Nobody Walks In LA (December???)

Nobody Walks in LA: The chorus line to a song by simple minds, a clever punch line by my friend from Maryland, and the memo that our tour guide never received. I most likely walked 10-12 miles around that city, and the worst part was that no one told me this would be the plan, so I wore my cool converse as opposed to some sort of decent walking shoe. By the end of the night my feet were aching, I had blisters that would burst and then another blister would grow in its place. Why didn't Jim know this song?!

I told you in my last blog on the matter that I hated LA, and how miserable I was when my friend suggested touring the metropolitan city in Southern California. Jonathan reassured me though that this would be different than any trip I have taken before. The problem was by his estimation that I didn't know where I was going or what to do; though I only lived 30 minutes away I was still a tourist. This by all accounts is probably true. I usually go with one specific place in mind; I am in and out. The times that I have just lingered in LA it did not bode well for me for the most part; I usually run into unsavory characters or walk down streets that only a person who has that street name tattooed on the back of his head has any business walking down.

However, we would be going with Jim who went to school at UCLA, and knows the best places to go around town. This suggestion lifted my spirits somewhat; I mean the idea of two guys from chino strolling LA alone did not sound fun; dangerous would probably be a better word.
So we were off, the first part of our day was spent in Westwood. First we strolled around the UCLA campus; I was excited to see Polly Pavilion and Jonathan was giddy about the Law School. However, the best part was the Mathematics' department! I was just getting over the flu (see my blog on Helwigs Holiday Horror…or just take my word for it) and it was still effecting me somewhat; the math department was the only place open for me to drop the deuce (that's my math terminology coming out).

When you're in Law Enforcement you need a good Lawyer!

I had my first Mohito at the W hotel. Interestingly, I had only heard of this drink a couple nights prior by watching the new Miami Vice movie (Terrible) when I was sick. As far as mixed drinks go, this was really enjoyable; probably one of my favorites, though I am not sure that it was worth the $10 price tag.

Mohito!

The W Hotel

There is a great Cookies and Ice Cream place off of Braxton called Diddy Riese. You can buy an Ice cream sandwich for $1:25, which you can pick your favorite cookies mixed with your favorite ice cream. I had a chocolate chip, white chocolate chip with macadamia nuts, and Mint ice cream combo. Tasty!

There is a line out the door for this ice cream!

MMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!

Afterwards we drove around, Jim pointed out such places as the infamous park bathroom where George Michael was caught doing lewd things, and where Jim Belushi died of an overdose.

We then took the metro to the downtown portion of LA. I have never ridden the metro system out here. To be honest it's not too bad; Union station was beautiful, and it was pretty easy to navigate around. During this time we met up with one of Jim's old friends from High School, who by all accounts could have passed for Giovanni Ribisi.

What you get when you put $20 into the machine for a metro card.

Union Station

City view

We strolled thru Olevera street; not much different then most swap meets. Vendors selling goods, was not quite what I imagined or remembered of this historic street.

Then it was off to eat lunch, we decided on Philippe's. This is supposed to be the place where the French dip was invented, so to not try the French dip would be insulting. Phileppe's has been around since 1908; the building and décor still look like they have not changed much since its inception. The French Dip was pretty good and the egg salad was alright it could have used a little salt; also, you could buy a glass of tea or lemonade for 50 cents.


Afterwards it was back out on the urban trail; we went through the Catholic Cathedral that Cardinal Mahoney oversees (to my surprise it was a lot like a Catholic version of Harvest in Riverside), the Disney Concert Hall, and the Los Angeles public library (which was actually quite impressive).

Then the sun set and the nightlife began. Jim took us to a number of bars in the downtown area; some we lingered at others we just quickly looked around and decided to move on. Here are some of the ones I enjoyed:

The bar at the top of the standard hotel had a great view that you could appreciate while lounging in a waterbed type contraption. Very cool if you have a date, very gay if your four guys hanging out. But I'm married so I wasn't out trying to impress the ladies! Thus, I lounged away.

Chillin in the Waterbed.

The cat and the fiddle- Supposedly where Morrissey drinks when he's in LA, or so I'm told. Surprisingly it was not a gay bar. Truthfully, probably the best bar we went to all night. It's a low key pub with a lot of cool cats. One of the regulars looked like John Wayne in the Quite Man, and for some reason that I cannot recall, I seem to remember that he didn't like us too much. The place had an old style feel, and an old style jukebox with a lot of good tunes, that left Jonathan scatty. Jim was rocking out, hitting all the beats on the bar, and had all the kittens looking his way. I had another first, a drink called a snake bite; it's half Guinness with half dry cider. It was a good drink, but a bit girly. I had Kellee try it later and she really enjoyed it.

Snakebite!

The Dresden- This was the bar that I really wanted to go to when we started planning the trip. It was the bar from the movie SWINGERS. If you know of the movie then it's where the music couple, Marty and Elayne are playing Stayin Alive. I thought this was just for the movie, however I was dead wrong. Checking out the website, this has been playing their since 1982. One of the standout songs they played during the night was "Nothing but a Hound Dog". I cannot even put into words how great that song went over, I loved every minute. This would have been the best place of the night by far if it were not for the crowd. If there would have been 50-60 people less then it would have been great. You could barely move without spilling someone's drink. Way too many people.

Packed house!

Marty and Elayne Scattin'

So that's about it! Actually, I probably left a lot out, but I'm just trying to give an overall account of my first time really experiencing LA. Overall, I loved it and would do it again…only with better shoes.