I felt like a bit of culture today, so we visited the Getty Centre which sits on the hill above interstate 504. This museum houses a great collection of European paintings from the 13th to 19th centuries.
The building itself is a work of art and science, being made from ceramic coated aluminium. The views of LA was pretty spectacular from the balcony in the South Pavilion. There are 4 pavilions with exhibits sorted into their periods.
We did have some issues finding the Centre because everyone looked for the car park on the right when it was on the left. Parking was $15 for the day, and you can reuse the parking ticket at the Getty Villa (which we did not visit due to time, or more like hunger, constraints).
Being funded by the J.Paul Getty Trust, the museum is free to visit - which is pretty great considering the quality of art beats many paying museums. From the basement car park, you take the lift to the tram station which winds its way up the hill to the centre. You can actually see the slow tram when driving along I-405, and we'd always wondered if that led to IRONMAN's house on the hill.
Wang Theng wanted to visit downtown LA on Xmas eve. So we went to the Walt Disney Concert Hall and walked around that area for a little bit. The Concert Hall reminds me of the Guggenheim in Bilbao. The car park I chose was $9, and I was berated by Catherine and Wang Theng in turn when we walked pass a $7 car park and then a $5 one, all of which I should have known about.
Then it was off to shop for dinner which Catherine, our travelling chef, turned into an awesome Xmas eve dinner. It included scallops, crab claws and turkey. This time we shopped at Ralphs, who are clearly and unlike Whole Foods, had no ethics, do no recycling, practises scorched-earth techniques in growing their food, put all their plants and animals in cages, has a carbon footprint as large as Russia and performs horrendous animal testing. Catherine was super impressed that her grocery bill was half that of Whole Foods.
I must have drunk too much at dinner because I don't remember eating dessert (I was informed very curtly that I didn't because I'd drunk too much). So I ate my dessert for breakfast, well, the yoghurt part anyway (the kids wanted the ice cream).
25th Dec 2013 Wed/Xmas Day
Another warm morning in Venice. We had some time before driving to Vegas, so we went for a walk along Venice Beach, about 15 mins away from our apartment. All the girls took off ........ their shoes to walk in the cool sand to the water.
The sand is very well groomed and free from artifacts such as glass and poos. This was an area of much concern to Catherine because she kept asking me about it. Apparently, this is the first time - ever - that Catherine has walked barefoot on the beach. A trip of firsts for her - theme park rides at Universal Studio was also a first!
It was 10 am but the ganja smell was already permeating the air along the promenade. Smells like an AC/DC concert. Tessa and I lost the other girls, so we turned around to find them shopping at the only shop that was open. More T-shirts were purchased, then it was time to load up and drive to Vegas.
The GPS said it was going to take 5 hours. And it did, traffic was heavy leaving LA. But everyone made up time by speeding waaay past the limit. I had to too, or risk being tail-gated by an 18 axle truck trailer towing an aircraft carrier.
I told Catherine that we'd be driving through the desert on the way to LV. She was very worried that if we broke down, we'd die. I assured her that yes we would if we ran out of water and no one stopped to help us. I'd also pointed out the Death Valley sign which didn't do much to calm her nerves. With 3 or 4 lanes of continuous traffic all the way to Vegas, there is no chance of dying a lonely death.
Stopped at Barstow for our packed lunch. A few restaurants were open, so they were rather popular, especially the rest rooms. That took longer than to eat lunch. We arrived in Vegas at 5 pm and after a missed turn or two, and a huge fight breaking out between myself and the GPS. We checked into Hooters Hotel and lucky Catherine had a beautiful view of the Strip.
WT and I faced the airport run-way and risked being deputised as air traffic controllers if the real ones go on strike.
We walked an hour to the Venetian for dinner at Asian Noodles, queued for another 30 mins to get a table. And ditto back to Hooters, with a quick stop for wine, plasters, shampoo and water at Walgreens.
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