::last day in LA: farmers' market & hollywood::
after visting la brea tar pits, i decided to head down to the farmers' market and the grove (both located adjacent to each other). this being my one of my favorite-st place in LA, it was only fitting that i pay a visit there before i leave LA!
i just love the farmers' market - for their so many many interesting foodstuff, their so very fresh produce, their sinfully delightful pastries and the general gastronomically-conducive atmosphere that would make a glut like me so very happy:)
actually, this is the main reason why im at the farmers' market - the gumbo pot, my favourite stall there!!
i really love these stews - which hail from new orleans!
lunch was very satisfying:) i had a bowl of seafood gumbo stew, with spicy collard greens salad and corn bread! yummydelicious:) but i still think gumbo ya-ya's nicer!
after lunch, i went to the grove - i love looking around in the unique shops here! and of course, the shopping too;) the grove is so conveniently located next to the farmers' market. eating good food and shopping rank among my (and generally, any other girl's) favourite pastimes - no wonder it's one of my favorite-st place in LA!
yay! the other half was finally free after lunch to meet me:) we headed down to hollywood! here's us in front of the grauman's chinese theatre! i really wanted to watch a movie there - coz it is THE place where a lot of high profile movies premiere at - for example, most recently, ocean's 13! this theatre along hollywood boulevard is a very popular choice of venue for movie premieres because it is believed that a movie that premieres at the chinese theatre would do very well at the box office - coz the place apparently has good fengshui (due to the many dragon scupltures displayed in its premises)!
coldstone creamery delight!
the other half had chocolate ice-cream, mixed in with riese peanut butter cups!
and i had coffee ice-cream, mixed in with graham's pie crusts! ahhh. it was goooooood:)
incidentally, the american idol final was held that evening!
the influx of the paparazzi, camera flashes, security guards and barricades everywhere - contributed to the excitement to the atmosphere as people tried to catch a glimpse of their idols - at the kodak theatre!
amidst all the frenzy, the other half and i headed to the french crepe company at hollywood - for our last dinner together in LA!
the very tasty seafood crepe!
savoury crepe - with fresh strawberries, peaches and nutella!! yum.
the other half and i - watching the show vacancy at the chinese theatre! the movie was real bad, but i guess the company more than made up for it;) this photo that we took in the theatre turned out quite weird though - with all the funny lights and stuff?
the nice decor at the chinese theatre! maybe that explains why watching a movie here is more expensive than that elsewhere:/
9:29 AM
and now, continuing with my updates..
::la brea tar pits::
la brea tar pits is located in the miracle mile/musuem square district in LA, which as its name suggests, is home to many musuems! the la brea tar pits is located in the rancho la brea area, where asphalt (the sticky and black semi-solid/liquid substance in crude oil) has been seeping out of the ground for the past 40,000 years (up till today!)!
the la brea tar pits is located in the hancock park..
the lake pit in the hancock park - which used to be an abandoned quarry (where asphalt was mined during the 19th century). it is now filled with rain water and the seepage of groundwater. while the lake pit is beautified with life-sized fiberglass models of the columbian mammoths, the yucky terrible smell of tar permeates the air around it!
it was quite amazing to see so many bubbles of natural gas (methane) continuously escaping through the fissures of the lake! the production of methane is apparently due to the breaking down of asphalt by microbes in the lake pit. this phenomenon has excited scientists who are trying to find ways to utilize these microbes to clear oil spills.
asphalt seeping out from the ground EVERYWHERE!!
including various parts of the hancock park - these areas where asphalt seep out of the ground, have to be enclosed by barricades - for safety purposes!
but there are just too many of these areas to be taken care of - as such, there are many small areas that are left as that.
the easy access to asphalt has motivated the public to display their "artistic talents" by using asphalt to draw graffiti on this tree..
one of the six excavation pits in hancock park - where asphalt has been excavated by scientists, for research purposes. asphalt is so highly valued by scientists because they contain (and preserve) the fossilized remains of a great variety of plant fragments and ancient mammals. apparently, the evidence is so extensive and complete enough, that scientists are able to reconstruct the environment that existed in the la brea rancho 12,000-40,000 years ago.
bubbles of methane gas were discernible in the excavation pits as well!
oops - restricted area.
pit 91 - started in 1969, this is the longest on-going urban paleontological excavation site in the world. but it sure looks very dirty?! it is interesting how the excavations are only conducted during the summer months from early july until the beginning of september every year! the volunteer guide told us that there are really too much fossilized remains to be excavated - so they can really afford to take their own sweet time?!
the observation pit - where the public can be up close and personal with an excavated pit. the scientists have also duly identified the different fossils.
the entrance to the page musuem at the la brea tar pits, is graced by 4 sabre-toothed tigers in action.
skeletons (of mammals) galore!
of which even the most massive mammals
would be reduced to this..
the most common fossils found in the la brea rancho is the dire wolf specie - in order to accommodate most of their fossilized remains, only their skulls are represented in the musuem display..
on-going research done at the world famous "fishbowl" laboratory inside the museum - where visitors can see the scientists and volunteers clean, examine, restore and catalog the fossils after they have been excavated from the asphalt.
vistors were also able to experience how difficult it is to get out of an asphalt tar pit, when you get stuck in it - by pulling a pole from an asphalt pool. it seriously requires a lot of strength! that is probably the reason why so many fossilized remains are present in the asphalt. many wandering animals (in the past - and even now) would unknowingly venture onto the abundant asphalt pools in the la brea rancho - and would often find themselves trapped, to die inside it.1:08 AM
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
and yes.. i will continue to updating my very long overdue posts..
::abbott kinney & westside pavillion::
named after the founder of the venice canals, this market street is bustling with local shops and restaurants unique to the area. the abbott kinney blvd is lined with one-of-a-kind boutiques and cafes - there are no chain stores/restaurants there!
one of the more interesting chic boutiques - which dominate the street!
there was even a characteristic-red-london-telephone-booth model outside the uk fashion apparel boutique!
more sights along the abbott kinney.. which has a very bohemian yet neighbourhood feel to it!
at the end of the street, we came across a scientology temple. there are so many scientology temples around LA! i cant remember if i mention this before, but in hollywood, there are even advertisements, to attract people to join scientology. its followers are also stationed along the hollywood blvd, where IQ quizzes are handed out for people to take, to determine if they are suitable to join the scientology church?! madness. LA is really a place where scientology thrives!
ACCIDENT!! after we covered the abbott kinney, the other half and i headed down to the westside pavillion, an urban-style shopping mall in west LA. on the way there (when we were just outside the univ of santa monica), the bus that we were on, got into an accident with another car (as shown on the picture above)!!
there was a loud thud and the bus shooooook. the (rather nasty) lady driver of the white car came up the bus and made a lot of noise. the poor busdriver (who really wasnt at fault) was dragged down the bus to assess the damages and settle the accident claim form with the lady:/
because the other half and i were sitting at the 2nd last row on the bus, we sorta saw what happened. in a nutshell, the lady who was driving behind the bus wanted to overtake the bus. because of her miscalculation, she caused a side swipe with the bus. her driver's side mirror was crushed and her right front door was badly scratched and dented. thank God no one was hurt! the busdriver later got the other half and i to be his eye-witnesses, and made us fill out this form! it is interesting how the other half and i ended up getting involved in this! but we were happy to be able to help (or rather, defend) the poor busdriver:) how drama..
the damage sustained by the white car - i was hiding behind the other half, while taking this photo - coz i was quite afraid that the nasty lady would come after me upon seeing my attempt at taking a photo of her damaged car! haha. man i felt like a paparazzi/reporter/photographer?!
after taking my photo, the other half and i hurriedly got onto another bus and finally arrived at our destination - westside pavillion! i think the best thing about this shopping mall is that there is a guess boutique there - that sells apparels and accessories at really-low-factory-outlet prices!! much thanks to amy who shared this shopping tip/secret with me;) heh.
other than that, it was a quite an ordinary shopping mall..
dinner was at apple pan - a highly recommended restaurant in our LA travelling guidebook!
i really liked the typical american diner set up of the restaurant! as u can see, it was full-house at this very popular diner! the other half and i had to wait for about half an hour just to get seats!
to think that the antiquated cash register box is still in use!
the other half and i - at the apple pan, eagerly waiting for our food to be served - coz we were famished!!
food oh glorious food!! typical diner foodfare - burgers and fries. the burgers were sooo delicious! this is by far the best american diner that i have been to (in terms of food and ambience!) :) since we were at the apple pan, we couldnt resist trying their specialty namesake dessert - the apple pie!
interestingly, drinks there are served in a funnel-like holder!
we love apple pan:)12:10 AM