/SA_LA_drestnts.asp”]Best Dive Restaurants](http://www.nataleethai.com/).
About the Best Dive Restaurant site: I never did get to Apple Pan. A neighbour kept saying she’d take me there, but we never got round to it. #2, Zankou Chicken, is pretty tasty for Middle Eastern fast food. Not great, but pretty good. #5 Falafel King is okay if you can’t find someplace better. My favourite falafel/shawerma place is across the street from Santa Monica College (Pico, somewhere around 20th). I don’t remember the exact location or the name, but it was some of the best falafel and shawerma I’ve had.
Hey You!: If you find yourself feeling a bit peckish in your hotel room, grab some snackage at Trader Joe’s. There are other thread’s about TJ’s, so I won’t get into it; but trust me: you can’t go wrong. (Mmmm… Cocoa Almonds! Triple Ginger Snaps!)
Jesus juggling puffins! Let me try that again…
I think that most of the major museums are open late on Fridays. The Getty Center is for sure, though its collection isn’t as good as the Norton Simon. It’s still worth seeing.
Whee! I’m going to print out this thread and my own thread!
Thanks for the tips!