There is a slim chance that I am going to find myself in Los Angeles next week with three entire days to kill. I have an airplane ticket, but one of the two gigs wasn’t confirmed yet by contract. ( Incredibly, I just am informed of this ).
I’ll have a rental car.
Plan A: Get car, immediately drive 8 hours to northern Calif to see old dear pals.
Plan B: Get to know LA, since the last few times I have been there, I have finely honed my distaste for the place.
Ideas?
Of course, this might beg for a hastily thrown together LADopeFest, but I dunno yet and so don’t wanna propose a party I might not make !! ( how weird would that be… )
Leave as quickly as possible and happily wave goodbye as LA drops out of sight in your rear-view mirror. Oh, wait, that’s what I want to do in LA.
Seriously, I would head to the beach areas and try to relax a bit. If you’re in the mood to see some nifty houses and not hang out downtown, a drive up to the Pasadena/Arcadia area might be in order. There are lots of fancy neighborhoods that can be nice to walk around and look at really nice Craftsman-style houses. While you’re in the area, you can also check out the Huntington. You can spend a whole day wandering through the gardens and museums.
I second the Los Angeles Public Library. You could spend hours just staring at its awesome grandeur.
If you feel like some shopping and don’t mind the crowded sidewalks, hit up the Fashion District. Even better, there’s the old Farmers Market, which has recently been commercialized with multi-story parking and some big-name stores, but still holds its quaint charm nonetheless (awesome eats, too!).
Lastly, if you can handle the somberness, definitely hit up the Museum of Tolerance. It will give you a whole new perspective.
Obligatory Ye Olde King’s Head link. Try the fish’n’chips. Get the smaller size (Queen Size). The bangers’n’mash are also quite good. Most crowded on Friday nights and weekends, this is also the time when the pub section is full of interesting people. And after, you can go to the 3rd Street Promenade to watch the buskers and such.
Eat at the Pantry. Fig and something, downtown. Always open, so squeeze it in when ever.
Eat at Tommy’s. Lake-something? Someone help me out with directions, please! Any Trojans out there? Again, always open. Get the chili on that burger. You’ll regret it, but in a good way.
Eat at Manny’s. Fig and 32nd (I think). Late nite is good there as well. Its as big as a Foto-mat, so don’t look for a building, or you’ll miss it.
Eat at La Barca. Vermont, just north of the USC campus. Get one of the wine margaritas and the guacamole. Good stuff. See if you can get “Silent Sam” the waiter. He repeats everything you say, but totally incomprehensiblely. Is that a word?
Eat at “Mr. Jim’s Bar-B-Que” (You need no teef to eat Mr. Jim’s Beef!). Vermont, just south of the USC campus. An experience. Don’t take a date.
People-watch at 5th and San Pedro. Don’t take a date.
I’d follow Rico’s advice but go just a bit further. Often the best locations are NEAR the big city – but just outside it. For example, Bear Mountain State Park is extraordinary and within sight of Manhattan (well, Manhattan can be seen from the Bear Mountain Bridge) and the San Juan Islands are a wonderful escape from Seattle.
You can get there by boat or a quick airplane charter out of Irvine, CA. I understand that it’s hopping on the weekends and perhaps a local can clue you in better on the entertainment scene.
Farmer’s Market at Fairfax and Third Avenue, and then a short drive up to Melrose to cruise the shops, then over to West Hollywood for lunch at the French Market at Santa Monica Blvd and Laurel, then go up to Sunset and Crescent Heights to Virgin Megastore, and then hit Laugh Factory across the street for a show, and drive down Sunset Strip and hit a club or two. Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills is worth a glance, as well as Venice Beach or Santa Monica Pier. “Hollywood” is a sleezy ghetto, but around the Kodak Theater and Mann’s Chinese, you get the feel for what you think it should be, but isn’t.
Oh, and despite what others have said, I say avoid dowtown LA. Yes, there are a few interesting things to see, but as a tourist, you will have a hard time finding those places, traffic and parking sucks, and at night the place turns into a desolate slum. It is the only city I have ever been to where downtown is not worth the effort to get there.
