The biggest issue with LA is that it’s so spread out. My bf and I always say that had LA been more compact, people would appreciate it more. Anyway, for me these are the must dos, aside from the ones others already mentioned:
1. This may be biased but I love downtown LA. Not only is it the easiest area to navigate, andami pang points of interest. I love Olvera Street, with its old buildings and Mexican flavor. Close to it is Chinatown (which is okay, not really my favorite). There’s also Little Tokyo, which is quite small but not a bad place to browse and eat (there’s supposedly a really good Japanese resto here, forgot the name). Then there’s LA Live for restaurants, bars and a skating rink. It also houses The Grammy Museum, the Nokia theatre and The Staples Center. Watch a game! Hopefully by that time, buhay pa Lakers
Seriously, sobrang saya. Then the historic buildings/structures like the Bradbury building, the City Hall, the recently opened Grand & Hope Park, Angels’ Flight, Figueroa Hotel, the area of Bunker Hill, the
LA Library, Our Lady of Angels Cathedral, Ahmanson theatre, Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), The Walt Disney Concert Hall, etc. A lot of the buildings in DTLA, when you see them on street view, parang meh. Look up and the layout makes a turn for the awesome.
Also, every second Thursday of the month, there’s the Downtown LA Art Walk. Free exhibits, art shows and live performances. Several food trucks are also there. Masaya kasi you go inside these old buildings, climb a few flights up and voila! Art galleries. You can buy some of the art too. I’m not an art aficionado but I really enjoyed it. Minsan lang kasi buhay na buhay ang downtown at night. Most nights and on weekends, it’s deserted. Ingat nga lang because most of the areas where they have the art walk aren’t really the best places to walk around. For more info, visit Twitter @downtownartwalk
2. Miracle Mile for Los Angeles County Museum of Art and La Brea Tar Pits & Page Museum. The pits mismo walang entrance fee but the Page Museum, $12 for adults. The museum showcases actual fossils of now-extinct species (dire wolves, saber-toothed cats, mammoths, etc.). Their collection is massive and just a few years ago, they were able to excavate more bones. Sounds boring at first but it’s really one of the most enjoyable places to visit in the city. As for LACMA, I really love its famous Urban Light sculpture and maganda naman yung permanent collections nila. The Levitated Mass looks cool too but I haven’t seen it. They often have special exhibits. Last time we were there, they had a Tim Burton exhibit and I think they’re about done with their Stanley Kubrick exhibit.
3. If you can, go to The Magic Castle. They serve buffet breakfast, lunch or dinner. Afterwards, you can watch several magic shows. The mansion/castle itself is super impressive and decked with optical illusions, fancy red carpeting and ornate staircases. Pero members-only siya so hopefully your friend is a member or knows someone who is.
4. Hit one of the beaches. Santa Monica or Venice. The beaches in LA are not postcard-perfect but they are packed with people and activities.
5. If you’re a hipster or find hipsters fascinating, you might enjoy the neighborhood of Silver Lake/ Echo Park with their gritty buildings and independent stores. Medyo amoy weed yung ibang parts nga lang harhar. But lots of cafes, lounges, restaurants and quirky shops.
It’s highly recommended but I have yet to try:
1. A Los Angeles Noir Tour. Esotouric (?) offers several tours like The Black Dahlia tour, the Mickey Cohen tour, the Raymond Chandler tour, etc. all exploring LA’s dark and seedy past. Ika nga, buried under LA’s sunshiny veneer is its true sinister core harhar.
2. I haven’t seen a show at the Pantages theater but they’re getting back The Book of Mormon in January. Hopefully, if you don’t catch it in LA, you’ll be able to in other cities that you’re visiting.
I don’t know for sure if there’s a company that offers tours to film locations and it’d be a shame if there isn’t because LA is a great deal about film. The city has served as the backdrop or subject of a lot of great films. If you don’t have a guide, you’ll miss those locations. Sometimes, we’ll drive around and see a house from Pulp Fiction, Mulholland Drive, etc. So if you don’t know where to go, you’ll miss them. Kaya sana merong ganung tour. Note: The tunnel that you will go through if you go to Griffith Park and Observatory has been used in so many movies.
As for shopping…I could be wrong since I’m not much of a shopaholic but I think LA is more rewarding to foodies (and film buffs) than shoppers. You can always check out Rodeo Drive but I don’t really go there so I can’t say much about the area. If you like outlets, the popular ones are located way outside of LA. (Cabazon, Camarillo). Closest would be The Citadel in Commerce. I like window shopping at Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, downtown Burbank and Old Town Pasadena, Americana in Glendale or The Grove. You might want to check out this strip mall in Glendale that packed a lot of discount shops together like Nordstrom Rack, TJ Maxx and Ross along with World Market, Michael’s and PetCo. Yung PetCo sinama ko lang kasi masarap tumambay dun to admire cute dogs and cats harhar.
For food, the ones I can recommend are Kogi BBQ truck (best food truck IMO), Philippe’s, Yang Chow in Chinatown, Saladang, The Stinking Rose, to name a few. You can also try the famous Pink’s hotdogs, which is medyo tourist spot. Last time we were there, daming tourists na kumukuha ng pictures as their tour buses whizzed past. But it’s an hour wait and honestly, for me hindi worth it. Told a friend na feeling ko nasasarapan lang mga tao dun sa sobrang gutom nila by the time they get served. May chance of celeb-spotting though. At the time, the Olsen twins were supposedly there kaso mahina mata ko kaya I missed them hehe. Then there’s In-N-Out and Tommy’s burgers. But the best burgers I’ve had are from The Counter. West Hollywood seems to house a long line of shops and restaurants kaso we just drive past it but it seems like a good area for food tripping. For Mexican food, I think any place in Olvera Street would do. People rave about Señor Fish but I thought it was just okay. For buffet, there’s Castaway in Burbank. If you like steak, there’s Lucille’s in Long Beach and somewhere in the OC. Another staple is Porto’s (Burbank, Glendale) which has some of the best sandwiches and pastries around. Get the media noche sandwich and a box of cheese rolls. Angelenos love pastrami and the most popular place to get one is The Hat. But if you want to embrace Pinoy pride, try The Oinkster.
Tips:
1. Should you decide to go to The Griffith Park and Observatory (and you should), avoid Saturdays. Parking is impossible unless siguro you go early in the morning, which would be a waste because it’s best visited at sundown. Around the holidays din nga pala, they have Christmas lights and statues from the LA Zoo all the way to the park ata. You can walk but could be freezing.
2. I used to say that Disneyland is enough and yeah, if you have to choose, Disneyland should be your priority but try to see if you can get a 2-fer ticket so you can also visit California Adventure. The rides in California Adventure kasi are a lot of fun especially now that they have Cars Land. The only thing is, you might have to stay overnight around this area para tipid sa parking and also para hindi ka pabalik-balik. Malayo din kasi Anaheim. I don’t like the dining scene in Disneyland in general but Downtown Disney has the Earl of Sandwich, which is pretty good.
3. A lot of museums in LA have a free day, typically to be booked and printed in advance. Some museums have free admission, period, like the Getty Center but you have to make a reservation.
Sorry nobela. But enjoy! Masaya sa LA, nakakataba.
