This past weekend I had the pleasure of introducing some friends from the Bay Area to Los Angeles. Rob drove down with our friends Mike and Nathan who have never been to LA before and were interested in experiencing what it had to offer. The challenge was to plan an itinerary that reflected certain elements of LA that were more or less stereotypical but not touristy. Since LA is a mishmash of about 88 different cultures within one metropolitan area, I had to resort to the few places I've already visited before. Strangely enough, I've lived in LA for a total of nine months now and I haven't really had a chance to explore as much as I'd like of it because of school. I think though that in the end I managed to pull off an entertaining and informative experience for my guests. Rob has the pictures on his blog of the trip.

Saturday: The weather left much to be desired as it was cold and overcast most of the weekend. We had breakfast on Sunset Boulevard and headed to UCLA for a grand tour of my campus. My guests enjoyed the architecture and sculpture garden. While Nathan used our gym, Rob, Mike, and I grabbed some Diddy Riese cookies and Red Mango (same as Pinkberry). We later joined up with Patrice and made the slow drive to Hollywood for dinner. Dinner consisted of lively conversation and delicious italian food, the perfect combination. Rob even got a slice of red velvet cake for dessert. Downtown was our last destination. We hung out at the rooftop lounge on top of the Standard Hotel for a little while. The view was fantastic and the ambience was very swanky/chic (or at least it tried to be).

Sunday: Had breakfast with Nathan's ex-roommate, Elaine, and her husband. She happens to be a UCLA alum who majored in Poli Sci as well. By her suggestion, we all went to the Museum of Jurassic Technology in Culver City. The place seemed to be a hybrid of curiosity shop and museum rolled into one. There were all sorts of bizarre eccentricities that had no true logical connection between exhibits. You are left feeling like there's something strangely unsatisfying about the experience, not because it wasn't interesting, but because it feels like something is missing (perhaps coherence?). The Getty Center was our final stop before leaving LA and driving back to the Bay Area. The Getty is known for it's architectural magnificence, the surrounding view, and its extensive collection of European art. The fog was definitely problematic for it blocked off the view and chilled everyone to the bone. Rob and I checked out the exhibit for Medieval art first. In a nutshell, it was an exhibit displaying Christian art throughout the centuries. Only the last few displays of the collection had portrayals of what I had thought to be traditional medieval elements such as suits of armor, weapons, lovers, nature, etc. Unfortunately, we could only fit in one more collection before we had to head out so we examined the paintings from the 18th Century and later. My favorite room was the one with all the Impressionist paintings. After walking through room after room of painters trying to achieve perfection in their paintings, it was refreshing to see the works of Degas, Monet, Manet, Cezzane, and Van Gogh deviate from that convention. Van Gogh's Irises first caught my eye in the brochure and was impressive in real life. It was a treat for me to discover that they also housed Monet's Sunrise (Marine) and Bridge at Giverny. Alas, we had to leave in order to get home before 11pm and that was the end of me being a tour guide. Now I'm in the Bay enjoying my Thanksgiving week and what's even better is that Rob has the whole week off from work! Thanks Steve Jobs!