Reunited

This past week, my old roommates, Julia and Dylan, visited! Since sophomore year, these two (in addition to my suite) have become like my second family. And let me tell you, it was such a joy to see family.

Unfortunately, I had to work during the week, but I sent them on their own LA adventures during the day and hung out with them at night. Luckily we had all of Saturday (and luckily Dylan rented a Zipcar for two days--although they got to experience LA public transportation as well) to visit other sites.

On Wednesday night, I took them to a local Mexican restaurant called La Cabana which has a great atmosphere and delicious Mexican food (and $30 pitchers of margarita!) and then we went to Roosterfish, the only gay bar in Venice, where they had $3 margaritas that night. Thursday night (I was stuck at work until 8. Booooo) we went over to Santa Monica, and thankfully my roommate James drove us, or else it would've taken forever to get there by bus. We walked along the Third Street Promenade, and then we ate at a place called Buddha's Belly, which was a cross between P.F. Chang's and Wagamama. By the time we finished dinner, the pier was closed. I blame work. So we called it a night and headed back. Friday night, my office actually had a holiday party at my boss's house, so I brought Julia and Dylan as my guests and had a fantastic dinner. We left early to go experience the nightlife in LA (my first time actually), so Dylan drove us to The Abbey in WeHo. Good vibe and nice mix of people, but drinks were so expensive ($10 for a fuzzy navel!!). At least the drink was strong.

Saturday was a great day. We woke up early and headed to breakfast at Cafe 50's, my current favorite dive for a cheap breakfast. After that, I was determined to have them experience Santa Monica Pier, so we drove up there for an hour and played at the arcade (actually, only I played games...), rode on the roller coaster, and played a carnival game (and I won a monkey!).

Our next stop was the Schindler House by Richard Schindler. We were fortunate enough to have a docent there who gave us a tour of the house and explained the history of it. I think we would have gotten lost inside because the house is divided for two families, and both sides look almost identical from inside. I loved the house though. I think the head height was maybe 6 or 7 feet, so the three of us, who are around 5'2" and 5'3", felt like giants! The house was definitely influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright, who Schindler worked for for a brief time. It had a great outside space defined by its varying elevations, and the interior and exterior flowed nicely thanks to the sliding doors that opened up the rooms.

Initially our next destination was supposed to be the Stahl House, but unfortunately, they weren't offering any daytime tours that day, so instead, we went to the Griffith Observatory, which is located on Mount Hollywood. From the top, you get fantastic views of the entire city. Our timing was perfect; we arrived around 3:30 and stayed until the sun set at 4:45. The weather that day was beautiful--74 and sunny with a few clouds to decorate the sky. The exhibits inside were interesting as well, but we were just captivated by the view.

After the sun went down, we headed to the Getty Center. I was happy that it was clear out this time because my last visit was rainy and cloudy. We didn't really go into the buildings, but I was amazed by the view of the city! We really lucked out with the weather this weekend.

Sadly, it was time for them to leave. I drove them to the airport, returned the Zipcar, took the bus home, and passed out for the night.

Today was a lazy Sunday. It was a perfect beach day (80 degrees and sunny) but I had to work on grad school apps (which are due SO soon! Where did my time go?!). But don't worry; I left some time for me to enjoy myself. When I sent Julia and Dylan to visit the Venice Canals earlier this week, they found out that there would be a boat parade on Sunday, so that's what I did in the afternoon/evening. It was my first time attending a parade, and it was definitely interesting. Very kitschy and eclectic... some of the floats didn't make any sense (like an army tank?) but some were awesome (a whole live band playing on the canal!). Good way to end the weekend.

Next up... Seattle!