In my experience as an adult, I've visited places by thinking about it for a few days, planning for a few months and then going on the trip. Boom. Done. I've been fortunate that nothing has really held me back, including funds, vacation time or having any sense of responsibility. Just kidding. I don't have any real funds except for my lucrative weekend juggling act.
The one place that has eluded me for the past 20 years (this includes non-adulthood for all those keeping track of my age) has been the glamorously, famous, shallow city of Los Angeles. Ever since my teenage years when I dreamt of going to college in L.A. or running away there and opening a donut slash snack shoppe (notice my fun way of spelling 'shop'), I've had great illusions of what the city looked like, how it felt, how it sounded, and how easily I could zip from Malibu to Inglewood and all points in between on the many splendid highways.
I can now report that all these illusions were shattered. But in a fun, not-punched-in-the-gut way! Before I get to all that I experienced out there (my god, how long can I keep up this rambling? DON'T CHALLENGE ME!), I need to address the burning question: Why L.A.? Well, I'm not going to answer that. You like me being a mystery, you know it. Next: Why did it take me 20 years to visit? It's not like it's Antarctica or the island of Mauritius. I might have made that name up. Anyway, WHYYYY? I have no good reason. I have a bad one: I blame it on France. She and Canada kept getting in the way. Honestly, though, I think I didn't really want to go back to those teenage years and remember why I wanted to escape. So I never considered going to L.A. since I've become an adult.
But I finally did get out there based on a number of circumstances that no one (not even me) cares about at the moment. And what did I do?
- Stayed downtown with friends so we hit a few bars, including The Must and Wurstkuche that had a great local feeling. Friends have a rooftop pool area in their loft which is where the above skyline photo was taken.
- Grand Central Market - tasty tacos and pupusas.
- Hollywood Walk of Fame - Found Celine! And lots of other famous people's stars, including Gene Roddenberry, Leonard Nimoy, and Kermit the Frog.
- Grauman's Chinese Theatre and other historic theaters on Hollywood Blvd - Grauman's is where many movies premiere with the red carpet.
- Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills - as over-the-top ridiculous as it's purported to be. There were valet parking for stores, for crying out loud.
- Sunset Strip - lots of famous locales on this road, including The Viper Room and Chateau Marmont.
- Amoeba Records - largest used cd store in the country. It was amazing how huge the French section was. Yes, I'm that predictable.
- Hollywood Forever Cemetery - many old famous stars are buried here.
- Paramount Studios - rode around the entire lot on a cart and saw some stars. Walked through the set of Monk and sat in the studio audience for a little bit of a Nickelodeon show.
- Venice Beach - also known as Muscle Beach, there are crazies and medical marijuana stores on the boardwalk.
- Santa Monica Pier - ferris wheel and roller coaster that no one was riding.
- J Paul Getty Museum - huge, beautiful museum complex filled with art overlooking the city
- Mulholland Drive - where James Dean died; it has great views of the metro area and the houses built into the hillside are amazing.
- L.A. and Long Beach ports - so many ships and crates and crate-movers and the Queen Mary docked and used as a hotel.
- Cole's - one of two places in L.A. that claims to have invented the french dip sandwich. Did you know french dip was invented in L.A.? Me, neither! It was good and tasty.
- Watts Towers - highlight of the trip. See:
These are just three of the seven towers that Simon Rodia built by hand. Two of them are almost 100 feet high. He dedicated all his spare time when he wasn't working on this project over the course of 33 years. I'm not a big fan of folk art, but this is inspiring, amazing and crazy. The tour guide was a wonderful gentleman named Mr. Powell who grew up in the area and was so passionate about art and the history of the area. Watts is in the South Central L.A., a.ka. The Hood. This artwork is huge and should be everyone's tourist itinerary, even if you don't like art or history. You like crazy, right? This is crazy, but in a wow! wow! wow! way.
And that's pretty much how I felt about L.A. It lived up to my high expectations, just not what I expected. I know that doesn't make sense, but consider the source. Ok, so the traffic is as bad as they say it is. Holy moly, how is there rush hour no matter what time of day it is? But that won't stop me from going back. I did get to ride the subway and while it's not extensive, it suffices for going to the touristy places. Next time, though, maybe a whole day at the beach, lots more tacos from taco trucks and Watts Tower again.
I just won't wait another 20 years.
I was lazy and instead of doing a trip website, I just put up photos here. Don't feel compelled to click on it.
Las Vegas was the second half of this trip, but since it was my seventh time, I don't have much to say about it, except:
- Hitting a 4-of-a-kind in video poker makes me feel like I have a superpower. Which I do, it's just not that.
- Hanging out with friends from ATL was a blast, especially when Tecate and cosmos are involved.
- Red Rock Canyon State Park was beautiful, but for sheer spectacular-ness, I would recommend Valley of Fire over it, even though it's one hour away. Red Rock is only 20 minutes away.
- Downtown Vegas is as classy as ever. Fruity dragonberry drinks that come in a football shaped container was genius.
- Football watching at the Hilton during NFL season is the best thing ever invented, not counting Isabelle Boulay. Me betting and winning almost every game makes my head huger than normal.
Speaking of Isabelle (how'd that happen?), she has a new album out next month so prepare for more of my weird, off-putting comments about her soon. Woo, can't wait.
We began our new year hung over and reeking of smoke in Las Vegas...with my family. It was awesome. They drove from California and we flew in from Georgia and collided on the Strip. There was lots of video poker and sports betting and Cylinda hardcore gambling into the wee hours of the night. You know, like all our other trips to Vegas, except this time, I didn't see Celine and I'll spare y'all my tears. No wait, here are a few: hoo hoo hoo.
We did see Mystere which is the first Cirque du Soleil show in Vegas. It was amazing, as those shows usually are. This one seemed to have more humor in it. We also drove north about an hour to the Valley of Fire State Park. It's a sight to see, all the red rock formations shaped by water over time. There was also some ancient Indian art paintings on one of the rocks. This is a short video of one area of the park, although it doesn't begin to capture the beauty and openess of the area.
TripAdvisor Honors 2008 Travelers' Choice Award Winners (CNN Money, January 15, 2008)
From travel website TripAdvisor.com, a partial list of the winners:
Best Luxury in Europe - The Ritz-Carlton Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Best Bargain in the World - SeaCoast Inn, Hyannis, Massachusetts
Best Bargain in Europe - Arcadia Residence, Prague, Czech Republic
Best Hidden Gem in the World - Golden Well (U Zlate Studne), Prague, Czech Republic
Best for Romance in the World - Legends Hotel, Grand Gaube, Mauritius
Best for Romance in the U.S. - Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel, Island of Hawaii, Hawaii
Best Pool in the U.S. - Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort and Spa, Poipu, Hawaii
Best Inn & B&B in the U.S. - Foxfield Inn, Charlottesville, Virginia
The one that caught my eye was:
Best Luxury in the U.S. - Signature at MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada
Really? Luxury? Also: Us? In a luxury hotel? Odd. It was very nice when we went stayed there last fall, but really? That's luxurious? I hear Inigo Montoya telling me that, "I do not think it means what you think it means."
He's right, but I'm not sure if he's talking to me or to TripAdvisor.
This being my fourth trip to Vegas, I really didn't have much interest in taking pictures...until I stepped into this bathroom stall at MGM and saw Ingrid Bergman. I whipped out my camera phone and didn't even check to see if I pulled up my pants. If you look in the reflection, you'll know the answer. Please don't look too hard.
In my dreams, getting a royal flush meant thousands of dollars with balloons falling out of the sky as the flashing light on top of the machine goes crazy. In real life, playing a one cent 100 hand vp machine and hitting a royal flush means six...dollars and an empty 7+7 glass (and no balloons). Do you know that the odds of hitting a royal flush are 1 in 649740 hands? I basically hit the only royal flush of my life and got six dollars for it. That's just great. Also, the picture is not blurry. This is how the screen looked through my tears; first, out of happiness and then later, out of realization of what 600 credits multipied by one cent really means.
I spent my six dollar royal flush winnings rather quickly. I also placed some sports bets and played some parlay cards. This is all that's left. On the upside, I did eat many, many one-dollar hot dogs while watching every single football game on Sunday. Do not ask me to quantify "many, many".
It's no secret: the whole reason I go to Vegas is for Celine. This is the hallowed store in Caesars Palace where I have purchased more Celine branded items than I should ever admit, but I'm gonna tell you anyway. This time, I got a short glass, a postcard and (another) show program.
And the woman herself...kinda. This is the entrance to the Colosseum where I saw Celine for the fifth and final (hoo hoo) time. She's as nuts as ever, but I love her for her wackiness. That's my head between Celine's ...um, below Celine's... no, I mean at the bottom of the picture. Yes, that's what I really mean to say. Thanks for the Vegas experience, Celine! I'll see you again someday, but probably not as close as five feet. Dammit, restraining orders cramp my style. Right, Isabelle?