In Summary - Holiday in LA

so yes, an overseas elective is a holiday that's meshed with a learning stint. in a place like LA, there's quite a bit to do on weekends, but truth be told, LA is less glamorous than it seems. all that glitz and glamour is only on celluloid, and other than the impossibly tall palm trees and that famous sign, there's nothing to differentiate it from any other city in america. and mumbler's only glimpse of a celebrity was that of, wait for this, gurmit singh. yesh. i flew 9000 miles to see a celebrity from my hometown. do you see the irony of it all?! by the way, he was there to interview the cast of kung fu panda for channel 5. and no, i didn't get to speak to him.

enough of my rambling, here's the lowdown of our LA exploits.

1) hollywood boulevard
that's grauman's chinese theater. built in 1927, it also features the handprints of various celebrities in the front, from gregory peck to sean connery, paul newman to johnny depp. and while we were there, some china supporters were making their voices heard. it was pretty small scale, but they even had the various olympic mascots to complete the picture. the other place worth a mention would be the kodak theater - host of numerous academy awards and two american idol finals. that's it for hollywood boulevard. there's the walk of fame of course, and souvenir and costume rental shops, but that's about it. ripley's believe it or not and madame tussaud's museum are there too, but nothing magical or spectacular.

2) the grove/ farmers' market
these are just next to each other. farmers' market is a food haven. it's kinda like our newton/tiong bahru food centres only with a more international range of food - they even have a singapore stall there which has newspaper pictures of sr nathan and sells laksa for usd9. heh. what i love are the meat dishes - thick juicy chunks with baked beans and baked potatoes...pictures to be up on the food blog soon!

as for the grove, it's essentially a little town of shops which even has it's own fountain and trolley. a great place to take an evening stroll after a good dinner at farmers' market, since you could shop (pottery barn, banana republic), have dessert (cheesecake factory) or simply catch a movie. it's a charming place, and i recommend it. but beware, parking is $5/hour!

3) downtown LA

we went on a sunday, which was a mistake because much of it is a financial district, so the area was pretty deserted. before that we stopped by rodeo drive, which spans three city blocks and has over a hundred upmarket stores. it wasn't just the shops that were cool, the cars that lined the street were just as amazing.

some places to mention: the walt disney concert hall and the cathedral of our lady of the angels. if you've watched the movie get smart you'll find it familiar as the location of the film's climax. it's a rather imposing piece of architecture that was probably part of the city's efforts to rejuvenate the downtown area and it home to the los angeles philharmonic. a few streets away is the church, which is apparently earthquake proof and is the final resting place of actor gregory peck.


also in downtown LA is chinatown, which was as disappointing as it could get. deserted, run down, and looking just like any part of the city, it is, uh, best not visited.

4) the beaches

what's california without its beaches? we took a drive along the pacific coast highway and got to see malibu and venice beaches. the surf was up in malibu, and we took off our shoes (no we weren't expecting to go to the beach!) and ran along the shore as was befitting of the moment.















venice beach had lots of street performers and roadside peddlers, which made for yet another place for a good evening stroll. look at the pretty sunset!5) the j. paul getty museum
recommended by someone who's stayed in LA for 3 decades, this is a place not to be missed. admission is free, and you have to take a tram up the hill to get to the museum. once there, you can indulge yourself in the various exhibits (european paintings, photography, sculptures) or admire the breathtaking view of los angeles that it affords.6) the others
we visited universal studios one hot saturday afternoon (before that newsworthy fire which razed the sets) and drove to six flags and a factory outlet, which are outside of LA, on memorial day weekend. six flags is full of rides for the thrill seeker (which mumbler isn't really, having to sit out the 2 of the 6 rides her friends went because she was getting too nauseous) while the premium outlet is a shopper's haven. and indeed, we all heard a few familiar accents as we made our way through the shops. heh.

so ends chapter 2...next up is san franciso!