Los Angeles
Los Angeles Convention and Visitors
Bureau
Airports:
Los Angeles
International Airport, aka LAX, is the main
airport for the city. An alternative is Long Beach Airport
which is pretty easy to access. It's about 30 minutes south of LA International
and is a pretty cool airport as well, with an Art Deco terminal building and
lots of palm trees.
Public transportation: One complaint
frequently made about Los Angeles is that it is spread out, the public transport
sucks, and a car is needed for many significant trips. All true, BUT ... there
is a light at the end of the tunnel. While some popular tourist destinations
aren't available through easier (Metro-based) forms of public transport, Los
Angeles does indeed have a Metro (subway + Metro train) system that travels to
many parts of Los Angeles. The best part of this is that many of the Metro stops
have parking garages that are free (so as to encourage travel during workdays)
so if you have your own car in L.A. but want to use the Metro for the experience
plus saving on parking, you can easily do so.
The fare system can be
confusing, but basically there's a monthly pass (usually for people who work in
Los Angeles), a weekly pass and a daily pass that allow travelers to take as
many lines as they want. For a couple of days or less than a week of travel, buy
the $3 daily pass (looks like a small ticket, dispensed at automated machines at
every stop) every day. This is because you are liable to change lines to get to
where you want to go. You can save money by buying the cheapest option (a
one-way ticket per line), but keep in mind that whenever you switch lines, you
must buy another one-way ticket for that line. Also, there is no system of
depositing or showing your ticket as in other systems. Carry your ticket on your
person at all times that you ride the Metro system. Metro fare enforcers trawl
around on popular lines demanding passengers prove they have the proper pass for
riding the system. If they're found to lack a ticket, it's a $250 fine. This
includes offenses such as not having a ticket or being "under-ticketed" (a
one-way fare for a particular line and you've switched lines).
There's a
map of the routes at the MTA web site.
Also, Experience
Los Angeles on the Metro is an awesome site
showing how to navigate the Metro system to a few popular neighborhoods. L.A.
has gotten increasingly Metro-able, but getting down to the beach is still
pretty hard. It's really spread out, though, and you can Metro to Hollywood,
Mid-Wilshire, Chinatown, Koreatown, Long Beach, Los Feliz, and Pasadena, among
other neighborhoods.
Places to stay - Furama Hotel: It's
not the most conveniently located hotel, and the neighborhood may be a little
bit sketchy. It's a good 20 - 25 miles from Universal City. The Getty Museum is
probably 10 - 15 miles, but it's a straight shot on the freeway. The
neighborhood is Westchester, which is supposed to be up and coming. Staying
there may depend on your comfort level, although it's not like you'll be mowed
down in cross fired bullets if you venture out in your rented Ford Focus. It's
designed for conferences so it probably caters to business travelers. However,
it might be best to avoid jogging at night in the adjacent park or venturing too
far south of the airport. It's also not too far from the
water.
Sightseeing related to movies and TV shows: If
you're going to Los Angeles and want to do sightseeing related to films and TV
shows, definitely check out the studios. They take you around the lot, you see
the exterior of a lot of the sets such as Central Perk from "Friends," and some
studios even allow you to catch a bit of filming. Word on the street is that
Warner Brothers is the best. Hollywood is on the red line Metro, and you can
catch a ton of stuff in that area. The only studio left down there is Paramount,
though. The cool thing about Hollywood is that you can get free screenings for
movies and you'll write up a little survey for them (and they show you inside
Mann's Chinese
Theatre), but keep in mind that you have to show up early because
they give away more passes than they have seats available.
Side
Trips:
Catalina Island: Santa Catalina Island
is about 22 miles southwest of Los Angeles, and most of it is owned by the
Catalina Island Conservancy. It's serviced by ferries and air transport from the
Los Angeles area, and most residents move around by golf cart since use of motor
vehicles on the island is restricted. Scuba diving, snorkeling, mountain biking,
and hiking are popular activities.
The Getty Center: The
Getty Center
contains J. Paul Getty's collection of art from the medieval to the modern.
Permanent exhibitions rotate from the existing collection of European paintings,
drawings, manuscripts, sculpture, and decorative arts and European and American
photographs. The setting is very dramatic modern architecture with lovely
gardens in a spectacular location. Admission is free, but parking is not. Food
can be pricey so you may want to pack a lunch and have a picnic on the grounds.
There is mandatory bag storage if you have more than just a small
pack.
Las Vegas - How to get there and what to do: To fly
to Las Vegas from Los Angeles, use Burbank's Bob Hope Airport
instead of LAX. It's a very easy airport, and rental car drop-off is a breeze.
Security is a snap. Southwest has its own terminal
there, and you might check out Vegas vacation packages from Southwest Vacations
- super cheap with air and hotel. Try Orbitz for car rental
reservations, and use a credit card that gives you insurance. Use coupons and/or
a AAA card to pay for the rental. From Vegas, take a day trip to the Grand
Canyon for about $150. That includes shuttle from the hotel, a teeny-tiny
airplane to the South Rim, a horrible buffet lunch, and transportation back to
your hotel in Vegas. You can also get a shuttle flight from Vegas to do your own
tour and spend a night in Tusayan on the South Rim.
Trip Report -
Golluming Around Catalina Island, October 2005
Type of
Expedition: Outdoorsy
Cost: Moderately high because getting there
is expensive
Seems Best For: Families, big groups, small groups,
couples. I probably wouldn't gollum around there by
myself.
Overview: Catalina Island is about an hour off the
coast of southern California. It has two main "towns" - Two Harbors and Avalon
(the boyfriend and I saw Avalon). The island is quite mountainous and lush and
purportedly a nature preserve (although we didn't get to see any of that, see
below for why). We landed in Avalon, a touristy town set on one of Catalina's
natural harbors. As far as attractions go for this place, it has a casino which
seems to have been converted into a lovely movie theater and puts forth a very
Mediterranean air (architecturally speaking) like Portofino in Italy or one of
those debaucherous islands in Greece or other places I have yet to go because
both my boyfriend and I are too busy building our 401Ks and squandering our
youth at work. So if you want to unchain yourself from your desk and get, like,
an ersatz Portofino (you'll have to bring your own Italian lemon liqueur because
Avalon hasn't been clever enough to cash in on that shit yet) experience,
Catalina is probably a good bet, and if you're one of those
horsey-environmental-types of people, there's some freaking buffalos around
somewhere as well ... which isn't something Portofino usually advertises, or at
least not on PBS. So in summary, it's like the California-ersatz Portofino
version of Martha's Vineyard ... like a sandals-and-shorts-type deal so I looked
a bit out of place in head-to-toe black and knee-high boots which is NOT an
outfit I would recommend ... like one of those wandering-all-over places where
you exclaim over its natural beauty while licking at an overpriced ice cream
from some shop that makes almost all of its yearly income in two months. I would
say it's probably best enjoyed with some alcohol in you, but I say that about
lots of stuff so your mileage might vary.
Getting There: I
went to Catalina.com
AND I Googled, and the only transportation provider I could really come up with
was the Catalina Express. This seems to be the biggest one. While in Catalina,
we saw some very dodgy-looking boats from other providers, but rumor around here
has it you're better off with the Express because they're more professional and
their boats are bigger so you won't be stumbling around throwing up for as long
as you will with the others. I wouldn't know; I'm a human seal, but my boyfriend
was stumbling around after riding the Catalina Express for about 30 minutes and
supposedly they're the best. Cost is $98 for two people. It was about $25 each
way per adult from Long Beach to Avalon. Prices from other locations might vary;
check their web site.
Around the Island: You can't bring
your car because of island rules so your main options for golluming around are
golf carts or bicycles. Island Rentals is the biggest vendor, although there are
others. It seems the prices are pretty much all alike. It's basically $30 - 35
per hour with a $30 deposit. You can do three hours for $60 and a $30 deposit if
you get there before 11 a.m. ... which means you have to take a REALLY early
ferry. I would recommend renting at least for an hour because the place is
really hilly and you're limited in what you can see on a bike unless you have
really strong thighs and/or are willing to sweat. They recommend lovely drives
you can take through the mountains so you can see the ocean and a lot of
Catalina from up on high. I mean, especially if you're here for a romantic day
trip, clenching your teeth and slowly trawling uphill is probably not your idea
of a sexy time unless you're Lance Armstrong or something so definitely shell
out for the golf cart.
Tip: If you're from out of state and you applied
for a California or other state license and the damn DMV people punched a hole
in your old state's license and gave you some paper license ... they won't rent
to you so have a valid non-holey license/non-temporary license when you try to
rent.
Bicycles are substantially cheaper ... it was $15 for the entire
day per bike, and the bike people had a cat I got to pet and cuddle. We got one
21-speed macho yellow-looking thing for him and one of those '50s-esque "I'm
riding with a full skirt" with basket type bikes for me. The bicycle people
recommended a couple of scenic drives and waved us off with a map and stuff. I
tried to stuff the cat in the basket (they told me I could have it for the day
with the rental price), but it wasn't too comfortable sitting next to the
boyfriend's chicken shwarma. Biking around was pretty fun ... there are no cars
so the only thing you really have to avoid are the golf
carts.
Other Activities:
Beaches: There's a
sandy one out past the casino but it's really, really crowded, and there's a
rocky one out past Lover's Cove.
Kayaking: We went kayaking. It
was pretty reasonable (I think like thirty dollars for two people for an hour).
My only complaint is that the life jackets are SUPER-smelly and way too big. The
Pacific Ocean is really cold, which surprised both of us since we're both East
Coasters and for some reason associated the Pacific with the temperature of
tepid bath water, but it turned out that this wasn't the case. Also, I would not
suggest jumping out of the kayak because getting back in is super-hard and
you're liable to tip the kayak (and your kayak partner) into the water. Then
again if you're a completely incompetent kayaker as we both were, it's probably
the most fun you'll have in the damn thing because otherwise we were just
paddling in circles and getting sucked further and further out to sea, although
who knows? Two less yuppies in the world might have been a good thing. I
actually found it easier to bring a kayak and two paddles out from pretty far
out in the water back in to land while swimming EASIER than paddling around
inside the kayak. My desert rat boyfriend quickly abandoned the kayak when I
tippled him into the Pacific so I would suggest not going down that road unless
you're a quasi-seal and strong swimmer like me ... because I'm pretty certain
that they charge you an arm and a leg for whatever you destroy/lose out in the
ocean.
Food: Everything looked pricey, and we had packed
our own picnic anyway. There are lots of restaurants in
Avalon.
What Should We Have Done? We were there to goof
around and spend time with each other so to that extent our laid back "whatever"
itinerary was perfect for us, but one thing I WOULD suggest if you're there to
seriously look at the island is to take a nature preserve tour ... either by
kayak or land vehicle or glass-bottomed boat or horse or whatever with a real
tour guide. I think you probably would see way more of the island and get a
better sense of its history, etc. The cheapest one looks like the trolley one,
but there is quite a variety. See Catalina.com for more details. They can be
pricey, though.
The Way Back: We left on the 6 p.m. ferry.
Biggest tip ... pack a sweatshirt ... it's pretty cold on the ocean.
Trip Report - Golluming to the Getty Museum and Pacific Coast Highway
Beaches, October 2005
Getty Museum
Price: $7 to
park your car so the price per person is how many people you can stuff in your
car divided by 7
Type of Expedition: Indoors, potentially
intellectually stimulating
Good For: Anyone - families, couples and
golluming by your lonesome as well
Address: 1200 Getty Center Drive,
Los Angeles, California
Review: So we ended up going to the
Getty (which seems to be a pretty staple thing to do when you’re golluming your
way to native status) mainly because we were originally planning to go to the
Los Angeles County Museum of
Art (LACMA) to see the King Tut display put on by National
Geographic, and then I saw the price of $40 per person and balked. Jigga what?
Apparently only private firm lawyers get to see King Tut’s preserved brains, and
in any case, my co-workers told me that they have significantly fewer artifacts
this time around plus my boyfriend was born in the Middle East and has already
seen it on a trip somewhere. Of course, all could have been rectified by me
making him pay, but I HATE that when he’s out here because, seriously, I am a
lawyer now, you know? So once in a while I should drop the Benjamins or
something like that, and I would rather drop the money on afternoon tea at the
Ritz, which is about the same for two people.
So, anyway ... the GETTY.
You can read the long and short of it at Getty’s excellent web site, but
basically this old rich dude had a super-nice house in Malibu where he let
people see his art for free and then it got all overcrowded so they moved it to
where it is now, which is basically in these rolling, lush green hills where you
get panoramic views of mountains and estates in which you will likely never have
the cash to live. Despite all of this, it’s a pretty cheery
trip.
Basically, the museum itself is still “free,” and the only cash you
have to lay out is to pay for parking (price above). I would suggest getting
there early because it’s PACKED with families. Once you park the car, your job
is to successfully navigate the strollers over to the cable tram/car (have no
idea what it’s called) where you stand in your line until it’s your turn to
stuff in. Personally, I feel the tram ride up the mountain is an enjoyable and
romantic experience in and of itself. Sure, you’re looking down on the highway,
but as you get higher up towards the museum, you get some lovely views of L.A.
and some really rich people’s homes so it’s like a live-action version of
"Cribs" or something.
The tram stops at some huge stone courtyard-type
deal in front of the museum. Let me just say this - art is not my bag. To me,
every illuminated manuscript looked the same as that bust of Caesar’s head. For
a while I was trying to play it off like “I really like the relationships in
this piece” until my boyfriend started giving me that look and burst out
laughing about how I knew nothing whatsoever about art (but they are pretty if
you’re into repressed monks doodling stuff ... okay, JUST KIDDING, I took Latin
for years so I know about some stuff at least that I could talk about reasonably
intelligently). But don’t get me started on the architecture and layout of that
building. Architecturally it’s very “modern” - geometric and clean lines. Light
stone tones. Those metal handrails very characteristic of Florida beach
mansions. But it’s absolutely beautiful, and the grounds are amazing. They have
lovely gardens out back, complete with a babbling brook ... not to mention pools
and courtyards for sitting and people watching galore, and you can wander around
the grounds looking out at some really lovely views.
We gollumed off to
this grassy bit to make out until this crabby gardener shooed us off to the
OFFICIAL couples make-out grassy bit. I took my shoes off and pranced around to
heighten my boyfriend’s love of me until he told me I was in his direct sunlight
and could I prance a little to the left? So that put me in a bit of a sulk till
he bought me a candy bar to make up for it.
Overall Impression:
EXCELLENT. There’s something for everyone here.
Pacific Coast Highway
Beaches and Scenic Drive through Santa Monica Mountains
Price:
Cost of gasoline
Type of Expedition: Outdoorsy, beach
Good
For: Families, couples, individual golluming
Good Web Site for
Ideas: Things to Do
in Southern California
Directions:
From the Getty, drive through the lovely canyon passes/Santa Monica Mountains
till you empty out onto Highway 1/Pacific Coast Highway in the Malibu area.
Supposedly this way you beat lots of traffic on the PCH (not that we saw ANY
traffic and we were doing this on Labor Day
weekend).
Review: Well, we headed out from the Getty with
our bellies rumbling for the hearty grub (PF Chang’s ... I know, I know ... it’s
a chain, but between my sister, my boyfriend and my brother-in-law I am FORCED
to eat at both Cheesecake Factory AND PF Chang’s) we had packed the night
before. It took us like an hour to get there, and by the end I saw my boyfriend
looking at my thigh the way he usually looks at shwarma and I’m pretty sure it
was hunger and not amorous desire because as much weight as I’ve lost, I don’t
look that good yet. Which is basically to say that if you go to the Getty in the
morning with the plan to picnic at the beach ... umm, try getting something in
you before you head out of the Getty because it’s a bit of a hike.
I
actually wanted to go to Matador
Beach which is a little bit up the highway next to the
Leo Cabrillo
Beach. There are far more popular beaches in Malibu, but both
of these (at least according to Internet reviews) seemed to be a bit less
“popular,” and I wasn’t in the mood to hang out with a lot of crowds. Matador is
a pretty nice beach. It’s on the narrow side sandwise, BUT it's a) very decent
for boogie boarding because the ocean is pretty choppy and b) has sea caves
where you can make out or, if you are young of heart or an actual child, play
tag or hide and seek or whatever. We parked the car by the side of the highway
like everyone else and then walked down to the beach. The beach is below the
cliffs, though, so be prepared for a hike down some steep staircases and hills
(if you want to just hop out the car and walk over to a beach, I suggest the Leo
Cabrillo that comes before Matador).
This beach is the beach for me.
There’s nothing to “do” beyond experiencing the person you’re with, the food
you’re eating, wind blowing sand in your hair and your PF Chang’s Orange
Chicken, salty smell, etc. If you want tamer waters for swimming, I wouldn’t
suggest this one because it looked like the swells were pretty
decent.
Overall Impression: Very nice beaches; drive through mountains
and up the highway gives you those Classically Californian views you see in the
movies. Satisfying and relaxing counterpoint to the Getty in the
morning.
