Aurora Wells

What better time to catch up on blogging my Chanukah photos than on Christmas Day? We’re up in Spallumcheen this week with Brian’s Mum & Dad, but I’ve still got a few things to write about our California trip, last week. This is the abbreviated version – check my Facebook photos for more pics.

Uncle Steve’s Chanukah present to me & Brian was a tour of Downtown L.A., a place that was less familiar to me than Manhattan, despite the fact that I’d grown up less than 30 miles away. Steve had planned a three-part-tour, of Downtown, Griffith Park/Travel Town, and Hollywood/Westwood, but we only had time for part one. Even so, it was jam-packed with novel and wonderful sights. By the way, if you ever want to be a tourist in L.A., go on a Sunday. The parking meters were free!

The Bonaventure used to be the most-photographed building in L.A., but now I think it’s that really tall round one instead. Aurora with her moose, Charlie, pose in front of the Bonaventure, near the L.A. Central Library.

The Biltmore Hotel boasts some pretty gorgeous architecture, and a super Christmas tree, too. (Chanukah table off to the side).

Pershing Square featured a big pile of snow for the kids to sled on, as well as booths for face painting, cookie decorating, and other holiday fun. Steve says they’re trying to lure more people to live downtown, by making it more people-friendly. We firmly steered Aurora away from it all, because we had places to go, things to see!

I didn’t realize L.A. has a huge public market, similar to Granville Island in Vancouver and Pike Place market in Seattle, but with way more hot chiles. It’s only been around for, like, 92 years!

One of the highlights of the tour for me personally was the Bradbury Building, an amazingly unique piece of architecture that has been featured in many movies and TV shows, most notably Blade Runner. Take a few minutes to read about its quirky history.

Something that cannot be missed, especially if you love a good sandwich, is Philippe’s, the birthplace of the French Dip sandwich. Each of the six servers has a lineup of customers, and when you get your food you sit at long tables with stools (or at one of the few booths). There is sawdust on the floor, the sandwiches are value-priced, and it feels utterly casual and democratic. The food was great, the atmosphere charged with history (it’s been around since 1908, which is like the Parthenon in Los Angeles years), and the coffee is 9 cents a cup.

Only one block away from Philippe’s is Olvera Street, the oldest street in L.A. It’s filled with fun Hispanic tchotchkes, even if an embarrassing fraction of them were made in China. I didn’t realize we weren’t supposed to take pictures in this hat shop until after the click of the shutter, but the photo was too cute to delete. To make up for it, I can only recommend that you go do some shopping there if you are ever in L.A. Although I did almost zero souvenir shopping on our trip, even at Diz, but I couldn’t resist a Dia de los Muertas figurine for me and a Peruvian sweater for Aurora. (Christmas shopping at Target was another story – I got a little carried away).

Steve watches Aztec fire dancers with Brian and Aurora at the Olvera street plaza. Thanks for the wonderful tour, bro. We are definitely going to take you up on the offer of another one the next time we’re in SoCal!