Ten Favorite Posts from ExperiencingLA.com

Here's a collection of some favorite posts from ExperiencingLA.com - ten to be precise. Feel free to click on the link for more information, and (in most cases) more photographs. Above, is a view from the Huntley Hotel in Santa Monica, looking north up the coast. 

A sea anemonea, in the tidepools at  the edge of the L.A. city limits, just north of the Pacific Coast Highway and Surfview Drive. Best time to go is at low tide. 

Randy's Dounuts, at Manchester and La Cienega (just off the 405) in Inglewood. One of the best examples of mid-century "programmatic architecture" - as well as yummy donuts. 

The Crossroads of the World center, located on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood, three blocks south of Hollywood Blvd. Opened in 1936, it is described as America's first outdoor shopping mall. 

My wife and I with our kids and their three cousins. This was taken a couple of years back at the Los Angeles Live Steamers in Griffith Park.  

A walk around Bungalow Heaven, a beautiful historic neighborhood in Pasadena. This is one of dozens of "urban hikes" I took around Los Angeles -- although it's a real stretch to classify this neighborhood as "urban."

Topanga State Park, a 17 square mile park - located entirely within the Los Angeles City Limits. It's considered the world's largest wildland within the boundaries of a major city.

Olvera Street, located downtown and considered the "oldest street in Los Angeles" Great memories coming here as a kid; great memories coming here with my kids. 

The contrast of costal fog and ridges of the Santa Monica Mountains on an early morning hike. This is from the Paseo Miramar Trail located in the Pacific Palisades district of Los Angeles, looking east at sunrise. 

An evening at the Getty Center just off the 405 Freeway, our last month living in Los Angeles. 

Really, these are just a sample of some of our favorite posts. Have fun exploring others on this site.

In the next day or two, ExperiencingLA.com will have had a quarter of a million visits. Seems like a good milestone to step away from this site for a couple of months - at least in terms of new posts. I'll put a "final something" up next week. 

© 2013 www.experiencingla.com



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The Getty Center, Los Angeles (Part I)

Saturday evenings are "free night" at the Getty Center. Admission to the museum is always free, but on Saturday nights they even waive the $15 parking fee, making a great thing even better. Last month we headed on over to see the special Leonardo da Vinci exhibit.


If you've never been the Getty, it's a must visit. Above the massive parking garage is the tram station for the 1/2 mile ride to the museum.


Of course, our kids think this is one of the best parts of a visit, especially if they can score the seat at the front of the tram. No matter where you sit, you'll get great views looking out as you climb the hill.


The tram arrives and you head toward the entrance.


The Getty Museum actually has two locations: the original "Getty Villa" located in Pacific Palisades, and the much larger "Getty Center" located off the 405 Freeway in Brentwood. The Getty Villa requires advanced parking reservations, the Getty Center does not. Here's a few thoughts on the Getty Villa from previous post. 


The Getty Center is a series of gallaries centered around a large, open courtyard. There is a small family room, which is great for younger children. We've taken our kids there many times.

March 23–June 20, 2010 the Getty has a special exhibit featuring the work of Leonardo da Vinci. As I said, that's why we decided to go. 


If you want to see the Mona Lisa, you'll need to go to the Louvre in Paris. But if you'd like to see dozens of Leonardo da Vinci's original sketches as well as some of his massive sculpture, then head over to the Getty.

The museum has a very strict "no photography" policy in the galleries. This was just outside the gallery, looking in. That's OK, right?

It was an amazing display, and I'd LOVE to go back again and spend more time there - although the exhibit is only there two more weeks. If you're in the Los Angeles area, I highly recommend going.


There's a large gift shop immediately has you exit the exhibit. In that sense, it was just like Disneyland. You know, "get off Star Tours and buy a Yoda mask."


Well, I couldn't take pictures inside the galleries of Leonardo's work. Figured I could take a few from the books inside the gift shop. Wrong. "Sir, there is no photography anywhere inside the galleries, including the gift shop."

Time to head outside to the gardens (see Part II) where photography is allowed.

Here's the Getty's website: www.getty.edu

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© 2010 www.experiencingla.com

The Getty Center, Los Angeles (Part II)

Despite the strict "no photography" policy inside the Leonardo da Vinci galleries (see previous post) it was incredible and worth a visit. Afterwards, we headed outside to explore.

Even if you don't like artwork, it's worth a trip to the Getty Center just to see the gardens and - on a clear day - the view. Especially true if you have kids.


The water display and maze. Pretty cool.


There is an incredible display of flowers, with lots of people enjoying (and photographing) them.


Including yours truly. These are some sort of exotic red and black poppies. Our kids liked walking around and exploring.


Before heading home, we walked through several other galleries, and stopped off to see a personal favorite: "Christ and the Adulteress."

I continue to find this painting by Valentin de Boulogne moving.

Here are a few thoughts "Finding Christ at the Getty" from a previous visit. 


We thought we'd only be there 90 minutes - we ended staying close to four hours.

It's an amazing place, and worth a visit.

Admission is always free, and Saturday night they even waive the normal parking fee of $15.

For more information: www.getty.edu


View Getty Center, Los Angeles in a larger map

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© 2010 www.experiencingla.com


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