The weather is beyond fantastic. The restaurant choices are abundant. The activities are limitless. Arts, entertainment, dining, shopping, hiking, beaches, nightlife, history...it's all here. That being said, we will never have enough time to explore and experience even a fraction of Los Angeles. Therefore, we have have narrowed our search options to the following categories: Best Tacos (aka the SoCal Taco Tour '09); Best Dog-friendly Places; Best Farmer's Markets; Best People Watching Places; Best Scooter Ride; and Best Neighborhood. We might add a category for Best Vintage Clothing Store - not because we have any clue about vintage couture, but I think we might have some stuff we could sell them! That should keep us plenty busy.
Our apartment is nestled somewhere between downtown, Hollywood and Beverly Hills. I can honestly say that I have been utterly and totally lost since our arrival. There are mountains to the north, and coming from Colorado everybody knows that is just wrong. Mountains are always to the west! The beach is west, and south - which makes no sense either. Downtown is east, but you have to go north to get there. Give thanks for GPS. I know that if I exit our building and turn left I will run into El Toro Cantina, the restaurant responsible for starting the 'Taco Tour'. They offer dozens of different types of tacos (mushroom - the best!) and have $1 Taco Tuesdays! If I turn right, I will run into Trader Joe's - $2 bottles of wine - and it's good!! What else do I need to know?
We spent a day at the Santa Monica Pier and beach. It is the absolute end of the legendary and historic Route 66 (obviously, because you fall off the pier and into the ocean). The wooden carousel build in 1916 is breathtaking, and the pier itself is charming. The 3rd street promenade in Santa Monica is a shopper's paradise and became the first and second stop in our 'Taco Tour'. We highly recommend La Salsa as well as the famous Wahoo Fish Tacos. And beer.
Less than a mile from our apartment is the famous Farmers Market and The Grove. During the great depression the local farmers would hang out in the dirt parking lot and sell their produce. Hard to imagine it was ever a dirt parking lot in the middle of miles of farmland. Now there is nothing but concrete, streets, buildings and people with a tiny parking spot coming at a premium! Today it is less of a farmers market and more a maze of over a hundred stalls with some of the city's best butcher shops, bakeries, and ethnic restaurants. Bobs Donuts and Coffee, homemade ice cream, french cheese shop, gumbo, NY corned beef...yea, it's all there and we are committed to sampling everything! And for the 'Taco Tour' we have to give points to Loteria. And beer. And live music.
We decided to try the LA version of public transportation and rode the bus into downtown, the subway to Koreatown, and a bus back home. Let's just say that the public transportation system here is a bit lacking - but interesting. While downtown we stumbled upon the Grand Central Market. It is a huge, chaotic, open-air market offering cheap and outstanding produce, empanadas, Hawaiian BB-Q, Cuban sandwiches, coffee, spices...and of course - tacos! Don't know the name of the place where we ate - just look for the whole roasted pigs and don't ask a lot of questions! Definitely number one on the 'Taco Tour' for now - two giant carnitas tacos for a whopping $2. We walked through the downtown Civic Center district, Bunker Hill and edged into Chinatown, but alas, the smell of street vendors in the El Pueblo market drew us in for more tacos! Fresh fried tortillas, perfectly seasoned shredded beef, amazing salsas and a mariachi serenade earned this a solid #2 ranking - would have been #1, but no beer ;-(
A scenic drive up the Pacific Coast Highway landed us north of Malibu at Leo Carillo beach for a glorious day of beach exploring and relaxation. Odie loved the freedom and fresh air, but was less impressed with the size of the waves chasing him. He didn't do much swimming but was content to play fetch, roll in the sand and snooze in the afternoon sun. There was a music video being filmed right next to us on the beach - quite an impressive and complicated production.
Realizing that we have been here over a month it would seem that we haven't explored nearly as much as we would like. However, it is worth noting that I flew to Colorado for two weeks during that first month and Paul worked a lot. David happened to be in Los Angeles for business and was able to spend a couple of days visiting (while I was in Colorado). He and Paul had some nice meals out, scootered to Santa Monica, and had an all-around 'guys weekend'! I, on the other hand, participated in the 'Tri-for-the-Cure' (triathlon for breast cancer) with my nieces and friends in Colorado (don't be too impressed - I was only the runner on a relay team - my two teammates, Ashley and Jackie, did the hard part - bike & swim and they were awesome!!). Afterward, it was off to Grand Lake for a festive week with friends & family (the Grand Lake Brewery will always win 'best beer'!).
Yes, it is Deb & Hunter!! Realizing that they actually live in Alaska it is a bit strange that I have pictures of them in Florida and now Colorado!!
Hoping the next months are as exciting as the first has been...happy trails to all!
