Our LA field trip:
I'm not a huge museum person, as anyone who has been to one with me can attest, but I wanted to see the Getty for its architecture and the views were supposed to be fantabulous! Turned out to be foggy with visibility of like o.1 mile, but it was kind of cool to be high up on the mountain in a neat place in the wispy, drippy fog. Made me feel like I was in Star Wars, in a place like Naboo. Darron wasn't keen on going, but he ended up enjoying the art quite a bit (and I finally learned what Rococo style is), so that made the acculturation all worth the $10 parking fee.
A couple of hours later we headed a few miles away to Beverly Hills. On our way we found some irony. 
For lunch, I am so sick of Mexican food that I never eat it if I can help it, but we went to a place that made oh-the-best Mexican food I've had in a long time, if ever! Today it finally occurred to me why I'm sick of it: it's because it's ALL the same. Everywhere you go, it's all the same. Burritos, enchiladas, fajitas, tamales, flautas - with 50 bajillion Mexican joints to choose from around here, it's all the same! But this place, they had the most interesting Mexican food ever, and it wasn't some sort of fusion food - their recipes came from their ancestors (or so they say). Darron ordered horchata too, and although I usually don't like it, this stuff tasted just like liquid rice pudding! And the corn tortillas, which I also don't generally like, were so soft and fluffy.... mmmm, sooooo good. It was all good. My Mexican taste buds were revived in this oasis of yum. The price was not bad either, compared to the cost of an ordinary lunch elsewhere, for the resurrection of a cultural cuisine.
For lunch, I am so sick of Mexican food that I never eat it if I can help it, but we went to a place that made oh-the-best Mexican food I've had in a long time, if ever! Today it finally occurred to me why I'm sick of it: it's because it's ALL the same. Everywhere you go, it's all the same. Burritos, enchiladas, fajitas, tamales, flautas - with 50 bajillion Mexican joints to choose from around here, it's all the same! But this place, they had the most interesting Mexican food ever, and it wasn't some sort of fusion food - their recipes came from their ancestors (or so they say). Darron ordered horchata too, and although I usually don't like it, this stuff tasted just like liquid rice pudding! And the corn tortillas, which I also don't generally like, were so soft and fluffy.... mmmm, sooooo good. It was all good. My Mexican taste buds were revived in this oasis of yum. The price was not bad either, compared to the cost of an ordinary lunch elsewhere, for the resurrection of a cultural cuisine.After our wonderful gastronomical experience, we wandered over to Rodeo Drive for a little window shopping. 
I have to say, the famous Rodeo Drive didn't impress me much. For one of the priciest shopping destinations that the stars all go to, it was only two blocks long, with the same stores you see in major cities everywhere. There were even a few storefronts with "For Lease" signs and carelessly hung butcher paper in the windows. It was a very uninspired place, save for the Mikimoto store. We dropped in and found one of the employees to be nice and chatty, considering we must have looked like hobos compared to their normal clientele. We learned a few tidbits about pearls, the economy, and "luxury-class" shoppers. These shoppers have not been immune from the economic downturn because, as the employee put it, "they have money, but they're scared money." And about pearls: the golden pearl is the most rare and from the Tahitian seas, while the smaller white ones are cultured in Japan. Earlier at the Getty we learned that when Mark Antony first met Cleopatra at a feast she threw for him and was surprised at its opulence, it's said that she threw a pearl into her wine and drank it to show him that luxurious excess didn't concern her. Now that's brave money!
I have to say, the famous Rodeo Drive didn't impress me much. For one of the priciest shopping destinations that the stars all go to, it was only two blocks long, with the same stores you see in major cities everywhere. There were even a few storefronts with "For Lease" signs and carelessly hung butcher paper in the windows. It was a very uninspired place, save for the Mikimoto store. We dropped in and found one of the employees to be nice and chatty, considering we must have looked like hobos compared to their normal clientele. We learned a few tidbits about pearls, the economy, and "luxury-class" shoppers. These shoppers have not been immune from the economic downturn because, as the employee put it, "they have money, but they're scared money." And about pearls: the golden pearl is the most rare and from the Tahitian seas, while the smaller white ones are cultured in Japan. Earlier at the Getty we learned that when Mark Antony first met Cleopatra at a feast she threw for him and was surprised at its opulence, it's said that she threw a pearl into her wine and drank it to show him that luxurious excess didn't concern her. Now that's brave money!The Griffith Observatory was our final stop. Since its 4-year renovation, it looks great! If you haven't been there since 2002, it's worth another visit. 
The new reclining seats in the planetarium and the show itself are nicely redone. Did you know that the earth "wobbles" on its axis one full turn every 26,000 years? For this reason, astrology, which is based on readings from 2000 years ago, is off by about a month! Does this mean I'm actually a Sagittarius? I should go read my astrology book again and see if that explains the complexities of my character!
The new reclining seats in the planetarium and the show itself are nicely redone. Did you know that the earth "wobbles" on its axis one full turn every 26,000 years? For this reason, astrology, which is based on readings from 2000 years ago, is off by about a month! Does this mean I'm actually a Sagittarius? I should go read my astrology book again and see if that explains the complexities of my character!Altogether, an acculturating day.
(Disclaimer: future blogs are likely to be much shorter.)
3 comments:
RE: Cleopatra, yes but she had lots of slaves and could easily have had one go get it from her potty the next day. MA never knew.
Anyone ever mention that you might be a little twisted...?
Coprolites. Very interesting stuff you can learn from mummified poop. Entire seminars dedicated to it. Never read of a pearl showing up, but still......
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