Moving Out and LA: The Last Bookstore, Central Library and the Hollywood Museum.

The semester and the academic part of my year abroad had come to an end. After the most amazing time living the American dorm life I had to move out and onto the next phase of the year. It was really sad to say goodbye to so many people but it was made easier by the fact that my friend Abbi had finished her year in North Carolina and had come to stay with me for the weekend. It was kind of chaotic as I had to pack up all my stuff and move but we managed to fit in some fun things that weekend and it made my transition easier. I had about a month before I had to leave Long Beach and head home and I wanted to make the most of my time left. 

On Thursday, after handing in my final essay of the year we went to pick up Abbi from LA. I then showed her around the Long Beach campus and took her to 2nd street where we had one of my American food favourites, Yogurtland! The next day I showed Abbi downtown Long Beach and we relaxed in the sun with a smoothie at Shoreline Village. On Saturday which was a really nice day, I took her to Huntington Beach where we had a lovely walk along the beach, the pier and also around the shops.

Views from Huntington Pier:

On the Sunday, Abbi, Sara and I took the Metro to LA. We visited a cool spot called the Last Bookstore where we had fun seeing the unusual set-up, the impressive building and looking at the books. There are also some interesting shops and art pieces to see. It is definitely worth a visit to see the quirky arty side of LA. 

The Last Bookstore:

Colour-coordinated:

We decided to continue our book theme by going to see LA's library, a 1920s building, as shown by its architectural features. The Library is surrounded by LA's downtown skyscrapers which are quite a contrast. The library, although somewhat dwarfed by the surrounding structures, is an example of the LA area's rise to importance at the beginning of the 20th century. The building holds its own amongst the modern and this is also shown by the interior which has impressive artwork covering the walls and ceilings which was completed in 1933.

"In the world of affairs we live in our own age, In books we live in all ages."

The Hollywood Museum was next on our to-do list and well worth a visit to experience some of Hollywood's history and also view its impressive collections of costumes, props and autographs. Hollywood, with its extraordinary reputation, can be somewhat underwhelming if you just visit the Walk of Fame. However, visiting places like the Hollywood Museum make you realise you are in the iconic and creative place where so many films have been made and where so many stars have lived and worked.

The museum building itself was originally owned by Max Factor, who was the original make-up artist to Hollywood's actors and actresses. Opening in 1935, designed in an art deco style, the building became a place where make-up was now acceptable for the higher classes and many stars went there to be prepared for their roles. Inside the museum are old make-up sets and brushes used by the stars and also authentic make-up rooms where actresses such as Marilyn Monroe were transformed into the iconic images we know today. There is also an invention of Max Factor's, The Beauty Calibration Machine, which spotted where corrections needed to be made with make-up, showing just how innovative for the times Max Factor was.

The Hollywood Museum:

Max Factor Make Up:

The Max Factor Beauty Calibration Machine:

The museum has many of the most iconic props and costumes in film and television history, including Dorothy's Red Shoes from The Wizard of Oz, boxing gloves from Rocky and the red swimming costumes from Baywatch. It also features a piece of the original HollywoodLand sign which stood from 1923 to 1978.  The sign deteriorated over the years as it was intended to stand for less than 18 months, not for over 50 years, however it continued to represent the film industry. It was decided in 1978 that it was to be replaced with a long-standing structure due to its iconic significance and today it remains one of the most important landmarks in Los Angeles.

Dorothy's Red Shoes:

A Piece of the Original HollywoodLand Sign:

There are items featured from Hollywood's beginnings to its most recent productions. The museum has featured items from TV shows as recent as Breaking Bad, Modern Family, Once Upon a Time and The Walking Dead. The combination of the restoration of the Max Factor building with its purpose as a museum in which you can learn about the rich history of Hollywood makes this one of the best attractions for the film industry in LA.

Breaking Bad Costume and props:

A LOST Costume:

Next up: Road trip up the Pacific Coast Highway to Santa Monica, Malibu and Santa Barbara!

March 22/23: Venice Beach and Mission San Juan Capistrano.

Time. That word is constantly on my mind. I don't have much of it left here in the USA, I have to make every second of it count, and I have to fit in as many exciting things as possible. The past seven weeks have been so hectic that I have struggled to do blog entries, and so here I am attempting to catch up again! I promised myself that I would complete this blog, and so I intend to do so no matter how late it happens. I hope you have enjoyed reading my past entries and continue to do so with these next few. I still have more adventures to come, and here are some that have happened since March, this is the first of four catch-up entries.

After going to watch our basketball team play in the Big West tournament at the Honda Center, and also celebrating 3 birthdays in the previous week, on March 22nd we finally made the trip to Venice Beach, which certainly did not disappoint. It has a reputation for its cool and relaxed vibe and its weird and wacky street shows. It is definitely different to anywhere I have ever experienced before and is worth a visit. I'd really like to go back again. The boardwalk fulfilled expectations with its crazy atmosphere and this included not being able to escape the smell of weed, but I think that just became a part of the Venice experience! It was also very cool to see the world-famous Muscle Beach. It was just like the image created by its reputation, shirtless men everywhere!

I had read in my guidebook that there were men on rollerblades who went up and down the boardwalk playing electric guitars. I was excited to actually see one and take a photo. His quirkiness sums up Venice Beach! Another funny musical highlight from the day was repeatedly seeing a man who was playing baby reggae music, which he was trying to sell, walking up and down. It wasn't a mixture of songs, it was just reggae "Incy Wincy Spider" on repeat. We must have seen him about ten times that day, and that song remained stuck in my head for the rest of the day!

One of the things I loved most about Venice was the murals. Being very interested in art I always like to see new street art, and Venice certainly provided an abundance, variety and a lot of colour as shown in these photos below.

One of the street vendors' work:

Another highlight was seeing some dancers called the LA Breakers, they were pretty amazing at what they do and seemed to make a substantial amount of money from the crowd!

The next day I met up with family from Seattle who were down in California for Spring Break. Firstly, we went to Huntington Beach where there was a Beach Cruiser car show which was really interesting as you got to see cars as old as the first Fords. Here's a photo of a very beachy Volkswagen which had a straw roof, very Huntington Beach!

We looked around and spotted some local wildlife such as this bird, and then hung around on the beach for a while before heading to lunch.

After lunch we headed down the coast along Pacific Coast Highway to Mission San Juan Capistrano, which founded in 1776, has some of the oldest buildings in California and the oldest buildings I've seen since I got here! Missions were initially used to encourage Native Americans to practise Christianity and were the first real attempt by Europeans to colonise the region on the west coast. I loved finally seeing some history, it was very beautiful.

I love the not very enthusiastic slogan "Worth a Visit," but it definitely is:

The ruins of the "Great Stone Church," which was devastated by an earthquake in 1812:

The bells of the mission:

The mission is famous for its annual "Return of the Swallows." It is said that the swallows flock to San Juan Capistrano on March 19th every year.

The "Sacred Garden":

The Baroque altar of the Serra Chapel, which is the oldest building in California still in use:

That weekend was one to remember; I saw two completely opposite sides of California, one modern and crazy, the other traditional and with religious elements. It was great to spend it both with friends and family, and I'm grateful I got to see such interesting places.

Hope you enjoyed reading, 3 more catch up blog entries to follow! Next up Spring Break!

Jen

Huntington Beach

The day after LA I went to Huntington Beach for lunch. It was one of the hottest days there had been in SoCal for a while so it was a great day to be there. There appeared to be a kite competition on. Here are a few photos:

More posts to come!

Beverly Hills, The Grove and LACMA.

Here's a short post as I'm trying to catch up!

On March 7th I took another trip to LA with Sonnee and Sara. We decided to go on a tour which took us up near the Hollywood sign, showed us around Beverly Hills, the star's houses, down Sunset Blvd and then dropped us off at the Farmers Market. This was a great way to see the city and we had a great tour guide who made the experience really fun. It was definitely worth the money and waking up at 6am to get there! 

A few highlights from the tour:

The famous Beverly Hills Hotel:

Leonardo DiCaprio's house on the right:

 Madonna's house:

An odd thing to find in the middle of Beverly Hills, The Spadena House, also known as the Witch's House:

 The new Beverly Hills Sign:

We were dropped off at the Farmers Market where we had some lunch and then looked around the Grove which is right next door. The Grove is known for its nice shops and restaurants.

The Farmers Market:

The Grove:

We then walked a few blocks down to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, better known as LACMA, where we had a look around. It's a great museum and really worth a visit.

"Levitated Mass" - Michael Heizer:

"Smoke" - Tony Smith

"Campbell's Soup Can" - Andy Warhol

"Penetrable" - Jesus Rafael Soto:

 "Urban Light" - Chris Burden:

More posts to follow!