Wednesday, May 09, 2007

sorry for the long overdue post. im having bad tough time with various electronic equipments:( first, my camera died on me. my trusty canon ixus finally sang her swan song after going through so much with me over the past 7+ months:( not having a camera while you are traveling is really like having no weapons to fight with when you (are a soldier) at battle. i had no choice but to buy one here in LA:( next, my laptop has not been able to connect to the wireless network at home!! i have no idea why:( i just hope that my laptop will not die on me next. in the meantime, i am learning how to use the other half's macbook - which is far too complicated for one who has been very accustomed to the common ways of the microsoft system. haha. but i should be thankful to have something to work with, so im not complaining;)

::rodeo drive::
this famous 3-block stretch of boutiques and shops along beverly hills, which is known as one of the most expensive shopping districts in the world, got its name from its use as a horse path in the early days until the early 1950s. rodeo drive reminds me of new york city's fifth avenue, but without the latter's tall and imposing buildings. short shop-houses, each with its unique exquisitely-designed exterior, line both sides of rodeo drive.
the beautiful rodeo drive - with palm trees aplenty, a characteristic sight in LA's beverly hills and bel air districts.

rows and rows of expensive boutiques, which the rich and famous frequent!

the other half had a field day looking at all the swanky cars along rodeo drive - it is not an uncommon sight to see ferraris, lamborghinis, maseratis, porsches, and stretches drive by. after a while, one might comment: it's just another one of those cars..

lunch was at nosh, a cosy american diner. the other half and i shared a bbq chicken burger, and a chilli beef stew! the latter was especially delicious:) the bread-like things in the bottom right photo are actually bagel chips! interesting.. i have never heard/seen/eaten them before!

drama!! as we were walking back to rodeo drive, we saw a fire break out in one of the buildings along beverly boulevard. there were so many fire engines and police cars rushing by. we could even hear people screaming from the balcony of the top floor of the building, and i even overheard one lady frantically calling her companion to check if he/she was in that building! thank God that the firefighters acted quite swiftly and they were at that point, already bringing people down to safety:) kudos to LAFD!!

at via rodeo - the 2nd part of rodeo drive!


via rodeo appears to be more spectacular - coz of its taller victorian-styled buildings and water fountains!

there were very nice (and obviously, very pricey) bistros there too!

the rodeo collection - a well-hidden enclave within rodeo drive. the shops there are mainly those that provide specialized services like health and medicine, spa, hair and beauty, and even an auction house!

one of the more interesting shops along beverly drive - a cheese store! it would be hard to miss it coz of the very pungent smell that emanates from within..

i was so happy to see a branch of the cheesecake factory along beverly drive:) the cheesecakes there are oh-so-heavenly! coz we were still very full from lunch, we decided to share a oreo mudslide cheesecake! it was sinfully delicious:) the other half was also very impressed with it!
the other half and i looking very satisfied - at the cheesecake factory!

::ucla campus tour part 2::

the beautiful royce hall - which has come to be the defining image of ucla, and is now used as a concert hall.

the intricate details in the royce hall - its awe-inspiring architecture was designed in the italian romanesque revival style and modeled after an italian basilica.

the powell library - the main college undergraduate library in ucla.

what i like about the universities in north america (in general), is their wide open spaces and courtyards where the students can hang out and enjoy the surrounding flora and fauna!

me - at ucla's school of law!

nice and pretty relaxed atmosphere at the ucla's law faculty (outside the classrooms only, for sure!) - look they even hold tutorials in the courtyard!



more of the various medicine/heath faculties in ucla!