#meinla

[sharonmacross]

Storrier Stearns Japanese Garden in Pasadena. Open Sundays and now Thursdays. This was a welcomed relaxing morning. These mature gardens were planted in the 1930s and have grown into a place of tranquility and calm. I love the energetic koi fish in the two ponds that like breaching and jumping above the surface. The main house offers coffee, tea, and biscuits which you can take to a near by garden table under dappled sunlight. The (12 mat) tea house (which is supposed to be “high end”) is open to visitors sans shoes. It’s a great place to meditate and breathe. Lovely garden.  Bonus: there are public Mediterranean gardens across the street which is a lovely place to meander and have a picnic.

[sharonmacross]

Weekend visit to the Grammy Museum. My first time here and holy music Batman! Four floors of interactive and passive exhibits on every kind of music and performers. This is easily an all day museum. As it was, I only spent about 2 hours here but the main reason was to catch the Frank Sinatra exhibit. I’m a fan of the American Standards and Jazz and ol’ Blue Eyes was a cornerstone of the genre. I can’t wait to go back and see what other exhibits they have and to explore more. The $12 price of admission is easily handed over for this museum.

[sharonmacross]

“Going to tea” is one of my new favorite things to do. I’ve been to afternoon tea before but I’ve never been to The Chado room. It’s connected to the Japanese American Museum in Little Tokyo. Parking is a bit difficult but it’s LA, it’s difficult everywhere.

The area of Little Tokyo is great too before or after visiting. I’m going to warn you now, you’re going to be full and probably want to just take a nap right after and not walk the city. Fantastic place though with a giant book of teas. Check Groupon for deals.

[sharonmacross]

Went to Pasadena and saw a delightful performance of Arsenic and Old Lace at the Shakespeare Club. I haven’t seen in a play in years and years. It was so nice seeing a rag-tag team of performers unfolding a comedy in an intimate setting. The night was fantastic because of the company, the venue and the performance. It was a very classy night. 

[sharonmacross]

Free for all museum day in Los Angels and the first museum we went to, the Museum of Jurassic Technology, wasn’t participating. Never leave the planning to others! Haha but it turned out all right. We then went to LACMA as did every single person in LA. We also got there a bit later than we wanted and only had about an hour. We checked out the Picassos, I still don’t get him. Also, Picasso is a bit of a contemporary artist. He died in the 1970s. I though he was a really old artist but I guess not.  We then walked down to Awash, a really good Ethiopian restaurant. I’ve never had it before but it was on my list of “to eat” cuisine. It was delicious! A bit on the spicy side but it was so good. I probably over ate but didn’t really care. Worth it. 

[sharonmacross]

The LA Arboretum & Botanical Gardens is a gem in LA. It’s a bit far from everything though but well worth the $9 admission (though free every third Tuesday of the month). It’s really big too. I went in mid January and it was still nice to visit though nothing was in bloom except for a few winter roses and orchids in the green houses. The waterfall was my favorite feature and the view from the top is very nice. Look to spend at least 2 hours here. No outside food or drinks are allowed but they do have a cafe and gift shop.

[sharonmacross]

I saw The Revenant at the Leammle which is a great place for a movie. I enjoy their rotating art exhibits and leather reclining seats. As for the movie, wow, intense is the only word I can think of to describe it. Watching the movie was a visceral experience. The soundtrack really heightened the tension, it was fantastic.

After the show we went over to District Pub in NoHo. Great place, my second time here. They have a fairly good beer selection. I usually go for the flight or a glass of the Wiskey Barrel, yum. I’m not on the sweet potato fry band wagon so we noshed on their regular fries with ranch dipping sauce. Very flavorful. You also can’t go wrong with a District Burger.

[sharonmacross]

Went on a bike ride to survey the damage after the latest El Niño storm. This street was closed to traffic because it was flooded and rocks and dirt were in the street. The path I was on was watery in places or had huge pulled of mud and leaves in other places. All and all, a really enjoyable 10 mile ride.