Welcome to L.A.-la land

Los Angeles has something for everyone. If it is fashion you want then LA is the destination for you head to the fashion district downtown. Here you’ll find great fabrics for low prices.

Search online to get tickets for the game show, TV shows, and talk show tapings.

Quick Tips:

The biggest thing you have to keep in mind when traveling in Los Angeles is your safety. Downtown Los Angeles isn’t the place that you want to be at night. When you arrive it may seem safe, but please take a piece from someone who lives here, this place is extremely dangerous. Some streets are pretty safe, but if you take a wrong turn all of a sudden you are in a very bad area. I suggest avoiding the flower district and the warehouse district. Also don’t go into the fashion district before 9am (when everything opens) and get out by dusk. I’ve never had big issues when I was there, but I have been followed by people. My school feels so strongly about the issue of safety that they have set up an escort service so that we have security walking with us at night or in the early morning to the fashion district.

Best Way To Get Around:

The first thing you need to know is that Los Angeles is HUGE. There are several ways to get around the city but all have their pros and cons. First are taxis. The best place to find one is to either call for one or pick one up at a major hotel. They will get you places quicker then a bus, but it will cost you a lot. The price can really rack up because a 10-mile drive from Downtown LA to the Beverly Center can easily take 30 to 45 minutes.

There is also an extensive transit system. The plus side is that it is the cheapest way to travel, but it is the slowest. If you take the bus keep made sure that you keep a map of the routes with you because it is very easy to get confused and lost. They are also unreliable. Although most run 10 minutes apart you can easily wait 10 minutes to three hours for your bus to show up (this is from experience). Also make sure that you know when the bus stops running. It is really easy to miss you bus and be stuck with a few miles to walk.

Another form of travel is by subway. The subway runs regularly, is cheap, and quick. You get tickets once you arrive at the station. You are given the option of a one-way or all day pass, which is only . If you are planning to make more then 2 stops this ticket pays for itself. The only draw back to the subway is that it doesn’t cover nearly as much ground as the buses do, but it will get you to some great places.

Finally the best way to travel, in my opinion, is to drive. If you are an adrenalin seeker or want to practice for when you try out for NASCAR this is the way to go. Map Quest is a very reliable source of directions, so just print them out and go. The biggest draw back to driving is parking. I am convinced that if you want to get a picture of what Hell is like parking in LA ranks somewhere on the top ten list. Some places offer parking, other offer parking garages which will charge you an arm and leg, or you can park at a meter.

One of my favorite things about Los Angeles is that you never know what you’ll find around the corner. On Fig Street, near the Bank of America on Avenue 55 there is a small bakery. It looks like a hole in the wall, but the aroma of sweet and freshly made Mexican pastries fill the street. The smell is so great that it pulls everyone off of the street who is walking by.

Inside there are cases of donuts, breads, cakes, and pastries to choose from. There is even a piece of paper on each case that tells what the pastry is and what is made of. While there I had a delicious donut like pastry with cheese in the center. The donut was covered with sugar and like and puffy. The best part is how cheap everything is. My pastry was only $0.65. They also sell other items like bread, cakes, and flan all of which are made in house. Most of the people who shop there come by daily to pick up fresh white and whole bread that is also made in house, and that is constantly being brought out form the back to fill the case. And at an astounding 20 cents per bun it’s hard to turn down.

When you enter you just go to the front counter, pick up a tray and tongs, and then go pick out whatever you want to eat. There are no tables or chairs in the bakery to sit so everything is meant to eat on the go. The staff there also mainly speak Spanish, but if you have questions they can always find someone to translate. If you are in the highland park area, or are driving from Downtown to Pasadena stop by.

The Beverly center is a fashionesta’s dream. Designer clothing is everywhere. The Beverly Center offers five levels of parking and three levels of shopping. Stores include everything from Betsey Johnson, Apple, Bebe, Bloomingdale’s, D&G, Coach, Forever 21, DKNY, Footlocker, MAC, Macy's, Sephora, and so many more. There is even a Hello Kitty store where you can buy all the Sanrio stuff you want.

There is even a movie theater on the 8th level.

The website offers an interactive map of the Beverly Center as well as more information about parking and guest services. www.beverlycenter.com

If this isn’t enough shopping for you then you can head out to 3rd street to do some shopping. There are a bunch of cute little boutiques and places to eat. You can find vintage clothing, name brands, and small designers. It’s a fun way to spend a few hours of your day.

If you don’t want to spend so much money by parking in the parking garage at the Beverly Center, street parking is an option that you can take. A quarter is 30 minutes. Most places are limited to 2 hour parking. It also can be pretty hard to find. If you are looking for street parking after 11am it’s pretty hard.

There is no greater icon of Americana than Hollywood. Walking down Hollywood Boulevard seems to take anyone out of their life and whisk them away to a land where dreams of fame and fortune can come true. The Hollywood Walk of Fame winds its way though the streets of Hollywood, taking anyone with a few minutes to spare on an exciting hunt to find their favorite actors, singers, and directors.

Each star has a different sign on it that represents one of the following:
-Motion picture camera for contribution to the film industry
-Television set for contribution to the broadcast television industry
-Phonograph record for contribution to the recording industry
-Radio microphone for contribution to the broadcast radio industry
-Twin comedy/tragedy masks for contribution to live theater

A directory of stars as well as when upcoming dedications are check out the website www.hollywoodchamber.net/icons/walk_directory.asp
The walk passes by the famous Mann’s Chinese Theater and the Kodak Theater, which is the tourist hub of Hollywood.

Outside the theater are the famous cement footprints and handprints of stars. Here you can also find people dressed up like everything from Darth Vader and Jason to Marilyn Monroe and Tinkerbell offering to take their picture with you. Buyer beware: they will charge you for this privilege. One of my favorite things about walking around here is that you're almost guaranteed to score free tickets to a game show or talk show that is filming in the area. If that isn’t something that you want to do, then you might opt to take a tour of Hollywood. Many sightseeing tours take off from outside the theaters. If you want to avoid the craziness of the streets for a while, the Chinese Theater offers tours.

Next door there are a slew of shops ranging from Hot Topic to the Build-A-Bear Workshop to browse though. Or if you are hungry there are just as many places to grab a snack. I suggest trying the California Pizza Kitchen. Sit outside to enjoy a view of the Hollywood sign.

Nearby there are more places to visit, like Ripley’s Believe It or Not and the wax museum.

I love zoos, but the LA Zoo really let me down. Maybe it was the weather (the zoo was shut down a 2pm due to the Santa Ana winds) or that many of the exhibits were closed, but I wasn’t feeling this zoo. First the LA zoo is located in Griffin Park and is easily accessible for the 5 highway. It’s $10 to enter and parking is free. Get there early because lines get long. Alison and I waited 30 minutes to get tickets. Once inside the gates we passed though the international market to head to other areas of the zoo. They have everything from monkeys to elephants, but were missing my favorites, the polar bears. They exhibits aren’t set up so that they allow for great viewing. Most of the exhibits have high bushes surrounding them, which are hard to see over, and I’m 5’ 2" or they are on a hill and the viewing area is on the bottom. I watched in terror I saw kids climbing on the fence and one almost falling into the alligator exhibit. The whole time parents watching or encouraging the child so they didn’t have to lift them up to see.

The other thing that really turned me off was the state of disrepair that the park was in. Overall it looked pretty dirty and there was graffiti everywhere. Even in the beautiful bamboo zoo there was graffiti carved into all of the stalks of bamboo. It’s no wonder the park that is in the condition it is in because the only employees that I saw were at the food stands. The food at the park was much cheaper then expected. I got onion rings for $3. A kids meal was under $6 and the ice cream ranged from $2-$4. There is also a tram that goes around the park. You pay a one-time fee of $4 and ride all day. This is a decent choice if someone in your group can’t do a lot of walking, but otherwise it is unnecessary. The park can be done in three hours and there are plenty of areas to rest.

Los Angeles is the city of illusion; as in things often seem much more grand than they actually are. Most of the sights can be seen in only a few minutes. In one day my friends and I went to Hollywood and Universal City Walk.

I would highly recommend that you purchase a 1-day pass for the Metro. It only costs $3, and it is good for a full day. The metro is LA’s subway system and is very easy to figure out. The are several lines:

Red Line: Goes to North Hollywood
Blue Line: Heads to Long Beach and LAX
Gold Line: Heads to Pasadena
Green Line: Goes to Redondo Beach and Norwalk
Purple: Heads to Mid-Wilshire

The hub for the subway is Union Station, which is located in downtown Los Angeles. Amtrak can also be picked up here. The subway system is extremely easy to use regardless if you have used public transportation before or not.
When you enter any station there are machines where you can get your ticket. Just follow the hit the buttons for the type of ticket you want ticket (senior, one-way, ride all day) that you want. Once you choose your ticket there is a slot where you can insert your money. The ticket and change will pop out on the tray below where the money is inserted.

There are maps on the wall that show which line goes where and all the stops on the way. I recommend that you take a few minutes and plan your stops. From there follow the signs to whichever line it is that you want to get on. Unlike the bus system, the subway runs regularly. You will rarely wait more than 15 minutes to get on the subway.

Once you are on board there are maps showing the stops along that line. They will also announce which stop you are at and which stop is next. The train runs every 15minutes and is rarely late. The direction that the train is heading will be posted on the side of the train (ex Union Station, Hollywood, etc.). Once on the train each stop will be announced and the train will also stop at each station.