L.A. help please

[foodguy]

Originally Posted by acecow

I respect your opinion, but The Edison and Wurstküche alone warrant spending a night there. The art-walks on Thursdays are fun, as well as the free movies they show in Pershing square. Disney Hall and Dorothy Chandler are great, and after a night there we always go to one of the wine bars or restaurants in DTLA. I think you are stuck in the past a little. DTLA has improved drastically over the past 5 years.

dude, he's vacationing with KIDS. as much as i love wurstkuche (and work right around the corner from the edison), those are not places a kid would like. disney hall would be a great walk-through on the way from disneyland to universal. NOTE: the theme park thing would not be my choice, but that is where OP seems to be heading.

 

[acecow]

Originally Posted by foodguy

dude, he's vacationing with KIDS. as much as i love wurstkuche (and work right around the corner from the edison), those are not places a kid would like. disney hall would be a great walk-through on the way from disneyland to universal. NOTE: the theme park thing would not be my choice, but that is where OP seems to be heading.
Oh, that's right. The kids... I somehow missed that part. Well, Disney Land then.

Or take 'em to Six Flags. They love that stuff. P.S. As a kid, I'd love Wurstkuche, but who would let me in?!

 

[foodguy]

i'd let you in and i'd buy you a beer. then i'd make you dance outside for nickels.

 

[bringusingoodale]

Originally Posted by acecow

I respect your opinion, but The Edison and Wurstküche alone warrant spending a night there. The art-walks on Thursdays are fun, as well as the free movies they show in Pershing square. Disney Hall and Dorothy Chandler are great, and after a night there we always go to one of the wine bars or restaurants in DTLA. I think you are stuck in the past a little. DTLA has improved drastically over the past 5 years.

I couldn't agree more with you. In fact you described a pretty fun night out for me, sans artwalk (bleh...). I live in Boyle Heights, so going to Wurstkuche or any bar in Dtown is great.


Except that I more often than not find that most new people to LA are horribly disappointed with Dtown because of their expectations. Most people expect a bustling, well, Downtown with shops like the Gap or Saks and the like and diners and restaurants serving people until at least 2am. Think San Francisco, NY, hell even Houston.

And forget about catching a bus or train after midnight expecting to catch your other connecting bus/train if you are going across town.

 

[acecow]

Originally Posted by bringusingoodale

Except that I more often than not find that most new people to LA are horribly disappointed with Dtown because of their expectations. Most people expect a bustling, well, Downtown with shops like the Gap or Saks and the like and diners and restaurants serving people until at least 2am. Think San Francisco, NY, hell even Houston.

I agree, it's definitely not as lively. That's why expectations are generally evil.

Originally Posted by bringusingoodale

And forget about catching a bus or train after midnight expecting to catch your other connecting bus/train if you are going across town.

What? Bus? Train?

What is that? You mean I don't have to drive home drunk every time?

 

[KenRose]

plus 1 on Pizzeria Mozza

Originally Posted by cairomerta

Pizzeria Mozza by Mario betali is a must in LA. The best pizza. Make reservation now because this place is always freaking reserved. Kids will love it too and they have sone very sophisticated pizzas for adults. Check out their menu.

There is the Camarillo outlets where Neiman Marcus last call is. That's about 1 hour away. Link is here;

http://www.premiumoutlets.com/brands/index.asp?catid=1

Definitley do disneyland

Robertson blvd for wife

Rodeo drive to at least see

Eat at la petit four on sunset blvd on Friday night. Wide sidewalk, lots of cool cars, dressed up people and a cool scene. Sit on the patio.

Drink coffee at the famous urth cafe where they film entourage

See the Hollywood sign from the Griffith observatory. Cool space museum and the Kids will looooove this

 

[mordecai]

griffith observatory + planetarium show, whether with kids or without.

 

[yellman]

I am really on the fence about this. We are there for 10 days. I understand it is about a 5-6 hour drive to san fran. Is it worth it to drive there and back to experience san fran or is there enough for us to do in la and area for the 10 odd days.

Please let me know your thoughts.

 

[Butter]

Great contributions here, gents.


Need to start checking out these places myself!

 

[mordecai]

Originally Posted by yellman

I am really on the fence about this. We are there for 10 days. I understand it is about a 5-6 hour drive to san fran. Is it worth it to drive there and back to experience san fran or is there enough for us to do in la and area for the 10 odd days. Please let me know your thoughts.
there is not ten days worth of anything to do in san francisco. you can bang that place out in a four days, including marin county. also, what is the big deal with wurstkuche? a ******* hot dog bar with a dj? it's so cheesy and date rapey. plus all the hot dogs taste kind of the same, despite the esoteric wildlife that was killed in order to make this novelty crap.

 

[Butter]

Originally Posted by mharwitt

there is not ten days worth of anything to do in san francisco. you can bang that place out in a four days, including marin county.

+1

Not to mention the drive itself will eat up 2 days. You are much better off having a relaxing vacation in Los Angeles. There is enough to do here.

Disney will probably be more than a day alone. There's also LA Zoo here which is nice to take kids. You can rent bikes and go up and down the beach which is also nice.

 

[mordecai]

Originally Posted by Butter

+1 Not to mention the drive itself will eat up 2 days. You are much better off having a relaxing vacation in Los Angeles. There is enough to do here. Disney will probably be more than a day alone. There's also LA Zoo here which is nice to take kids. You can rent bikes and go up and down the beach which is also nice.
i'm not a big fan of the zoo, but that little free park with all the old trains next door is nice for kids. huntington gardens are another good option, followed by a trip to the armory in pasadena and a walk through old town. i loved old town when i was little.

 

[foodguy]

my short spiel on los angeles as a vacation spot (based on having lived here for 25 years) ... take your time and slow down. the kids will want to do the themes and you should. but the best, most interesting and most fun parts of southern california only come to you when you take the time to recognize them. ride bikes on the beach, take walks in gardens (descanso, huntington) or nature areas (bolsa chica). tour some of the ethnic neighborhoods ... san gabriel valley (chinese), koreatown, thaitown, little saigon, etc.

 

[cairomerta]

I would go to San Diego instead of San Fran because of the time you have. It's a 2.5 hour drive and you can check out sea world with the kids. That's definitely worth it.

 

[foodguy]

Originally Posted by cairomerta

I would go to San Diego instead of San Fran because of the time you have. It's a 2.5 hour drive and you can check out sea world with the kids. That's definitely worth it.
san diego is a good idea, particularly if you're going to spend part of the time in oc/disneyland. also the sd zoo, wild animal park and legoland ... you could easily do 2 days or maybe even 3.