I escaped Los Angeles and all I got was this stupid blog post. We have some pictures. Note especially the last few.

• If you get nervous at all driving on, say, I-35 in Austin, do not under any circumstances drive on the freeways in LA. That translates to "do not go to LA." people drive fast in LA. In Austin, you'll usually see a number of people driving 5-10 mph above the speed limit. In LA, the average speed is 10-15 mph above the speed limit. If you are uncomfortable doing that, don't get on the freeway. Someone driving 15 mph below the average speed of traffic is almost as much a danger as someone driving 15 mph above.
• If the guidebook entry for a restaurant names the chef, and (especially) describes him (always a him, it seems) as a "rising star," the portions will be tiny and the food over-priced.
• Don't stay downtown. Try Pasadena. Pasadena is nice.
• We saw them setting up for and cleaning up after a shoot for the show "Heroes." It turns out that the building with the sculpture in front of it that was supposedly in NYC is actually a block down from the hotel where we stayed.
• If you don't mind the freeways, driving on the 110 from Pasadena to downtown is fun, especially at night. Twisty and windy, zooming along at 60 mph, which is plenty fast for that road. It feels like a driving game.
• If you want to drive up the Pacific Coast Highway, do it in the morning.
• LA is not hot compared to Austin. I dunno about the valley, since we never went there, but the ocean seems to keep LA cool. At least, it did while we were there.
• I'm not one for art hanging on walls, but the Getty Center was super cool. The grounds, the architecture, and the setting were all impressive.
• The beach gets really crowded on weekends or holidays. I don't know if I liked Venice or Santa Monica beach better.
• Hollywood looks just as ugly as the rest of LA
• Few places in the LA area accept Discover
• Free parking in LA is nearly impossible. Metered parking is sometimes easy, sometimes hard; pay parking (valet or self-park) is ubiquitous
• Motorcycles ride between the lanes on the freeway in heavy traffic. It appears to be the major benefit of having one in LA. I didn't see a motorcycle not doing this.
• Gas costs barely more than in Austin
• Traffic is a little unpredictable (a traffic jam at 11:30pm?), but the system works surprisingly well. Maybe I just had low expectations.
• There's a buttload of Priuses in LA
• Few flat surfaces lack graffiti
• The Walt Disney Concert Hall is pretty cool, but it doesn't require a lot of time to appreciate it. Well, I could be wrong; we didn't have time to go inside.
• Unlike Austin, the streets don't change names every 5 miles. Wilshire is Wilshire is Wilshire.

¶ 1507 Posted at 12.24 PM ⇒ No Comments ( travel )