Charlie knew I would love L.A. He knows me well. My compulsion to observe people is hard to ignore (too bad I'm not an actor). L.A is simply the bomb for jaw-dropping scenes of unforgettable sights, peculiar people and weird shit. As he put it, it's a destination for sun seekers and attention lovers. Anything and everything goes. People are just friendlier here, the food is always fabulous and weather is off the charts good…every day. How can you not be in a good mood? How can you not look hot dang delish in your barely covering clothing? People are on display and they love it.
Our Airbnb was a few steps away from Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice Beach. This mile-stretch boasts art galleries, hip restos and high-end boutiques. Apart from this wall mural, we saw very few hipsters. The Venice streets were filled with barely-clothed people decked out in colour and flailing fashion. Five nights was ample time to scratch the surface. I could have stayed much longer. I WILL be back.
Venice is draped in street art. For the most part, the graffiti we saw was happy--sunny pictures of flowers, tiny dogs, smiling faces, unicorn-leopard-dogs.
Easter Weekend brought everyone out to play. There were skaters, egg-hunters, tourists, grannies in bikinis with their radios and two riders perched in their wagon, watching the world whiz by on the boardwalk.
Sparkling Spiderman and Bunny Sophia at the Sunday Market in Santa Monica. They do farmer's markets right in Cali. There was ample food, live music, market vendors, face painting and a petting zoo. What more could you ask?
Sophia getting her animal fix at the petting zoo, Sunday Santa Monica Market.
She's gobbling her large scoop of rhubarb ice at Sweet Rose Creamery. What you can't see is me slurping on a stranger's vanilla milkshake in the background. A largish man saw me not order anything for myself and exclaimed, 'You can't not eat ice cream. Try this milkshake! It's the best in the world!'. He then passed me his own brimming cup before he had his first sip. I couldn't turn him down..could I?
All eat, no talk. Sometimes we leave lunchtime far too late.
The best burgers of the trip at Barney's at Brentwood Country Market. I thought Charlie might eat his fingers off..
Enough Annie's Mac and Cheese to drown a small child. If you have a child under 5, you know what I'm talking about. This stuff is like gold for little ones. I had to remove Alfie kicking and screaming from this towering display at Erewhon's Natural Foods. He wanted them all.
Mexican food, fexican mood. Tortillas make excellent mustaches.
Big Bear Babysitting. Thanks to this remarkable man, Charlie and I had a full three hours on our own without children. Three full hours to wander and curse cheesy BelAir, and amble down Abbot Kinney without kid-interruptus. Hooray for the only child-free time we had during our stay in California. Thank you Andrew!