world::girl

It was a bit late when my parents arrived on Saturday, because they were stuck in tons of traffic! Rah! It was a good thing they hadn't bought tickets yet for the symphony we were going to go to that night. We decided instead to enjoy a nice dinner, so we checked them into their hotel and walked down to the street to this restaurant called Ciudad. The ladies that do that tv show "Two Hot Tamales" own/run it, and dinner was extremely yummy. Enjoying really good food once in a while reminds you how much creativity can go into making a normal occurance such as eating into a celebration!

The next day we set out to look at some architecture and do a little touring around LA-y types of things. We went downtown to the Bradbury Building, which is known for it's victorian-style inner atrium. It was built
in 1893 by George Wyman...who actually wasn't a trained architect when he designed it, and oddly enough he didn't go on to design anything else of note. Across the street from this was the Grand Central Market which holds all sorts of food vendors and produce market stuff. There was tons of people! There were also a couple other cool buildings and this 'hill trolley.'

And since we didn't go there the night before, we went to inspect the Walt Disney Concert Hall more closely. A super cool structure. We found out there was a garden up on top of it somewhere, and ended up walking up stairs and finding that you can basically walk around the outside roof of the entire building! Then there's a super cool garden and of course Mom got excited by some unique trees and plants. She reminds me of Grandma when she does that :)


Then we stopped by the library, both because I had CDs to return and because it really is the most fabulous library I've had the pleasure to frequent. It's the original old building that has been restored and also added onto. So there's a melding of two styles and it's really great they kept the old stuff. This picture is of the atrium ceiling that has fantastic detail.

Next we drove down to Watts, near Compton, to see one of the oddest things, called the Watts Towers. They were built by this guy Simon Rodia, an Italian immigrant, over the span of 30 years. You can't see in the picture all the details, both the layers present in the tower but also all the bits of glass and tile which are embedded over everything. He built them on his own property, paying for all the materials, during his spare time! Seeing them was really a testament to the inspiration a person can be when they follow their passion. I was imagining what his neighbors thought when he began to erect these towers!

At last we got to Manhattan beach just before the sun set. It always feels good to look at the wide horizon. After dinner Mom and Dad were off to Ventura so they could see Aunt Jewel before heading home. A quick trip, but good to show them around my neighborhood a bit, see some things around LA, and of course enjoy them :) I will be going home the day after Thanksgiving, so it won't be long before we see each other again. And hopefully, I'm crossing my fingers, I can bring my Studebaker home! I'm getting excited about it again!