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waitingmanOur last 2 days in the USA...
Thursday 27th October - Los Angeles
Oh Los Angeles... California... in fact... America - I could grow to hate your highway/freeway system, if you can call it a system. I'm sure if I lived here, I could begin to make sense of it all & learn to be reckless & fearless like most of the drivers seem to be, but do I necessarily want to...?
L.A. is a sprawling mess. Let's just get that out there from the start. There is no centre to it, no logic to how it spreads out... it just does. It spreads out so much that it takes forever to get anywhere in it, then it takes forever to park your car in it, then it takes slightly less than forever to get the hell back out of it, usually via one of those freeways that criss-cross/bisect/trisect/slash through the place
So a day of sight-seeing today... kind of. The list was: 1. The house used in Six Feet Under, the wonderful TV series from the '00s 2. The LaBrea Tar Pits 3. The big viaduct/aqueduct used in too many movies & shows to list 4. The inevitable Hollywood sign & 5. Venice Beach, preferably around sunset (not the boulevard!!)
The house & the Tar Pits were relatively close together... well, compared to everything else, so we did those first. With the help & hindrance of Google & their maps, we found the house & were surprised that it looked as good & as big as it does on TV & that there weren't other people around, like there were at the 'Full House' house in San Francisco. It was on the corner of 2 relatively quiet streets, given how close to the highway it is. I wonder how much it would sell for?
En route to the Tar Pits, we found Roscoe's Chicken & Waffles, something of an L.A. institution for those who like that sort of thing... like us. Photos of 2 Presidents visiting the store, various actors & musicians... none of whom turned up while we were there. Good waffles & great chicken. You should go there!
The LaBrea Tar Pits are both an open park & a museum. Having paid their $12 parking fee & discovered it didn't include museum admission, we elected to just wander the park. Which was quite interesting on its own anyway. The tar pits are still there - in various sizes, bubbling away, even as they're being constantly dug up & into by paleontologists. They're still trapping unwary wildlife too, just as they've done for around 30,000 years. Unfortunately they also trap cans & bottles, which the human wildlife that should get stuck, throws in there. These are the times when I wish sabre-toothed tigers were still roaming the L.A. area...
Next, across the entire city to find the viaduct. This involved a couple of arguments with Google Maps, driving through a significant portion of Skid Row, which was both an eye-opening experience & a slightly scary & disturbing one. If you ever wondered about how bad the poverty & homelessness problem is in the USA, the sheer size of this area & the number of people in it, are more than enough answer. A couple of detours due to construction, then driving though more run-down, industrial territory for a different, hopefully better, view. We ended up near a very sad looking Sears building, that was still trading during its 'renovation'. Renovation?? Given the rusty beams & broken windows all over it, I'd say it will soon be renovated by accidental fire or gas explosion. It's cheaper that way & probably covered by insurance too. Anyway, a short walk from the near-empty carpark took us to a bridge over the viaduct, where we didn't see a race between 2 souped-up 1950s T-Birds, nor did we see a Terminator on a motorbike being chased by another in a truck. The viaduct itself isn't all that interesting to look at - it's a great location for car chases, but a bit dull if there's not one going on... & I couldn't find an access road onto it!!!!!
Back across town via another of those freeways to Amoeba Records. This place isn't famous (or at least, I'd never heard of it), but it should be... It's a barn - absolutely stuffed to the rafters with CDs, DVDs, LPs, t-shirts, books & ephemera. The kind of place I could walk into at 9am & be turfed out of at 5pm, still not having looked at everything I wanted, so would return the following morning... & maybe the morning after that. Not having that kind of time, I contented myself with the latest King Crimson release & a couple of 90s Richard Thompson CDs. I hope they never fall prey to Amazon & go out of business - the music world needs places like this
From there onto Mulholland Drive, dodging the tourist buses & to a viewpoint where you could look down onto the Hollywood Bowl open amphitheatre, out across the L.A. smoggy skyline, or up & over to the HOLLYWOOD sign. I was amused to read that the sign was originally HOLLYWOODLAND, but a landslide took out the LAND. Then down through Laurel Canyon & back onto Hollywood Boulevard, but at the more upmarket end, with nicer houses, no taco stands & tourist traps & no stars on the sidewalk. We were trying to get out to Venice Beach, but traffic was unkind & it was also a lot further than we thought. Even when we eventually reached Venice Boulevard, there were still 11 miles to go... The urban sprawl of this city makes Sydney's expansion look somewhat organised
Probably because we arrived at the end of the day & it's Autumn & it was a grey day, Venice Beach looked a bit tacky & sad. The boardwalk is full of souvenir, sunglasses & t-shirt shops, all selling the same things, pizza places all selling the same things, seedy parking lots, tired-looking hippies & homeless people all trudging up & down looking for...? No bikini babes or muscled hunks, no beach volleyball, no roller-skaters... no Baywatch either
There was a nice sunset, despite or because of the clouds & a busker outside a bar playing a grand piano on wheels. His version of Pachelbel's Canon in D was the fastest, most eccentric I've ever heard... But not enough to make us linger. A drink & some buffalo wings & we were on our way to the other side of town again, this time to a Walmart where we needed to buy another bag to take home the extra stuff we've accumulated over the weeks. Then back onto 2 more freeways before pulling into the Motel on Vine St
Packing, packing, accumulating rubbish bags, re-packing, swearing, adding more stuff to the rubbish pile, then a bit more packing. One more day, then flying home tomorrow night...
Friday 28th October - Los Angeles
Up early for final packing, writing apologetic notes & leaving a decent tip for Housekeeping about all the rubbish bags. Then lugging everything down into Travis for the last time, before a final 'Idiot Check' of the room & checking out. Then... hmm
Our flight wasn't until the evening, so we had a day to do... hmmm. After our travels & travails around this city yesterday, we felt we'd seen all we wanted, or needed, to. The only other places of little-to-mild interest were a couple of movie studios, or maybe back to the beach. None of which survived brief consideration. My suggestion of a day in Amoeba Records barely survived leaving my lips... Anyway - breakfast time
We discovered that Gus's Fried Chicken - a place we'd visited & loved in Memphis on our last trip, had expanded into a franchise & there was an outlet a reasonable drive away. So, at least we knew what to do right now! Over a probably less-than-healthy, but downright tasty & not too huge breakfast/brunch, we decided to let Google choose a place for us to spend the last day. Julia typed in something like things to do in L.A. on your last day & one of Google's first suggestions was the 'Getty Center'. Art, sculpture, architecture... all up in the hills above the city. sounded pretty good to us, so we fired up Travis & TomTom, did a quick U-turn & headed across town
You arrive in the carpark at the Getty Centre, then there are automated trams that take you up a hill, where you come to the main buildings & surrounding landscaped grounds, which are dotted with sculptures & statuary - mostly 'modern' from the 20th century, as they can stand a little rain. A couple of Henry Moores, some others that wanted to be Henry Moore, then... a Magritte!! This was the first time I've been within touching distance of one of his originals, but the Centre has thought of that - you're not allowed to touch. Dammit!!
Through the entrance, where friendly guides not only give you a map, but actually help you get your bearings, then there are 3 main buildings to go through, each with an amazingly diverse, but beautifully curated & collected range of artworks in just about every medium you could name. Da Vinci pencil works, ancient Roman, Greek & Egyptian sculpture, friezes & earthenware, Louis XIV furniture, tapestries & art... each room in each building is a full sensory experience
Me on a good morning... Me on a bad morning...
When the picture's priceless, but up close it's a mess - That's a Monet!!
What a place to have discovered on our last day here... you really need a couple of days to get through everything & have a chance to take it all in, And then there are the special exhibitions they have, like any museum. We didn't get to any of them this day, but were happy to wander from place to place. It's like getting a degree in Fine Arts in one afternoon. Not to mention the architecture, landscaping & design of the place itself. All beautifully done
All too soon, it was time to go. But Los Angeles redeemed itself a little today, being home to such a wonderful place. Can't recommend it highly enough
Across town again to the airport, where it was finally time to say goodbye to Travis. Despite some hiccups in the desert & some adventures in city traffic, he'd been a great transport. Decent turn of speed, good air-con, comfortable seats, good sound-system & sooooo much luggage space for 2 people, though we'd done our best to fill it as much as possible. A last photo of the odometer before the Enterprise crew hustled us & our baggage out, so they could see what, if any, damage we'd done to their vehicle. While I went in search of a trolley to heap our bags onto, Julia waited nervously to see if they'd hit us with any extra charges. Turned out that they either missed, or didn't care about the mark on Travis' front fender, courtesy of a tour-bus-induced ditching in Yosemite Park, so we were free to go. A shuttle bus was waiting nearby & the driver helped load our baggage, then with one last look back at Travis, getting ready to wash all our dirt away, we were off to the Departures Terminal
4,641 miles... nearly 7,500 kilometres. Five states
Because all had gone smoothly at the Enterprise office, we were surprisingly early for our flight. This was when Julia produced her trump card (not to be confused with a Trump card - hers was actually a good, useful thing) - entry to the Korean Air first class lounge, courtesy of the place she works for & their international clients & connections. About time they did something for us!! After being checked in & checked over by the desk staff, we had a couple of hours of sandwiches, fruit, noodles, sushi & an open, self-serve bar with Johnny Walker Black Label just sitting there, waiting for me to arrive. Well, here I am!
However, all good things must pass & it was time to board our flight, where we shared a row with an American lady headed for Australia. Julia graciously gave me the window seat, leaving her in the middle - little knowing that our American friend in the aisle seat was a lop-sided sleeper. This became uncomfortably apparent somewhere over the Pacific Ocean, but at least the flight wasn't as turbulent & bumpy as the one we arrived on. I still can't sleep on planes it seems, so watched a few movies, some old TV shows, gave Brad Paisley's album half another chance before deciding I really didn't like it, semi-dozed, suffered through some typical airplane food until the land Down Under was just down there...
Now, back to work for some rest & relaxation!!
Thursday 27th October - Los Angeles
Oh Los Angeles... California... in fact... America - I could grow to hate your highway/freeway system, if you can call it a system. I'm sure if I lived here, I could begin to make sense of it all & learn to be reckless & fearless like most of the drivers seem to be, but do I necessarily want to...?
L.A. is a sprawling mess. Let's just get that out there from the start. There is no centre to it, no logic to how it spreads out... it just does. It spreads out so much that it takes forever to get anywhere in it, then it takes forever to park your car in it, then it takes slightly less than forever to get the hell back out of it, usually via one of those freeways that criss-cross/bisect/trisect/slash through the place
So a day of sight-seeing today... kind of. The list was: 1. The house used in Six Feet Under, the wonderful TV series from the '00s 2. The LaBrea Tar Pits 3. The big viaduct/aqueduct used in too many movies & shows to list 4. The inevitable Hollywood sign & 5. Venice Beach, preferably around sunset (not the boulevard!!)
The house & the Tar Pits were relatively close together... well, compared to everything else, so we did those first. With the help & hindrance of Google & their maps, we found the house & were surprised that it looked as good & as big as it does on TV & that there weren't other people around, like there were at the 'Full House' house in San Francisco. It was on the corner of 2 relatively quiet streets, given how close to the highway it is. I wonder how much it would sell for?
En route to the Tar Pits, we found Roscoe's Chicken & Waffles, something of an L.A. institution for those who like that sort of thing... like us. Photos of 2 Presidents visiting the store, various actors & musicians... none of whom turned up while we were there. Good waffles & great chicken. You should go there!
The LaBrea Tar Pits are both an open park & a museum. Having paid their $12 parking fee & discovered it didn't include museum admission, we elected to just wander the park. Which was quite interesting on its own anyway. The tar pits are still there - in various sizes, bubbling away, even as they're being constantly dug up & into by paleontologists. They're still trapping unwary wildlife too, just as they've done for around 30,000 years. Unfortunately they also trap cans & bottles, which the human wildlife that should get stuck, throws in there. These are the times when I wish sabre-toothed tigers were still roaming the L.A. area...
Next, across the entire city to find the viaduct. This involved a couple of arguments with Google Maps, driving through a significant portion of Skid Row, which was both an eye-opening experience & a slightly scary & disturbing one. If you ever wondered about how bad the poverty & homelessness problem is in the USA, the sheer size of this area & the number of people in it, are more than enough answer. A couple of detours due to construction, then driving though more run-down, industrial territory for a different, hopefully better, view. We ended up near a very sad looking Sears building, that was still trading during its 'renovation'. Renovation?? Given the rusty beams & broken windows all over it, I'd say it will soon be renovated by accidental fire or gas explosion. It's cheaper that way & probably covered by insurance too. Anyway, a short walk from the near-empty carpark took us to a bridge over the viaduct, where we didn't see a race between 2 souped-up 1950s T-Birds, nor did we see a Terminator on a motorbike being chased by another in a truck. The viaduct itself isn't all that interesting to look at - it's a great location for car chases, but a bit dull if there's not one going on... & I couldn't find an access road onto it!!!!!
Back across town via another of those freeways to Amoeba Records. This place isn't famous (or at least, I'd never heard of it), but it should be... It's a barn - absolutely stuffed to the rafters with CDs, DVDs, LPs, t-shirts, books & ephemera. The kind of place I could walk into at 9am & be turfed out of at 5pm, still not having looked at everything I wanted, so would return the following morning... & maybe the morning after that. Not having that kind of time, I contented myself with the latest King Crimson release & a couple of 90s Richard Thompson CDs. I hope they never fall prey to Amazon & go out of business - the music world needs places like this
From there onto Mulholland Drive, dodging the tourist buses & to a viewpoint where you could look down onto the Hollywood Bowl open amphitheatre, out across the L.A. smoggy skyline, or up & over to the HOLLYWOOD sign. I was amused to read that the sign was originally HOLLYWOODLAND, but a landslide took out the LAND. Then down through Laurel Canyon & back onto Hollywood Boulevard, but at the more upmarket end, with nicer houses, no taco stands & tourist traps & no stars on the sidewalk. We were trying to get out to Venice Beach, but traffic was unkind & it was also a lot further than we thought. Even when we eventually reached Venice Boulevard, there were still 11 miles to go... The urban sprawl of this city makes Sydney's expansion look somewhat organised
Probably because we arrived at the end of the day & it's Autumn & it was a grey day, Venice Beach looked a bit tacky & sad. The boardwalk is full of souvenir, sunglasses & t-shirt shops, all selling the same things, pizza places all selling the same things, seedy parking lots, tired-looking hippies & homeless people all trudging up & down looking for...? No bikini babes or muscled hunks, no beach volleyball, no roller-skaters... no Baywatch either
There was a nice sunset, despite or because of the clouds & a busker outside a bar playing a grand piano on wheels. His version of Pachelbel's Canon in D was the fastest, most eccentric I've ever heard... But not enough to make us linger. A drink & some buffalo wings & we were on our way to the other side of town again, this time to a Walmart where we needed to buy another bag to take home the extra stuff we've accumulated over the weeks. Then back onto 2 more freeways before pulling into the Motel on Vine St
Packing, packing, accumulating rubbish bags, re-packing, swearing, adding more stuff to the rubbish pile, then a bit more packing. One more day, then flying home tomorrow night...
Friday 28th October - Los Angeles
Up early for final packing, writing apologetic notes & leaving a decent tip for Housekeeping about all the rubbish bags. Then lugging everything down into Travis for the last time, before a final 'Idiot Check' of the room & checking out. Then... hmm
Our flight wasn't until the evening, so we had a day to do... hmmm. After our travels & travails around this city yesterday, we felt we'd seen all we wanted, or needed, to. The only other places of little-to-mild interest were a couple of movie studios, or maybe back to the beach. None of which survived brief consideration. My suggestion of a day in Amoeba Records barely survived leaving my lips... Anyway - breakfast time
We discovered that Gus's Fried Chicken - a place we'd visited & loved in Memphis on our last trip, had expanded into a franchise & there was an outlet a reasonable drive away. So, at least we knew what to do right now! Over a probably less-than-healthy, but downright tasty & not too huge breakfast/brunch, we decided to let Google choose a place for us to spend the last day. Julia typed in something like things to do in L.A. on your last day & one of Google's first suggestions was the 'Getty Center'. Art, sculpture, architecture... all up in the hills above the city. sounded pretty good to us, so we fired up Travis & TomTom, did a quick U-turn & headed across town
You arrive in the carpark at the Getty Centre, then there are automated trams that take you up a hill, where you come to the main buildings & surrounding landscaped grounds, which are dotted with sculptures & statuary - mostly 'modern' from the 20th century, as they can stand a little rain. A couple of Henry Moores, some others that wanted to be Henry Moore, then... a Magritte!! This was the first time I've been within touching distance of one of his originals, but the Centre has thought of that - you're not allowed to touch. Dammit!!
Through the entrance, where friendly guides not only give you a map, but actually help you get your bearings, then there are 3 main buildings to go through, each with an amazingly diverse, but beautifully curated & collected range of artworks in just about every medium you could name. Da Vinci pencil works, ancient Roman, Greek & Egyptian sculpture, friezes & earthenware, Louis XIV furniture, tapestries & art... each room in each building is a full sensory experience
Me on a good morning... Me on a bad morning...
When the picture's priceless, but up close it's a mess - That's a Monet!!
What a place to have discovered on our last day here... you really need a couple of days to get through everything & have a chance to take it all in, And then there are the special exhibitions they have, like any museum. We didn't get to any of them this day, but were happy to wander from place to place. It's like getting a degree in Fine Arts in one afternoon. Not to mention the architecture, landscaping & design of the place itself. All beautifully done
All too soon, it was time to go. But Los Angeles redeemed itself a little today, being home to such a wonderful place. Can't recommend it highly enough
Across town again to the airport, where it was finally time to say goodbye to Travis. Despite some hiccups in the desert & some adventures in city traffic, he'd been a great transport. Decent turn of speed, good air-con, comfortable seats, good sound-system & sooooo much luggage space for 2 people, though we'd done our best to fill it as much as possible. A last photo of the odometer before the Enterprise crew hustled us & our baggage out, so they could see what, if any, damage we'd done to their vehicle. While I went in search of a trolley to heap our bags onto, Julia waited nervously to see if they'd hit us with any extra charges. Turned out that they either missed, or didn't care about the mark on Travis' front fender, courtesy of a tour-bus-induced ditching in Yosemite Park, so we were free to go. A shuttle bus was waiting nearby & the driver helped load our baggage, then with one last look back at Travis, getting ready to wash all our dirt away, we were off to the Departures Terminal
4,641 miles... nearly 7,500 kilometres. Five states
Because all had gone smoothly at the Enterprise office, we were surprisingly early for our flight. This was when Julia produced her trump card (not to be confused with a Trump card - hers was actually a good, useful thing) - entry to the Korean Air first class lounge, courtesy of the place she works for & their international clients & connections. About time they did something for us!! After being checked in & checked over by the desk staff, we had a couple of hours of sandwiches, fruit, noodles, sushi & an open, self-serve bar with Johnny Walker Black Label just sitting there, waiting for me to arrive. Well, here I am!
However, all good things must pass & it was time to board our flight, where we shared a row with an American lady headed for Australia. Julia graciously gave me the window seat, leaving her in the middle - little knowing that our American friend in the aisle seat was a lop-sided sleeper. This became uncomfortably apparent somewhere over the Pacific Ocean, but at least the flight wasn't as turbulent & bumpy as the one we arrived on. I still can't sleep on planes it seems, so watched a few movies, some old TV shows, gave Brad Paisley's album half another chance before deciding I really didn't like it, semi-dozed, suffered through some typical airplane food until the land Down Under was just down there...
Now, back to work for some rest & relaxation!!
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(no subject)
Date: 2017-02-22 11:30 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2017-02-24 11:30 am (UTC)Also as noted, I wonder if the coke cans & fast-food wrappers will be of archaeological interest in a few hundred years...
(no subject)
Date: 2017-02-24 11:39 am (UTC)My Father & I had an ongoing trivia quiz over the years, where we would just randomly test each other on capital cities of the world, including the USA - "What's the capital of Florida?!" & woe betide you if you said Miami... The result being that I think I know more about USA (& world) geography than most people... certainly a lot of Americans... Present company excluded, of course. Point being that, if you live in the 'Western' world, there's no escaping the looming influence of American culture, so you may as well learn about it
But I always thought the Liberty Bell would be bigger... & was surprised to find Mt Rushmore smaller than expected too. The Golden Gate Bridge, on the other hand, was much bigger than expected, though I'd always had the impression that San Francisco was a 'big' city. Kind of glad, actually, that it isn't!!
Television... it can warp the mind... & the world, apparently
(no subject)
Date: 2017-02-22 01:02 pm (UTC)subscribe to my newsletter