enjoying my week off

I had a busy, fun week in LA.  Monday I went to West LA to meet my friend Peter and his son for Japanese BBQ lunch.  We lived in the same dorm building my sophomore year at Cal, and had at least one class together as Architecture majors.  Peter now does web design, graphic design and art - check out some of his artwork here.

me, g, and peter at beard papa's

I had thought of going to the Getty Center in the afternoon and possibly meeting my classmate Hope again, but found out that it's closed Mondays.  Instead I went to Hollywood and met her on Hollywood Blvd on the Walk of Fame.  We had fun checking out the stars on the sidewalk, trying to find a view of the HOLLYWOOD sign up on the hill, people-watching, and just hanging out.

just one of the characters walking around

we "met" shrek in front of madame tussaud's wax museum

if you look closely above k hope's head, you'll spot the hollywood sign

For dinner (because clearly meeting up with two friends wasn't enough for one day), I met up with Debbie and Judy.  I parked at Debbie's office in downtown LA, then Judy picked us up and we went to Little Tokyo.  Knowing Debbie and Judy well enough, I chose to not finish my dinner, leaving room for dessert (and enough leftovers for two days of lunch!).  We went to Bottega Louie, which is known for their French macarons.  We split a plate of beignets and raspberry compote, then Debbie bought a baker's dozen of macarons each for Judy and me.  My subtitle for Debbie: Keeping Friends Fat and Happy for Over Twenty Years!

overflowing table of japanese food

beignets with raspberry compote

a beautiful box of delicious macarons

judy, debbie, and me - fat and happy!

Tuesday, I met up with Michelle, a friend from Tahoe - she used to work with the USASA competitions.  We went on an adventure to the Getty Center.  We started out parking at the LA National Cemetery and walking a half mile or so to a bus stop.  We then took an LA Metro bus to the parking structure of the Getty Center.  It took close to an hour, crawling along at a snail's pace.  From there (saving the $15 parking fee) we took the train up to the museum.  We browsed through the art indoors and wandered the terraced outdoor spaces, taking in what we could see of the view - it was overcast and very hazy.

our adventure began at the cemetery parking lot

i enjoyed 'irises,' the one van gogh - his brushwork is amazing!

some of the outdoor spaces and the view beyond

our chariot arrives to take us back down

Of course the sun came out when we left the museum!  While we waited for the bus to take us back, we encountered an interesting woman - turns out she's a PT from Nova Scotia who teaches at a University there.  She was in LA because her husband, a UCLA Architecture grad, had been invited to speak at his alma mater.  AND she is a personal friend of Stephen Wolf, one of Emory's more distinguished PT faculty members.  The bus ride down was a relatively speedy ride of just over 1/2 hour!  As we headed back to my place, we stopped for Sprinkle's Cupcakes near Rodeo Drive, and Michelle pointed out all sorts of famous landmarks as we passed them, particularly through Hollywood, her stomping grounds.

And the rest of the week MIGHT fit in the next post!