The House of the Mouse

Before yesterday, I'd been to Disneyland three times, once when I was a child, once when I was an adolescent, and once in my 20s. Yesterday I went to Disneyland for the fourth and possibly last time with my pals Kirsten and Clare who drove up from San Diego. I had a great time. The rides were fun, hanging with the girls was fantastic, it was a beautiful day, and the lines weren't too long (I purposely chose a mid-week date in winter for the excursion); and while Kirsten feels the Disney Magic quite deeply (she has bought an annual pass for years; her most recent trip before yesterday was last Saturday), I was a little less touched by the fairy dust. I had a great time and would hate to give the impression that it was anything but a really wonderful day, but let's just say I'm never going to reach the fandom of this lady:

Guardians of the Galaxy ride. After the first DROP,
I screamed and clutched Kirsten's arm like someone in a plane that just lost its engines.
It was terrifying; we went on it twice. 

The Canals of Venice... California

Today I explored a magical part of Venice, a neighborhood I've been in many times. I always knew there were canals in Venice, hence the name, but I'd never seen them. The paths along the canals were a quiet, gorgeous place for a walk on a sunny California afternoon.

Jimmy Kimmel Live

Today I went to see Jimmy Kimmel Live, a show that's taped. I've never been to a taping of a TV show before, and as much as I'm a fan, I don't think I'd go to the trouble again. If someone handed me a ticket to be in the Saturday Night Live audience and escorted me to my seat without having to stand in line for two hours, I'd happily take it, but despite having a PRIORITY ticket for JKL, I stood in line with the masses for almost two hours before we were allowed into the theater. I did have a second row seat however, from which I noticed that Jimmy is a lot smaller than I thought. The guests were Zach Galifianakis, hilarious as usual, and Antonia Thomas, whom I thought looked familiar on The Good Doctor, and now I know why - she's the British actress I know from a show called Lovesick (previously known by the hideous title, Scrotal Recall). I didn't recognize her at first as she's yet another Brit who can do a flawless American accent so I didn't tie her to Lovesick which is decidedly British. The musical guest was the band Tune-Yards, who did two fantastically lively numbers. It was fun, but unless Dave decides to do another talk show and invites me to sit in the chair on the stage right next to him, I'm good.

Hooray for Hollywood

It was cold and wet in Seattle when I decided to come to L.A. Today was spent in glorious sunshine visiting iconic sites on a tour with a group of travelers and our guides, Natalie and Javier, who helped us get a ton of great photos.

 

"Urban Light" by Chris Burden: an installation of 202 restored cast iron antique lamp posts in front of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

City of Angels

An Evening of Solo Pleasure

That's what Sondre Lerche's concert at Largo last night was billed as. And it was exactly that, a pleasurable solo performance by the elfin Norwegian singer-songwriter; although the solo briefly became a duo when a gentleman named Van Dyke Parks (apparently a legend in the music industry) joined Sondre for a couple of songs. His songs have almost the cadence of childrens' tunes but the subject matter is heartbreak, regret, guilt, and self-loathing; I think one song was about attempting to seduce the neighbor upstairs, but with an air of joyfulness and sincerity. That tone is what I remember enjoying in this song, which was at the end of a sweet movie called Dan in Real Life, for which Sondre wrote the entire score. From my seat in the first row, I was able to experience the full force of his charm and his... I'm going with "sleepy-charisma" (he looked like he could have used a nap) and it was wonderful first night in L.A.

Filipino Boodle Feast

Lunch today was a rather spectacular Filipino feast created by LJ and his sister Yumi. A "boodle feast" is a traditional Filipino meal started by their Military Academy as a means for officers and cadets to eat together, regardless of rank. The food is served directly on banana leaves which have been laid down the center of a table, you help yourself and eat with your fingers - although LJ and Yumi, who grew up in the Philippines, made allowances for their guests, who did not, and gave us plates and cutlery. The food was wonderful and it was a great lunch on a foggy afternoon in Seattle.

Steamed shrimp, baked mussels, poached eggs, roasted pork, noodles, rice, veggies, and cantaloupe for dessert. 

Giving Thanks for Canada

After a scrumptious Thanksgiving dinner party on Thursday night at my friend William's house (turkey and Copper River salmon, brought fresh by one of the guests from Alaska), I flew to Victoria, B.C. on Friday morning. I've been to Victoria several times, each time arriving by ferry, but this time I flew from Seatac to Sidney, rented a car, and drove about 15 miles to Victoria. The flight takes about 45 minutes, Alaska Airlines was having a sale, I had three days left of a holiday weekend to kill (I have a real aversion to staying home during the Thanksgiving long-weekend), so off I went. My accommodation was a microloft right on the waterfront, and even though the weather was blustery and cold, I ate some good food, relaxed, had fancy afternoon tea, saw some cool art, and got to leave the country.

It was micro but had everything I needed.

At the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria 

When spending $75 for tea and snacks at the Empress Hotel, I was reminded of something a friend said in Paris when Peter and I spent about $300 for lunch at the George VI - "yeah, but for the time you're there, you're renting the room." The room at the Empress had beautiful furniture and someone playing a grand piano - and the moment my treats were set in front of me, the pianist started playing one of my favorite songs, Viva la Vida by Coldplay - priceless.