LA
Back in cold, dark Iceland - it's nice to think back to the three weeks I spent in LA, trying to remember what the warmth of the sun feels like, and how easy it is to get up in the morning when the sun rises before 11 am.
I've heard LA is a city of illusion; I soon found this out for myself when I spotted a very alarming Beware of the Dog sign on a garden gate, and looked down to find a cute little pup staring up at me with soulful eyes. There is so much more to the city than just movies, in fact whatever you're looking for you can probably find it in LA. Here are a few of the things I got up to.
The Saturday before thanksgiving I was lucky enough to catch the Doo-Dah parade in Pasadena. It was described to me as the antidote to the very wholesome thanksgiving parades that happen all over the US. I've never been to one, but I can imagine - heavy emphasis on marching bands, drill teams whirling batons and the like. The music in the Doo-Dah parade is more likely to be accompanied by electric guitars and drums, their drill teams more likely to be dancing to YMCA. All in silly costumes. In fact the sillier the better,
On my last weekend in LA I took a walk through Griffith Park up to Griffith Observatory. The place was heaving - it was great to see so many people excited about the cosmos. Plenty of families of course, but also some young couples and some gangs of teenagers checking out the displays
On the walk back down a guy walking in front turned round to me and pointed a coyote on the trail ahead. Big excitement for me, coming from a country where the most dangerous wild animal can maybe give you a nasty nip. Soon enough the coyote made its way back into the undergrowth, and we went ahead waving our arms about all over the place to make ourselves look big. We saw no more sign of him (can't say I blame him - if I saw a couple of people waving their arms around like loonies I'd probably steer well clear myself).
To wrap things up I'd like to thank Clifford for providing me with one of the more surreal moments of my life - driving through LA with Madness on the stereo, trying to stop an apple pie sliding into my lap. Great times!
I've heard LA is a city of illusion; I soon found this out for myself when I spotted a very alarming Beware of the Dog sign on a garden gate, and looked down to find a cute little pup staring up at me with soulful eyes. There is so much more to the city than just movies, in fact whatever you're looking for you can probably find it in LA. Here are a few of the things I got up to.
The Saturday before thanksgiving I was lucky enough to catch the Doo-Dah parade in Pasadena. It was described to me as the antidote to the very wholesome thanksgiving parades that happen all over the US. I've never been to one, but I can imagine - heavy emphasis on marching bands, drill teams whirling batons and the like. The music in the Doo-Dah parade is more likely to be accompanied by electric guitars and drums, their drill teams more likely to be dancing to YMCA. All in silly costumes. In fact the sillier the better,
On my last weekend in LA I took a walk through Griffith Park up to Griffith Observatory. The place was heaving - it was great to see so many people excited about the cosmos. Plenty of families of course, but also some young couples and some gangs of teenagers checking out the displays
On the walk back down a guy walking in front turned round to me and pointed a coyote on the trail ahead. Big excitement for me, coming from a country where the most dangerous wild animal can maybe give you a nasty nip. Soon enough the coyote made its way back into the undergrowth, and we went ahead waving our arms about all over the place to make ourselves look big. We saw no more sign of him (can't say I blame him - if I saw a couple of people waving their arms around like loonies I'd probably steer well clear myself).
To wrap things up I'd like to thank Clifford for providing me with one of the more surreal moments of my life - driving through LA with Madness on the stereo, trying to stop an apple pie sliding into my lap. Great times!
posted by jess at 1:42 PM
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