A Visit to the ‘Hood.

 

All large cities have their neighborhoods or sections. San Francisco is divided into neighborhoods, like North Beach, the Mission, the Sunset… Honolulu  has Waikiki, Kalaha, Kaimuki.

Los Angeles has areas we know from TV and movies: Malibu!  Hollywood! Beverly Hills! Santa Monica!  However, there’s also the lesser known Silver Lake, Highland Park, Eagle Rock, Los Feliz, Atwater village..

Neighborhoods make life more manageable and easier to navigate. You shop at the markets, get your laundry done, go to the parks, eat in the neighborhood spots and life seems smaller instead of bigger. Even living in a big city can have a village feel. To see Marilyn’s ‘hood, check out these online photos which I downloaded to hold your interest

 

Marilyn has lived most of her adult life  in Los Feliz, and I learned to love it.. Los Feliz is the home of Griffith Park and the Observatory, which you  may have seen in “La La Land,” or other movies set here , with the  quintessential  view of the city.  Mickie Mouse was born in Los Feliz  because Walt Disney lived here.  The Gene Autry museum is here –   now that is something to see!  Didn’t every little boy want to be a cowboy?  There’s even a Shakespeare bridge.  The architecture of the homes is rich and varied, with a Frank Lloyd Wright creation squeezed in among the bungalows.  It’s possible to take Sunset Boulevard all the way to the ocean – no freeways needed.  The  ‘hood is  conveniently located right off highway 5, the freeway  that eventually will take you to San Francisco and Sacramento.

I like tradition, so every time I’d visit, we’d have my last meal of the trip – brunch –  at my favorite café, Figaro bistro.  It’s got it all: wonderful  ambiance  and reasonably priced tasty  French food and to-die-for baked goods, a rarity in an urban area. It’s very busy at nights with screenwriters rubbing elbows with actors, but the mornings are a quiet time there.   It’s also got that great French-y feel without the cost of the airfare – it almost feels like I’m in Paris – and that’s a good thing, too.  It’s all good.

Los Feliz has unique yet practical shops, like a great, fully stocked bookshop, an independent cinema or two, many restaurants of all types,  and clever and unique street art which evokes its history as part of “the industry” -film and music, that is.

There are so many things to do close by in this exciting town, composed of many diverse parts, and since I’ve been visiting on and off two to three times a year for more years than I care to remember, I’ll include my favorite things to do when I’m  there:

ENTERTAINMENT: 

-KARAOKE IN JAPANTOWN, downtown, at the Miyako hotel. It is a hoot to do this, although it takes a little time for the Japanese businessmen to get warmed up with their saki, but it can get quite lively.  There is something about being in a foreign environment that also loosens the tongues for Westerners as well, with or without adult beverages.

-MARTY AND ELAYNE are two performers who have been performing songs from the Great American songbook  in the same venue – the Dresden Room –  for over 35 years and are an institution in the Los Feliz area. “The sequined jumpsuit-clad married couple are the longest-running act in town,” according to the L.A. Times, and, “as Julia Roberts, who delivered a spontaneous rendition of ‘Makin’ Whoopee,’ Kiefer Sutherland bought a round for the entire bar.”

For non-touristy food choices,  I can recommend two places:

if you like French-dipped sandwiches and other comfort food, go to Philippe’s sandwich shop on North Alameda in Chinatown.  It’s been in business since 1908 and purports to be the home of the “original” French dip sandwich. Reasonable prices.

Another reasonably priced place that has been an institution since the 1920s is Taix French restaurant  on Sunset Boulevard, which serves classic French cuisine in  the Echo Park-Silver Lake area.

As Marilyn drives me to the airport, I’m reminded of  one final L.A. story from her brother George.  He was getting off a plane as he flew from the Bay Area  to Burbank airport in the late 70s and he saw Bob Hope, of all people, getting off in front of him.  Bob had had quite a bit to drink, either on the plane or beforehand, and was staggering around a bit. His son met him and the first thing that Bob said to him was “I’ll drive, son,”as he quickly grabbed the car keys out of the reach of his son and weaved his way into the driver’s seat of the car.  George never forgot the incident and when ever he saw Bob Hope on TV he’d say, “I’ll drive son!”

As I am leaving the airport, now emblazoned with his name, I never forget that story.

Here’s to safe travels for us all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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