Monday 4 July 2016

A fast afternoon in Los Angeles

At 4am (according to our Denver time clocks) we opened the door to our room at the Marriott Courtyard (the hotel United Airlines placed us in for two nights accom, so that we could sleep all day if we needed to, following their protracted torture of our good selves, via extensive time-wasting and sleep deprivation).

The Marriott is a great standard hotel in the immediate Airport precinct, so I was relieved to learn that's where we were headed. It's worth about AUD$265 p.n. retail sale value. While it's not somewhere I would choose to stay personally, it's good because it's totally reliable, safe, professional and you know exactly what you will get. It reminded me very much of the four business conferences I've attended in the U.S. in the past, as my Company often used the Marriott, or similar chains. So anyway, we undid the sofa bed for J and she went straight to sleep.

L & I were too hyped up to sleep, and in any case I felt compelled to do some fast research into what on earth we wanted to see in LA in our one unexpected afternoon there, and how best to approach it, without spending a bomb. The irony was that I have a whole detailed list of things I want to see in LA on my home computer, but here we were in LA, by accident, and with no idea what was practical to squeeze into 5 hours. I also wasn't sure how we'd wake up after such an ordeal. I decided to set the alarm for 1pm LAX time, meaning about 10 hours sleep for J and 8 hours for us. In actual fact we woke up at about 11am, and fuddled about having showers and doing things.

When my friends found out we had some time in LA they were full of suggestions that were absolutely perfect for me, and I actually found it quite touching how well they know my tastes and preferences.  The unanimous advice was 1) The J Paul Getty Museum; 2) Santa Monica; 3) The Last Bookstore on 5th Street. These are all places I would dearly love to go, along with Universal Studios and Pasadena, but it wasn't all about me. We're a trio, and I had to take that into consideration. Given how much travelling we've done in a condensed period of time, and how weary we were, I knew my loved ones would have little ability to focus in on one of the western world's most abundant museums and its extensive contents on our surprise afternoon in LA. All we thought we'd be doing by then was sleeping at home in our own beds! So, even though the Getty Museum is one we would sincerely LOVE to see, there's no point going there when in a spent state.

I did think about travelling by public bus to Santa Monica, for $2.50 return each, and having a quiet, relaxing time walking around the pier, the fun park and admiring the local art deco architecture. That was my personal preference. But then, there's still that dimension of selfishness there, which I had to acknowledge. If it happens that we never have the chance to come to LA again in our lives, who am I to deny my hub and kid the opportunity to drive through Beverley Hills, to see that Hollywood sign on the hill and to stand on the stars on Hollywood Boulevard?

So with these thoughts in mind, I gave L the go-ahead to book a half day tour of 'whatever' the mainstream tourism industry thinks we need to see. So that after 25 days of completely independent travelling, we could for once just get into a limo van, and be taken around, without having to think for ourselves. I battle with that sort of thing, coz I always feel I could do it better myself, because I could (!), but in this instance, it was important for me to let my hub and kid have a go at the easy way. So off we went, on a five hour, fully programmed tour of effectively just three hotspots across LA. But it did mean that we saw way more than we ever could of on our own in just one afternoon.

Having missed lunch, dinner and breakfast over the preceeding 24 hours, at 1pm we had the downstairs bistro manager organise a BLT with turkey for each of us, even though they were actually closed at the time. I had a word with four different staffers, and they soon realised they'd best offer us something freshly made. It was delicious and felt replenishing, so we did tip them generously.

At 2pm, as scheduled, our black limo van arrived and swept us off, along with two Australian couples who were already in the vehicle, drawn from nearby hotels. As LA is so spread out it takes time to drive from place to place, which for us was fascinating viewing of the city's vast residential areas of no particularly visual beauty most of the time, but interesting to us none-the-less.

We were taken straight to the notorious Venice Beach, a place I've always believed I'd be happy to get a glimpse of, but for which there is no need for me to go more than once. Even though we only had twenty minutes there, of which about eight minutes was taken up getting to and from the main Esplanade, I do feel satisfied I've seen it and need never return.  It seemed so grey and polluted to me, which L says is unfair of me to say, as I'm spoilt by the pristine white sands of the Australian beaches. But, I do have to call it as I see it. It's also full of dead-beats, looking for their next scam. I've been thinking about it quite a bit, and I think it is the air pollution that puts me off the most - The grey haze of smog, as far as the eye can see. It doesn't inspire me at all. Hong Kong has the same problem, obviously, as do many places, but when it's apparent by the ocean, it's particularly sad.

After that fast leg-stretching episode we were back in the van for another hour or more, being given a narrated tour of Beverley Hills. Our driver was no tour guide of any great capability, but he was basically well intended and clearly very proud of his city. Eventually we were given 40 minutes to get out and move around again on Hollywood Boulevard. We raced about feeling a bit too busy and almost giddy, due to the sudden intensity of people and hub-bub. We raced through throngs of people to ascend four flights through a complex shopping mall, to find that particular arcade spot where you can see the Hollywood sign far off on the hill-top. The entire shopping complex was full of ice-cream parlours. I've never seen a whole complex devoted to so many various dessert oriented businesses. It would have been too tempting if we'd had any time to meander, which we did not. We had to race off and stand on some cracked stars ... It was kinda fun ... I guess.

We also spent fifteen or so minutes charging around LA LA Land like pinballs. It's a big, bright, neon-lit, souvenir shop of the pulsating and magnetic type. It sucks you in and you have to buy tacky t-shirts, sweaters, mock Oscar trophies, key-rings and baseball caps, whether you like it or not.

After this (frankly) frantic stop we got back into our van and were told there'd be only one more place to look forward to. That was 'The Grove Farmers Market'. I was sceptical, as I'd never heard of it. However, when we got there, we realised that from a purely tourist-ish point of view, there were a lot of options there to satisfy all sorts of interests. We were not at all interested in the generic 'shopping' options, which exist all over America, but we were into the quaint, labyrinth of rather smokey food halls that were semi-outdoors, and seemed to showcase all sorts of international cuisine, in the way that only America does: Not upmarket, but somehow authentic and impressive if you take the time to stop and comprehend it all. Anyway, we had barely enough time to swill some beverages and buy a square of toffee, but we do know that when we one day return to LA we will revisit this great food market, but next time we will do so at dinner time!

Anyway, we got back to our hotel room at 7pm, had one hour to clean up our act, and then we were out of there, on our way home to Australia. I do not regret taking that weirdly time consuming grab-bag of a tour, because we still saw a whole bunch more than we would have if we'd not done it, BUT... We can do things so much better independently, if allowed a few fresh moments with which to plan things.

I have enough on my 'Must See' list for LA now to comfortably fill a full week there, and so ... One day in the future we will do that. A quality experience requires planning and consideration. But it was amazing, however weird, to have this unanticipated opportunity to grab glimpses of LA, and we are thankful for that.


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