Los Angeles: Things-to-Do

  1. Drives:
    1. Mulholland Drive at night. Beautiful views of LA.
    2. Pacific Coast Highway from Santa Monica till Ventura.
    3. Los Angeles Crest Highway. Reaches 2400m.
  2. Museums:
    1. Museum of Jurassic Technology: Unexpected.
    2. Getty Center: Better than Getty Villa.
    3. MOCA
    4. LACMA
    5. Huntington Gardens, Library, Museum
    6. Underground Museum
    7. Hollywood Forever Cemetary
  3. Ethnic neighborhoods: Leimert Park Plaza (or Little Africa) is a hidden gem. Look up the times for the drum circle.
  4. Griffith Observatory: Great views of LA.
  5. LA has the greatest ethnic food — I kid you not. Here are a few haunts I know. Finger licking, cheap, hole-in-the-wall, ethnic food.
    1. Chicken Itza at the Mercado la Paloma near the LA DMV.
    2. Tacos los Anaya near Adams & Crenshaw
    3. Dona Vicky’s near 2nd and Glendale  (closed! :|)
    4. Palm Grove Ethiopian restaurant at Washington and Western
    5. Aladin’s Sweet & Mart near Vermont & 1st.
    6. Guisados on Sunset in Echo Park.
    7. Philippe’s in Chinatown for the double dip sandwiches.
    8. 786 degrees in Sun Valley for pizza.
    9. The Lousiana Fried Chicken at 91st and Central for a tale of Cambodian immigrant success.
    10. Thai Pepper restaurant at Franklin and Argyle.
    11. La Flor de Yucatan: Get
    12. Han Bat Shul Lung Tang in Koreatown.
    13. Pollo a la Brasa: Peruvian roast chicken.
  6. Outside art: Watts Tower
  7. Downtown: Walk from 7th and Grand to Little Tokyo. Circle north of Skid Row. Then walk down Mateo Ave in the Arts district, turn west before the 10 and walk through the Santee Alley area back to the skyscrapers at Staples center.
  8. Hike the Hollywood sign: See Bat Cave caves at the hike’s start.
  9. Walk along the Venice boardwalk. Skip Santa Monica.
  10. Silverlake Junction.
  11. Echo Park neighborhood at Echo Park Ave along Sunset.
  12. Day trip to Joshua Tree. Hike the Mastodon Peak loop. See the sunset from Keys View. Gawk at the Joshua trees.
  13. If it’s January, ski at Big Bear.

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