Los Angeles

I was in Los Angeles this past week on a business trip that I extended through the weekend.  I flew to Los Angeles early the morning of Tuesday, February 2, for an evening event that lasted through 5PM on Wednesday afternoon.  For dinner on Wednesday night I dined with colleagues at Asia de Cuba at The Mondrian and then headed back downtown to my hotel, hitting The Standard's rooftop deck (in a vain attempt to see someone famous) for a drink before calling it a night.

I love my trips to Los Angeles.  I haven't been since 2006 but I always have such a good time.  I remember the last time I was in Los Angeles, it was another business trip that Mike joined me on and we extended it through the weekend and visited La Jolla and San Diego.  We spent three days in LA before heading further south, two nights in Century City and one in Venice.  We went to the Chateau Marmont for dinner (another vain attempt to see someone famous) and saw The Black Angels at the Troubador (Elton John's first stateside venue).

This time, due to school and work, Mike wasn't able to join me until late Wednesday night.  We got up the next morning and made our way via bus to The Getty Center where we had lunch reservations.  The Restaurant at The Getty Center is a pricey affair but if you go for lunch you get the same menu as the dinner guests but for half the price.  The food, service, view, and experience is worth every penny, though.  What an amazing treat!

The Getty Center, with six separate buildings and gardens, was very intimidating.  I wish we had more than just a day to explore it.  If we lived in the LA area, The Getty Center would definitely be on my "Things To Do When Bored" list.  Of course, going to the beach would be on that list, too.  I don't think I have anything on that list for Seattle.  When you're bored in Seattle, or when the weather sucks, you're out of luck.  Seattle has a very limited selection of free entertainment which gets even more limited when the weather turns poor.

After The Getty Center we headed to our hotel in Venice (the only place we can afford in LA) and enjoyed a light dinner at a restaurant on the boardwalk.  The next day it was absolutely pouring down rain.  We had all day to kill before we met up with friends for the second half of our trip and we had nothing to do because we had planned to sit on the beach all day.  So, to get at least some beach time in, we walked along the cold and rainy beach from Venice to Santa Monica.  We stopped at an English pub near Santa Monica's 3rd Avenue Promenade to warm up with some coffee and liquor before making the trek back to Venice for our luggage.

Although our day at the beach was not very warm or dry, it's these types of days that we wind up remembering for years to come.  If we'd just sat at the beach, we probably wouldn't have made any real memories.  But, trekking through the watery streets, with our pants rolled up to our thighs and our coats weighed down with the rain, will definitely be an experience we remember.