Not a tourist
You know, I didn't really know how I wanted to travel. It's been so long since I've done it, and I was so young then (when I was seventeen, it was a very good year), that I think I was taking on what I thought you should do as a tourist, and not thinking about what I actually want to do.
So I haven't done Universal Studios, Disneyland or gone on a tour of celebrities houses. Instead my last 24 hours have involved having an amazing dinner made by Todd's Dad, Larry, the finishing glory of which was this incredible thing called Bananas Foster. Not, as I expected, concocted of bananas and beer, but of bananas and sugar and rum, fried up and poured on ice cream. YUM-MY. So apparently when I decide I'm too skinny and need to eat my way through life, New Orleans is the place to go. Larry and his beautiful wife Cheri have also provided me with the Internet, through which I am able to tell you about my LA adventures. Yay for Larry and Cheri! The coolest thing was when Larry got out his guitar and started singing Brisbane Ladies, which actually has a line in it about "farewell to the maids of Toowong". He sung that he sold all his cattle and must be moving, which I'm pretty sure is a translation from droving for American audiences, but otherwise it was very good, if about as Australian as Ron Moss on a horse selling Aussie orange juice, which btw is one of my favourite ads.
Okay, what else in the 24 hours of which I speak? Well, this morning Todd and I got a late (for him) early (for me trying to adjust to LA time) start and went to this great cafe in West Hollywood, the Urth Caffe - it's all very good for you, and at first I couldn't figure out what to eat (no bacon and pancake breakfast, and omelettes make me wanna spew, even if they are made from "100% pure vegeterian grain fed free range happiest chickens in the world" eggs, and AS IF I'd pay $US10 to have oatmeal or granola cereal or whatever they call it, even if it is fasmagorical), but then I chose a Farmer's Salad, and it was great, and came with THE BEST BREAD EVER. It was nut bread, but had sultanas and stuff in it too, and it was SO INCREDIBLY GOOD. Maybe I don't need to go to New Orleans, I'll just eat that every day and lost the skinny instantly! But seriously. Yum.
So after the food we went to The Bodhi Tree bookshop, further down Melrose, and it was very cool. Browsed heaps, and bought Thick Nhat Hanh's The Energy of Prayer, which just seems perfectly right for where I am right now, in terms of starting my spiritual journey - at least consciously, I guess you could say all of life is a spiritual journey so I'm 27 years into it already, but hey, this is my blog so I'll say it how I want! The other book is by a Los Angelenos, All the Fishes Come Home to Roost: An American Misfit in India and it's about her upbringing on an ashram in India. Described as funny and inspiring, which is what I need right now. I just finished reading Marian Keyes' latest (OMG remind me to tell you about the guy at the airport in LA who I leant my book to so he could fill out his visa form - to die for British accent, I'm gonna love London!), which was amazing - soooo sad (in a good way of course), but I wanted something real, but funny too. So hopefully it will be good.
Then Todd and I went and did the Autry National Center: Museum of the American West, which had a great exhibition about Native American jewellery, called From Totems to Turquoise, it was well curated so I enjoyed it a lot. Also had some incredibly beautiful jewellery displayed - it's fascinating what a living art it is, and how traditionally male-dominated. Not something I expected, so it's great to learn. I also realised how inherent to C20th American culture the myth of "the west" was - as an Australian I don't really think about all that stuff much, it hasn't really been a part of my consciousness. So it was interesting, but didn't really resonate. Not like the National Treasures exhibition - which is coming to a state library near you in the next few years (as long as you live in Australia, that is).
Another great part of today was just cruising the LA streets. It takes ages to get anywhere here (I can see why TWoP wonders at which LA Kiefer is living in) so there's plenty of time for car dancing to the gazillions of radio stations on offer. Muchos fun. Luckily I didn't get sunburnt today (unlike the last two days, where my face has been like a beacon), coz I borrowed Todd's Red Sox hat. Which has made me want an LA Dodgers one.
Tomorrow I plan to go shopping at the local shops, where I'll buy that hat, and probably way more other stuff I don't need too. Should be fun.
Till then, love ya.
So I haven't done Universal Studios, Disneyland or gone on a tour of celebrities houses. Instead my last 24 hours have involved having an amazing dinner made by Todd's Dad, Larry, the finishing glory of which was this incredible thing called Bananas Foster. Not, as I expected, concocted of bananas and beer, but of bananas and sugar and rum, fried up and poured on ice cream. YUM-MY. So apparently when I decide I'm too skinny and need to eat my way through life, New Orleans is the place to go. Larry and his beautiful wife Cheri have also provided me with the Internet, through which I am able to tell you about my LA adventures. Yay for Larry and Cheri! The coolest thing was when Larry got out his guitar and started singing Brisbane Ladies, which actually has a line in it about "farewell to the maids of Toowong". He sung that he sold all his cattle and must be moving, which I'm pretty sure is a translation from droving for American audiences, but otherwise it was very good, if about as Australian as Ron Moss on a horse selling Aussie orange juice, which btw is one of my favourite ads.
Okay, what else in the 24 hours of which I speak? Well, this morning Todd and I got a late (for him) early (for me trying to adjust to LA time) start and went to this great cafe in West Hollywood, the Urth Caffe - it's all very good for you, and at first I couldn't figure out what to eat (no bacon and pancake breakfast, and omelettes make me wanna spew, even if they are made from "100% pure vegeterian grain fed free range happiest chickens in the world" eggs, and AS IF I'd pay $US10 to have oatmeal or granola cereal or whatever they call it, even if it is fasmagorical), but then I chose a Farmer's Salad, and it was great, and came with THE BEST BREAD EVER. It was nut bread, but had sultanas and stuff in it too, and it was SO INCREDIBLY GOOD. Maybe I don't need to go to New Orleans, I'll just eat that every day and lost the skinny instantly! But seriously. Yum.
So after the food we went to The Bodhi Tree bookshop, further down Melrose, and it was very cool. Browsed heaps, and bought Thick Nhat Hanh's The Energy of Prayer, which just seems perfectly right for where I am right now, in terms of starting my spiritual journey - at least consciously, I guess you could say all of life is a spiritual journey so I'm 27 years into it already, but hey, this is my blog so I'll say it how I want! The other book is by a Los Angelenos, All the Fishes Come Home to Roost: An American Misfit in India and it's about her upbringing on an ashram in India. Described as funny and inspiring, which is what I need right now. I just finished reading Marian Keyes' latest (OMG remind me to tell you about the guy at the airport in LA who I leant my book to so he could fill out his visa form - to die for British accent, I'm gonna love London!), which was amazing - soooo sad (in a good way of course), but I wanted something real, but funny too. So hopefully it will be good.
Then Todd and I went and did the Autry National Center: Museum of the American West, which had a great exhibition about Native American jewellery, called From Totems to Turquoise, it was well curated so I enjoyed it a lot. Also had some incredibly beautiful jewellery displayed - it's fascinating what a living art it is, and how traditionally male-dominated. Not something I expected, so it's great to learn. I also realised how inherent to C20th American culture the myth of "the west" was - as an Australian I don't really think about all that stuff much, it hasn't really been a part of my consciousness. So it was interesting, but didn't really resonate. Not like the National Treasures exhibition - which is coming to a state library near you in the next few years (as long as you live in Australia, that is).
Another great part of today was just cruising the LA streets. It takes ages to get anywhere here (I can see why TWoP wonders at which LA Kiefer is living in) so there's plenty of time for car dancing to the gazillions of radio stations on offer. Muchos fun. Luckily I didn't get sunburnt today (unlike the last two days, where my face has been like a beacon), coz I borrowed Todd's Red Sox hat. Which has made me want an LA Dodgers one.
Tomorrow I plan to go shopping at the local shops, where I'll buy that hat, and probably way more other stuff I don't need too. Should be fun.
Till then, love ya.
posted by NomesD at 10:49 pm
2 Comments:
Wow sounds like your having fun.
Good to see you're seeing the 'real' LA and mostly avoiding the tourist traps.
It's always good to know a local.
Ash
Your are Excellent. And so is your site! Keep up the good work. Bookmarked.
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